Pasta, pizza, wine cheaper than water, renaissance cities, superlative sprawling coastline and cliff-side villages, Italy is La Dolce Vita – and few destinations compare. The nation is home of the City of Love, the Sistine Chapel, Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore and the stunning islands of Elba, Sardinia and Sicily. Each region comes with its own cuisine, architecture and way of life, and our villas in Italy are in some of the most renowned and beautiful destinations in the country. Head to our villas in Puglia, Sicily or Sardinia for powder-soft beaches, rugged countryside and sun-baked landscapes, perfect for a family villa holiday.
Spoilt for choice? Let our family villa holiday specialists help. Here are some of our favourite villas. Book your 2024 family villa holiday today.
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All our villas in Italy have been handpicked by our experienced team using our expert insight into what makes the perfect family villa holiday.
You'll never be bored when staying in one of our Italy villas, and there's something for everyone on an Italy villa holiday. A villa holiday in Italy will give you the chance to explore renaissance cities brimming with churches and museums, to hike in national parks, to explore rolling landscapes carpeted in wineries, villages and cypress trees and to discover the sun-baked beaches of the coastline. Our villas in Italy are near bucket-list cities like Florence, Pisa, Ostuni and Lecce – where you can get your culture fix in world-famous museums and galleries. The Italian landscape also hides many ancient archaeological sites and ruins, like Roman and Etruscan cities and Byzantine churches. Adrenaline-seekers will love our villas near the beach (in Puglia, Sicily, Sardinia and the Tuscan coast), where beaches offer snorkelling, swimming, diving, sailing and kitesurfing. Families will also love our villas in Italy, many located near the beach and near to attractions like animal farms and waterparks which make for a great family day out.
Of course, there's also the food, and we're sure even the fussiest member of the family will love the food on a villa holiday in Italy. Gastronomes and couples will delight at our villas in Tuscany and Umbria, with their rolling hills hiding sleepy villages, wineries and cities like Florence. Families will also love our Italy villas with a private pool.
Italy benefits from the fantastic position of being surrounded by seas, the warm waters of the Mediterranean but also the brilliant blue Adriatic, Ionian and the Tyrrhenian Sea. The best beaches in Italy are found closer to the south, in sun-baked Puglia and the Italian islands of Sicily and Sardinia – Sardinia known throughout the world for its sands. From our villas in Italy you can stroll down to sandy and soft shingle bays, many with Blue Flag status and a handful more rugged and secluded – which romantic couples will love. Our villas in Puglia, on the Tuscan Coast, Elba, Sicily and Sardinia are all located within a short distance of beaches and great for beach lovers – with warm shallow waters, great facilities nearby and the chance to enjoy water sports.
Gaze at the beautiful sights that our villas with seaviews offer, just a short distance away from the beach.
What not to eat in Italy? Italy is an exciting mix of unique regions all with their own cuisine, but the backbone of Italian cuisine can be found throughout the country – fresh pasta, pizzas, creamy desserts, sun-dried tomatoes and plenty of olive oil. Italians follow the Mediterranean diet, and everything is fresh and a world away from the Italian food you have back home. In our Italy villas in Puglia and the Italian islands, you'll find an abundance of seafood like octopus, fresh fish and shellfish (try the frutti di mare). In Tuscany and Umbria, it is also about fresh, local produce, sourced in the farmland and hills and a mix of rich meats, fresh truffles, vegetables and local cheeses. A villa holiday in Italy gives you the freedom to visit a local market or supermarket and snap up fresh produce, before returning to your Italy villa to cook up a storm. It's easy to choose a villa holiday in Italy just to dine on the food alone.
Italy has a large and diverse landscape, with a Mediterranean climate meaning hot, dry summers and cool (but not too cold) wet winters. We recommend visiting our villas in Italy between May and September, with May seeing the beginning of summer and June, July and September offering hot, but not too hot, temperatures. August is not for the fainthearted, with temperatures reaching the high 30s – especially in the sun-baked southern regions of Puglia, Sicily and Sardinia, and many more tourists around. The cooler months are spectacular for exploring Italy's cities, and autumn and spring make wonderful times to visit our villas in the likes of Florence, Pisa and Bari. When visiting in summer, make sure to take an Italy villa with a private pool, allowing you to sunbathe poolside and then cool off.