The medieval Castle of Venus, Erice, Sicily.Credit: iStock
With 60 million visitors a year, Italy is one of the world’s most visited countries, and often held up as an example of overtourism. But the problem isn’t so much overall visitor numbers as their concentration in predictable places such as Venice, Rome, Tuscany and the Amalfi Coast.
That’s good news for anyone with gumption because it’s easy to escape Italy’s holidaymaker overload. Have you heard of Alto Adige? Or Molise, Italy’s least-visited region, which starts 90 kilometres beyond Naples? Or Veneto, the region that includes tourist-raided Venice?
You probably haven’t heard of Selinunte, and yet it’s Europe’s largest archaeological park. The jumbled ruins of this Greek city, sacked by Hannibal in 409 BC and later devastated by an earthquake, lie abandoned on Sicily’s northwest coast.
Molise, Italy’s least-visited region.Credit: Getty Images
Selinunte is the only ancient Greek city whose entire layout has been preserved, from the remains of its port facilities to its aristocratic houses. Temple E is magnificently preserved. Temple C teeters on a clifftop above a sparkling sea. Wildflowers are fabulous in springtime.
This might be Europe’s most haunting archaeological site, but you won’t see many visitors. In places your only company will be the lizards scampering across toppled columns – proof you can escape the madding crowd in Italy if you head to the right places.
Another part of our problem with Italy is that we see it primarily as a cultural destination – and culture that ends in the Renaissance at that. More contemporary Italian history and culture has plenty to recommend it in cities such as Turin, and so do Italy’s natural assets.
Italy is splattered with national parks, much of the nation is mountainous, and somewhere around 7600 kilometres of coastline ensure that glorious stretches are unadorned by parasols and pop-up bars. Australians also tend to overlook Italy’s alpine credentials, although it has some of Europe’s best hiking and skiing.
Think you’ve done Italy, or can no longer do it because it has become too crowded? Think again, especially if you avoid the summer high season. Get into lesser-known but very rewarding destinations, and Italy still supplies the dolce vita we all imagine.
EMILIA-ROMAGNA
Parmigiano reggiano ageing in Romagna.Credit: iStock
Where This easily accessible northern Italian region has numerous outstanding historical small cities and a great regional capital, Bologna. It’s hardly unknown but, wedged between Venice and Tuscany, avoids their tourist tsunamis and is seldom on big tour-group routes.
Why we love it The car industry helps make Emilia-Romagna one of Italy’s wealthiest regions, which bequeaths it polished town centres, a fine gastronomic scene and numerous motoring museums. The region produces Parma ham, Parmesan cheese and balsamic vinegar, while restaurants twinkle with Michelin stars.
Don’t miss Modena, Parma and Ferrara are former independent duchies whose diminutive size belies their historic importance. Parma also has a rich musical heritage associated with Verdi and Toscanini. On the coast, Ravenna served as the capital of the Western Roman Empire and has churches encrusted with stunning Byzantine mosaics.
Essentials Aim for April-May or September-October for the most pleasant weather. Stay at Opera 02, a minimalist, contemporary spa-hotel in lovely, vineyard-draped countryside south of Modena; the family produces balsamic vinegar and Lambrusco wine. See emiliaromagnaturismo.it
TRENTINO-SOUTH TYROL
The Dolomites’ Seiser Alm – Europe’s largest high-elevation alpine meadow.Credit: iStock
Where This small but wealthy province tucked against the Swiss and Austrian borders, called Sudtirol in German or Alto Adige in Italian, was Austro-Hungarian until 1919. The majority of its inhabitants are native German speakers.
Why we love it Who doesn’t like cultural oddities? This region is proud of its heritage and has grim Germanic castles, onion-domed churches and bell-clanking cows – plus more tidiness and organisation than you’ll find elsewhere in Italy. The craggy Dolomites provide some of the Alps’ most dramatic scenery.
