Italy - comfortable smaller cities to relax in

[TexasPE]

in the late '80s I saw the Trulli houses in Alberobello when driving from the Bari airport to Taranto on business. I was fascinated by the construction (now a UNESCO World Heritage Site).

https://anamericaninrome.com/wp/2019/11/the-trulli-houses-of-puglia/

 

[YVRRocketSurgery]

Forgot to mention that IF you plan on renting a car you might consider staying in an agritourism (sp).

We have done this a number of times. One outside Orvieto and other just outside Siena.

We stayed in Cinque Terre for a few days years ago. It was wonderful. My understanding it that it has since become a tourist zoo.

+1
We stayed at an agriturismo outside of Siena many years back and explored a number of towns/hilltowns in the region via rental car. That was one of our favourite trips even though we struggled a bit with maps and a spotty GPS solution off my iPaq. I'm looking forward to redoing that trip, this time with some help from Google Maps.

We've enjoyed Cinque Terra too but during shoulder season; so much less crowded. There were also so many interesting coastal towns we saw travelling from Nice towards Cinque Terra. Would love to check out all those towns on a future trip.

 

[explanade]

Stresa had a cable car tragedy a month or two ago.

Criminal negligence by operato.

 

[Bamaman]

Forgot to mention that IF you plan on renting a car you might consider staying in an agritourism (sp).

We have done this a number of times. One outside Orvieto and other just outside Siena. We stayed in Cinque Terre for a few days years ago. It was wonderful. My understanding it that it has since become a tourist zoo.

The bottom line is that there are endless possibilities. It may be dependent on whether you plan to rent a car or use rail .

With the exception of Sicily train routes (they often run late in our experience), Italian mainland rail is excellent, reliable, and inexpensive depending on the type of train you select)

Sorrento and the Amalfi Coast is a very popular place, but it's extremely busy. I prefer small cities in close proximity to large cities.

We've stayed in the very beautiful Orvieto, and it's just a 70 minute train ride north of Rome. We've also stayed in Zagarolo which is 20 minutes south of Rome at OliveTreeHill.com--close to Palestrina. There's as much to see outside Rome as there is within the city center. Farther north, we've stayed outside San Gimignano, an especially popular hilltown 30 minutes south of Florence.

If you're looking to slow down and enjoy Italy, an agriturismo is the way to do it. It really takes a rental car to take in all they have to offer, however driving in Italy is no problem with good roads. Google Agriturismo and you'll find that virtually every farm in many regions have rental rooms and apartments for secondary income. Booking.com has so many 9.0+ rated agriturismos listed too.

We'll use the agriturismo to sleep in, and ramble through the countryside visiting other great small towns--like Volterra and Certaldo.

2020-2021 have been difficult as it's taken us travelers off the road. Our 4/2020, flights to Europe were cancelled, and we're really itching to go back to Italy. I've lost count of our trips there, but I've been to Venice 8 times alone. Italy's also a great place to spend a week after taking a cruise around the Eastern Med (Greek Islands.)

 

[brett]

We have been to Italy a number of times. Our experience is that we enjoy it more if we spend time in one area vs. rushing about.

If you choose to rent a car do it when you are leaving a larger city that has restrictions or pick it up as you are leaving.

If you do not want to drive, get a guide book. Determine where you want to go and then look at the rail links.

As an example, if you go to Florence you can spend time there, take the local bus up to Fiesole for an afternoon/sunset or take a short bus ride to Siena for the day.
.
You can go to Pisa by rail, stopping at the wonderful walled city of Lucca for a few days. We do not stay in Pisa. We stay in Lucca, then take the 15 minute rail trip to the tower area (before Pisa Centrale).

You can do similar trips in various parts of Italy than incorporate diffent stops. Sorrento/Amalfi coast is another. One of our best times was renting a car and spending 10 days wandering around smaller towns in Umbria/Tuscany.

The possibilities are endless. We typically travel for 6-8 weeks. IF I am thinking of a country that my spouse is not sure of I make certain to include time in Italy. That always clinches the deal.

