Boutique hotels in Italy

No country turns history into hospitality quite like Italy. Its best small hotels live in Renaissance palaces in Florence, in villas above the lakes, in cave dwellings in Matera and in farmhouses among the vineyards of Tuscany and Piedmont. Many are still run by the families who restored them, and almost all of them share an Italian obsession with food, wine and beauty.

The great cities

Rome, Florence and Venice top our ranking, and each has a handful of intimate hotels that feel like private residences – hidden behind palazzo doors, a short walk from the Pantheon, the Uffizi or the Grand Canal. Milan, Bologna and Naples add design, food and street life.

Coast and islands

The Amalfi Coast, Capri, Portofino and the Cinque Terre are Italy's classic seaside escapes, best in May, June and September. Sicily's Taormina and Sardinia's Costa Smeralda bring Mediterranean glamour further south.

Countryside, lakes and mountains

The rolling hills of the Val d'Orcia and the truffle and wine country around Alba are made for slow stays in restored farmhouses. Lake Como has some of Europe's most romantic villas, and Cortina d'Ampezzo sits among the peaks of the Dolomites.

When to go

Spring and autumn are ideal almost everywhere. August is hot and busy on the coast, while the Dolomites shine in both summer and the ski season.