Don’t miss Val Badia has magnificent mountains and a Ladin-speaking minority, but waterfall-draped Val di Genova might be the most beautiful valley. For culture, you have Schloss Trauttmansdorff and its beautiful gardens (closed in winter), glorious Lumen Museum for alpine photography, and the archaeological museum in Bolzano with its fascinating Copper Age mummy.
Essentials May-October is hiking season, January-February best for skiing. Hotel La Perla in Covara has contemporary chalet style and spectacular views, several restaurants and a spa, and sits right on hiking and ski trails. See suedtirol.info
SARDINIA
Mouthwash-blue coast of Madallena, Sardinia, Italy.Credit: Getty Images
Where The Mediterranean’s second-largest island after Sicily sits halfway between the Italian mainland and Tunisia, just south of Corsica. It gets 3.5 million tourists a year compared with Sicily’s 22 million.
Why we love it Like many islands, Sardinia has its own history, culture, rural traditions and language, which set it apart from mainland Italy and links it to neighbouring Corsica. Mountains are wild, coastline dramatic with cliffs, tumbledown castles and churches looming everywhere. Tourists are mostly European and wealthy, so Mediterranean resort-town blight is largely absent.
Don’t miss Cagliari, Oristano and Sassari have top medieval old towns, while Alghero is laid back and Spanish-influenced. The mysterious prehistoric stone site at Su Nuraxi is UNESCO-listed. The yachties’ playground, Costa Smeralda, oozes exclusivity. Just offshore lies the island of Spargi and La Maddalena marine reserve, known for its aquamarine waters, diving and friendly dolphins.
Essentials June and September have the best sightseeing weather without the high-summer tourist surge. A beach is glimpsed through pines from Hotel La Coluccia on Sardinia’s dramatically sculpted north coast near Porto Pozzo. See sardegnaturismo.it
TUSCAN ARCHIPELAGO
The lighthouse and fort at Elba.Credit: iStock
Where A string of seven major islands between Corsica and mainland Tuscany, all protected in a national park. Few overseas visitors realise Tuscany has islands. The best known is Elba for its associations with Napoleon’s exile.
Why we love it A part of Tuscany undiscovered by international tourists? What’s not to like? These lovely verdant islands fanned by sea breezes are great for beach-going, hiking, biking and long lunches. The wine is good, towns charming, and modest cultural sights enjoyable rather than exhausting.
Don’t miss Spend most time on Elba, with its Napoleonic house, fortress and picturesque hilltop towns Capoliveri, Marciana and Poggio. The island’s squeezed-up mini-mountains make for fine scenery: take the cable car up Monte Capanne for the view. Other islands are barely visited, but Giglio is good for diving and volcanic Capraia for hiking and cycling.
Essentials April-June and October are best. Avoid July and August, the domestic tourist season. Hotel Villa Ortone Isola d’Elba, a 19th-century villa fronting a lovely beach outside Portoferraio on Elba, is a relaxing spot. See visittuscany.com
MOLISE
An old jetty at Termoli.Credit: iStock
Where Italy’s second-smallest region (after Valle d’Aosta), located between Rome and Naples (although to the east), with a mountainous interior and short coastline on the Adriatic Sea. It has no major towns or cities. With fewer than 500,000 visitors a year, it’s the least-visited Italian region.
Why we love it Seemingly always hunkered beyond outside influence and history, Molise won’t wow you with big sights, but feels like an Italy of times gone by, and has haunting landscapes. The region produces good seafood and fish, wine, olive oil and cheese, lamb, cured meats and sausages.
Don’t miss Termoli is a dishevelled but attractive fishing town with a walled medieval core on the Adriatic coast. Inland, the ruins of a small Roman trading town at Saepinum are well-preserved and yet virtually unvisited. Guglionesi has a historic centre cluttered with churches.
