Dr Kathleen Olive

Italy’s beautiful small towns are a must-see, from medieval hamlets like Bevagna in Umbria to the baroque extravagance of Sicily’s Palazzolo Acreide. But did you know that there is an official list of Italy’s borghi più belli, or most beautiful villages? And that inscription on that list is a hotly-competed honour?

I borghi più belli

It’s just over twenty years since the association I Borghi più belli d’Italia was formed. Like the sweet film Benvenuti al Sud (“Welcome to the South”, 2010), this association was inspired by a French counterpart, Les Plus Beaux Villages de France, founded in the 1980s to strengthen the tourism profile of small French towns with an impressive cultural heritage.

In Italy, the list of borghi is maintained by the Associazione Nazionale Comuni Italiani, a not-for-profit that raises awareness of the general economic and social issues facing Italy’s numerous villages. There are strict criteria for inscription, and so barely 300 towns are officially recognised by the Association’s motto, Il fascino dell’Italia nascosta (“the appeal of hidden Italy”).

It's clear from the inscription criteria that the Association works to raise the profile of smaller towns connected to, but generally overlooked by, the existing tourism networks of Italy’s major destinations. For example, a town can’t be considered for inscription if it has more than 2,000 inhabitants living in its centre, which makes perfect sense if we consider the history of the Italian word borgo.

What’s at stake for the borghi?

Traditionally more than simply a “village” or “town”, a borgo was a fortified settlement, connected by governance and key infrastructure, such as roads, to a bigger city nearby, but still self-sufficient. Borghi tend to be enclosed by defensive city walls, but they’re not usually too hard to reach because ancient road networks have long connected and sustained them.

Preservation is a key criterion for inscription on the Association’s list. A strict assessment guarantees a town’s genuine historic interest: at least 70% of its buildings must have been built before 1939, thus eliminating villages that were substantially and sometimes insensitively rebuilt after World War II.

Practical requirements must foster a considered ‘slow tourism’, from the elimination of cars from a village’s centre, to the quality and regional nature of its restaurants and the number of museums and historic sites on offer. Aesthetically, its buildings must be recognised as demonstrating harmony and homogeneity, from its doors to its windows and even street lighting!

*The beautifully maintained laneways of Spello, Umbria*

Cultural tourism and slowing down our travel

For towns judged to meet all these criteria, there is more at stake than a simple recognition of their historical importance or aesthetic charm. There is a real opportunity to encourage cultural tourism, which brings substantially more long-term benefits to a destination than so-called mangi e fuggi (“eat and run”) tourism, and the Association – with its well-maintained website, annual guide to the towns, and even domestic tourism agency – is there to help.

There’s a lot riding on this: tourism is one of Italy’s most important industries, accounting for 13% of GDP before COVID and directly employing more than 8% of the population. It has been thus for centuries, with the European élite following their Grand Tours since the eighteenth century and mass tourism following in their well-heeled footsteps thanks to Thomas Cook.

Before 2020, Italy received over 65 million international tourists every year, making it the fifth most visited country in the world, and a vibrant government campaign since the 1920s to ‘holiday at home’ has ensured that domestic tourism has been even more significant.

We’ve all seen the worst effects of overtourism in Italy’s historic centres, from tourists taking a dip in Venice’s Grand Canal to drunken lads scaling sixteenth-century fountains and sculptures in Rome and Florence, so an Association like I Borghi più belli represents a real opportunity to cultivate thoughtful explorations of the lesser-known villages that lie just beyond the well-trodden tourist circuit of Venice-Florence-Rome.

So, how can you use the list of Italy’s borghi più belli when planning your next trip?

*Cefalù, with its Norman Abbey, in Sicily*

We consciously use the list of borghi più belli to plan more ethical and sustainable itineraries, so let us introduce you to a selection of Limelight Arts Travel’s favourite places.

Cefalù, Sicily

While there are currently 23 Sicilian borghi on the list, it’s hard to go past Cefalù. A small fishing village easily reached from Palermo by train, it became the focus of Norman political ambition in the twelfth century thanks to Roger II’s imposing and mosaic-encrusted abbey.

Cefalù also boasts a Greek temple to Diana on its distinctive headland and one of Antonello da Messina’s most intriguing portraits.

Furore, Campania

Everyone from Goethe to American troops on furlough have based themselves in Sorrento or Amalfi, to admire the extraordinary significance and beauty of sites from Roman Pompeii to Paestum’s Greek temples.

Halfway between these better-known centres, Furore is easy to overlook. With no square or village centre – just a collection of small houses clinging to a steep and picturesque fjord – Furore faces off the sometimes furious waves (thus its name) and so charmed Anna Magnani, here for Rossellini’s wonderful film L'Amore, that she purchased one of its monazzeni (fishermen’s houses).

Santo Stefano di Sessanio, Abruzzo

Abruzzo has one of the highest concentrations of recognised borghi, and Santo Stefano di Sessanio has one of its most interesting contemporary histories. This tiny limestone village high on the Gran Sasso boasts a proud tradition that was undermined in the twentieth century by persistent depopulation.

