Dua Lipa and Callum Turner just handed us the southern Italy itinerary we didn’t know we needed. After a secret ceremony in London and a wedding celebration in Sicily, the two newlyweds made their way through some of the most beautiful stops in the country, and we followed every single one.
Italy is one of the most sought-after summer destinations in the world, but few people navigate it quite like Dua Lipa. Someone with half the world already on her list, she has always had a particular soft spot for Italy, and it shows. We followed the newlyweds’ honeymoon route, stop by stop, to find out exactly what makes it so special and why you might want to steal it for yourself.
Photo: Courtesy of Dua Lipa, Judit Jozsa & Istvan mark Kiraly
Palermo, Sicily
Palermo is the kind of city that hits you immediately: bright, busy, vibrant, and endlessly delicious. This is actually not Dua Lipa‘s first time here, having visited with Callum Turner in the summer of 2025, well before the wedding was even on the horizon. The capital of Sicily makes for the perfect starting point for a southern Italy route, its streets lined with historic buildings, churches covered in intricate golden mosaics, and some of the best street food in Europe. The Cappella Palatina inside the Palazzo dei Normanni is one of the most stunning interiors in all of Italy. Palermo Cathedral is a remarkable blend of Norman, Gothic, Baroque, and Islamic architecture, and a boat trip along the coastline, dropping anchor to swim in the Mediterranean, is the kind of afternoon that makes you never want to leave.
For food, Mercato Ballaro is where to go: loud, smoky, bustling, and full of everything Sicily does best. Start with arancini, golden fried rice balls that have been a staple of the city for over a thousand years, and panelle, crispy chickpea fritters best eaten in a sandwich with a squeeze of lemon. Granita with brioche is the classic Palermo breakfast, pistachio or lemon being the flavors worth seeking out, and cannoli filled fresh to order are the only way to end a morning in Palermo.
Photo: Courtesy of Dua Lipa
Taormina, Sicily
There is a reason Taormina appears on every Sicily itinerary. Perched on a cliffside on Sicily’s east coast, with views of Mount Etna on one side and the Ionian Sea on the other, it is as dramatic as the island gets, and the stop Dua Lipa and Callum Turner made their own after the Sicilian celebrations wound down.
Corso Umberto runs through the heart of the old town, lined with Piazza IX Aprile, the Duomo, and the medieval Palazzo Corvaia, a former seat of the Sicilian Parliament. The Teatro Antico is the undisputed highlight, a Greek theatre still used for performances today, its upper tiers offering views back toward the Italian mainland that stop you mid-sentence. Isola Bella sits just below the cliffs for a swim, and for food, Al Saraceno on the hilltop delivers Mount Etna views alongside exceptional pasta, while Trattoria Da Nino is the kind of traditional family restaurant you return to every night of the week.
Photo: Vicky Montanari, Marina
Tropea
Tropea rises from a sandstone promontory above crystal-clear turquoise water, and it is one of those places that genuinely looks unreal from a distance. Dramatic cliffs, a medieval monastery balanced on a rocky islet just off the coast, the Santuario di Santa Maria dell’Isola, which has become the defining image of the town. The old town is a maze of cobblestone streets lined with 18th-century palazzos, historic churches, and lively piazzas, and the beaches below the cliffs, including Spiaggia della Rotonda and Spiaggia del Cannone, are as good as anywhere in southern Italy.
For food, Tropea has a reputation that extends well beyond Calabria. The Cipolla Rossa di Tropea, the region’s famous red onions, are so sweet locals say they can be eaten like apples, and ‘Nduja, the spicy, spreadable pork sausage made with Calabrian chilies, is something worth tracking down at every meal. Dua and Callum chose Il Convivio, a restaurant in the heart of the old town, for their Tropea dinner, and it is easy to see why.
Bernalda
Bernalda is one of those places most travelers would miss entirely if they didn’t know to look for it, a medieval village in Basilicata perched on a steep plateau with views stretching toward the Ionian coast. The historic center feels like time forgot about it in the best possible way, narrow streets, the Mother Church of San Bernardino da Siena, and 19th-century noble palaces lining Corso Umberto I, the most famous of which is Palazzo Margherita, purchased by Francis Ford Coppola and transformed into a five-star resort. A few steps away, the golden Blue Flag beaches of Metaponto and the Metaponto Archaeological Park, with its remains of ancient Greek temples and necropolises, offer two very different reasons to stay longer than planned.
Photo: Courtesy of Palazzo Margherita, Jessie Wright
Matera
Matera is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, and it looks exactly like it sounds. The Sassi di Matera, an ancient settlement carved into volcanic tuff rock lining the Gravina valley, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site unlike anything else in Italy: a maze of winding alleyways, caves, gardens, and tunnels that has served as the setting for films including Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ. Known as “the second Bethlehem,” it feels less like a destination and more like stepping into another era entirely. Rock churches carved into cliffsides, a beautifully frescoed cave church just outside the city, and a cuisine that has become one of the most celebrated in the south. The kind of place people say you need to see at least once in your life, and they are right.
Photo: Diana Sun, Roos Hazeveld
Amalfi Coast
The Amalfi Coast needs no introduction, but Amalfi town itself is worth lingering in longer than most people allow. The Cathedral of Sant’Andrea, with its imposing staircase rising above Piazza del Duomo, is the first stop, and the view from the top of those steps over the square below is worth every single one of them. From there, the coast takes over entirely.
Everything here revolves around lemons, the Sfusato Amalfitano, large, intensely fragrant, and unlike any lemon found elsewhere. Lemon sorbet served inside a hollowed-out Amalfi lemon is the way to eat it, Pasta al Limone is the lunch worth ordering, and Delizia al Limone is the dessert nobody skips twice. A visit to a traditional limoncello factory is worth the detour, and a day trip to Capri or a morning swim at Spiaggia di Positano rounds out the kind of itinerary that makes a honeymoon feel completely earned. For views that stop you entirely, the Terrace of Infinity at Villa Cimbrone in nearby Ravello is one of the most breathtaking spots on the entire coast.
Naples
Naples hits differently. Loud, chaotic, beautiful, and unlike anywhere else, it is the perfect final stop on a southern Italy route. Get lost in the historic center, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, along Via dei Tribunali or Spaccanapoli, where Baroque churches, hidden courtyards, and street musicians appear around every corner. Forts, castles, palaces, piazzas, galleries, and markets – there is enough here to fill a week and still feel like you missed something.
Dua and Callum made their Naples stop count with a visit to Concettina ai Tre Santi, the legendary pizzeria in the Rione Sanità neighborhood that has become an iconic address for visiting celebrities and a very good argument for why Neapolitan pizza is unlike anything found elsewhere in Italy. Beyond the pizza, the local specialties are reason enough to visit: buffalo mozzarella, pasta with peppered mussels, fresh fish, sfogliatella, babà, limoncello, and fried street food worth every single bite.
Photo: Valerie Benaim, Courtesy of Dua Lipa