Essentials Spring and autumn are best; avoid winter, which can be rainy. Bellavista B&B di Charme in Macchiagodena has a country setting with mountain views, restaurant and infinity pool, and makes a good exploration base. See visitmolise.eu
NORTHWEST SICILY
Inside the church of San Francesco in Mazara del Vallo, Trapani.Credit: iStock
Where Sicily is far from unknown, but most visitors stick to the eastern half. The island’s north-west runs from Trapani southwards to coastal cities Marsala and Mazara, and includes rugged inland hill towns and the Egadi Islands.
Why we love it Greeks, Romans, Normans and Spaniards have influenced Sicilian culture, but in the north-west its medieval Islamic heritage is best felt: flat-roofed, whitewashed towns, old forts and use of eggplant, lemons, rice, almonds and raisins in the cuisine.
Don’t miss Trapani has a fortified peninsula setting and baroque old town. Fishing port Mazara and wine-producer Marsala have a distinctly North African feel. Inland, Caltagirone is famed for the quality of its ceramics, while hilltop Erice has a brooding medieval atmosphere and Sicily’s best marzipan. The Egadi islands offer archaeological sites, whitewashed villages fronting pretty harbours, sea caves and diving on a Roman shipwreck.
Essentials Try April or October, as summer is hot and dusty. B&B Nonno Gino in Marsala’s old town offers comfortable mid-range accommodation but just three rooms, so book well in advance. See visitsicily.info
VENETO
The prosecco hills – Valdobbiadene in the Veneto region.Credit: iStock
Where This north-east region that includes Venice shouldn’t make this list, except that Venice’s visitor millions largely ignore the Veneto’s lovely countryside and high mountains, whose snow you can spot from atop Venice’s campaniles.
Why we love it There’s so much landscape and cultural variety condensed into this small region that you could spend weeks exploring it. Historic towns, although well visited, retain a local atmosphere and have plenty of good museums, cathedrals and other sights.
Don’t miss Barge down Brenta Canal from Venice and admire the summer palazzi of the Venetian aristocracy before arriving in culture-dense university and pilgrimage town Padua. Vincenza and Verona are two other worthy historical towns. Further north are the vineyards where prosecco is produced, and further north still the superb Dolomites and chic ski resort Cortina d’Ampezzo.
Essentials Summer is hot, rainy and crowded, and winter chilly, though great if you ski. Al Fagiano Art Hotel in Padua is modestly priced but offers decorative, colourful and slightly risque flair, and has a little courtyard garden. See veneto.eu
BASILICATA
A fresco in a church hewn from rock in Matera.Credit: iStock
Where A rugged, remote region in the arch of Italy’s boot between Calabria (the toe) and Apulia (the heel), notable for short coastlines on both the Tyrrhenian and Ionian seas. It has a population of just 530,000 and ranks 19th out of 20 Italian regions for visitor numbers.
Why we love it This is another, almost otherworldly Italy imprinted with ancient cultures but seemingly bypassed by the Renaissance. Depopulated villages slumber amid ragged but gorgeous landscapes and coastlines.
Don’t miss Matera, World Heritage-listed for its cave houses and baroque topping, has recently become tourist-famous, but few visitors stray beyond it. Craco is an eerily abandoned town, medieval Melfi has a fine hilltop setting topped by a ruined castle, Metaponto sits on a lovely coastline and has Greek ruins. Pollino National Park has lush forest and ancient villages.
Essentials April-June is the best option, since it combines warm weather with wildflowers. For something unusual, check into a cave hotel in Matera, whether at top-end Aquatio Cave Luxury Hotel & Spa or mid-range Caveoso Hotel. See italia.it
CALABRIA
Unspoilt coast – a fishing village in Calabria.Credit: iStock
Where In Italy’s toe, with long coasts on the nation’s east and west sides. Historically one of Italy’s poorest regions, Calabria has none of the key towns or big sights that draw international tourists, giving it modest tourist numbers.
Why we love it This isn’t the elegant, sophisticated Italy of movies and romantic novels. Calabria is rough at the edges, provincial and poor, and yet offers the real deal: lovely towns not yet turned to kitsch, friendly locals not yet jaded by tourists, and a culture not homogenised by Italy, let alone Europe.
