20 of the most effective ‘secret’ locations to remain in Italy | Italy holidays

Woodland cottage with sea view in northern Sicily

Terre di Bea is a standard Sicilian cottage in a secluded forest reserve within the Madonie pure park. It has lately been restored with native stone, chestnut beams and historical clay tiles, and embellished with items by Sicilian artists and craftspeople. The main focus is on outside dwelling: there’s a pool and terrace with hammock and solar loungers, an outside lounge, a lined outside kitchen and a eating space (there may be an indoor kitchen and lounge, too). Inside, the lovable, vibrant cottage has two bedrooms and two bogs. Company can go mountain climbing within the park, drive 10 minutes to the seashore or go to the close by medieval city of Cefalù.
From €399 an evening, sleeps 5, coolstays.com

Villa with pool in southern Sicily

Casa d’Eraclea is a contemporary villa in a serene nook of the island. The spotlight is the gorgeous infinity pool overlooking the Bay of Eraclea (the sandy seashore is 500 metres away). There’s a terraced backyard and a decked space across the pool with solar loungers and hammocks. The lined veranda has a eating desk and a barbecue, and there’s a first-floor terrace with sweeping sea views. The villa is open-plan and has two double rooms, two singles and two bogs. The archaeological website of Heraclea Minoa is close by, and the Unesco world heritage website Valley of the Temples at Agrigento is simply 15 miles away.
From £2,484 for 5 nights, sleeps six, villatravellers.com

Villa with pool and mountain views in Sardinia

Casa Querce is in an unspoilt space of southern Sardinia, close to the city of Pula and half an hour’s drive from Cagliari. One of many villa’s standout options is its intensive, fantastically saved grounds, with swimming pool, pond, lawns, rock backyard, mature shrubs and timber – and mountain views. The one-storey home sleeps 4 and has a split-level lounge, a kitchen that opens on to the terrace, a double room with en suite, and a twin room and toilet. There’s a barbecue and a welcome pack of Sardinian wine, beer and snacks. Close by sights embody the Roman ruins at Nora and three sandy seashores.
From £1,320 for seven nights for 4 sharing, sardinianplaces.co.uk

Waterfront hostel in Sardinia

MuMa, on the island of Sant’Antioco off southern Sardinia (reached by a causeway), calls itself a hostel however is mostly a brilliant finances lodge. There are 16 triple and quad rooms and 16 doubles – some with sea views. All have non-public bogs, minimalist decor and sea-themed murals by native artists. The waterfront constructing is shared with the Museum of the Sea and Shipwrights. Breakfast – eaten within the cafe or backyard – is an enormous deal, with truffles, muffins and pies baked each morning, served with native jam, honey and yoghurt. Company can discover the Santa Caterina lagoon and Sant’Antioco salt pans on foot, or rent bikes, guide a canoe journey or go along with a birdwatching information.
Doubles from €59 B&B, quads from €94, mumahostel.it

Atmospheric stone-built B&B in Basilicata

La Voce del Fiume (the voice of the river) is a luxurious B&B close to the speeding waters of the Melandro within the medieval village of Brienza. There are six rooms and a set, all with uncovered rock partitions, vintage furnishings and classic prints. The suite has unique beams, shutters and a bread oven, plus a terrace. Breakfast might be eaten within the backyard, overlooking the valley, and consists of a number of home made and regional produce. This can be a ski space within the winter, and friends can guide excursions on foot or bike (with a packed lunch) and open-air massages. Caracciolo Fortress is a five-minute stroll away, and the B&B is true by the doorway to the Appennino Lucano-Val d’Agri-Lagonegrese nationwide park.
Doubles from €110 B&B, lavocedelfiume.it

Romantic cottage in Puglia

Casa Rosanna is a lately restored one-bedroom cottage with loads of outside house unfold throughout backyard, pool, terrace and balcony. The backyard has an olive grove, solar loungers and a hammock by the pool, and the terrace and balcony every have eating tables and sea views. The cottage is gentle and calm, with stone flooring and carved picket furnishings. The bottom flooring is open-plan and the bed room and en suite bathe room are upstairs. The home is in a peaceable a part of the Valle d’Itria, a brief drive from characterful cities Cisternino, Alberobello and Locorotondo.
From €1,208 every week, simpsontravel.com

