In addition to the cultural and historical importance of the places, sustainable aspects of the tourist infrastructure, an intact old town without car traffic, the preservation of the architectural fabric, living traditions as well as the promotion of the quality of life play a significant role in the award as one of the most beautiful villages in Italy.

14 new Villages in the “Borghi più belli d’Italia” association

Called the village of churches, Badolato is a medieval village characterized by narrow and winding alleys that intersect between the houses close to each other. Badolato is situated on a hill a few kilometers from the Ionic coast in Calabria. The hill dominates the wide valley of the torrent Gallipari, whose harsh strokes and the beauty can be admired in all their splendor. The road to the mountain and the plateau of Serre connects the ancient village with the s.s. 106 thus allowing the visitor to go in just a few minutes from the hot amenities of the ionian coast to the charm of a mountain still unspoiled. It divides in Badolato Village (or higher) and Badolato Marina. In Badolato’s ancient village you can visit 12 churches (the other 2 are located in the hamlet of Marina) that, for their position, seem almost to protect the country from all four sides.

Bagno di Romagna in Emilia-Romagna is a renowned center for thermal cares and nature tourism. It is located 56 miles southeast of Bologna. The nearby national park Parco Nazionale delle Foreste Casentinesi, Monte Falterona, Campigna offers woodlands, miles of paths in the woods, mountains and a major artificial lake.

Borgo Valsugana, one of the most beautiful villages in Italy, is situated between Levico and Primolano and not far from the idyllic Val di Sella in Trentino. It is the vibrant center of the Valsugana and features a characteristic river landscape. Not only historic buildings and portals characterise Borgo Valsugana, but also frescos and other decorative elements, which provide the village a Venetian style. Moreover the Brenta river which crosses Borgo, splits the village into two parts.  Well deserved being among the “Borghi più belli d’Italia”

Castagnole delle Lanze is a small Piedmontese village located in the province of Asti, embedded between the hills of the Langhe and Monferrato, in an area with a strong vocation for tourism and a deep-rooted winemaking tradition. Included within the World Heritage areas of southeastern Piedmont according to UNESCO, Castagnole delle Lanze is nestled among enchanting hills, long rows of vineyards and hazelnut groves typical of the area. The Piedmontese village is also an Orange Flag, an initiative that has been marking tourist excellence on Italian territory since 1998, and is a symbol of sustainable tourism, hospitality and high quality itineraries, thanks to the presence of a valuable natural, artistic and cultural heritage.

Celle Ligure is a small jewel of the Western Ligurian Riviera, overlooking the sea. The village has colorful houses lined up along the coast, sandy beaches and characteristic alleys overlooked by buildings of great artistic value, including Palazzo Ferri, the current Town Hall. Its historic center still retains the charm of the ancient fishing village. To fully enjoy the beauty of the country, there is nothing better than getting lost in the alleys and squares.

Golferenzo is an ancient village in the hills of Oltrepò Pavese in Lombardy, with magnetic charm and excellent food and wine. Curious tourists will find delicious and unusual panoramas in Golferenzo with vineyards nestled into the hillsides making excellent wines and Riesling and Pinot in particular.

Guarene in Piedmont, is a beautiful ancient town, perched on a hilltop with stunning views on the vineyards of the Langhe and Roero territories, recognized as a World Heritage site by Unesco. Large part of this old town is occupied by the Castle of Guarene, a finely designed baroque palace built between 1726 and 1775. Today, the palace continues to make people’s dreams come true. Preserved as it was in its heyday, with all its works of art intact, it is now also home to a top-class hotel. 

Malcesine, a picturesque village overlooking the Veronese shores of Lake Garda, dominates the lake and mountains with its castle: the ancient stronghold rises below the hills planted with olive groves; all around develops the village, rich in history and culture, while just outside the center, you can see natural beauty to be reached on foot, by boat or by cable car. The village of Malcesine actually extends over a large area, which includes coast and hill, protected behind by Mount Baldo: an area rich in natural beauty, history and culture. Malcesine definitely deserves to be on the list of “I Borghi più belli d’Italia”.

Discover the town of Ossana in Val di Sole, Trentino. Walk through the streets of the village with 1000 nativity scenes and visit Castel San Michele. Ossana lies at the mouth of the Val di Peio valley, at the foot of the peaks of the Presanella chain. The village is dominated by the Tower of the Castle of S. Michele (1191), which is nestled in a hill that has been inhabited since the Bronze Age.

