From volcanic winemaking to lemon-scented hikes: Travel to these winning Italian villages

Italy's countryside is peppered pinch villages rich | successful architectural marvels, gastronomic delights and arcane taste traditions.

Each year, these little-known treasures compete for nationalist nickname done ‘Borgo dei Borghi’ (Village of Villages), a beloved tv title that has go a taste phenomenon.

Organised by RAI, Italy's nationalist national broadcasting company, nan yearly title is broadcast successful play episodes that move nan spotlight connected each of nan 20 selected villages.

The programme has go a shape of recreation inspiration arsenic it recounts legends, curiosities and rituals that make each colony one-of-a-kind.

Here are this year’s winners - chosen by viewers and an master assemblage of historians and tourism professionals - and why you should adhd them to your adjacent Italy travel itinerary.

Marvel astatine Baroque grandeur successful Militello successful Val di Catania, Sicily

Lying connected nan bluish slopes of nan Iblei Mountains, victor Militello successful Val di Catania is an exemplar of Sicilian baroque artistry and municipality planning.

The colony of conscionable nether 7,000 inhabitants is included successful UNESCO's nickname of precocious Baroque towns of nan Val di Noto.

Following nan devastating earthquake of 1693 that destroyed overmuch of southeastern Sicily, Militello was rebuilt according to nan baroque artistic principles of nan era, resulting successful an municipality scenery that feels for illustration an open-air depository of 18th-century design.

The colony is location to much than 20 churches pinch elaborate chromatic facades crowded pinch cherubs, saints, and intricate floral motifs.

Militello is besides location to galore aristocratic villas and palaces that erstwhile housed nan noble families who shaped nan village's development.

The village's taste life is besides abundant, pinch saints’ time festivals involving processions, accepted euphony performances, and communal meals.

Militello's triumph marks Sicily's 5th triumph successful nan Borgo dei Borghi competition, pursuing erstwhile wins by Gangi, Montalbano Elicona, Sambuca di Sicilia, and Petralia Soprana.

Explore nan palatial castle of Agliè, Piedmont

Heading up to nan bluish state of Turin, runner-up Agliè is characterised by some aristocratic grandeur and quotidian colony life.

The centrepiece is nan Castello di Agliè, a palatial analyzable that forms portion of UNESCO's Savoy Residences designation.

The magnificent building of imposing facades, elaborate gardens, and richly dressed up interiors served arsenic 1 of nan superior residences of nan House of Savoy, nan royal family that ruled nan Kingdom of Sardinia and later nan unified Kingdom of Italy.

The castle forms nan bosom of nan village, surrounded by historical piazzas that are still nan mounting for play markets, seasonal festivals, and regular societal interactions.

The colony gained further fame arsenic nan superior filming location for ‘Elisa di Rivombrosa’, a celebrated Italian humanities play series.

Discover ancient winemaking successful Vignanello, Lazio

Third spot went to Vignanello, which exemplifies nan blase architectural and cultivation traditions of bluish Lazio.

The village's declare to fame rests chiefly connected nan Castello Ruspoli, a Renaissance masterpiece whose gardens correspond immoderate of nan finest examples of Italian scenery creation from nan 16th and 17th centuries.

Vignanello is besides renowned for its time-honoured winemaking traditions. The volcanic soils of nan region, enriched by hundreds of years of earthy mineral deposits, supply perfect conditions for viticulture.

The yearly grape harvest show is simply a expansive ceremony for nan village, featuring vino tastings and nutrient pairings arsenic good arsenic humanities reenactments.

Explore astatine chaotic nationalist parkland from Aieta, Calabria

High successful nan mountains of Calabria, Aieta lies successful nan untamed wilderness of nan Pollino National Park.

At complete 500 metres of elevation, nan medieval colony commands lofty views complete nan Tyrrhenian Sea - its sanction is appropriately derived from nan Greek connection for eagle.

Aieta's medieval characteristic remains remarkably intact, pinch constrictive chromatic streets winding betwixt houses built from section stone.

The village's 16th-century Renaissance palace stands arsenic a testament to nan wealthiness and taste sophistication that moreover mini upland communities could execute during Italy's aureate property of creation and architecture.

The location wrong Pollino National Park makes Aieta an perfect guidelines for exploring its ancient forests, heavy gorges carved by rushing streams, and upland peaks that supply residence for uncommon wildlife, including wolves, eagles, and endemic plants.

Find bid among citrus groves successful Maiori, Campania

While nan Amalfi Coast attracts millions of visitors annually to its celebrated destinations for illustration Positano and Amalfi, Maiori offers a much tranquil alternative.

The colony has an expansive beach, different on a coastline typically characterised by mini coves and melodramatic cliffs.

Behind nan expanse of soil emergence nan village's colourful buildings and citrus groves that climb nan steep hillsides threaded done pinch hiking routes.

Visit nan Abbey of Santa Maria de Olearia, a singular belief analyzable carved straight into nan coastal stone face. Inside are frescoed chapels and meditation spaces hewn straight from nan cliff.

Maiori's citrus groves correspond not conscionable cultivation activity but a taste contented that has shaped nan scenery and system of nan Amalfi Coast for centuries.

These terraced gardens, supported by chromatic walls built without mortar, are an bonzer illustration of sustainable agriculture that maximises productivity while preserving nan earthy beauty of nan steep coastal terrain.