Travelers who enjoy “slow” journeys, planned with care to experience the best a destination has to offer, are always on the lookout for new ideas to map out their trips.
Skyscanner has released its 2015 ranking of the 20 most beautiful villages in Italy.
The Skyscanner team—the travel search and booking platform for flights, hotels and car rentals—explored Italy, scouting out picturesque towns and enchanting villages. Their findings were compiled into a list that journeys from the north to the south of Italy.
This 2015 list includes a village from every Italian region, drawing also from suggestions sent in by Skyscanner users over the previous year. For Basilicata, Brienza was chosen.
Brienza, Basilicata
Among Italy’s most beautiful villages highlighted by Skyscanner is Brienza, located in Basilicata.
The village of Brienza developed over the centuries around the ancient Caracciolo Castle, built atop a hill that offers an exceptional view of the valley and surrounding woods.
The Village of Brienza
Since the Middle Ages, more and more homes were built at the foot of the centuries-old castle, forming a maze of narrow lanes and small squares—the heart of the historic village. In 1980, an earthquake partially emptied the old town, but in recent years a series of restoration and conservation works have brought new life and charm to Brienza as a whole.
It’s no surprise that the Skyscanner team selected Brienza, a village nestled in the Valle del Melandro, Italy’s most painted valley.
Before revealing all the villages on the list, Skyscanner outlined the criteria behind the selection: only towns with fewer than 16,000 residents, with a well-preserved old town and strong historic roots, representing the best of their region’s architecture and landscapes, were considered. User suggestions and comments also played a key role in the selection process.
Here’s the complete list of Italy’s most beautiful villages in 2015 according to Skyscanner:
- Serralunga d’Alba – Piemonte
- Fénis – Valle d’Aosta
- Porto Ceresio – Lombardia
- Torbole – Trentino Alto Adige
- Palmanova – Friuli Venezia Giulia
- Brenzone sul Garda – Veneto
- Bobbio – Emilia Romagna
- Dolceacqua – Liguria
- Anghiari – Toscana
- Offagna – Marche
- Spello – Umbria
- Loreto Aprutino – Abruzzo
- Sperlonga – Lazio
- Venafro – Molise
- Atrani – Campania
- Brienza – Basilicata
- Morano Calabro – Calabria
- Locorotondo – Puglia
- Caltabellotta – Sicilia
- Bosa – Sardegna.
