Italian villages
Aliano, the Lucanian Badlands of Carlo Levi's Exile
Aliano, a Lucanian village amid the clay badlands, holds the memory of Carlo Levi's exile and an authentic, silent Basilicata.
Jun 21, 2026Elena Marchetti
Borghi, arte e storia minore
Si occupa di borghi, centri storici, chiese e siti archeologici: paesi sotto i mille abitanti e architetture fuori dalle guide turistiche ufficiali.
Guides by Elena Marchetti.
Archaeological sites
Pietrabbondante: the Samnite theatre among the woods of Molise
Among the woods of the Alto Molise, the Samnite theatre of Pietrabbondante: one of the most important Italic sanctuaries, and yet almost unknown.
Jun 21, 2026
Italian villages
Gangi, the stone village hanging from the Madonie
Gangi, a stone village perched on the Madonie near Palermo: alleys, ancient roofs and a slow, silent Sicily, without mass tourism.
Jun 21, 2026
City corners
Sutera: Arab Alleys and White Houses Beneath the Rabato
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.
Jun 21, 2026
Castles, palaces and monuments
Sperlinga, the castle carved from the rock that Sicily forgets
Sperlinga, a village perched on the Nebrodi mountains: a cave castle and a maze of grottoes tell the story of a stone Sicily few travellers reach.
Jun 21, 2026
Archaeological sites
Sant'Andrea Priu: rock-cut tombs and frescoes above Bonorva
Near Bonorva, in Sardinia, Sant'Andrea Priu is a vast rock-cut necropolis of prehistoric tombs and frescoes from later ages.
Jun 21, 2026
City corners
Kotor, beyond the square: the inner labyrinth of the old town
In Kotor, beyond the cathedral stormed by cruise passengers, the inner lanes remain a silent maze of stone and cats.
Jun 21, 2026
Castles, palaces and monuments
The stone bridge of Višegrad, where Bosnia tells its own story
A sixteenth-century Ottoman masterpiece suspended over the Drina, made immortal by a Nobel-winning novel and yet almost unknown to international tourism.
Jun 21, 2026
Churches and cathedrals
San Giovanni a Kaneo: the Cliffside Church Above Lake Ohrid
High above Lake Ohrid in North Macedonia, the tiny church of San Giovanni a Kaneo frames one of the most serene, photogenic views in the Balkans.
Jun 21, 2026