Ronciglione is a ‘dual’ village: medieval, the village above, Renaissance the one added in 1500 by the Farnese family. The town in Latium, not far from Viterbo, boasts one of the 10 most beautiful Carnivals in Italy. It is also a stop on the Via Francigena North. Now, Ronciglione has been named as one of Italy’s Most Beautiful Villages.

Where flavors become emotions! Sammichele di Bari in Apulia is located on the Murge Plateau and is built primarily on agriculture. On the last weekend of September, there is a festival called Sagra della Zampina, to promote the local products. The town’s castle houses the “Museo della civilltà contadina” in which there are pictures, utensils, and clothes concerning farmer’s life in the 19th century.

San Donato in Poggio is located in the middle of the classical Chianti territory of Tuscany.  The town has maintained much of its classical medieval architecture and has incorporated delicious restaurants, charming B&B accommodations and hosts several fun events throughout the year. Treat yourself to exploring a piece of the Tuscany that played an important role in the rise and fall of the Florence and Siena powers and contributes to the culinary and wine cultures of today.

By now, I am sure, you have noticed that mostly medieval towns have been included in the most beautiful villages in Italy. Stroncone in Umbria is another one. The historic center has preserved intact its enchanting medieval atmosphere, with narrow winding streets, beautiful stone doorways and an ancient well, which is just inside the walls near the beautiful gate called Porta del Borgo. At the entrance to town there is a monumental 17th-century fountain with an elegant design. 

Tempio Pausania is an enchanting, large town in the heart of Gallura, in north-eastern Sardinia, a “granite temple” surrounded by water and greenery, famous for its carnival, cork and moscato. The town is famous for working granite and cork, to which the cork machinery museum is dedicated, for its wines (Vermentino, Karana and Moscato), and for lu carrasciali timpiesu, an allegorical carnival par excellence that attracts 100,000 visitors every year. 

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Art and cuisine – where better to enjoy than in Italy?

Putting together two cornerstones of the Italianness makes powerful tourist attractions: art and cuisine. In Italy it is possible to eating (well) in exhibition spaces – whether in public museums or private galleries. Visitors can prolong their stay and move from the exhibition rooms to the dining rooms, becoming themselves destinations, as it already happened with some architectures. Now, a new museum restaurant has opened in Rome: Molto at the Galleria Borghese.

Molto’s culinary offer at the Galleria Borghese

Molto features a double soul: bistro and café (with classics of the genre, including croissants, cakes and club sandwiches) open to the public and not only visitors. The offer is tasty and simple, yet straightforward.

The menu is made up of tried and tested dishes as well as new proposals for a tasty, fresh and modern menu. Italian raw materials take center stage here: Gerardo di Nola tomatoes, bottarga of the Spanu brothers, and most of the vegetables from the kitchen garden. They range from Sardinian fregola pasta, cacio e pepe ravioli with artichoke, saffron rice pancake, or even lasagna. The take-away box invites to picnics in the Villa Borghese Garden, while the Giotto pastry shop offers Gobino chocolate, as well as other Molto brand products. Also available is Geraci’s Nocellara del Belice extra virgin olive oil, Molto rosso (from Pinot Nero grapes) and Molto bianco (from Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi grapes) wines, as well as pasta by Verrigni.

Molto is open Tuesday to Sunday from 9 am to 7 pm
Piazzale Scipione Borghese 5, 00197 Roma

More dining in museums

Eating in museums is no longer a taboo topic, as proven by the many new openings. From city to city, from museum to gallery, projects are on the rise.

Staying in Rome, there is also the renewed Caffè Doria at Palazzo Doria Pamphilj, café and bistro flanked by special events and dinners. Caffè Doria is the place where art, food and passions come together in the refined and evocative setting of Palazzo Doria Pamphilj.

A Bistro in perfect harmony between contemporaneity and classicism, where the cuisine travels in perfect balance and synthesis between tradition and innovation, always faithful to Chef Massimiliano Mazzotta’s concept of “Comfort Food”. This elegant café can be enjoyed right from breakfast. A precious and cozy living room in the historic center of Rome, where you can indulge in your passions until after dinner, when even the Mixology finds its perfect connotation thanks to the exclusive Gin Trolley.

