GO SOUTH, YOUNG MAN!

The spectacular scenery of Sardinia plays a central role in the 1979 film, The Black Stallion 

This just in: According to a June 21, 2026 article in Travel and Tour World Magazine, Italy has finally surpassed Spain and Greece in the so-called “Battle of the Mediterranean Countries,” an unofficial annual derby tracked by world-wide travel consultants. Despite Americans basking in the Tuscan sun, it turns out that la bell’italia has consistently fallen second to Spain over the decades via international tourist visits in general. So why the sudden turn? 

Turns out it’s because of an old-school business term: “diversification.” 

Though the Holy Trio of Rome/Florence/Venice remains popular, southern regions like Calabria, Puglia, and even Basilicata—not to mention the islands of Sicily and Sardegna (aka Sardinia)— are drawing far more unknown visitors to their shores. 

Even the independent island of Malta, between Sicily and North Africa, which has some Italic roots, is showing an uptick. 

The article credits more aggressive marketing in those regions as part of their success. Then there are the more obvious reasons, such as sunnier year-round weather, less expensive (for now) hotel and air prices, and the sheer novelty of moving beyond Rome and its environs. Taking a page from Columbus, tourists are undoubtedly looking past the Eternal City’s horizon and thinking, “There’s something out there.” Yes, there is. 

Though I’ve yet to visit Sicily, Sardegna or Calabria, Puglia and Basilicata that have their eye-opening delights. 

In Puglia, the lungomare (waterfront) in Bari, where fishermen trade their freshly caught fish, is a marvel. So is the nearby city of Lecce, called the “Florence of the South” for its rococo churches and well-to-do citizens. And Basilicata’s rise is chiefly the result of the spectacular rebirth of Matera, a city whose cave-like dwellings, a source of shame after WWII, have been transformed into ritzy hotels and served as a backdrop to new Hollywood films. 

(Or, more specifically and ironically, to modern films wanting to look much older; e.g. Mel Gibson’s 2004 The Passion of the Christ, which used the still-evocative jagged hills and stark landscapes of Matera to suggest Jerusalem).

If you want to experience Sardegna’s mystical beauty closer to home, it’s fully on display in Carroll Ballard’s 1979 classic film, The Black Stallion. Ballard’s direction has a palpable Italic lyricism to it: The opening steamship sequence was shot in Rome’s Cinecittà‘s studios, and its following island sequences, much of them shot in near-silence, use the power of Sardinian landscapes to convey both isolation and ecstasy. It goes without saying that one should experience this film on a big screen rather than TV. The latter is like viewing an El Greco painting on a postcard—a total diminuendo effect.

Another interesting thing noted in the article is that tourists are also exploring Umbria, the region next to Tuscany. Called “il cuore verde d’Italia,” (the green heart of Italy—it’s lush, like Ireland), Umbria used to be sarcastically known as “the Empty Tuscany.” This was a reference to how its next-door neighbor drew millions of tourists (mostly American) to indulge in author Frances Mayes’s romantic fantasy of transplanted wish-fulfillment. Umbrian towns like Spoleto (a sister-city to Charleston, SC, both of which sponsor annual arts festivals) and Gubbio (home to the enigmatic Iguvine Tablets, as well as an amazing Christmas light show on Mt. Ingino recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records) are finally getting their due. 

(Previously, the only time tourists would dip their toe into land-locked Umbria was to take a quick visit to Assisi to pay homage to St. Francis.) 

I think the rise of social media platforms like YouTube may also be a huge part of this. Today, anyone with a good cell phone can post their own amateur videos of trips to central and southern Italy—and do! They range from truly amateurish to clever and informative. Either way, those regions get free PR.

As the gist of the article points out, the expansion of Italian tourism is a welcome reminder that ALL of Italy is beautiful—a coherent whole, not a mess. –BDC