Anywhere Italy

Recognitions

10 comuni that earned their recognition for something other than being pretty

Comuni whose designations are all about practice, not looks: slow governance, olive oil, wine, truffles, bread, honey, thermal waters. No beauty lists. 10 towns shown.

Not every certification is about looks. Cittaslow certifies pace, the Città del Vino and dell'Olio certify what the land produces, the truffle and bread and honey towns certify a working economy.

Every comune here holds at least two such recognitions and no beauty listing at all. They are on this site for what they do, not how they photograph.

  1. 1.Nicolosi5 recognitionsCatania · SicilyThe southern gateway to Etna at 698 meters, twice destroyed by the 1669 eruption, base camp for the volcano cable car at Rifugio Sapienza.
  2. 2.Orvieto5 recognitionsTerni · UmbriaEtruscan Velzna on a 325-meter tufa butte, the medieval refuge of popes and the home of Italy's most decorated Gothic cathedral.
  3. 3.Gubbio5 recognitionsPerugia · UmbriaPre-Roman Ikuvium of the Umbri at the foot of Monte Ingino, where seven bronze tablets carry the longest text of the Umbrian language.
  4. 4.Viterbo5 recognitionsViterbo · LazioThe medieval capital of the Tuscia, papal seat for five popes between 1257 and 1281 and home to the longest conclave in Church history.
  5. 5.Trento5 recognitionsTrento · Trentino-Alto Adige/SüdtirolThe Alpine capital on the Adige at 194 metres, where the Council that reshaped the Catholic Church met in a castle still standing above the city.

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  1. 6.Ofena4 recognitionsL'Aquila · AbruzzoA 531-meter Vestian basin called the Forno d'Abruzzo, sealed by the Gran Sasso wall, where Montepulciano ripens on what may be the oldest of its slopes.
  2. 7.Lapio4 recognitionsAvellino · CampaniaThe heart of Fiano di Avellino DOCG country — a 1,428-resident Irpinia borgo at 590m in the hills east of Avellino, with the medieval Castello Filangieri anchoring an intact centro and a rare four-signal combination (Città del Vino + Olio + Miele + Nocciola) recognising the whole local agricultural ecosystem.
  3. 8.Corniglio4 recognitionsParma · Emilia-RomagnaA 690-meter Parma-Apennine commune inside the Tosco-Emiliano park, with a thirteenth-century Rossi castle and the Lagdei plateau above.
  4. 9.Cerchiara di Calabria4 recognitionsCosenza · CalabriaA Città del Pane at 650 meters under Mount Sellaro, with a rock sanctuary at 1,015 meters and a sulphurous Cave of the Nymphs feeding the thermal springs.
  5. 10.Tocco da Casauria4 recognitionsPescara · AbruzzoA 356-meter hill town between the Pescara river and the Maiella, built around a Carolingian abbey and an herb liqueur called Centerba.

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