MollyBrown

I have a penchant for narrow, labyrinth like streets and rough-hewed stone architecture. Narrow, windy, medieval or just plain old. I never met a stone town I considered "cold" - just the oppostie! Any thoughts on the best and brightest of Italy - I plan on being in the North visiting Venice before jumping over to Croatia, but we are considering extending our time in Italy. (Any Croatia recommendations would be great too!)

Any suggestions welcome!

Thanks

MollyBrown

toni_g_b

Urbino in Le Marche had some pretty neat streets - not sure about windy but narrow, STEEP, and definitely old! We loved it - especially the bar at the foot of castle that looked out over the valley below. Grappa and smooth jazz in Italy. What could be better?!

Orvieto would be another consideration if you would go that far south. Another wonderful memory of just walking the lanes.

MollyBrown

Urbino - sounds lovely! I'll pull out my guide when I get home and check it out. I did come across Orvieto in planning - its a shame that is problably going to be too south for us. Next time.

Thanks toni!

MollyB

Zerlina

Be aware that Urbino is very difficult to get to unless you have a car...

Jean

Gubbio. Likewise easier to reach by car. It has a "balcony" piazza overlooking the valley and a quirky lift to the top of a nearby hill/mountain for an even more spectacular view. At the bottom of the town are the ruins of a Roman amphitheatre.

TuckH

For "being in the North visiting Venice": Mantova and Verona.

On the other hand, for "rough-hewed stone architecture", you'd have to venture up into some of the mountain villages. There are a number of these (I don't know about "Labyrinth-Like&quotabove the Italian Lakes and especially in the Ticino region (but that's in nearby Switzerland).