Italy’s big cities are no doubt worthy and its popular regions are popular for good reason. But some of the country’s lesser known towns and villages are equally, or more, impressive. Here are 12 of our favorites.
(Scroll down towards the middle of the article for a map of all locations.)
1. Ischia, Campania
Lying in the Gulf of Naples, Ischia is Capri’s sister island, without the VIP status. It’s more real, more genuine.
It’s famous for its thermal baths (built by the Romans) and diving spots and features four-star luxury hotels with great prices year round.
Cheap but delicious fish restaurants lie along the harbor of Ischia Porto and the island is one of the few to make limoncello, that moreish lemon juice liqueur.
Visitors can opt for long strolls in the lush vegetation, or take a cab, bus or boat to tour the island. A must see is the majestic Aragonese Castle hanging on top of an isle-cliff, connected to the old hamlet of Ponte Ischia.
With a temperature of up to 95 C, may want to test the water before diving in.
2. Caltagirone, Catania
Forget Palermo’s hellish traffic and Taormina’s designer boutiques — this is the heart of the real, wild Sicily famous for its artisan ceramics and the best slushies in Italy.
Getting here requires rolling across the desolate Erei hills. The top attraction is the monumental, flowery 142-step staircase of the Santa Maria del Monte, built in the 17th century, featuring hand-decorated majolica from different periods.
Once at the top the city’s streets and piazzas unravel before you, showing off the lively piazza.
The best way to savor the city is to walk along the artisans’ boutiques, which show off beautifully hand-made ceramics of live-size Christmas trees, Phoenician merchants’ faces, gigantic green, red and blue pinewoods but also miniature ceramic owls and snails.
A day of shopping can be concluded with a slushie served inside a warm brioche. The Bronte pistachio, figs and almond flavors at the central bar facing the staircase are the best.
The best way to discover Lecce is to walk the narrow alleys.
courtesy Fototeca ENIT
3. Lecce, Apulia
Dubbed the Florence of South Italy, Lecce can surprise even Italians. This is one of the country’s poorest regions, where sheep graze among old olive trees and stone walls line the roads.
Like a Western movie, the countryside clashes with the city’s luxurious Baroque, Roman and Renaissance elements.
The churches, like Santa Croce basilica, have golden-stone facades. Elegant fountains are scattered around. There’s the Duomo, the 72-meter-tall bell tower and the vibrant Sant’Oronzo square, the city’s pulsing heart.
4. Mantova, Lombardy
Mantova (or Mantua) was the hometown of Rome’s most celebrated poet, Virgil. The pearl of the rich Lombardy region, it’s loaded with artistic heritage and has been inscribed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site.
Splendid buildings and a great skyline echo the grandeur of the Gonzaga, a powerful Renaissance family that helped make the city a rich power and trade center.
Guided tours offer a chance to see the frescoed Palazzo Te and the Bibien scientific theater, a baroque venue that hosted in 1769 the performance of a young Mozart.
The 1472 Clock Tower’s internal mechanism still works.
Art mingles with nature. The foggy Mincio river and lakes create an ideal habitat for many bird species.
5. Matera, Basilicata
Matera is a prehistoric “underground” stone village in the middle of a desolate southern region of Basilicata.
But it’s worth driving for hours to see it.
It is one of the world’s most ancient cities, provided part of the set of Mel Gibson’s “The Passion of the Christ” and its ‘sassi’ (settlements cut out of the stone) and rupestrian churches are inscribed on UNESCO’s World heritage List.
Along the streets you can’t help notice the various layers on which the town was built over the centuries: Christian, Byzantine, Greek-Roman and the Metal Ages all feature.
The road that circles the town, suspended above a deep gorge, provides a view of the many holes carved into the mountain on the other side.
For centuries up to the 1950s, farmers lived and worked in these caves while bandits took refuge there from the authorities. No cars are allowed in and there’s a magical “Lord of the Rings” atmosphere.
6. Narni, Umbria
This Umbrian village was built 3,000 years ago on top of a rocky hilltop above a yawning canyon, cut through by a black river.
Conquered by the Romans who called it Narnia, the dominating Albornoz fortress and lion statue, the symbol of the town, apparently inspired C.S. Lewis in his “The Chronicles of Narnia.”
June is the best time to visit, when a traditional festival transforms the town into a medieval carnival with horses and dressed-up warriors.
Part of Narni’s mystical status comes from its location: right at the geographical center of Italy.
Il Gattamelata restaurant (+39 (0)74420 717245) facing the sculpted Cathedral has great wild boar and delicious porcini mushrooms.
7. Pienza, Tuscany
Set in Val D’Orcia, Tuscany’s most charming area, Pienza is a tiny jewel, the perfect Renaissance city designed by native Pope Pio II.
Everything here is clean, perfect and tidy. Incredibly restyled with a spectacular Duomo, the historic center of the city is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and lies atop a hill with a circular path around the town walls offering a 360-degree view of the valley.
The streets have romantic names — “Love Street,” “Kiss Street” — echoing the concept of an ideal city.