Don’t miss Two coastlines, three national parks, medieval villages, Greek ruins, festival outbursts, endless street life: Calabria is the appealing sum of many small parts. Coastal Tropea is the loveliest city. Badolato, Civita, Gerace and Scilla are striking villages.
Essentials April and October are sweet spots weather wise, and you can also take in many festivals related to Easter or food harvests. Piccolo Grand Hotel in Pizzo is a simple, unpretentious hotel from yesteryear with cheerful colourful rooms overlooking the sea. See calabriastraordinaria.it
VALLE D’AOSTA
An alpine ibex in the mountains above Aosta.Credit: iStock
Where This north-west region sits in the Alps, with better-known destinations Chamonix (France) and Zermatt (Switzerland) just over the border. It’s the country’s smallest and least-populated region but has outsized scenery.
Why we love it Superb alpine landscapes, castles clinging to crags, cheerful villages, great hiking trails, interesting French influences. Most visitors come in winter for guaranteed great snow, with resorts that connect across the border offering extravagant – but more modestly priced – skiing.
Don’t miss Aosta has Roman and medieval remains and a snow-capped setting. Rock-perched Forte di Bard combines fortifications, an alpine museum and terrific panoramas. Get into Gran Paradiso National Park for scenic hiking and ibex-spotting. The ski season is busy, with Cervinia offering the most ski runs, but Courmayeur the most upmarket.
Essentials Because of the high altitudes and glaciers, the ski season runs from late November to early May. Cervinia has no shortage of luxury and family-run boutique hotels and ski chalets, among them the cool and contemporary Principe delle Nevi, which is ski-in ski-out. See lovevda.it
FIVE OVERLOOKED CITIES IN ITALY
Agnel Lake, Turin.Credit: Getty Images/iStockphoto
Turin
The former capital of Savoy in the north-west is one of Italy’s most attractive big cities, with French-influenced architecture, fine piazzas and boulevards, great cafes and Alps on the horizon. The home of Fiat and other industries also has the wealth for good museums and restaurants, a lively classical music scene, and sophisticated shopping. Don’t miss one of the world’s best ancient Egyptian collections, a whopping baroque royal palace, and the National Automobile Museum. See turismotorino.org
Mantua
Ruled for four centuries by the influential Gonzaga family, Mantova in north-central Italy, just south of Verona, is UNESCO-listed for its Renaissance old town, arcaded streets, several fine piazzas and sumptuous palaces, set on the shores of an artificial lake. The massive Palazzo Ducale is draped in luscious frescoes, tapestries and first-class artworks, while Palazzo Te has more magnificent frescoes. Anywhere else and queues would be out the door. See in-lombardia.it
Cremona
If Cremona is known at all it is for its violin making, with many luthiers still carrying on the tradition that reached its height under Antonio Stradivari. The Museo del Violino has its interest, but you’ll be delighted by the charming town, which has one of Italy’s loveliest central piazzas, its tallest campanile, and a pink 12th-century cathedral. The city 80 kilometres southeast of Milan is also noted for nougat and mustard production. See turismocremona.it
Trento
This north-east city and former independent bishopric is well-kept, cobbled, castle-dominated, and sits on a river surrounded by the Alps. It also has historical chops, an Italian-Germanic fusion culture and a busy summer festival season. Highlights are the Castello del Buonconsiglio and Muse, an interactive science museum that highlights the alpine environment inside a jagged, eye-catching Renzo Piano-designed building. Ride the cable car to Sardagna above the valley to appreciate Trento’s glorious location. See trento.info
Otranto
This small but historically significant city in the heel of Italy eyeballs Albania across the Adriatic Sea and has seen invaders come and go, starting with the Neolithic people who left images in Grotta dei Cervi cave. An Aragonese fort dominates the town but the superb Norman cathedral steals with show, particularly its mosaic flooring, and chapel stacked with bones and skulls. The ragged coastline outside town is sculpted with unusual rock formations. See viaggiareinpuglia.it