Venzone, in the region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, is the most beautiful Italian village of 2017

Among the twenty villages that were competing for the nomination of Borgo dei Borghi (most beautiful Italian village) of 2017, a survey promoted by the TV program Alle falde del Kilimangiaro of the channel Rai 3, the winner is Venzone, a village of rare beauty in the province of Udine. This village was recreated entirely after the earthquake in 1976 and came back to the medieval splendour that characterised it for centuries. Venzone, which rises at 230 metres of height between the suggestive mountain landscapes of Tagliamento and Canal del Ferro valleys, represents not only one of the most extraordinary examples of architectural and artistic restoration but it is also a paradise for nature, hiking and mountain bike lovers thanks to its unique territory and the vastness of animal and vegetable species that live in the Natural Park of the Julian Prealps

During the special that aired on Easter evening, the villages were presented one by one. The winner was established by the sum of the votes collected on the program’s website and by a panel of judges among which there were the chef Cristina Bowermann, the art historian Philippe Daverio and the geologist Mario Tozzi. The award was handled to the winner by Virginie Vassart, who guided the viewers all along the villages during the episodes of the show.

Among the three “finalists” of the contest, the villages of Arquà Petrarca (Veneto) and Conca dei Marini (Campania) were also nominated.

It was an engaging competition that included twenty of the most beautiful villages of Italy contending for the title of Borgo dei Borghi but let's face it, this year, the Year of the Villages as the Ministry of Cultural Heritage proclaimed it, the winners are all the Italian villages, each one characterized by its history, its architecture, its customs and its peculiarities. Each village is a jewel to discover, an experience to live through.

The Year of the Villages has among its aims the renovation and the upgrade of the tourist package, the promotion of new destinations and the creation of employment. “The villages are depopulated because there are no jobs – as the MP Dario Franceschini said – but if we create the right opportunities for occupation, as the Albergo Diffuso concept has demonstrated, the people and the younger ones will certainly come back”.

Initiatives like “Il Borgo dei Borghi” and the commitment of the institutions, organisations and medias (like Borghi Magazine) not only want to popularize the beauties and excellences of the villages but also want to incentivise a conscious tourism that could make you experience unique moments and at the same time create opportunities for economical increment.

As I was saying earlier, all the Italian villages are winners and the one of Venzone also represents a wish for those villages who were affected by the earthquake so that they can shine on again as Venzone did after the earthquake of 1976 in the region of Friuli.

The final results for the Borgo dei Borghi 2017 are as follows:

1. Venzone (Friuli-Venezia Giulia)
2. Arquà Petrarca (Veneto)
3. Conca dei Marini (Campania)
4. Otranto (Apulia)
5. Castiglione di Sicilia (Sicily)
6. Fiumefreddo (Calabria)
7. Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
8. Montecassiano (Marche)
9. Vastogirardi (Molise)
10. Castel Gandolfo (Lazio)
11. Panicale (Umbria)
12. Suvereto (Tuscany)
13. Zavattarello (Lombardy)
14. Canale di Tenno (Trentino-South Tyrol)
15. Rocca San Giovanni (Abruzzo)
16. Orta San Giulio (Piedmont)
17. Tellaro (Liguria)
18. La Maddalena (Sardinia)
19. Montegridolfo (Emilia-Rmagna)
20. Gressan (Aosta Valley)

Photo from studionord.news