 

[jcfradio]

in the late '80s I saw the Trulli houses in Alberobello when driving from the Bari airport to Taranto on business. I was fascinated by the construction (now a UNESCO World Heritage Site).

https://anamericaninrome.com/wp/2019/11/the-trulli-houses-of-puglia/

We like getting away from the major tourist areas and stay in the less visited areas. Personally, I found Florence way too crowded even in the shoulder season. We spent a week there which was about 5 days more than I needed.

We loved the Puglia, Abruzzo and Molise regions in the south (especially when there was a person from one of those regions with us when we travelled). While in Puglia we based ourselves in Monopoli on the Adriatic coast. It's a nice little city of about 50,000 people and is central for day trips with a car. We also enjoyed staying in a small 3 unit villa, which we had all to ourselves in the hills of Guglionesi, Molise. Another nice small university city is Perugia in Umbria.

 

[Spudd]

Sorrento is a very nice town and it's a fairly short train ride to Herculaneum and Pompeii, both of which rank among the best things I've done in my life. I probably wouldn't do them both in a single trip as they are quite similar to one another. If I had to pick just one, I think I'd pick Herculaneum, but it would be a close call.

You can also take the train to Naples as a day trip. But I didn't care much for Naples. The Neapolitan pizza was good, though. But I'm sure the pizza in Sorrento is similar, haha.

 

[NW-Bound]

This 1983 pop song definitely belongs in this thread.

It is a hit called "L'Italiano" (The Italian) by Toto Cutugno. The song was adapted in many countries with lyrics written to the tune in different languages, but with completely different meanings.

 

[Golden sunsets]

+1

We stayed at an agriturismo outside of Siena many years back and explored a number of towns/hilltowns in the region via rental car. That was one of our favourite trips even though we struggled a bit with maps and a spotty GPS solution off my iPaq. I'm looking forward to redoing that trip, this time with some help from Google Maps.



We've enjoyed Cinque Terra too but during shoulder season; so much less crowded. There were also so many interesting coastal towns we saw travelling from Nice towards Cinque Terra. Would love to check out all those towns on a future trip.

+1 on staying at an Agritoirismo outside of Siena and visiting other smaller towns in the region like San Gimiagno, Montalcino, Montipulciano and of course Siena.

Sorento/Positano/Capri is crazy busy during the summer.

Umbria is lovely as well. We stayed outside of Puglia in a former castle and visited several smaller towns, including some known for their pottery.

 

[brett]

+1 on staying at an Agritoirismo outside of Siena and visiting other smaller towns in the region like San Gimiagno, Montalcino, Montipulciano and of course Siena.

Sorento/Positano/Capri is crazy busy during the summer.

Umbria is lovely as well. We stayed outside of Puglia in a former castle and visited several smaller towns, including some known for their pottery.

We have done exactly this a number of times. So relaxing after five or six days in Rome, Florence or Venice. We typically rent a car, one way drop, when we leave Florence and do this.

 

[Jenna]

Oriveto, Sienna was a little to touristy for us, loved Assisi, so many lovely small hill towns to visit. Oh Deruta for the hand painted dishes, you can visit the "factories" and see them hand painted. The good quality ones are around $45+ for a tiny side plate. We were there in November and it was so amazing. You can't go wrong with Italy.

 

[NW-Bound]

Many posters mentioned Orvieto. We have not stayed at Orvieto, but made a day trip to there in 2017 when we stayed at a hamlet about 12 miles away, called Lubriano.

What drew me to Lubriano was the nearby Civita di Bagnoregio, the smallest hilltown of Italy. There's lodging there if someone wants to spend the night. It would be a quite unique experience, as it would be near deserted and quiet.

 

[explanade]

You'd have to drag your luggage up that bridge?

 

[NW-Bound]

^^^ Bring a suitcase with wheels. Easier to push up the bridge. When leaving, you can ride the suitcase going down.

I read about a small restaurant owner having trouble keeping hired help. They could not keep going up the bridge everyday to go to work, and did not last long.

