The delights of Italy are universal: clinking Negronis in Rome, spinning a Riva through Venice’s Grand Canal, island-hopping off the shores of Sicily, all interlaced with hefty doses of wine, mozzarella, and art. It’s this limitless allure that has travelers from all over the world descend on the boot with near insatiable fervency, and often all at the same time—at least that’s how it can feel when trying to claim an inch of the Amalfi’s rocky beachfront in July. But in arriving en masse, travelers risk muting the very thing they come to enjoy: the essence of the place, as conjured by the lifestyle that Italians pull off with aplomb.
As such, we are stealing a page out of the playbook of one of our favorite Italian tastemakers, stylist and writer Gianluca Longo, and declaring the off season the new season. These months, usually between September and April, are when the locals reclaim the corners of their country, and move more easily in their daily rhythms. In other words, it is when the most local version of Italy comes alive.
This isn’t just about skipping the crowds. Crucially, it is knowing that the Amalfi coast has extensive hiking trails and vineyards that harvest in autumn, and that Taormina, Sicily’s clogged-all-August resort town, is simply magic at Christmas, and that Lake Como’s foliage in November rivals that of New England’s. Seasonal destinations don’t just go poof! and disappear when the temperatures drop, but are dimensional, with year-round appeal, and the locals will tell you as much. So, we contacted top tastemakers in many of Italy’s most heavily touristed areas to tell us what they love most about their hometowns in less-visited times of the year. And if you need any more convincing, we gathered our top specialists—who know how to connect travelers to a place better than anyone—to share their own tips for pulling it off. Read on to start planning your trip to Italy in the off season. —Erin Florio and Maddalena Fossati
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