Caffè Doria is open Tuesday to Sunday from 8 am to 9 pm
Palazzo Doria Pamphilj, Via della Gatta 1, 00186 Roma

Also new is Roland at Spazio Field, art gallery and multicultural center inside Brancaccio Palace. Roland’s elegant setting is immersed in the works of art and original decorations of the building. The rooms of Roland are adorned with stuccoes and canvases from the 1400s and house the drawings of Francesco Gai, historical artist of the Brancaccio family as well as ancient oriental embroidered silks.

Roland is open Tuesday to Sunday from 11 am to 12 am
Via Merulana, 248, 00184 Roma

In Tuscany, the synergies of Massimo Bottura & Co with Gucci, led to the opening of Gucci Osteria at the Gucci Museum in Florence, now also a cocktail bar, led by Karime Lopez. She creates her own culinary universe by interlacing the colors and flavors of Italy and beyond.

Gucci Osteria is open daily from 12.30 pm to 3 pm and 19.30 pm and 10 pm
Piazza Della Signoria 10, 50122 Firenze

Also in Florence, is the Cortese Cafè 900 at the Museo Novecento, the raw pastry shop by Vito Cortese. Chocolate, biscuits, pralines, spoon desserts and ice cream, all strictly without flour, milk, eggs, yeast and sugar. Vito Cortese, the most important raw-food pastry chef in Italy, has opened his gourmet restaurant in the heart of Florence, in the new spaces of the Museo Novecento café overlooking Piazza Santa Maria Novella.

Cortese Cafè 900 is open daily from 8 am to 8 pm
Piazza Santa Maria Novella 10, 50123 Firenze

At the Centro Pecci in Prato there is Angiolo Barni who manages the two souls of Myo, restaurant and bistro. The restaurant is inside the Pecci Museum, a center for contemporary art. The location is beautiful, the tones enhanced by works that are hosted inside the restaurant.

Myo is open Tuesday to Saturday from 12.30 pm to 2.30 pm and 8 pm to 10.45 pm;
Sunday from 12.30 pm to 2.30 pm
Viale della Repubblica 277, 59100 Prato

After years at the Lucca Center of Contemporary Art, Cristiano Tomei moved his restaurant L’Imbuto in 2018 to Palazzo Pfanner, well known for being the set of the movie ‘Marchese del Grillo’. You could go to L’Imbuto and ask for the same dish, but each time you will find a landscape with new details. Chef Cristiano Tomei’s surprises are renewed every day, and they are unpredictable. The wine cellar in turn seeks out exciting labels, singular vintages and vintners devoted to biodynamics.

Ristorante l’Imbuto is open Wednesday to Sunday from 12.30 pm to 2 pm and 7.30 pm to 9 pm
Piazza del Collegio 7, 55100 Lucca

In Milan, we have the Fondazione Prada’s Bar Luce café, designed by director Wes Anderson, featuring its unmistakable imprint that mixes pop and retro charm. Bar Luce recreates the atmosphere of a typical Milanese cafè. As explained by Anderson, “the approach I used to design this bar is exactly the opposite I usually use for the set designs of my movies. I tried to make it a bar you’d like to go to five times a week.

The café is located at the entrance building of Fondazione Prada. The range of colors, the formica furniture, the seats, the floor, and the wood wall panels are reminiscent of Italian popular culture and aesthetics from the 1950s and 1960s, echoing artistic decisions Anderson made for his short film Castello Cavalcanti (2013).

Bar Luce is open every day except Tuesday from 8.30 am to 8 pm; Saturday and Sunday 9 am to 8 pm
Largo Isarco 2, 20139 Milan

Turin ranges from the contemporary art with the Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo – which has entrusted Alessandro Mecca with the restaurant Spazio7 – to historical spaces such as the Reggia di Venaria, where chef Alfredo Russo is firmly at the helm of Dolce Stil Novo.

Spazio7 is a place where cuisine and art come together to create a gastronomic center with an eclectic and contemporary soul. 7 is a magical and spiritual number. 7 is synonymous with evolution. 7 is the lucky number that it was decided to associate with the name “Spazio”, inherited from the restaurant inaugurated at the same time as the birth of the Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo, where the restaurant is located. A restaurant, a cafeteria, a location for events: Spazio7 is this and much more. In 2018, the restaurant received a Michelin star.

