Italy’s best-kept secrets are often hiding in plain sight. Brisighella, in Emilia-Romagna, is a perfect example: perched among rocky hills, its towers and lone trees give visitors the sense of walking into a carefully staged scene.
Inside the town, stone archways, narrow streets and an elevated walkway combine to create a place that rewards slow exploration. It serves both as a destination in its own right and as a jumping-off point for walks among the surrounding hills.
Sicily’s Via dei Frati adds another dimension to this quieter Italy. Spanning 54 miles from Caltanissetta to Cefalù, it passes through the Madonie mountains largely unseen by mass tourism. Villages like Gangi welcome walkers each evening with local hospitality rather than tourist infrastructure.
In Basilicata, the town of Venosa reminds visitors how much history can be packed into a small area. Roman ruins and catacombs sit alongside an imposing castle, while nearby Melfi, Lagopesole and Pietragalla host their own monumental buildings. The region offers rewarding detours in every direction.
Then there are the more unusual stops: an eco-hotel hidden in the Apennines with river swimming and no phone signal, Cividale’s UNESCO-listed Lombard chapel and riverside views, Chioggia’s canals and Adriatic beaches, Santo Stefano d’Aveto’s peaks and simple mountain cuisine, Loazzolo’s exquisite dessert wines and nuts, and Urbs Salvia’s quiet Roman remains. Taken together, they form an itinerary that reveals a gentler, more personal Italy.