On the north side of the Borghese Gardens, this luxury hotel is decorated in Art Deco style, with jewel tones, period details and floor-length curtains.

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.

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.

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.

'We cannot think of a nicer, better-run seaside hotel,' says a devotee of this large hotel, built on the site of a villa once owned by the aristocratic Dogi family.

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.

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.

The Sersale family's summer home was turned into this spectacular hotel in 1951, and is still run by descendants of the original brothers.

With 'stunning views' over Florence and the surrounding hills, this family friendly hotel 'couldn't be faulted' by a visitor.

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'.

What Casa Buonocore may lack in amentities such as a pool or direct beach access, it more than makes up for with beautiful country-chic interior design and intimacy.

Ten minutes away from the cable car which takes you to Pila ski resort in 20 minutes, this modern and recently refurbished hotel offers 'a pleasant stay, with excellent and helpful staff', according to a recent visitor.

'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'.

Owned by the 'hands-on' Zanon De Marchi family, this 'wonderful' hotel (Relais & Chateaux) is in a village in the foothills of the Dolomites, amid the vineyards of Prosecco.

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

In the city centre, this Renaissance palace is now a 'beautiful and gracious' hotel with 'stunning' lounges filled with antiques and art treasures, and neo-classical drawings and sculpture by Giovanni Duprè, an ancestor of the present owners.

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.

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

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.

On a cliff-top road outside an old fishing village just south of the Cinque Terre, this restaurant-with-rooms is run by its “very helpful owners”, chef Angelo Cabani and his wife, Giovanna.

'It remains a gem, loved by all who visit it' said the original nominators of the Schrott family's chalet-style hotel, in the 'very beautiful' Passeier / Passiria valley

In a small town in the foothills of the Dolomites (excellent for visiting the Palladian villas) stands this 'wonderful' hotel.

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

The proud boast of this opulent hotel is that it has a hundred windows facing the lagoon.

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.

Suite Dellavite is not a hotel, but instead a centrally-located collection of seven different studio apartments, most of which are spacious and feature kitchenettes with fridges.

A stone-clad 19th-century nobleman's residence, modelled on a 14th century fortress, Villa Carlotta, perches high on a cliff above the Ionian Sea, with stunning panoramic views…

A former watchtower for the Knights of Malta, dating back to the 15th century, has been turned into this five-star deluxe resort.