“Why on earth would anyone come here?” my husband, Marco, asked me as he drove along the curving road to Maratea, a little village in Basilicata, the region on the arch of the boot, between Puglia and Calabria. For a moment, a wave of doubt washed over me. Had I stumbled in my endless quest to find Italy’s most under-the-radar hidden gems?

As soon as we crossed the threshold of Santavenere, though, my fears were allayed. At the reception desk, a trio of friendly ladies greeted us warmly. Directly in front of us, a window framed a postcard-perfect view of the sea, fringed by mountains, trees, and fuchsia bougainvillea.