Borgo

A borgo is a small medieval Italian village, usually fortified, perched on a hilltop, built entirely of stone, with a tight network of narrow streets and one central piazza. Many were abandoned in the 1950s when people moved to cities. Italy's luxury hotel scene rediscovered them and invented the "albergo diffuso": you book the whole village, where rooms are spread across the original stone houses, restored but not over-restored. The famous ones: Borgo Egnazia in Puglia (where Madonna and the Beckhams hold weddings), Castello di Reschio in Umbria, Castiglion del Bosco in Tuscany, Borgo San Felice in Chianti. You sleep in a 600-year-old house that's been waiting for you.