You might be inspired to visit the utterly refined Hotel Raya on the Aeolian island of Panarea, from whose all-white terraces you can watch the volcano of Stromboli spurt fiery lava into the night skies. Sicily offers medieval gems like a converted Franciscan monastery in Taormina, and Castello di Falconara, a Norman castle right on the beach.
Many hotels are a complete surprise: ancient sassi cave-dwellings in the eroded rocky landscape of Basilicata, or the trulli of Puglia, centuries-old igloo-like constructions with conical slate roofs. And whether cave, abbey, olive mill, fishing hut or barefoot beachside palazzo, every one of these unique hotels is true to its locale in its architecture, design and gastronomy.