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If Tuscany is the polished aristocrat and the Amalfi Coast the extrovert demanding your undivided attention, Le Marche is the quietly brilliant rogue who never needed either. For travellers searching for undiscovered Italy, the real thing, unspoiled and unapologetic, this is where to begin.
Here, medieval hilltop towns guard their secrets behind ancient stone walls. Sheer limestone cliffs drop into clear water, hiding coves that feel reserved for the quietly curious. The food is brilliant and unselfconscious. The wine (Verdicchio from the chalky hills, Lacrima di Morro d'Alba from the valley floor) is as individual and surprising as the landscape that produces it.
Ancona hums with salt, history, and excellent espresso. The Renaissance city of Urbino stops you in your tracks. The Monti Sibillini rise into myth and wilderness. And everywhere, the unhurried rhythms of hidden Italy at its most authentic.
For travellers ready to leave the obvious itinerary behind, Le Marche rewards handsomely. Come prepared to be surprised, fed extraordinarily well, and very reluctantly to leave.
Abandoned vineyard farmhouse. Radical vision. Seven suites, an InArchitettura-awarded underground winery and an infinity pool above the Le Marche hills. Filodivino is exactly the kind of Italian hotel you thought didn't exist anymore.
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Once the home of devout Sisters, its aged cloistral heritage has been recast following an exacting narrative of preservation, reframing the monastic aesthetics for the modern nomad without corrupting the patina of austere beauty and timeworn touchpoints.
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East of Bolzano is the long heralded as Europe’s largest alpine plateau in the Dolomites of South Tyrol | Alto Adige, the pastures and ski region of Alpe di Siusi, or Seiser Alm in German.
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Restored within a former monastery, this fabulous design hotel and foodie hotspot brings together the stone mason, blacksmith and wood worker with the artisan makers.
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Caramel timbers, robust chunky stone and larch shingled rooftops amplifies Alpine charisma buttered across the three ‘Malghe’houses of the Borgo Eibn which are draped in the views of the Sauris plateau and the Dolomites.
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With the feel of a hip in-the-know club for lido-lovers, Aqva Boutique Hotel’s modular alabaster white building is fronted by a turquoise pool surrounded by sleek decking. Like a pointing finger, a private pier juts out onto the lake - perfect for those celeb moments.
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History, design, calmed wellness and an interior of modern heritage make this hotel-apartment refuge close to Merano the perfect pitstop for some downtime and closeness to nature.
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Crossing Corso Apartment is a luxury design pad in the heartlands of Rome set within a historic 18th-century palazzo townhouse, which poignantly resides behind the Piazza di Spagna.
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An architectural-statement, this minimalist hideaway in the Dolomites is the perfect basecamp for those who appreciate design, food, comfort and doorstep nature.
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Sirmione is a collision of history and hedonism, where Roman ruins, medieval castles, and thermal waters meet golden-hour magic. A lakeside town where poets dreamed, Callas escaped, and sunset Spritzes are an art form.
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Como’s crafted outsider – a modernist lakeside escape stitched into the land, made for lovers of design, detail and chilled luxury with a bold architectural soul.
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A design refuge for those that like their head in the clouds but feet firmly placed in architectural modernism, set at 1850 metres, the hotel is lofty enough to be able to ski straight out of its door, as well as hiking in summer.
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Get the insider news and lowdown on what we've been up to, where we've been, and who we've met along the way. Be the first to discover new places and get the scoop on our favourites.