8 of the best coastal towns in Italy you may not have heard of

James Stewart

Destinations like Cinque Terre, in the northwestern Riviera, and the southern Amalfi Coast tend to hog all the attention, and for good reason: their colourful houses, precipitous cliffs and turquoise waters are what many associate with the Mediterranean. But travellers who venture further afield are justly rewarded. From north to south, we pick six lesser-known coastal towns with just as much character, but a fraction of the crowds.

1. Scilla, Calabria

Pale houses spilling down a hillside to the sea, parasols and gelati vendors set up on an arc of fine-shingle beach, and a nuggety castle on a bluff. This isn’t, in fact, the Amalfi Coast’s Positano, but the quieter town of Scilla on the Violet Coast, in the southern region of Calabria. The fishing district of Chianalea is particularly attractive. It’s strung out beside the waves, where cobalt-blue boats are hauled on slips and swordfish ciabatta is the speciality — don’t miss the ones at Civico 5 on Via Grotte. Spend some time here and it takes a little while to notice what’s missing: traffic and crowds.

Best viewpoint: The Piazza San Rocco Belvedere, accessed via a free lift behind, for views over terracotta rooftops and out to sea.

2. Ponza, Lazio

They say Odysseus stopped at Ponza and was bewitched by Circe into staying for a year. Well, that was his excuse. And who wouldn’t want to linger in this low-key island town? There are no sights to speak of, public transport is near non-existent and compared to sophisticated Capri, it seems like a throwback to the 1970s. Like the Roman weekenders who visit, you come to remember how to relax on an island that rises sheer from the sea. Swim in aquamarine seas, dawdle among bright houses in the harbour and eat fritto misto (a selection of fried seafood) at beachfront restaurant Da Enzo al Frontone.

Best viewpoint: A terrace by the lighthouse at the end of Via Molo Musco for a view of the colourful houses on Via Banchina di Fazio.

3. Vieste, Puglia

Like Dubrovnik just across the Adriatic, Vieste stacks up on the cliffs of a promontory. It’s a maze of white houses, steps and arches, where washing is strung like bunting and cats doze in sunny corners. Visit the 11th-century Norman cathedral for Baroque frescos, but otherwise the best plan is to just go wherever your feet take you. You’ll get lost among narrow alleyways, and that’s half the point — stumbling upon fragments of centuries-old walls or a favourite pizzeria you’d have otherwise missed. For beach-time, there’s Del Castello, studded by a monolithic stack of limestone at its town’s end.

Best viewpoint: Via Judeca for a view of Punta San Francesco, a medieval cluster of buildings on a finger of rock jabbing into the sea.

Sandy beach with bathes sat on the sand surrounded by pastel-coloured buildings perched on the cliffside

People walking down steps surrounded by white buildings

Perched upon the cliffs of Italy’s Adriatic coast, Vieste’s narrow alleyways, lined with white houses, lead to golden-sand beaches.

4. Orosei, Sardinia

Nicely rustic, Orosei’s medieval town feels lived in and genuine. The smell of fresh bread drifts through its cobbled alleys; time is measured by the bells from its 13 churches. It’s a fine base, then, to explore the Golfo de Orosei, the wild, uncommercialised alternative to glitzy Costa Smeralda. Though there’s good hiking in the gulf’s national park, you’ll find it hard to stray far from the beaches. Cala Goloritzè and Cala Mariolu are the famous ones, visited on beach cruises. But you’re spoiled for choice: Spiaggia Biderosa, Capo Comino and Sa Curcurica have sugar-white sand and are backed by tall pines — and never get too busy.

Best viewpoint: Cala Mariolu as you arrive by boat — a fringe of fine, white shingle beneath cliffs lapped by sapphire shallows.

5. Atrani, Campania

It’s the Amalfi coast, but not as you know it. Around the headland from Amalfi town, Atrani’s wedge of pastel buildings is a legacy of its past as a suburb of Amalfi doges. They’re all tied together by Escher-esque scalinatelle (roughly translated as little staircases), which look their best around the church of Santa Maria Maddalena. There are no coach tours here, meaning you can enjoy a crowd-free aperitif at La Risacca on pretty Piazza Umberto I, then dine in peace at a family trattoria like Il Veliero. There’s just one catch: since Netflix’s Ripley series was filmed here, bookings have risen 93% — so go soon.

Best viewpoint: Via Gabriele de Benedetto, off the main coast road, for a view across the beach to the facade of Santa Maria Maddalena.

6. Termoli, Molise

Even Italians overlook Molise, so you can be forgiven for not knowing about this southern region of only 300,000 people. That’s what makes Termoli such a find. The fishing town is the romantic Italy of collective imaginations: a fortified outpost by the sea with a medieval castle at its tip, a cathedral on the piazza and colourful houses peeking above walls, all crammed on to tangled lanes. Trabucchi (rickety wooden jetties with fishing nets suspended at their ends) jut into the water. There are beaches, too: pick vast Sant’Antonio for family-friendly shallows or go to Lido Mistral for SUP rental.

Best viewpoint: Sant’Antonio Beach, which has plenty of space, for views of the old town’s towers and fortified walls.

7. Levanzo, Sicily

The smallest of the Egadi Islands, off the Sicilian coast, Trapani has no large hotels and no beach clubs. Its sole village, a crescent of sugar-cube houses that 250 lucky people call home, looks more Moroccan than Mediterranean. The only sight is the Grotta del Genovese with its 13,000-year-old paintings. But the sea is gorgeous — the island is in a national marine park — and footpaths go across a rugged interior to beautiful bays like Cala Minnola. If you’re looking to do nothing more pressing than sleep, eat and experience the dolce far niente (the sweetness of doing nothing), you’ll fit right in.

Best viewpoint: the sight of Levanzo village beneath a knuckle of rock from the ferry dock.

8. Noli, Liguria

While travellers typically stampede east of Genoa to the Riviera di Levante, Genoans quietly drift west to the Riviera di Ponente — more specifically to Noli. During the Middle Ages, it was a maritime republic to rival Genoa. Romanesque San Paragorio church, medieval walls and towers, and the old bishop’s palace — now Michelin-starred restaurant Vescovado — speak of former greatness. Yet Noli today has to content itself with just being arguably the loveliest fishing town in the area. The beach hugs the curve of the bay with wooden boats parked on the sands, while palms sway behind. Ateliers and trattorias line alleys. Fishermen bob on their vessels in the bay. And the best thing? You can have it all largely to yourself.

Best viewpoint: Noli’s huddle of rooftops before the sea, seen from the hilltop ruins of Castello di Monte Ursino.

This article was produced by National Geographic Traveller (UK)