Spazio7 is open Tuesday to Saturday from 7 pm to 10.30 pm; Sunday from 12.30 pm to 3 pm and
7 pm to 10.30 pm
Via Modane 20, 10141 Turin

Dolce Stil Novo is a unique trip between culinary pleasure and history’s emotion. Venaria Palace – an architectural, cultural, artistic masterpiece. A highly charming place which seizes and conquers with its beauty, stateliness and grandeur. On the last floor, just above Diana’s Gallery and one step below the sky, there is Dolce Stil Novo’s restaurant. It is the only restaurant inside a royal palace, with a breathtaking view over the Gardens, the Fishpond, the Courtyard of Honor and the Deer Fountain.

Dolce Stil Novo is open Tuesday from 7.30 pm to 10.30 pm; Wednesday to Saturday from 12.30 pm to 2.30 pm and 7.30 pm to 10.30 pm; Sunday from 12.30 pm to 2.30 pm
Piazza della Repubblica, 4 – Reggia di Venaria, 10078 Venaria Reale

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Celebrating fall

Delicate wisps of mist hang over the lake, mysteriously shrouding promenades and islands. Forests glow red-golden. Chestnuts, mushrooms and pumpkins find their way into the kitchens. This is when fall is celebrated on Lago Maggiore!

After the summer hustle and bustle, peace and quiet returns. Everyday life shifts down a gear. The gardens, vineyards and forests are ready for harvesting. Apples, pomegranates, grapes, pumpkins, mushrooms – here, on the southern edge of the Alps, nature is generous and provides plentiful goodies. Some are eaten directly; others are first refined in cellars and kitchens.

A major culinary highlight in the region are chestnuts. Evenings with family and friends gathering around the fireplace to roast chestnuts and enjoy them with a glass of wine are among the traditions that people still enjoy today. In restaurants and agritourism, chefs treat their guests to chestnut gnocchi, chestnut stew and other creations that make use of the nutritious fruit from the prickly shell.

Time for gourmet feasts

Fall in the Lake Maggiore region is also the time of the “Sagre”. Especially in the mountainous countryside, the culinary folk festivals are celebrated. Seasonal products such as pumpkins, chestnuts, potatoes or mushrooms take center stage. The delicacies can be enjoyed at long tables in open air. The Corona pandemic has not made planning easy. But, plan for next year to enjoy these “gourmet feasts”.

Formazza, in the area of the Ossola valleys in the northwestern backcountry of Lake Maggiore, celebrates the Walser Häpfla Festival at the beginning of October. Everything revolves around the excellent potatoes of this mountainous region. Visitors can taste the “Häpfla” in the most diverse variations. Gnocchi are just as important as Prata Häpfla (Rösti) and sweet dishes made from potato flour. The festival is dedicated to the Walsers as they were the ones who settled here centuries ago. Ancient Walser houses can be admired in this area even today.

Highlight at high altitude

Alpine cattle of various breeds will be meeting in the neighboring Vigezzo Valley at the beginning of October. At the same time, a large farmers’ market will be held in the valley, which stretches from the Italian-Swiss border down to Domodossola in Piedmont. Everything revolves around pumpkins on the third weekend in October. Then the municipality of Santa Maria Maggiore invites to its pumpkin festival Fuori di Zucca. Culinary delights go hand in hand with culture. Regional artists present their works in small exhibitions.

Valley residents and guests also celebrate the fall musically. If the weather is fine, Fabrizio Bosso and Alberto Gurrisi will play the trumpet and Hammond organ on the Piana di Vigezzo – a plateau 5,500 feet above sea level with a magnificent panorama. In case of rain, the concert, which everyone can attend for free (this year only with prior registration), will take place in the church of Santa Maria Maggiore.

Fall magic on the panorama train

The colorful forests of the region can be experienced as comfortably as spectacularly on board the “treno del foliage“. The panoramic train runs on the Vigezzina-Centovalli railroad line between Domodossola in Italy and Locarno in Switzerland. One of the stops where passengers can break the journey is Santa Maria Maggiore – there is no more atmospheric journey to the Pumpkin Festival or the Autumn Concert.

Autumn cuisine naturally includes good wine. The province of Novara, which stretches along the southern end of the lake, is one of Italy’s best-known wine-growing regions. The hills of Novara produce numerous DOC wines, including the spicy, ruby-red Spanna made from Nebbiolo, Vespolina and Uva Rara grapes. The wines owe their character to the special climatic conditions. The air currents between the Alps and the Lago provide natural ventilation, while the frequently flooded rice fields of the province of Novara ensure high humidity. The center of the wine region is the medieval town of Ghemme. The place name refers to a Celtic tribe that practiced viticulture here centuries before the Christian era.

Further information: www.visit-lakemaggiore.com

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