This article showcases six lesser-known destinations in Italy, offering a glimpse into the country's authentic beauty and culture. From a remote lake nestled in Lazio to a ghost town shaped like a giant hand, these hidden gems provide a unique and unforgettable travel experience.
Want to visit Italy but have been put off by the idea of peak-season tourist crowds surging through Rome, Florence and Venice? Can’t afford the ever-increasing prices of hot spots such as Capri or Tuscany? Don’t worry. There’s far more to Italy than the places that usually feature on travel itineraries. Explore a little farther, and there are scores of extraordinary places where tourists are a rare sight.
They might require a little extra effort to reach, but these secret spots where traditions and old lifestyles survive offer a chance to experience the authentic soul of Italy. Here are some of the best. Lake Posta Fibreno (Lazio) To get here, you need to get lost in the isolated area of Ciociaria, a wild terrain once known for banditry. It straddles the regions of Lazio and Campania, just south of Rome. Posta Fibreno is a tiny, isolated hamlet, in the province of Frosinone, which feels magically frozen in time. Surrounded by fields of grazing sheep, it consists of just a few farmhouses, a bar and a fish tavern. The main highlight is its dreamy lake dotted with water lilies, a beautiful setting that seems imported from somewhere far more exotic than this lost corner of Italy. Ancient liana trees dangle their branches into the sparkling green water as friendly geese and swans drift by. There are paddle boats and dinghies for rental to explore the lake, and soft grass to lie down on for a waterfront picnic. It’s a great place to mingle with locals, relaxing and strolling along the lake shores. San Candido (Trentino-Alto Adige/Süd Tirol) The first thing that greets visitors in this Alpine village that straddles Italy’s border with Austria is the sweet scent of warm strudel and orange punch, sold at the stands of an open-air market of cured meats and wool-lined clogs. Located in Trentino Alto Adige (or Sud Tiröl for German speakers, who call the village Innichen), San Candido barely feels like Italy, something that’s compounded by the fact hardly anyone here speaks Italian. This skiing haven was once part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire until it was annexed by dictator Benito Mussolini, but locals are still proud of their Teutonic origins. Narrow cobbled streets connect frescoed, pastel-color cottages with painted images of giants, warriors, forest monsters, snow queens and dwarves who, according to local lore, sprayed the peaks of the surrounding Dolomites with pink crystals. Millennia ago, San Candido’s location was once underwater in a tropical ocean, and its skiing slopes are a former coral reef. The local museum showcases dinosaur fossils unearthed on the nearby glaciers. Calcata (Lazio) There’s been a settlement at what is now one of the Lazio region’s best-kept secrets since prehistoric times. Modern-day Romans know about Calcata, escaping their city for detox day trips when it all gets a bit too much. The scenery is spellbinding. This tiny hamlet is perched precariously over a precipice — first-time visitors could be forgiven for thinking it’s about to slide down the rust-coloured cliffs it sits on, plunging into a deep chasm covered with woods. Below is a pristine river where pagan tribes once carried out human sacrifices. One narrow path leads to a stone arched entrance. Here, ancient cave dwellings cut out from the rock are barely distinguishable from naturally formed features. The hamlet, where a hippie community has flourished over the years, is a car-free labyrinth of moss-covered cobbled alleyways, tunnels and wall openings that overlook the thick jungle-like canyon. Mount Circeo (Lazio) Located along the coast between Rome and Naples, Cicero rises up into the sky and stretches out into the Tyrrhenian Sea. The alluring peak has been worshipped as a sacred promontory since the dawn of time. It’s said our cave-dwelling ancestors made human sacrifices here, and even carried out acts of cannibalism. A few skulls have been unearthed in its sea grottoes. Don’t let that put you off. Mount Circeo is a protected natural reserve that’s great for trekking, canoeing and snorkelling. It’s surrounded by pristine beaches and lakes as well as pastureland tended by grazing buffalo, watermelon fields and kiwi plantations, Ancient Romans loved to come here to detox in lavish villas and thermal baths. It’s claimed that, in Homer’s classical poem “The Odyssey,” it’s where sorceress Circe bewitched Odysseus, turning his men into pigs. Locals claim that the mount has the shape of a sleeping woman. Today, locals still like to joke that thick woodland here is inhabited by dozens of wild boars. Pentedattilo (Calabria) Italy is dotted with some 20,000 ghost towns but Pentedattilo is probably one of the most fascinating. Located in deep rural Calabria (the toe of Italy’s boot), it can be easily explored on foot. It rises on the slopes of rocky Mount Calvario, shaped like a giant hand with five fat fingers pointing to the sky (In Greek Pentedattilo means “five fingers”
Italy Travel Hidden Gems Secret Spots Off The Beaten Path Lake Posta Fibreno San Candido Calcata Mount Circeo Pentedattilo
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