On the last weekend in September the town will be hosting the latest edition of an event whose purpose is to raise awareness of the attractions and traditions of the association’s members
Bellano will be hosting the 17th edition of the national Festival dei Borghi Più Belli d’Italia on the last weekend of September. The purpose of this tourism and culture, food, wine and entertainment event is to raise public awareness of the beauties and traditions of the association’s network of Italian members, Italy’s most beautiful small towns. It’s a three-day tradition and folklore event made up of conferences, exhibitions, historic processions, shows, guided tastings and show-cooking events which will intersect in the town’s various areas to narrate the history, tourism, cultural and food and wine patrimony of Italy’s most beautiful small towns. Representatives of many of the association’s 375 member towns will be there, as will around one hundred local businesses, ranging from local producers to artisans. Representatives from some of Borghi più belli d’Italia will be attending and, as the event is being held in Lombardy, there will naturally be a special focus on the region’s 25 most attractive towns. Associazione I Borghi più Belli d’Italia, set up in 2002 under the aegis of the ANCI’s Consulta del Turismo, will be the cornerstone of the event. The association’s purpose is to promote and enhance small towns which have succeeded in safeguarding and conserving their beauties, partly on the strength of their non-central locations. And these are attractions created and passed down through the centuries. Such is the prestige of the Borghi più belli d’Italia organisation that it now embodies the best of Italy’s plethora of lesser known repositories of historic, artistic and cultural heritage, including its food and wine traditions, religious and secular festivals and pristine landscapes. In addition to keeping records of the country’s surviving beauties, the network serves to shed light on the qualities of these small towns.
The Borghi Più Belli d’Italia trademark makes a crucial contribution to promoting these, and many of the association’s certified towns turn into top tourist destinations, acquiring a fame which they would otherwise have struggled to obtain. And that’s not all. I Borghi Più Belli d’Italia also constitute a great open air museum those distinguishing trait is beauty in the sense of ‘promise of happiness’. In addition to its national festival the association also organises a range of other important annual events. One of these is the Regata Velica dei Borghi più belli d’Italia – the towns’ regatta – held every June in Cefalù, the Borghi più belli d’Italia’s national assembly, held in spring at a different location each year, its cycle tourism event held in Umbria in August and Conferenza sui Borghi più belli del Mediterraneo, which takes place every October in Cisternino. Since 2016, on the Saturday after the summer solstice, its network of towns are also the extended location for a national and international event: Notte Romantica nei Borghi più belli d’Italia, in a love-themed atmosphere consisting of exhibitions, shows and dancing and music events.