The inhabitants of the town, 12 of them, are allowed to use a small motorized vehicle to transport goods. I imagine the inn owner can come and get you and your luggage if you call.

I happened to encounter this small truck in my visit. The driver stopped, and let me squeeze by. I think that's safer than he driving by and possibly running over my feet or hit me. I turned around and snapped the following photo.

PS. I saw a few elderly tourists who just stood at the foot of the bridge looking up and shaking their head. They knew they would not be able to make it.

 

[Chuckanut]

What drew me to Lubriano was the nearby Civita di Bagnoregio, the smallest hilltown of Italy. There's lodging there if someone wants to spend the night. It would be a quite unique experience, as it would be near deserted and quiet.

I was in Civita di Bangnoregio nearly 20 years ago. I was surprised to find a small sign next to the door telling me this buiding was used by the University of Washington in Seattle. !!?!?!!? Apparently, the UW has a Roman architecture program that reached out to help restore this unique small town. Here's the rest of the story:

From the late 1960s onward, Zarina and Heywood worked to restore numerous buildings in Civita di Bagnoregio, an ancient town 60 miles north of Rome. The buildings, including the latest restored in 2007, served as headquarters for the UW Italian Hilltowns program.

I ended up taking a backyard tour of one home that was owned by a very nice elderly lady. She had a marvelous view to say the least. Cost of the tour was one euro.

 

[brett]

You'd have to drag your luggage up that bridge?

This is one of the reasons why we switched to carry on only. Small hotels where we had to walk up three flights or where we had to carry our bags along a cobbled street to get to our hotel. Or lift them up and down on Italian trains, or on and off ferrys.

It made our travels much less complicated and far more enjoyable.

 

[NW-Bound]

I was in Civita di Bangnoregio nearly 20 years ago. I was surprised to find a small sign next to the door telling me this buiding was used by the University of Washington in Seattle. !!?!?!!? Apparently, the UW has a Roman architecture program that reached out to help restore this unique small town. Here's the rest of the story:

I ended up taking a backyard tour of one home that was owned by a very nice elderly lady. She had a marvelous view to say the least. Cost of the tour was one euro.

Wow, you were there early. Civita has become a hot spot for tourists. And they have charged a visit fee to raise money for maintenance and other improvements.

In 2010, there were 40,000 visitors. In 2017, perhaps we were early in the season and it was not crowded at all as the photos show, but there were 850K visitors. Prior to Covid, 2019 saw 1 million visitors. For comparison, the huge Grand Canyon NP saw 6 million visitors/year.

I did not realize we were lucky to be there early, in May.

PS. They now charge an entry fee of 5 euros/person. I don't remember how much we paid, but it was definitely not that much.

 

[Golden sunsets]

We have done exactly this a number of times. So relaxing after five or six days in Rome, Florence or Venice. We typically rent a car, one way drop, when we leave Florence and do this.

Yep. That's what we did. Southern France has some similar areas in Provence that are delightful and the small boutique hotels (think Relais & Chateau) were wonderful.

 

[Chuckanut]

In 2010, there were 40,000 visitors. In 2017, perhaps we were early in the season and it was not crowded at all as the photos show, but there were 850K visitors. Prior to Covid, 2019 saw 1 million visitors. For comparison, the huge Grand Canyon NP saw 6 million visitors/year.
.

Yikes! Where do you put 1 million visitors a year in that small town? Do they walk on top of each other?

I was there in 2003. At that time there were a few people taking advantage of the few tourists by selling trinkets and food from a stand outside their house. I remember seeing one of those signs with pictures of about eight different factory made ice cream treats in big print with bold colors. I hoped that that type of visual pollution would not be permitted as it truly ruined the look of that lovely old town.


The photos from then are not that great by today's standards. They were film (Kodachrome 64) and then scanned and digitized. I'll post a few more in the photographer's corner.

 

[NW-Bound]

Yikes! Where do you put 1 million visitors a year in that small town? Do they walk on top of each other?

Yes. Visitors are stacked 10 deep.

