Italy is dotted with castles from north to south. Perched on top of hills or overlooking the waters of placid lakes, they’re often set in enchanting locations and make for especially romantic destinations. Some have been renovated and converted into fine historic residences, where you can spend a romantic night, transported back to the time when ladies and knights strolled the rooms of fortresses. Here’s a round-up of some of our favorites, which you can either visit for the day or stay overnight.

When it comes to romantic castles, the first that comes to mind is the Castle of Gradara, where the tragic love story of Paolo and Francesca, recounted by Dante in the Canto V of the Divine Comedy’s Inferno, took place. The castle is a 15^th-century fortress built by the powerful Malatesta, built on a pre-existing medieval castle. It’s surrounded by a village encircled by walls and overviews the hills behind the resort town of Gabicce on the Adriatic coast, between the provinces of Pesaro-Urbino and Rimini.