Recently, an albergo diffuso, or “dispersed hotel”, has begun to reverse the exodus. Abandoned houses have been acquired and restored as a hotel network, bringing the ghost town back to life rather than damaging its traditional fabric. We’re so fascinated by the concept of the albergo diffuso, a similar success in Matera’s abandoned cave dwellings, that we visit Santo Stefano di Sessanio on our Along the Apennines tour in 2024.

*Rocca Calascio, high up in the Apennines in Abruzzo.*

Civita di Bagnoregio, Lazio

Rome, caput mundi, dominates tourism in its region of Lazio, but its borghi testify to the historic influence of its feudal lords, cardinals and popes over the hinterland. Civita di Bagnoregio is a fascinating and vulnerable ‘tufa town’ at the summit of a soft and naturally eroding escarpment. Despite its long Etruscan, Roman and medieval history – St Bonaventure was born here in 1274 – only 16 people permanently reside there today and in recent decades Civita has been swarmed by tourists in search of a photo opportunity.

In 2017, the council introduced a ‘tourist ticket’, an obligatory €12 tax for adult visitors that includes a welcome kit, audio guide, gastronomic experience, and discounts on local services. This has inspired a similar ‘tourist ticket’ to be introduced in Venice next year, and we’ll see how Civita’s system works for ourselves on our Along the Apennines tour in 2024.

*Dozza with its many contemporary murals, in Emilia Romagna.*

Dozza, Emilia-Romagna

Central Italy is well-connected for cultural travellers, with a reliable train network and comfortable bases in places like Bologna and Modena. Its fertile agricultural plains have long been developed, by the Etruscans, Romans, medieval lords and even papal and Napoleonic super-powers, and its numerous attractive borghi have strong gastronomic traditions, too.

Dozza is barely 30 minutes by car from Bologna, a perfectly-preserved medieval hill town that has been revitalised since the 1960s by its biennial Muro Dipinto festival. This public mural campaign has led to the decoration of the town’s facades by more than 200 artists. Colourful, diverse and sometimes politically charged, the Dozza Biennial has turned this picturesque borgo into a giant and evolving open-air canvas.

Gradara, Le Marche

The Marche region of Italy always feels that little bit harder to reach, and there are good reasons for cultural travellers to avoid its crowded beaches in the summer, yet its 29 borghi are an indication of Le Marche’s historic significance and sheer beauty.

Gradara’s double circuit of city walls today shelters a population of just over 3,000, but in the fifteenth century its location was so strategic that both Lucrezia Borgia and her rapacious brother Cesare spent time here during a protracted papal campaign to control the territory. Dante locates the Inferno’s tragic tale of Paolo and Francesca in Gradara’s castle, the lovers’ adulterous affair the result of their joint reading of French chivalric romances. It’s impossible not to think of their defiant love and tragic deaths when visiting Gradara.

*Venzone, in Friuli, at one of the passes up into the Dolomites.*

Venzone, Friuli-Venezia-Giulia

Friuli-Venezia-Giulia, Italy’s north-easternmost region, is perhaps the least known to international visitors, and yet as a border zone it is one of the country’s most diverse, fascinating and politically responsive. From Roman garrisons at the foothills of the Julian Alps to successive waves of ‘barbarian’ migrations through the region, Friuli-Venezia-Giulia boasts numerous distinctive cultures, such as the Dark Ages sophistication of the Lombards, and its political and linguistic borders were only firmly established in the 1960s, as its official languages of Italian, Slovenian, Friulian and German indicate.

Venzone is tucked away in the Carnic Prealps, its quiet medieval alleys and churches belying the strategic role the village played for the Lombards, Franks, Habsburgs and even Napoleon. We’re looking forward to exploring Venzone on our Italian Alps tour in 2023.

Arquà Petrarca, Veneto

Today, the idea of the Veneto region is often tied to its big centres – Venice, Padua, Verona – and to the generalised effects of modern industrialisation. But this overlooks much of its unique appeal, from its wines (Valpolicella, Amarone, Soave and Prosecco, anyone?) to its gastronomic specialities (Asiago cheese, Treviso radicchio, white asparagus and Vialone Nano rice for risotto, to name a few). The tiny hill town of Arquà Petrarca is a wonderful encapsulation of all this, located in the spa region of the Euganean Hills outside Padua, and the final resort of the poet Petrarch, whose name it adopted. We visit the town on our Italy’s Renaissance Courts tour.

From its annual celebration of jujube dates, to bigoli al ragù, a chewy thick spaghetti served with a meat and porcini stew, Arquà Petrarca exemplifies the purpose of I Borghi più belli: the perfect place for a pleasant walk, convivial gastronomic experience, and celebration of Italy’s great historic, artistic and cultural traditions.

The Appeal of Hidden Italy

DR KATHLEEN OLIVE

The Appeal of Hidden Italy

DR KATHLEEN OLIVE

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