10 Hidden Gems in Italy
You Shouldn't Miss in 2026

Long before Rome was a village, people lived in Matera's sassi—cave dwellings carved into limestone. This UNESCO site feels like stepping onto a biblical film set. Stay overnight in a cave hotel, wander the stone streets at dawn when they're empty, and visit the rock churches with Byzantine frescoes. Matera was Italy's best-kept secret until it became European Capital of Culture in 2019—yet it still sees a fraction of Tuscany's crowds.

While tourists flood Capri and Ischia, tiny Procida stays quietly authentic. Named Italy's Capital of Culture 2022, this pastel-hued fishing island is a photographer's dream. The Marina Corricella harbor looks like a rainbow spilled down the hillside. Eat fresh seafood at family-run trattorias, swim at Chiaia Beach, and climb to Terra Murata for panoramic views.

Brisighella is what Tuscany was before the crowds discovered it. Three rocky peaks tower over this medieval village, each topped with a fortress, clock tower, or sanctuary connected by a 14th-century walking path. The thermal baths are a local secret, and the DOP olive oil is among Italy's finest. Don't miss the Via degli Asini—an elevated covered street built for donkeys 600 years ago.

Known as 'la città che muore' (the dying city), Civita di Bagnoregio sits atop a plateau of volcanic tufa that's been eroding for centuries. Only about 12 people live here year-round. You reach it via a pedestrian bridge that makes you feel like you're walking into a fairytale. The views across the Calanchi Valley are otherworldly—stark clay formations that look like a moonscape.

Lake Como gets the Instagram fame, but Lake Iseo is where Milanese locals escape. Monte Isola—Europe's largest lake island—sits in the middle, entirely car-free. Rent a bike and circle the island (15 km loop), stop in Peschiera Maraglio for fresh lake fish, and climb to the Santuario della Ceriola for 360° lake views. The Christo 'Floating Piers' installation in 2016 briefly put Iseo on the map, but the crowds left.

While tourists flock to Assisi, Gubbio remains blissfully under the radar. This stone city climbs Monte Ingino in layers of terracotta rooftops. Take the funicular up to the Basilica of Sant'Ubaldo, walk through the Roman amphitheater, and see the world's largest Christmas tree (actually lights on the mountainside) if you visit in December. The Corsa dei Ceri in May is one of Italy's most dramatic festivals.

Ostuni is a hilltop city of whitewashed buildings that blaze golden at sunset. It's the most photogenic town in Puglia's Valle d'Itria. Get lost in the winding alleys (designed to confuse medieval invaders), eat orecchiette pasta in a hidden piazza, and use Ostuni as your base for exploring Alberobello's trulli houses (20 minutes away) and pristine Adriatic beaches.

Trieste is unlike anywhere else in Italy—a port city with Habsburg coffee houses, a windswept castle by the sea, and a literary legacy (James Joyce lived here). Sit at Caffè San Marco, unchanged since 1914, sip an Illy coffee (invented here), and walk the Rilke Trail along the cliffs. The Miramare Castle has one of the most dramatic settings in Italy—perched on a promontory above the Adriatic.

Sulmona produces Italy's famous confetti—sugar-coated almonds given at weddings and baptisms. But beyond the confetti factories, this Abruzzo gem sits in a valley ringed by the Maiella, Gran Sasso, and Abruzzo national parks. Swim in the natural pools of the Gole del Sagittario, ski in winter, and eat arrosticini (lamb skewers) at a rustic trabocco overlooking the mountains.

Castelmezzano clings impossibly to the side of the Dolomiti Lucane mountains. The village is so steep that streets become staircases. For the ultimate adrenaline rush, try the Volo dell'Angelo (Angel's Flight)—a zipline that sends you soaring across the valley at 120 km/h between Castelmezzano and neighboring Pietrapertosa. Even without the zipline, the views from the Norman castle ruins are worth the hike.