Glamping amongst vineyards in Puglia

Scandi-style glampsite Nordisk Village is inside the walled grounds of the historic Masseria Cuturi wine property, close to Manduria and Puglia’s Ionian coast. Six spacious cotton tents, every with a double mattress and two singles, sit in a clearing in an historical oak forest. Campers share a pool, bathe block, bar and rest room. A breakfast of native produce is served on the terrace of the Seventeenth-century farmhouse, overlooking the olive groves and vineyards. Company can guide guided wine tastings, foraging and biking excursions, and it’s a 10-minute drive to the closest white-sand seashores.
From €173 an evening B&B for 4, hostunusual.com

Mountain hut above the Amalfi coast

This stretch of coast south of Naples is among the many most touristy in Italy, however solely a fraction of the guests to its cities and seashores enterprise into the mountains close by. The Alta By way of dei Monti Lattari is a six-day, 55-mile trek alongside the ridge of the Lattari mountains, with views of the coast, Vesuvius and Naples. Walkers keep in mountain huts, together with Rifugio di Santa Maria dei Monti, which dates from the 1800s, has 13 beds and overlooks Amalfi, Ravello and Atrani. For a shorter stroll, drive to Agerola, a half-hour stroll from the hut; from Ravello or Scala it’s a 90-minute stroll.
Dorm beds from €30, breakfast and dinner obtainable, rifugiosantamaria.com. Per week’s trek with A lot Higher Adventures (muchbetteradventures.com) from £1,086pp

Cabin with pool in Abruzzo

The Pool Home is on an olive farm in hills above Pescara. Because the title suggests, this dinky cabin has its personal pool, with views of the rolling Maiella mountains. The open-plan house has massive home windows dealing with on to the pool, plus a woodburner and a freestanding bathtub. There’s a shady terrace with a eating desk and solar loungers. The proprietor, Tom, who’s from Somerset and moved to Italy within the mid-Nineties, produces biodynamic olive oil. Company might help with pruning in early spring, harvesting in late October and different duties on the farm. Tom can even recommend glorious mountain climbing and biking routes (there are two bikes on the cabin), and native excursions and tastings. The closest restaurant is half a mile away, and it’s about half-hour to seashores on the Adriatic coast.
From €262 an evening, sleeps 4, canopyandstars.co.uk

Glamping on an natural farm in Abruzzo

The lately opened Cirelli Wine Glamping website sits in the course of an natural, family-run farm. Two lodges, constructed from pine with canvas roofs, are surrounded by vineyards and olive groves. Every lodge has a terrace, kitchenette and en suite bathe room; each have double beds and mezzanines with one or two singles. Breakfast is dropped at the door, and there’s a “pay as you employ” fridge with wine and snacks. Company can take wine excursions and tastings, go to a close-by nature reserve or the historic city of Atri, or drive 9 miles to the coast.
From €165 an evening, sleeps 4, hostunusual.com

Convent turned ecoresort in Umbria

This historical convent turned farmhouse was deserted after the second world conflict, however is now an ecoresort, Il Cantico della Natura. The Seventeenth-century stone constructing has been restored and furnished with antiques and Umbrian materials. The six rooms and 6 suites are named after the months of the yr and impressed by the phases of rural life that characterise every month. The home is in an olive grove, surrounded by forest, overlooking Lake Trasimeno. There’s a pool with panoramic views, a vaulted restaurant, a spa and a meditation path by the gardens. It’s a half-hour drive to Perugia.
Doubles from €99 B&B, ecobnb.com

Organic agriturismo in Umbria

Agriturismo Podere le Olle offers B&B accommodation in two restored country houses on a farm in Montegabbione in Umbria. There is a large garden, a swimming pool and a wood. The farm produces organic olive oil, cereals, fruit and vegetables, many of which are served at breakfast. The spacious rooms either have views over the valley or out to the garden. The owners also run cooking holidays, which include all meals with wine, lessons, truffle hunting and trips to wineries and foodie towns. It is a 40-minute drive to Orvieto.
Doubles from €79 B&B, cooking holidays from £1,079pp for five days, responsibletravel.com

Period property in southern Tuscany

This semi-detached house is in Vivo d’Orcia, a hilltop village with a castle in southern Tuscany. The house is on a private estate; it opens on to a small square and has its own garden. A walled saltwater swimming pool at the end of a path through an orchard is shared with three other holiday homes. The old house has been sensitively restored and has a farmhouse kitchen, a living room with huge fireplace and a terracotta staircase. There is a twin bedroom and bathroom downstairs, and an en suite master bedroom and a single room upstairs. It is about half a mile from the village shop, bar and trattoria, and close to the hilltop towns of Pienza, Montalcino and Montepulciano.
From €1,190 a week, sleeps five, theluxurytravelbook.italy

