From volcanic winemaking to lemon-scented hikes: Travel to these winning Italian villages
Italy’s countryside is peppered with villages wealthy in architectural marvels, gastronomic delights and arcane cultural traditions.
Annually, these little-known treasures compete for nationwide recognition by means of ‘Borgo dei Borghi’ (Village of Villages), a beloved tv contest that has grow to be a cultural phenomenon.
Organised by RAI, Italy’s nationwide public broadcasting firm, the annual competitors is broadcast in weekly episodes that flip the highlight on every of the 20 chosen villages.
The programme has grow to be a type of journey inspiration because it recounts legends, curiosities and rituals that make every village one-of-a-kind.
Listed below are this yr’s winners – chosen by viewers and an knowledgeable jury of historians and tourism professionals – and why you must add them to your subsequent Italy journey itinerary.
Marvel at Baroque grandeur in Militello in Val di Catania, Sicily
Mendacity on the northern slopes of the Iblei Mountains, winner Militello in Val di Catania is an exemplar of Sicilian baroque artistry and concrete planning.
The village of just below 7,000 inhabitants is included in UNESCO‘s designation of late Baroque cities of the Val di Noto.
Following the devastating earthquake of 1693 that destroyed a lot of southeastern Sicily, Militello was rebuilt in accordance with the baroque aesthetic rules of the period, leading to an city panorama that appears like an open-air museum of 18th-century design.
The village is dwelling to greater than 20 church buildings with elaborate stone facades crowded with cherubs, saints, and complex floral motifs.
Militello can also be dwelling to quite a few aristocratic villas and palaces that when housed the noble households who formed the village’s growth.
The village‘s cultural life can also be plentiful, with saints’ day festivals involving processions, conventional music performances, and communal meals.
Militello’s victory marks Sicily’s fifth triumph within the Borgo dei Borghi competitors, following earlier wins by Gangi, Montalbano Elicona, Sambuca di Sicilia, and Petralia Soprana.
Discover the palatial fort of Agliè, Piedmont
Heading as much as the northern province of Turin, runner-up Agliè is characterised by each aristocratic grandeur and quotidian village life.
The centrepiece is the Castello di Agliè, a palatial complicated that types a part of UNESCO’s Savoy Residences designation.
The magnificent construction of imposing facades, elaborate gardens, and richly embellished interiors served as one of many main residences of the Home of Savoy, the royal household that dominated the Kingdom of Sardinia and later the unified Kingdom of Italy.
The fort types the center of the village, surrounded by historic piazzas which are nonetheless the setting for weekly markets, seasonal festivals, and each day social interactions.
The village gained further fame as the first filming location for ‘Elisa di Rivombrosa’, a well-liked Italian historic drama sequence.
Uncover historic winemaking in Vignanello, Lazio
Third spot went to Vignanello, which exemplifies the subtle architectural and agricultural traditions of northern Lazio.
The village’s declare to fame rests totally on the Castello Ruspoli, a Renaissance masterpiece whose gardens symbolize among the best examples of Italian panorama design from the Sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.
Vignanello can also be famend for its time-honoured winemaking traditions. The volcanic soils of the area, enriched by centuries of pure mineral deposits, present ideally suited circumstances for viticulture.
The annual grape harvest competition is a grand celebration for the village, that includes wine tastings and meals pairings in addition to historic reenactments.
Discover at wild nationwide park from Aieta, Calabria
Excessive within the mountains of Calabria, Aieta lies within the untamed wilderness of the Pollino Nationwide Park.
At over 500 metres of elevation, the medieval village instructions lofty views over the Tyrrhenian Sea – its title is appropriately derived from the Greek phrase for eagle.
Aieta’s medieval character stays remarkably intact, with slender stone streets winding between homes constructed from native stone.
The village’s Sixteenth-century Renaissance palace stands as a testomony to the wealth and cultural sophistication that even small mountain communities might obtain throughout Italy’s golden age of artwork and structure.
The situation inside Pollino Nationwide Park makes Aieta a super base for exploring its historic forests, deep gorges carved by speeding streams, and mountain peaks that present habitat for uncommon wildlife, together with wolves, eagles, and endemic vegetation.
Discover peace amongst lemon groves in Maiori, Campania
Whereas the Amalfi Coast attracts hundreds of thousands of holiday makers yearly to its well-known locations like Positano and Amalfi, Maiori affords a extra tranquil various.
The village has an expansive seaside, uncommon alongside a shoreline usually characterised by small coves and dramatic cliffs.
Behind the sweep of sand rise the village’s vibrant buildings and lemon groves that climb the steep hillsides threaded by means of with mountaineering routes.
Go to the Abbey of Santa Maria de Olearia, a outstanding non secular complicated carved instantly into the coastal rock face. Inside are frescoed chapels and meditation areas hewn instantly from the cliff.
Maiori’s lemon groves symbolize not simply agricultural exercise however a cultural custom that has formed the panorama and economic system of the Amalfi Coast for hundreds of years.
These terraced gardens, supported by stone partitions constructed with out mortar, are a rare instance of sustainable agriculture that maximises productiveness whereas preserving the pure fantastic thing about the steep coastal terrain.
