AirBalloon

Hi everyone,

It looks like we are heading back to Italy yet again for our summer, 2016 vacation.

We do not know whether to visit a new area that we have not been to before or to explore an area we have seen, but more thoroughly.

We thought it would interesting to find out what everyone's top three most cherished smaller Italian towns and villages are. They do not have to be the most interesting, but they could be the places that left a lasting mark on your memory.

Our top three are:

1. Bellagio
2. Otranto
3. Noli


Andrea

HappyTrvlr

There are so many but I agree with Noli and Bellagio. Noli, in the section of Liguria west of Genoa, was such a nice surprise, waterfront, medieval quarter and a castle on the hill! We enjoyed one of our most memorable meals in Italy at the Michelin starred Il Vescovado

sandralist

I don't want to rain on your parade, and I am sure you will find many participants, but I think some people don't understand that for many, many people who visit Italy or live here, asking us to choose "most cherished" or even memorable places is like asking parents to choose among their children or animal lovers to choose between pets -- not that Italy is like children or pets, but that Italy is so starkly different from region to region, what one gets from one destination or town is so very different from one gets from another, the country offers so much astonishing variety -- it really is no exaggeration to say than many of us cherish Italy as a whole partly just because it so fragmented in some ways, and offers so much diversity.

The towns of Italy are incomparable -- and yes, I've been to more than a few I've no intention of revisiting, and Italy is not an unalloyed paradise, and places have been ruined by various causes -- but I wanted to say that any list of "top 3" towns that I would make would be false in a fundamental way, false to me and I think false to Italy. There are many many more Italian towns I would love to revisit if I had an infinite lifespan, and so many I am looking forward to seeing for the first time, just because they look to be delightful, but also because I would like to understand all of Italy, or at least as much as I can.

But carry on -- people understandably love to enthuse about the exceptional and very meaningful experinces they've had in the process of discovering Italy, and some places do mean more to them than others, and I've said my piece.

PalenQ

what does 'smaller towns' mean? A Perugia A Lucca? A Verona - those would be my top three 'smaller Italian towns' but not sure what you mean by smaller - those are smaller compared to the mega touristed towns like Rome, Florence, Venice, etc.

I think you want to define better 'smaller towns'

PalenQ

Bellagio would be at the bottom of my smaller towns - along with Portofino and other hopelessly overcrowded tourist trap towns - at least in high season where during the day it is elbow to elbow in the small town centers - add Sirmione to that list

So time of year matters too - Bellagio could be lovely outside of peak season as could be the others but when I visited them they were just unfathomably mobbed - when the boat comes in and ejaculates tons of day trippers there for only a few hours the mob scene is so so awful.

Bellagio is touted as a small fishing village but the only thing I could see locals were angling for were tourists' euros and not fish. A fishy fishing town IMO.

AirBalloon

Smaller is simply a word I use to separate everything else from the large cities like Rome or Milan.

Sandralist, every person has their own personal experiences when they travel and their own likes and dislikes. So, while you may not want to "rain on my parade", your theory why lists like this are not relevant defeats the purpose of what I am trying to ask. While I would agree that we all go on vacation hoping that every place we visit are all fantastic, it is only human nature to connect to certain places more than others. And by asking people their favourites, we all can maybe find new and exciting places to visit. And I don't think places people visit on vacation are comparable to choosing a favorite child or pet.

As for Bellagio, we found it charming and not packed with visitors at all. And what made it even more special were the day boat trips we took to the various small towns dotting the coast of Lake Como, with Varenna being one of our favorites. The views from walking along the water were superb.

Noli was one of the most quaint beach towns we had ever visited. From what we experienced, there were very few English speaking victors and almost all seemed do be Italians taking their summer vacation, which made the experience that much more charming. With its beautiful stone beach, medieval center, get restaurants and glorious views, we were completely in awe of our time there.

PalenQ

AirBalloon - sandra may not have wanted to take the air out of your balloon or may have but I am like you as I have started numerous threads in past years asking folks to rank their favorite countries, cities, scenic train trips, etc. Though it is a very very subjective thing it does clue folks in on what places many folks liked. So carry on...

Now with your definition of smaller I'd put Bologna at the very very top of my list! Said to have more historical classified edifices in its city center than any other Italian city - even Rome I guess if local hype can be believe yet most just blow thru it when going from Venice to Florence.

tuscanlifeedit

Matera, for one.

AirBalloon

Hi PalenQ,

Thanks for your words of support .

As well, on my last post asking everyone for their favourite smaller European small cities under 500K in population (a few weeks ago), our favourite larger city we spent time in all of Europe was Bologna.

Bologna was simply incredible. No other words to describe it.

Andrea

Adelaidean

Well, I enjoy these polls, because I am not as well travelled as I'd like and I love to discover new destinations that I might not have included before.
Already, have looked up Noli, never heard of it before (and I do want to see Genoa, so it'd be a good add on, 5 minutes ago I did not know this). So please continue...

traveller1959

Venezia (if you consider it small enough)
Amalfi (the town after which the coast was named)
Limone (at Lake Garda)
Siena (if Venezia does not count)

StCirq

Chiusi
Gaeta
Finfa

sandralist

Finfa? Where in Italy is Finfa?

AirBalloon,

Sorry you misinterpreted or misread my post, where I clearly said that Italian towns were not like children or pets, and which was not at all meant to discourage people from participating, nor to deny that people have favorites. But I do think it is relevant that limiting the list to just three is really very difficult for many travelers to Italy because if feels false. It might not feel false to peope who can name 3 towns in rank order, but for others --- well, hard to put it into words if it doesn't make sense to you.

But like I said, people like to enthuse about their favorite experiences and disoveries in Italy, so carry on.

ekc

In no particular order:

Cormons
Asolo
Positano

zoecat

Sorana
Pitigliano
i'll return when I think of the third

sandralist

(Still wondering where "Finfa" is. Would guess is that St Cirq is misremembering the name "Ninfa" -- except Ninfa is no longer a town, but an historic site with limited opening hours that can only visited on group tours.)

http://www.italyheaven.co.uk/lazio/ninfa.html

Sassafrass

Pordenone
Vicenza
Bergamo

Iahawk

Isera
Montalcino
Cortina

330east

Not that small a town but Venice is a must. Cinque Terre is worth a look from you.

Sassafrass

Even if spelled incorrectly, I am glad StCirq mentioned it and that Sandralist corrected it. Images of Ninfa are beautiful. Now on my list of new places to visit in Italy.