A walk through the villages with the scent of lavender

Morano Calabro - Ph. Rossana Alfieri Rossana Alfieri

Our country is home to vast expanses of lavender. The purple, blue and lilac-coloured flower gives shape to fragrant parks, which are the most popular destinations for lavender lovers. A walk through Italian villages and lavender fields is therefore one of the best ways to leave the greyness of winter behind and to welcome spring and its scents with enthusiasm.

The purple fields of northern Italy
The flower is one of the most suitable for essential oils, indispensable for making rooms cosy or giving clothes the freshness of spring all year round. It is therefore always a good idea to take a walk through the villages surrounded by the scent of lavender. Until a few years ago, one of the most famous places in our country for this flowering was Venzone, a small fourteenth-century municipality in the province of Udine, inhabited by just under two thousand people.
The perched, almost fairy-tale-like town was awarded recognition as 'The Village of Villages in 2017', but the famous Lavender Palace closed in 2018. However, the whole area is pervaded by a delicate scent because it is surrounded by an expanse of purple that makes it unique anyway.

A real lavender park is to be found in the province of Cuneo. Thousands of rows of vines occupy an expanse that is lost in plain sight, a perfumed sea that welcomes the visitor, who is almost incredulous to see such beauty. Among busy bees, butterflies and crickets, the lavender fields represent an immersion in nature, an explosion of colours that is hard to resist. The municipality of Sale San Giovanni in the province of Cuneo has been dubbed by many as "the little Provence". The village celebrates lavender from 15 June to mid-July with various events that take on a different character each year.
All the villages in the province of Cuneo, however, are surrounded by colourful, scented expanses. Taking a walk in search of lavender fields is therefore an unmissable opportunity to visit Langhe villages such as Castiglione Falletto, which are surrounded by expanses of this aromatic flower. A lilac garland that makes the small urban settlement magical and fragrant.

Lavender colours the fields of central and southern Italy
In the centre of Italy in Castelnuovo di Assisi, in the province of Perugia, the Lavender Festival is celebrated every year. The event is held from the end of June until the beginning of July and celebrates the violet-coloured flower with special blue hues. Here, fields that used to be dedicated to particular crops such as corn and hay are now covered by a sea of lavender swaying in the wind. The farmers do not use herbicides and pesticides and are giving a new lease of life to the land that was previously heavily exploited. The inhabitants of the area have therefore brought the area into the third millennium by preferring environmentally friendly farming systems.

About half an hour from Rome, on the other hand, is the Tuscia Viterbese, a collection of fascinating villages that make up hidden Lazio. Discovering these places is the most interesting and fascinating aspect of the walk through the history and culture of our country. All the villages in Tuscia are surrounded by lavender, which gives an intense scent to the area. Acquapendente, Bomarzo, Calcata Vecchia, Caprarola, Civita di Bagnoregio, Corchiano and Vitorchiano represent a constellation of small towns that have charm and unique characteristics that can be felt on walks.

The tree house Suite Bleue – Photo by La Piantata

Lavender is therefore only one of the attractions of these places. Further south in the province of Campobasso, in Larino, there is another little corner of Provence. The village is a timeless place where architecture and nature come together to create a unique landscape, especially in spring. The lavender seedlings form an immense expanse of intense colour and are the essential raw material for the essential lavender oil that has made this corner of Molise famous.

Essentia Dimora Rurale, Larino

The plant takes on slightly different scents depending on the area in which it grows. In Morano Calabro, in the province of Cosenza, there is an immense expanse of lavender that gets its particular scent from the essences of the Pollino Park. The area is rich in medicinal plants and in violets, daffodils, peonies and campanulas, which have given lavender a particularly charged note. The inhabitants of the village have learnt to make various products, all unique, from the aromatic plant. Candles, soaps, oils and creams are sold in small shops in the centre and give visitors a touch of spring all year round. Lavender therefore runs through the whole country and at certain times of the year offers magical landscapes on the doorstep of the cities. In times of pandemic, a walk among the rows of lavender is almost therapeutic, a way to forget and face spring with a renewed and positive spirit.

Photo by Rossana Alfieri