Once the summertime day-trippers have left, Capri becomes a different place: it has 'charm, beauty, many fabulous sights'.

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

By the Uffizi Gallery, Elisabetta Matucci's B&B is a 15th-century building in a little pedestrianised street (reached under an ancient arch) off the Piazza della Signoria.

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.

'Wholeheartedly recommended' by Guide readers, this elegant four-star B&B hotel is on six floors, with lovely terraces and splendid views ('even from the bathrooms'), and located high above the sea (there are 300 steps down to lovely Incanto beach).

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.

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 bit of a walk from Capri's small main square, Piazza Umberto, in a pleasant residential area, this small modern villa is 'stylish, efficient and vertiginous', says a visitor this year.

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

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.

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'.

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.

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 haunt of English noblemen, this B&B is a conversion of two pink colonial-style villas once owned by Sir Daniel Hanbury.

Set in a 15th-century stone manor house on a hillside ten minutes' drive above Lake Garda and offering 'spectacular views of the lake', this hotel prizes tranquillity above all else – even eschewing the hum of air-conditoning for antique fans and minibars for a civilized self-service bar.

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.

This sumptuous and elegant hotel is located on Via Veneto, the street that formed the backdrop to Fellini's classic movie “La Dolce Vita”, and close to the Piazza di Spagna, Villa Borghese and Via Condotti.

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

'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.

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

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.

'Excellently located', this 'beautifully kept' B&B hotel has been run for many years by its owners, the Bechi family.

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

In a relatively quiet part of the city, by the Accademia, this 14th-century palazzo is part of the Design Hotels group.

'Near Piazza Navona and within walking distance of all the sights (we didn't use a taxi the whole time we were in Rome), this centrally located hotel is on a quiet little street and I could sleep at night with my window open,' writes a visitor.

A 17th-century villa which was the Russian consulate when Venice was an independent republic, this well-known pensione has a 'super position' by a side canal, near the Grand Canal at the Accademia bridge.

Set 1,100m above sea level and 55 yards from ski lifts, this hotel was described by a visitor as 'a delightful, family-run hotel with splendid service. It's a nice old Alpine-style building in a beautiful, peaceful setting.

John Ruskin stayed in this pensione on the Dorsoduro in 1877. Now owned by Marc Sibuet and Regina Segre Amar, who promise 'discreet service and peace', it faces the Giudecca canal.

The Cavaliere family's hotel is in the heart of the Italian Alps, and overlooks Mount Blanc. It's a reconstruction of a 20th-century alpine villa – every room is named after a year – and is old-fashioned in feel, with antique furniture, polished floors and period paintings