Where to go in May without the crowds

May might be the sweetest month to travel in Italy. The light turns crystalline before the summer haze sets in, days stretch past eight in the evening, and temperatures hover in that ideal window where a linen shirt is enough for dinner outside. Poppies burn red across Umbrian fields, wisteria drips over Ligurian courtyards, and the sea, tentatively, becomes swimmable again along the southern coasts.

To make the most of it, think in three registers. Art cities come first: Bologna, Mantua and Lecce reveal themselves without the July queues, and you can still book a table at that trattoria a friend told you about. Then villages and nature, from the medieval hamlets of Molise to the reopened high trails of the Dolomites and the Sibillini. Finally, the sea at its most private moment, when Puglia, western Sardinia and the Cilento coast feel almost off-season.

Our editorial line stays the same: choose lesser-known destinations, travel by train when you can, favour family-run guesthouses over resorts. May rewards travellers who slow down.

Tip of the month

Consider a slow drive through the Marche region: Urbino for the Ducal Palace, Fossombrone for its Roman ruins, and the wild Furlo gorge for a picnic among peregrine falcons.