The number I cited was from a travel article, and I would think they got it from the town officials. It's hard to believe, because Pisa gets 5 million visitors, and the ground in that square was crawling with visitors when I was there on the same trip in May. And the Pisa square is many times larger than Civita.

As Civita did not have that many visitors when I saw it, then, it had to make up for it during the peak months, which would make it a lot more crowded. Yet, when I searched the Web looking for tourists' photos and videos, I have yet to see one with a crazy crowd. It's a mystery.

I was there in 2003. At that time there were a few people taking advantage of the few tourists by selling trinkets and food from a stand outside their house. I remember seeing one of those signs with pictures of about eight different factory made ice cream treats in big print with bold colors. I hoped that that type of visual pollution would not be permitted as it truly ruined the look of that lovely old town.

As I recall, there were at least 1 restaurant and one gelateria there, and at least one souvenir shop. Not that many.

Perhaps people go there, look at the bridge, and give up without trying to walk up like some that I saw. But even on the other side of the bridge, the town of Bagnoregio was not crowded. Nothing like Orvieto, Montepulciano, or other towns I visited on the same trip. Of course Siena was a zoo, as I imagine it always is, let alone Florence.

So, where were those million visitors?

PS. OOPS. Never mind. I just saw a video showing tons of tourists trudging up the bridge. Don't know what month that was.

 

[Freedom56]

It is indeed a beautiful place; we stayed on the Isola dei Pescatori and loved it. I would also suggest Orta San Julio on Lago d'Orta and Bellagio on Lago di Como, which are similarly beautiful. But I suspect Chuckanut does not want to go that far North.

We stayed in Stresa at Hotel La Palma during the last three visits with half pension (breakfast and Dinner included). We drove there by car the last three times. The food was excellent. We had great view of Isola Bella from our room and balcony. We just bought ferry tickets to hop from one island to another. Bellagio is also nice and so is Garda. Isola Bella is one of the most breath taking places in Italy if not the world. We had lunch at Isola dei Pescatori a few times. Isola Madre is also pretty nice.

 

[Gumby]

We stayed in Stresa at Hotel La Palma during the last three visits with half pension (breakfast and Dinner included). We drove there by car the last three times. The food was excellent. We had great view of Isola Bella from our room and balcony. We just bought ferry tickets to hop from one island to another. Bellagio is also nice and so is Garda. Isola Bella is one of the most breath taking places in Italy if not the world. We had lunch at Isola dei Pescatori a few times. Isola Madre is also pretty nice.

If I had to pick the most breathtakingly beautiful spot in Italy, it would probably be a three-way tie: a) the Villa Balbianello in Lenno on Lake Como; b) the Villa San Michele on Capri; c) the Villa Cimbrone in Ravello. I could live happily in any of the three.

 

[Bamaman]

If I had to pick the most breathtakingly beautiful spot in Italy, it would probably be a three-way tie: a) the Villa Balbianello in Lenno on Lake Como; b) the Villa San Michele on Capri; c) the Villa Cimbrone in Ravello. I could live happily in any of the three.

My close friend lives in Lugano, Switzerland--just over the hill from Lake Como. He's expecting to get his Covid immunization in another month, and he's been locked down 15 months. But it's a great place to quarantine in.

My favorite place for sheer beauty in Italy is the Dolomite Mountains just north of Cortina d'Ampezzo. Northeast of there, the Grossglockner High Alpine Road is 12,343' elevation and it ends in Zell-Am-See, Austria.

 

[NW-Bound]

All this talk about interesting places make my travel feet itchy. One can spend a month just wandering around Northern Italy.

 

[oiseux]

I agree with the sentiment that it is very difficult to pick just one spot in Italy. And there is so much more to discover.



I will say that in the offseason, November through April, the experience really empties out in many of these popular locations.


One of my most memorable vistas was the fourth leg of the Cinque Terre trail, deep in the offseason with the olive nets out. The vistas down to the towns are incredible. You don't get the same experience without the hike.



The scala dei turchi is a really stunning piece of coast, especially from afar, right around the western corner, where there is a little restaurant on the beach.