5 Hidden Gems in Northern Italy

Italy is on nearly every traveler’s list for good reason — the history, the food, the iconic sights, the beaches. It’s a country that truly does have it all. 

But with popularity comes crowds, and it can be hard to differentiate what’s touristy and what’s authentic when visiting some of the hot spots. If clients are seeking a more laid-back Italian vacation, swap out those big bucket list Italian metropolises for quieter, small-town escapes. Northern Italy, in particular, is full of hidden gems, and with this year’s Jubilee (a special holy year for the Catholic Church), the big-city crowds are expected to be tenfold. 

So, skip the masses of Rome and Florence, and send clients to one of these off-the-beaten-path destinations instead.

Alba

Italy does just about everything right, but at the top of that list is its stellar cuisine, which simply can’t be beat. As someone who visits Italy an average of five times per year, I constantly dream of returning to Alba — simply to eat.

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Alba is one of the best destinations in the country to harvest truffles. Visitors can sign up to go truffle-hunting with a dog whose sole job is to sniff out the coveted fungi. These tours can be arranged through Langhe Experience, a female-owned tour operator. 

At Piedmontese bed-and-breakfast and restaurant Cortiletto d’Alba, I highly suggest adding an entire freshly shaved black truffle to a plate of agnolotti del plin — a meat-stuffed pinched pasta — or tajarin, a thin pasta with a high ratio of egg yolks for only five dollars. It’s (naturally) best washed down with a glass of Barolo, the most popular wine from the region.

Carrara

Everyone knows Tuscany is home to acres of rolling vineyards, but what often flies under the radar is that the region is also home to mountains made entirely of white marble. Carrara is a coastal gem of a town, made up of more than 600 marble quarries. To properly visit them, Toscana Tour Experience helps clients navigate the generally treacherous, steep, muddy roads. Suggest the reward afterward be a stop at Larderia Giannarelli to try lardo, a fatty cured meat of Tuscany.

t’s not just marble mountains in Carrara, though. There's the port of Marina di Carrara, boasting the crystal-clear waters of the Ligurian Sea, as well as Carmi, a Michelangelo museum that allows clients to see the artist’s work without waiting in the long lines of nearby Florence.

Naturno

It’s hard to imagine the land of wine and cheese as a wellness destination, but a trip to Naturno will leave clients feeling good as new, especially with a stay at DolceVita resort Preidlhof. This adults-only wellness resort has amenities such as a saltwater infinity pool, an olive grove sauna, private thermal baths and, in true Italian fashion, a winery. A venture off-property will bring you to nearby Lake Kaltern and Eggental Valley.

Naturno is especially ideal if your clients are torn between Austria and Italy. Located in Trentino, the northern region of Italy that’s most well-known for the Dolomites, the area was under the Austro-Hungarian Empire until 1918, which is still reflective today — so much so that German is just as commonly spoken here as Italian.

Rimini

When travelers think of a quintessential Italian vacation, the Amalfi Coast usually comes to mind. But I’m here to make a controversial assertion: Amalfi’s popular destinations, such as Positano and Capri, are overrated — unless paying $20 for an Aperol spritz and fighting crowds for a beach chair sounds like clients’ idea of a nice time. 

Instead, send them up north to Emilia-Romagna — Italy’s “food valley” (the region is home to Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese and balsamic vinegar of Modena) — and Rimini for their sunbathing getaway. With 10 miles of sand, Rimini has endless options, but the heart of it all is centered at Marina Centro, a popular neighborhood filled with beach clubs, restaurants, shops and cafes. 

Getting to Rimini is easier than ever thanks to the new direct flight route from London via British Airways. And if your clients are hungry for more than Parmigiano and want to tick a new country off their bucket lists, Rimini is the perfect hub for visiting landlocked San Marino.

Cormons

If clients have wine on the brain, Cormons is the ideal off-the-beaten-path vino destination. Located in the underrated Friuli-Venezia Giulia region, Cormons offers visitors days sipping regional varietals such as fruity and full-bodied Pignolo and citrus-forward and crisp Friulano. Some of the best wineries in Cormons include Paolo Caccese, Drius, Locanda Alle Vigne and Tenuta Della Casa, where clients can spend the night directly at the winery.

I was surprised to see dishes such as goulash (Hungarian beef and vegetable stew) and ajvar (Serbian roasted red pepper sauce) on menus in this region, but because Cormons is located so close to Slovenia, there’s a lot of Eastern European influence in the cuisine. If clients are craving something more traditionally Italian, recommend they try prosciutto di San Daniele, a rich and slightly sweet, cured ham.