Country pad for a crowd, Le Marche

Il Melograno is an ideal villa for big celebrations, sleeping 28 people over three properties: the listed farmhouse sleeps 18, a cottage and a barn five each. There is a large pool, panoramic roof terrace and a patio and barbecue area with seating for everyone, and the barn also has a large function room. There are two main kitchens and two additional ones, and 10 bathrooms. The hilltop villa is 15 minutes’ drive from the nearest Adriatic beaches, and 1½ miles from restaurants and shops. The owners can also cater, on request, and arrange yoga and pilates classes.
From €4,500 a week, groupaccommodation.com

15 | Hillside agriturismo in Le Marche

Truffle hunter Paolo has restored his grandparents’ farm north of Ascoli Piceno in Le Marche, and turned it into Agriturismo Ramusè. The grounds have stepped, vine-clad terraces, an oval pool and a stream – and lots of nesting boxes for birds. It is also home to donkeys, rabbits, hens, dogs and cats. Inside, there are stone floors, original beams, an open fire and traditional furniture. Paolo cooks dinner, which might include homemade tagliatelle and truffles from the hills, and serves it on long tables outside. Ascoli Piceno is between the Sibillini mountains and the Adriatic coast. Marche is generally quieter than neighbouring Tuscany and Umbria.
Doubles from €80 B&B, sawdays.co.uk

Medieval tower house in Emilia-Romagna

Intrepid guests can escape the modern world at this 15th-century Tower House in the Apennine foothills. According to the owners, it is on the site of a Celtic village, at the foot of an ancient necropolis, and is a “magical and wild place”. The tower is reached on foot or in an off-road vehicle, and has few mod cons. There is a woodburner, an outdoor tap and composting toilet; the shower is solar-powered and lighting is by lantern. It sleeps four, and guests have sole use of the tower and garden, which is surrounded by forest. Days can be spent trekking to castles and nights star-gazing; the nearest village, Polinago, is two miles away.
From €115 a night, two-night minimum, sleeps five, towerhousegombola.it

Country house in Piedmont wine country

The elegant, 18th-century Langhe Country House, near truffle capital Alba, has been restored by its architect owner, who lives in one wing. There are six spacious guest suites in the other wing, four with fireplaces, one with a Turkish bath. Most of the furniture has been sourced from local house sales, antique shops and markets. A high-end buffet breakfast is served in a converted barn. The house is in three hectares of vines and walnut and hazel groves, and has a pool. Bike hire is included, and the house is within cycling distance of the Unesco-listed medieval village of Neive. Transfers can be arranged from Asti or Turin stations.
Doubles from €160 B&B, coolstays.com

Social enterprise castle in Trentino

Castel Pergine, an imposing sight on top of a hill in the upper Sugana valley, began as a Roman settlement, became a castle in the 13th century and was turned into a hotel by a Swiss owner in the 1950s. Today, it is owned by a not-for-profit foundation that runs it as a hotel, restaurant and cultural venue. There are 14 rooms – most conserved as they were in 1910, with wood panelling and four-poster beds – plus three tower suites, a bistro, a fine-dining restaurant and grounds with walled gardens. The castle is within walking (about an hour) or cycling distance of Lakes Caldonazzo and Levico, which have beaches, and offer watersports and thermal spas.
Doubles from £1,180 B&B for seven nights, castelpergine.i

Boutique hotel with restaurant on the Ligurian coast

Moneglia is a quiet seaside town on the Italian riviera, halfway between the popular Cinque Terre and Portofino, and about 30 miles from Genoa. Villa Edera, has been run by the same family for 60 years, has a tranquil setting in the hills, but is only a five-minute walk from the town and beach. The 21-room, adults-only hotel is in Mediterranean grounds with an olive grove, orchard and kitchen garden, and has an outdoor pool. Breakfast is eaten on suspended gazebos overlooking the pool. Its Michelin-starred restaurant serves reimagined Ligurian dishes, while a bistro offers a family-style local menu as well as wine-tasting evenings with Ligurian tapas.
Doubles from €140, inntravel.co.uk

Art nouveau hotel with spa in South Tirol

Hotel Monte Sella is in the village of San Vigilio di Marebbe, up in the Dolomites. The 40 rooms all have mountain views and some have balconies. The restaurant serves local, organic food; there is free tea and cake daily, and a free weekly lunchtime barbecue. The spa has an indoor pool with garden views, plus a sauna and steam room. The hotel is 50 metres from lifts that, outside ski season, carry walkers and bikers to the higher mountain trails. Owners Cristina and Norbert take guests on strolls around the local area to learn about the wild herbs, or on walks in the Fanes-Sennes-Braies natural park.
Doubles from €234 B&B, monte-sella.com