Alberobello and its trulli have become a photo set taken by storm by buses and tour groups: queues among the whitewashed cones and little silence. If you love stone architecture and the whitewashed villages of the South but not the crush, these alternatives offer the same vernacular wonder, experienced at leisure to the slow rhythms of undertourism.
Alberobello in high season: → the alternatives below are far quieter.
In the inland countryside of Apulia's Valle d'Itria, farm tracks wind among centuries-old olive trees, dry-stone walls and scattered trulli. A gravel loop that avoids entirely the overrun centres like Alberobello, to rediscover a rural, silent Apulia.
Very quiet Jun 30, 2026
The Monti Dauni, the Murgia and the inland Salento: the hidden villages of Apulia's interior and the rock-cut sites to visit without queueing.
Almost deserted Jun 29, 2026
In the Malopera valley, in Calabria, the Caves of Zungri are more than a hundred houses hewn from the sandstone: a medieval cave village.
Very quiet Jun 23, 2026
Clinging to a crag in the heart of Sicily, Sutera guards the Rabato: a maze of Arab alleys and whitewashed houses beneath the rock, still barely visited.
Almost deserted Jun 21, 2026
Gangi, a stone village perched on the Madonie near Palermo: alleys, ancient roofs and a slow, silent Sicily, without mass tourism.
Very quiet Jun 21, 2026
Near Biella, the Ricetto di Candelo is a maze of alleys and two hundred stone houses where medieval peasants safeguarded their harvest.
Very quiet Jun 23, 2026| Destination | Crowding | Recommended months | Where |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Valle d'Itria Gravel Loop, Among Trulli and Stone Walls | Very quiet | April, May, June, September and October | Valle d'Itria |
| Apulia off the beaten track: inland villages far from the crowds | Almost deserted | April, May, June, September and October | Italy |
| The Caves of Zungri: the stone city carved into the sandstone of Calabria | Very quiet | April, May, June, September and October | Zungri |
| Sutera: Arab Alleys and White Houses Beneath the Rabato | Almost deserted | April, May, June, September, October and November | Caltanissetta |
| Gangi, the stone village hanging from the Madonie | Very quiet | April, May, June, September and October | Palermo (Madonie) |
| The Ricetto di Candelo, the fortified village where wine was kept safe | Very quiet | April, May, June, September and October | Candelo |
Crowding goes from "almost empty" to "very crowded" on our index. Overtourism index