‘To visit them is to participate in Italy’s beauty while contributing to keeping these enchanting places alive’, says Fiorello Primi, president of the association I Borghi più belli d'Italia (The Most Beautiful Villages in Italy), as he invites visitors to discover these little-known wonders, scattered throughout the country, each with its unique draw.

For 20 years, the organization has been working to promote the heritage of Italy's smaller towns. And in that period, it has selected and promoted more than 300 villages. It is an index of variety and even vitality, even if the lazy and cliched narrative suggests these places are on a clear path to extinction.