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Saturday, July 27, 2024
Best Small Towns in Italy
Orta San Giulio, Italy (cc)
Photo: Ian Spackman
The 10 Best Small Towns in Italy
[ Pages of interest: Great Cathedrals of Italy and Great Castles of Italy ]
Bellagio
Picturesque old town on Lake Como, significant as the first Italian tourist resort to draw international crowds. A highlight of any visit to Bellagio is the lovely old Villa Melzi d'Eril, a prominent lakeside mansion with lavish, English-style gardens tumbling down to the water's edge. There are several splendid, family-owned hotels here, and good choices for eating out.
Location: Lombardy
Population: 3,000
Orta San Giulio
Delightful lakeside village on Lake Orta, crisscrossed by cobblestone alleys lined with atmospheric old villas. The village is overlooked by the dramatic Sacro Monte, a site of both pilgrimage and tourism, with a tiny island just offshore, Isola San Giulio. Friedrich Nietzsche visited the village in 1882.
Location: Piedmont, 65 miles (100 km) northeast of Turin
Population: 1,200
Sirmione
Small, ancient resort town on Lake Garda, famous for its thermal springs, Roman ruins and a 13th-century castle where you can still see the original medieval port fortifications. There are also a couple of old churches here worth seeing, decorated with frescoes from the 12th through 16th centuries, and an atmospheric old town center.
Location: Lombardy
Population: 7,800
Portofino
Location: Liguria
Population: 500
Orvieto
Location: Umbria
Population: 21,100
Ravello
Location: Amalfi Coast, Campania
Population: 2,500
Urbino
Location: Marche
Population: 15,600
San Quirico d'Orcia
Small, flavorful town in the picturesque Val d’Orcia region of Tuscany.
Location: Tuscany
Population: 2,500
Pienza
Location: Tuscany
Population: 2,300
Matera
Location: Basilicata
Population: 60,400
Como
Walled, pre-Roman-era lakeside town at the foot of the Alps, with well-kept, affluent homes on the stepped hillsides winding around cobbled, pedestrian-only streets. The town sits on the shores of Lake Como and is a hugely popular tourist destination. No dearth of good restaurants, shops, first-class museums and galleries, old churches, palaces and delightful parks.
Location: Lombardy
Population: 85,000
© Indian Chief Travel Guides
Last updated November 11, 2013
Posted in Italy | Great Towns of Italy
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