Once a bolt hole for wealthy Venetians escaping the summer heat (plus Robert Browning, Freya Stark, Igor Stravinsky et al.), this charming little medieval hill town in the Veneto is known as 'the town of a hundred horizons'.

Until the 1940s a holiday home of the Italian royal family, this rectangular pink 19th-century villa retains a 'charming air of gently fading elegance', says its nominator.

This small town (famous for its marble sculptures), with wooded hills behind and sea stretching out in front, is a 30-minute train ride north of Lucca.

'One of the attractions of this gem,' write its nominators, 'is its location on a junction of canals just behind the Doge's Palace.'

On the edge of this Dolomite resort (Wolkenstein in Gröden in German) at the foot of the impressive Sella massif, this 'superb hotel', renovated last in 2013, is run by its owner, Carlo Senoner (a skiing world champion at Portillo, Chile, 1966), with his wife, son and daughter.

In a remote setting on an 'amazing cliffside', this resort complex includes a hotel and a 'fishermen's village' (apartments), in a large botanical park on the coast between Naples and Rome.

This hotel, set in an art deco villa on Amalfi drive, offers a genteel, old-fashioned charm, and has been in the same family since it opened as a hotel with six rooms in 1904.

High above the road, on the far side of the village (Sulden in German), this chalet-style hotel has fine views to the glacier and the Ortler range of mountains.

In a quietish street near the Piazza del Popolo, this Art Deco hotel opened in 1925 and later increased its size by extending into an adjacent building.

Located in the centre of Capri but surrounded by beautiful landscaped gardens, nearly all of the rooms at this peaceful family-owned and run boutique hotel have sea views and terraces or balconies.

'Well located', at the foot of Via Veneto, this historic building is within easy walking distance of the sights of ancient Rome, 'and the classy shopping streets'.

Built in 1808 by the King of Naples (who was married to Napoleon's sister) as a summer residence, this townhouse hotel is located in the centre of Positano.

'A real bargain for Rome', 'superbly located', this old-established B&B hotel is just off Via Veneto, not far from the Borghese Gardens.

Liked for its welcome, 'quietly efficient staff' and 'excellent value for money', this chalet-style hotel is in a 'very beautiful' skiing and summer resort in the South Tyrol nature reserve, at the foot of the Dolomites.

In this 'old-fashioned summer resort' on the dramatic north Tyrrhenian coast, this 18th-century 'Liberty-style' building stands in lush grounds.

A former monastery dating from the 17th century, this luxury boutique hotel has been sympathetically restored by owner Bianca Sharma; features such as vaulted celings and wooden shutters on the windows remain, but rooms are fully-furnished with antiques hand-picked by Bianca herself.

Set in the quiet Cannaregio district, this 16th-century Baroque palace, formerly an aristocratic family home, boasts gorgeous, individually-decorated rooms and suites with frescoed ceilings, 18th-century antique furniture, handmade silk wallpaper and Murano chandeliers.

On the corner of the tiny square of this small, unspoilt Tuscan town stands Anne-Marie and Ueli Bleuler-Staerkle's hotel; from the back it commands a 'tremendous view of distant hills and mountains'.

Overlooking the Arno, between the Ponte Vecchio and the Uffizi, this 'very peaceful' B&B hotel has 'marvellous views of the duomo'.

Above a small town (once a Roman settlement) east of Trento, this medieval castle stands in large wooded grounds: 'a marvellous setting'.

Hotel Casci isn't fancy, but considering the location (150m from Florence Cathedral) the rates are very reasonable and the owners, the Lombardi family, pride themselves on being some of the friendliest hoteliers in town.

Ever-popular, Simone Simoni's 'blissfully quiet' pensione in a residential area on a hilltop just north-west of Florence represents 'amazing value', say its devotees.

'We were delighted by this hotel which offered exceptional service given the relatively modest price.'

The highlight of this 11th-century restored palace is the infinity pool – heated to a warm temperature year-round, and located at the highest point in Ravello, it has incredible views of the Amalfi coast.

High on a cliff, the pink 12th-century palace of the Sasso family, now a 'very fine hotel', has 'spellbinding views' from its terrace over the Amalfi coast.

'Quite simply, one of the best small hotels we have stayed in.'

Owned and managed by Lorenzo Muner, Oltre Il Giardino is set in the San Polo area of Venice, just a few steps from the Church of Frari and 15 minutes from St Mark's Square.

The location of this stylish new hotel (it opened in 2015) couldn't be bettered – it's 100m from Florence Cathedral and in easy walking distance of the city's major sights.

This small Tuscan hilltop hotel, much loved by Guide readers over many years, has been owned by the famous Della Robbia family since the 16th century.

'One of the best hotels (for the price) that we have stayed in,' says a visitor. The Sagnotti family's palazzo,a hotel for over 150 years, is within walking distance of most of the main attractions.