Top Ten Italian Hidden Gems

When you've spent considerable time in Italy, gems reveal themselves everywhere. It's quite extraordinary. You make a list. You narrow the list. You check it twice, then remember that little place you should tell people about hoping it didn't get too full of trophy tourists (folks who just come to check a destination off a list). My favorite gems have more than a bit of glitter. They are places full of cultural enlightenment. They are places I want to live in, thrive in. Study.

So what is below consists of the ten places I think of very worthy of your consideration if you have more time in Italy that isn't spent in Rome, Florence, Venice or the Cinque Terre. They are listed in no particular order.

Cesenatico

You may never have heard of this little Adriatic gem of 20,000 hard-working folks, but bike racer Marco Pantani was born here and culinary icon Marcella Hazan started her life in Cesenatico as well. Leonardo da Vince surveyed and drew the canal that forms the watery backbone of the city and the Marine Museum is one of the most interesting of its kind. If you're lucky enough to be there during the Christmas season, Cesenatico features a famous Maritime Nativity scene set on ancient vessels with real sized statues; it's one of the most evocative Nativity scenes in Italy they tell me.

Lari

The roads of this little Tuscan gem ring around a hilltop castle, a town layout so pretty you might not notice that there's a pasta factory smack dab in the city center. Yes, every penne Martelli makes and puts in those very yellow bags comes from here--and you can visit free. As if that weren't enough, the castle has a very interesting self-guided tour that informs you graphically of the system of justice in place during the 16th century. Unlike other museums where torture centers around unimaginably horrid machines meant to get the battered and bloody victim to quickly say what the torture master wanted him to say, in Lari torture was just a part of the system; the alleged miscreant was tortured (just a little) as a normal part of interrogation while he was awaiting trial. If torture and justice isn't your cup of tea, well, Lari is known as "the cherry city". The big festival is held the first week of June.

Sassoferrato

Le Marche is a very up and coming region, and one of its gems, Sassoferrato might surprise you. Just at the edge of town there's a very important Roman archaeological site called Sentinum which lies along the Via Flaminia. The Romans defeated the combined forces of the Samnites and Gauls here in 295 BC, allowing the Romans to unify central Italy right up to the Adriatic coast. This battle was a big deal in the making of modern Italy. AND, you can stay right on the archaeological site. Yes, the Agriturismo Antico Muro is within the site boundaries--and if you eat there you may request one of the tables that sits on a sheet of glass under which the excavation is exposed. You can't do that in Cleveland, can you? The food is devine, by the way, and it's all local.

Gravina in Puglia

This gem of the south is overshadowed by the increasing fame of nearby Matera, but if you want enormous tourist value inside a city that doesn't lack for things to see, Gravina might be for you. The entire city is built from the underlying tuff. Landowners just dig out blocks, built a house, and used the space below to store water, wine or create workshop space. Take the underground tour to see these interesting cellars as well as some rupestrian churches built inside dug out caves. Walk the Roman Bridge, stay at the B&B Cattedral Suite right in the main square where we got a huge, modern apartment for 50 euro a night off season. [Find out more about Gravina in Puglia]

Portico di Romagna

Portico is one of those towns Americans wouldn't know about, but Italians tend to come every year. It's a city of artists and artisans, and the center of life in the village takes place at a hotel called Al Vecchio Convento, which serves as a nexus to connect the tourist with things going on locally. You can take cooking classes there, you can dance the night away on Wednesdays (see the video) you can put on your boots and look for truffles, or you can learn or brush up on your donkey driving skills (honest).

Bernalda

If you know Bernalda at all, you know it as the place where Francis Ford Coppola had his minions erect a luxury hotel called Palazzo Margherita in his grandfathers hometown. Many of us can't afford such a hotel, but that's no reason not to stay in this fab castled village in a prime spot in Basilicata that Mr. Coppola recommends often. Take a room at the Hotel Giardino Giamperduto, once a cheese making operation that churned out fresh ricotta and ricotta forte, and you're all set up at the very nexus of Basilicata's spread-out charms. The prime Roman site of Metaponto and the beaches are about a 15 minute car ride away. Even Matera is only 45 minutes away. The lonely and immensely interesting ghost town Craco is easily reachable. Italians spend weeks in Bernalda. It's inexpensive and there are many restaurants and bars, and as far as I can tell, they're all good. [More on Bernalda]

Gavoi and the Barbagia, Sardinia

The interior of Sardinia has been ignored by tourists in favor of the sweet, sandy beaches on the coast. Too bad. The belly of the beast is loaded with unique sites and passionate artisans--but to get access to them you'd have to be an intrepid and polyglot traveler indeed. One of the most innovative tourist initiatives I've see, Autonno in Barbagia--autumn in the Barbagia--is designed to create unprecidented access to the secrets of the artists, chefs, and artisans hidden inside unmarked homes and ateliers. A weekend spent in Gavoi is typical. The isolated village has a B&B with the best breakfast you'll ever have put in front of you, a group of drummers to wow you, an artisan knife maker who carefully crafts the knives the Sardinians are known for, a mask maker and much more. And you've never heard of it, have you?

Ascoli Piceno

The town known throughout Italy for its massive olives that are stuffed with meat before being breaded and deep fried is a wonder to walk through. Take a B&B just outside the walls, one with a view of the medieval towers, cross the Roman Bridge and enter the historic center through a Roman gate. You can't let your feet journey through more history than that in such a short distance, I'll bet. Head for the piazza that many, including your humble scribe, consider the most beautiful in all of Italy, the Piazza al Popolo, and have a drink or snack or even a famous Anisette at Meletti's, who've been in the piazza since 1870 and show no signs of leaving any time soon. Don't drink? No problem. They've put the flavor in a very fine gelato. This gem will save you so much money on food and lodging that you'll be able to stretch your vacation time to include this fabulous location, trust me.

Pitigliano

I've thrown a ringer in here. You probably know Pitigliano. It's a darned pretty city sitting on a ridge. Of course, inside the town you don't get the views as you do in the picture, but why not get out and take an excursion on Le Vie Cave, the "cave ways" dug out by Etruscans for no reasons anyone is sure about. Where else can you learn about the plight of Jews and their culture in Tuscany, then step out and try to solve the mystery of carved pathways?

Offida

If Pitigliano is a ringer, then Offida in the Le Marche region has to be the most hidden gem on the list. The village of just over 5,000 people is a wonder. There are plenty of museums--and they're all inside the same building for your convenience! but you'll want to walk around a bit and see the traditional Merletto a Tombolo, the pillow lace that the women of the village still make in the doorways of their homes (but don't miss the lace center along the main drag). But we're not done yet. Santa Maria della Rocca is an amazing Romanesque/Gothic church with an interior covered in frescoes. Take the front door and you'll enter through the crypt; the church is upstairs. I haven't even mentioned the cute little 19th century theater and the fine wines grown just outside the village. Mamma mia! [Find out more about Offida]

See a map of Italy showing these Italian gems.

So these are my picks. There are hundreds more hidden gems in Italy. What are your favorites? Tell us in the comments, Please!