The Most Dazzlingly Picturesque Villages in Italy

Having travel to many an Italian townspeople , I concede it ’s much unimaginable to find a peculiarly icky one . Quaint villages here are like vino – always abundant , rarely disappointing . Still , there are always standouts . And after take into report scenery , activities , food , and lineament , I ’m extend you these nine Italian small township . Each is grip enough to make you pull up your ticket home and punt your phone into the ocean … just as soon as you Instagram one last cliffside sundown .

Positano

Population:3,950Claim to fame : John Steinbeck rhapsodize on it in 1953Harper ’s Bazaaressay : “ Positano bite rich . It is a dreaming place that is n’t quite actual when you are there and becomes beckoningly real after you have go . ”

A stumble to Italy without a stay on the Amalfi Coast is like going there and not eating 5lbs of pasta a day – that is , unthinkable . Positano may be the jewel of the entire sea-coast : a cliffside settlement whose glitzy visitors should n’t dissuade you . Instead , savor the abundant citrus tree tree , narrow winding paths lined with shops trade handmade pottery and sandals ( the town is also known for its skilled craftsman ) , and the celebrated tiled dome of the Chiesa di Santa Maria Assunta church service . The racy come here for a reason .

San Gimignano

Population:8,000Claim to celebrity : Franco Zeffirelli film parts ofTea with Mussolinihere .

If Tuscany were to have a highrise - draw Downtown , this would sort of be it – except all 14 of the towboat within the walls of this town date to the 1200s . A short day - trip from Florence , the once - prosperous medieval hilltop township was said to be mostly pass over out by a pest in the 1300s ; these days it ’s a must - see in rural Tuscany . ascend the steps to the city is literally like step through time . Once at the top of the towers , you ’ll have arguably the good bird’s-eye opinion of the Chianti part .

Barga

Population:10,000Claim to fame : summer opera house and wind fete .

The principal town of themedia valle(mid valley ) in the province of Lucca , a Renaissance hilltop townspeople in wine rural area that has been draw as a “ Venice without water . ” Barga is a small town in this sphere that I luckily and quite literally stumbled into ( there ’s a circle of cobble ! ) . It has almost a Hogwarts seem to it , with taper - lit sullen stone building and a quaint merchant workshops on every recess . Barga ’s intellectual nourishment is also so good it ’s scary ; if you do make the sojourn , the Trattoria L’Altana Barga is about as authentic a Tuscan repast that subsist .

Vernazza

Population:1,200Claim to fame : A practical absence of cars anywhere on the steep street .

Whether or not you believe heaven is real , Cinque Terre ( “ five town ” in Italian ) may be the near thing to it . The quintet of coastal Greenwich Village are link by walkable mountain paths that wind through vinery and all have ludicrous views of the Mediterranean . Vernazza ’s the most charming , or at least the most picturesque . If you prefer to hike there , you ’ll take the air down down into the town , cuddle like an Easter ball in a piffling cove right on the ocean , arrayed with pinkish , yellow , and blue - imbue building and rowboats line the water . One of the comfortably - known sportfishing villages on the Italian Riviera , it ’s a fantastic spot to refuel with mussels , fresh catches , and set of wine-colored .

San Teodoro (Sardinia)

Population:4,000Claim to renown : The persuasion of the nearby island Tavolara , an imposing shank of limestone cliff .

One of the most postcard - quick crescents of sand anywhere is La Cinta , a beach to put others to shame . It ’s almosttoopretty , as if someone retrace it in Downtown Disney . But permit me insure you its flabby white sand is very literal , sloping ever so gently into the warm , gin - clear water . If you may actually remove yourself from this sunny resort area – which will beveryhard – this is also a great town for boating , water skiing , and horseback riding and mountain hiking . The tourer - favorable Downtown really picks up after dark , perfect to sip on some Sardinian mirto or limoncello and do some character multitude - observance .

Castelluccio

Population : Fewer than 300Claim to fame : A summer bloom festival .

Land in this breathless mountaintop town and you ’ll start cackle “ poppies … POPPIES ” like the Wicked Witch of the West . The reasonableness : a monumental airfield of flowers ( include , yes , poppy ) like something from Oz . The season from May to June here is holler “ flowering ” season , but if you miss it , you ’re still in for scene : as the highest village the Apennine Mountain Range , at 5,000 ft above ocean level , Castelluccio is also bordered by snow - capped mountains .

Cefalù (Sicily)

Population:14,000Claim to celebrity : The Cathedral - Basilica of Cefalù , an UNESCO World Heritage church service with Norman and Arab influences .

Holy flipping sunset , Batman ! This Sicilian beach town is what # nofilter shots are made of , with something pretty than the next at every turn . Sicily feel whole unlike than the rest of the area – and that ’s because it used to actuallybeits own land . The blanched guts beach and watch crystal clear waters are reminiscent of Greek islet , except with that same Italian appealingness – and same awesome nutrient .

Corinaldo

Population:6,000Claim to fame : Outstanding neoclassical architecture .

Yes , there have a few medieval towns that are enclosed by massive walls on this inclination . Corinaldo , though , has stood the test of prison term better perhaps than any other city in the rural area . progress in the fourteenth century as flowery ramparts , the walls remain almost absolutely inviolate . The context could hardly be more fitting for the city ’s renowned annual Halloween festival . In a town literally M of years old – and built to endure another thousand – the aura is seamster - made for spooks and haunt .

Glorenza/Glurns

Population:1,000Claim to fame : Townsfolk who speak German .

A village so nice , they had to name it double . put deep in the alpine Venosta Valley , the diminished town in South Tyrol was once a bustling hub of trade in north Italy . It ’s a skip from the Swiss and Austrian borders , but it ’s the German influence you feel here most , so palpable you half gestate to see Oktoberfest tent pop up while strolling the alley . You wo n’t , alas , but sipping wine while taking in the majestic architecture and vast countryside will more than make up for it .

Vernazza Italy