San Vito is a small town in the southern highlands of Costa Rica, about 1,000 meters above sea level in the Coto Brus valley. It was founded in the 1950s by Italian immigrant families who came to establish coffee plantations, and that heritage is still noticeable — you can find decent pasta and proper espresso here, which is unusual for this part of the world.
The town itself is a useful base rather than a destination. Most visitors come for the Wilson Botanical Gardens, 6 km to the south, and the vast Parque Internacional La Amistad to the east, one of the largest protected areas in Central America and a UNESCO World Heritage site. San Vito is genuinely off the tourist trail — few travelers make it this far south, which is part of the appeal.