La Buca delle Fate (+39 (0)5787 48448) or Latte di Luna (+39 (0)5787 48606) provide nice lunch stops, with the typical Tuscan menu items including “picci” pasta.
Tuscan olive oil and local Pecorino cheese can be found in any of the many boutiques.
8. San Felice Circeo, Lazio
San Felice Circeo is a picturesque, centuries-old village built on top of Mount Circe, where mythology meets nature.
The place is marked by steep walls, vertiginous ridges and peaks, gorges and pebble-stone coves. Solitary lookout towers scan the ocean.
Between Rome and Naples, this promontory stretches out into the sea and rises along the coast where it is said Aeneas landed from burning Troy and the sorceress Circe bewitched Odysseus.
She kept him prisoner for years in a grotto — the Maga Circe Cave, accessible by sea. The enchantress’s profile is sculpted on the hilltop: its skyline has the shape of a sleeping woman.
At Torre Paola, 30 caves contain evidence of settlement by prehistoric men. The Templar’s Tower and impressive giant walls of the ancient Circei citadel are also noteworthy.
Part of a lush protected reserve to explore on guided trekking trails, the promontory overlooks the miles-long sand dunes of the Mediterranean bush, buffalo-grazed fields and shimmering lakes.
La Terrazza bar (+39 (0)7735 46303), swarming with people at sunset, is suspended above a precipice. Elegant lounge Bar Centrale in the village square (+39 (0)7735 48098) has great cocktails and delicious home-made ice-cream.
9. Syracuse, Sicily
A mix of Greek, Roman, Arabic and Baroque architecture can be found in the vibrant open-air market at the center of this 2,700-year-old Sicilian city.
Each winding alley has a particular beauty and there’s so much to see, from Apollo’s temple and the magnificent Piazza del Duomo to the eerie catacombs that are second only to Rome’s.
The city’s archeological park features one of the greatest Greek theaters and a Roman arena once used for gladiator fights.
The most spectacular attraction is an immense botanic garden featuring dozens of caves from which limestone was extracted to build the city.
Around 8,000 Athenian slaves died in these caves after years of forced labor — it’s said that the caves still echo the prisoners’ laments.
10. Turin, Piedmont
Turn was Italy’s first historical capital, where the country’s kings lived. There’s a regal feel to the city’s sophisticated galleries, decorated arcades and 17th-century cafés and piazzas.
Turin is an elegant, charming spot in the wine-rich Piedmont northern region. It’s nicknamed “Madama” (My Lady) and is good even on rainy days thanks to 14 kilometers of covered passages and a chessboard center: orthogonal streets make it impossible to get lost.
Majestic piazzas include Piazza San Carlo, a pedestrian open-air salon. Piazza Castello is worth visiting for a glimpse of the magnificent bronze horse statue and Piazza Vittoria provides Europe’s biggest square.
11. Tuscania, Lazio
Tuscania offers a traveler’s cocktail of Etruscan, Roman and the Renaissance worlds. Located in the countryside north of Rome, close to Tuscany’s border, it was built by the Etruscans — an Indo-European people wiped out by the Romans.
It’s a necropolis city: once you pass the surrounding walls and enter the old city you’ll see carved sarcophagi lining the streets.
The Etruscan Seven Spouts Fountain is a great sight too, but there’s more to this town than medieval cathedrals and neighborhoods.
Its ancient tombs are neighbors with monumental palaces, fountains and churches of other periods. The Romanic basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore has an amazing 14th-century wall fresco dubbed by locals “The Souls-Sh***ing Devil.”
Inspired by Dante’s Inferno, it depicts Judgment Day with a devil eating and excreting sinners’ souls — a must see!
The most characteristic bars are Caffé del Duomo facing the cathedral (+39 (0)7614 35426) and Bar San Marco (+39 (0)7614 35586), both central.
12. Ventotene, Lazio
Ventotene is a 2-kilometer-long isle close to Rome and a former jail center for lustful Roman noble women and later anti-Fascists.
This is where Nero shipped his wife Claudia Octavia in the first century on false charges of adultery, and where Altiero Spinelli co-wrote the “Ventotene Manifesto,” becoming one of the “founding fathers of the European Union.”
The sea bed here is full of ancient relics, Roman vases and other treasures. A natural marine reserve, it’s a popular diving spot.
Forget discos and wild nights, you’ll be going to bed early and waking up at sunrise.
The ancient Roman port is still used today and the former prisoners’ cells have been transformed into pink, yellow and purple summer houses.
Local boats offer tours to the abandoned, freaky Borbonic prison-fortress on the tiny neighboring isle of Santo Stefano, a sort of old times Alcatraz.
The lighthouse cave bar has delicious eggplant sandwiches. Small family-run hotels overlook the sparkling sea and offer extraordinary cuisine and good prices.
The outdoor tables of Vento di Mare bar (+39 3 4561 65571) have the best grilled octopus and aperitifs on the island.
Source: www.cnn.com