Italian villages

There is an Italy that sits outside the usual mass-tourism circuit: Apennine villages, quiet countryside, lesser-known lakes and stretches of coast where getting onto the beach does not mean joining a queue. This is also the Italy that a growing number of foreign buyers are choosing when it comes to purchasing a home. Data compiled by Gate-away.com for the first half of 2026 points to international demand following a different path from major tourist flows. It is more spread out, more curious and more deeply drawn to everyday Italy.

A tiny hilltop settlement in Lombardy has earned its identity through a free-roaming feline colony that has lived among its stone houses and lanes for generations.

Italy is one of the few countries where sunset can look completely different each evening, depending on where you are. A sunset in the Dolomites bears little resemblance to one in Positano, or to the late light over Sicily’s Scala dei Turchi. That remarkable variety of scenery makes Italy a sought-after place for anyone hoping to make the most of the day’s final light.

Zungoli is a small comune in the province of Avellino, with fewer than 1,000 residents. It has earned a place among I Borghi più Belli d’Italia — Italy’s association of its most beautiful villages — and holds the Touring Club Italiano’s Orange Flag award. It only takes a few hours on foot to understand what there is to see in Zungoli: the village has a Norman castle, historic churches and an underground network carved into tuff stone.

Italy has more than 7,400 kilometres of coastline, yet every summer millions of people end up on the same beaches, at the same stabilimenti — beach clubs — and in the same resorts. A short distance from the best-trodden routes, there are lesser-known seaside towns where beaches can still be qui

In a small village in Tuscany’s Valdarno Aretino, the sound of running water is part of daily life.

Dreaming of escaping the stifling heat? While the sea and crowded coastlines are the choice for many, there are surprising alternatives for those truly seeking relief: destinations immersed in nature where you can breathe in fresh, pure air!

Stone lanes, a lakeside castle and the steep slopes of Monte Baldo give Malcesine a distinctly cinematic setting on Lake Garda’s eastern shore.

A car-free village reached only by cable car, a queen’s castle overlooking glaciers, a village reshaped around esoteric symbols, and crotti where cold air blows out from deep inside the rock. The Italian Alps hold small worlds with strong identities, where the setting is not merely a backdrop: it finds its way into homes, food and daily habits.

A village of stone houses, a bell tower rising from the sumac bushes, and the sound of water still flowing along the valley floor. It looks like a movie set from another era, but it's real: Cunziria, an ancient 19th-century tannery village near Vizzini, in the province of Catania.

Can people still live in a village with no roads, where the sea is the only way in and night is properly dark?On the south-western side of Stromboli, that is everyday life. One village is cut off by steep slopes and volcanic rock, so no cars, no scooters, no constant background noise.

Condé Nast Traveler has included a quiet spot on Italy’s Amalfi Coast in its 2026 list of the 20 most beautiful towns in the world.

On Lake Como, there is a place where the sound of motorboats fades away, and only the water remains. The steep slopes shape the scene: houses clinging to the rock, narrow lanes, old mule tracks and a gorge where two streams meet before plunging towards the lake. The result is a striking orrido – a steep, narrow ravine – with a waterfall dropping for more than 200 metres and a stone bridge reached via a long staircase. It is a break along the road between Como and Bellagio, with a lesser-known extra just above the village: Onzanigo and the Val de Tuf.

On the Amalfi Coast, there is a place that manages to avoid the crowds, even on warm weekends. An authentic fishing village at the heart of the UNESCO World Heritage Site has crystal-clear water, a slower pace of life and prices that can be more affordable than expected. Just when it seems every corner of the coast is already familiar, this coastal spot comes as a surprise: there are spacious, well-kept free beaches and seafood cooking centred on the day’s catch.

Taking part in the €1 mountain homes scheme can appeal to anyone hoping to buy a property at a very low price and turn it into a mountain retreat suited to their own needs. Italy has many mountain locations where it may be possible to create a quiet base for the symbolic price of €1.

In the Tuscan-Emilian Apennines lies a village that draws thousands of visitors each summer in search of something increasingly hard to find: cooler weather. It sits 1,020 metres above sea level in the province of Modena and is known as the “Pearl of the Apennines”. The title is not simply a local nickname. The Touring Club Italiano has awarded it the prestigious Bandiera Arancione (Orange Flag), recognising the quality of its natural surroundings and visitor services.

Sardinia is often reduced to its beaches, yet the island’s smaller towns are where the detail lives: medieval lanes, fishing harbours, local wine, island ferries and archaeological sites sitting a short drive from the coast. The best villages to visit in Sardinia are spread widely, so it pays t

Walking among stone walls, towers rising above the hills, and cobbled lanes that seem frozen in time is an experience Italy does particularly well. The most beautiful medieval villages in Italy tell the story of an era shaped by castles, Romanesque churches and communities perched high up for protection, places that have since become popular travel destinations.

A reopened flight route, a surname spotted on the village bell tower, a recipe scribbled in pencil: sometimes that is all it takes to trigger a return ticket.

Sicily has islands that still manage to surprise visitors because, despite being well known, they have not given in to the pressure of full-capacity tourism at all costs. They are Lipari, Panarea, Stromboli, Favignana and Ustica. The sea remains centre stage, there is plenty to do, and the atmosphere still follows local rhythms that have been lost elsewhere. Which islands bring together summer relaxation, sport and entertainment without going over the top? Here are five destinations that put authenticity first.

Can a small cup of coffee change the fate of a borgo, a historic village? In Sardinia, three young women have turned an everyday gesture into a collective invitation to put down roots again in places many had stopped believing in.

Restoring abandoned properties has become one of the most pressing priorities for many Sicilian municipalities, which have long been dealing with depopulation and the decline of their historic building stock. The €1 houses in Sicily scheme has provided a response to these challenges, turning crumbling homes into genuine opportunities for Italian and international buyers.

There is only one place in the country that can claim the title of Italy’s only car-free town. No traffic lights, no engines idling, no delivery vans edging through narrow lanes.

Sicily is dotted with small historic centres that sit on cliffs, hide behind medieval walls or spill gently towards the sea.

Caorle immediately stands out for its historic center of pastel-colored houses overlooking the sea, a unique cylindrical bell tower in Italy, and a waterfront transformed into an open-air art gallery. For summer, this Veneto town also boasts two golden beaches, while its seafood cuisine is also worth considering.