The Southern Tyrrhenian
.......the blue of the sea, the fascination of its history
Location
We see kilometre upon kilometre of coasts washed by the deep blue of the Tyrrhenian, long, long golden beaches interspersed with hidden, sandy or rocky coves, high crags that plunge into a crystal clear sea, and the unique natural beauties of unusual landscapes, villages and towns, in an area where everything is history, tradition and colour.
The southern Tyrrhenian coasts, between Campania and Calabria, with a short stretch of coast in Basilicata, are a fascinating place to visit, permeated with poetry. Here, you find people - the Southern Italians - with an innate sense of hospitality, and a land that is largely untouched, although it has highly modern tourist facilities. Here, you can sample typical food based on fish caught fresh each day, with specialities prepared according to traditional rules, far the most discerning palates. Here, a holiday becomes a dream.
Naples Riviera
Following the Tyrrhenian coast southwards, we cross an administrative border dividing the region of Latium from Campania, but we still follow the same thread of history that harks back to their common Latin roots. This is the land of the ancient Aurunci tribe, a low, flat coastline with, at its centre, the mouth of the Volturno river - - today one of the best loved coastlines far tourists because of the beauty of its landscape, the hospitality and facilities offered by places such as Baia Domizia and the numerous possibilities far tracing the course of ancient history in towns such as Cuma. We go past the headland of the Procida mountain, and come into an area which we might define, without exaggeration, as one of the Earth's jewels: the Naples riviera. Grouped together into a very small space, we find an infinite number of natural beauties and the remains of an ancient civilisation, such as can be seen in few other places in the world. Just a short distance tram the fascinating ruins at Pompei - -the town that was buried by ash tram Vesuvius in 79 A.D. - there are lots of coastal towns surrounding Naples: Pozzuoli, in an area of sulphurous springs; Ercolano, which underwent the same fate as Pompei, as testified by the impressive ruins, and Torre del Greco, famous far processing coral. You can get a spectacular panoramic view of the wide gulf of Naples from the Posillipo hill, a lovely look-out point in this corner of the Tyrrhenian.
Amalfi Coast
The mountain of Vesuvius looks southwards and virtually forms a natural backdrop to another of the most celebrated and popular landscapes: the Amalfi coast, with its real treasures, like Sorrento on the Peninsula jutting out towards the sea at Capri - a favourite resort of aristocrats and poets in the last century, and now an international tourist site.
Then there's Amalfi itself. famous for its glorious history as a maritime republic; Positano, one of the most beautiful and best loved holiday resorts, and Ravello with its sumptuous old villas set in panoramic locations, ever popular with rich people and famous artists (such as Wagner, who came to stay here to complete Parsifal).
Continuing on our journey from north to south, we arrive at Piana del Sele, the land of buffalo mozzarella - one of the most delicious cheeses in Italy. Here, on the coast, we again come across places where seaside tourism and cultural tourism blend together into a unique extraordinary experience, such as at Paestum, which has excellent remains of its Greek past (its temples are some of the best preserved from ancient times).
Policastro Bay
The tourist is welcomed at this point into the Cilento area. On a visit to this little piece of Italy, you can have a marvellous time wandering about the roads leading from the coast to the villages nestling on the rocky mountains.
The Cilento area is a handful of little villages, each one more beautiful than the next, and visiting them means savouring the real flavour of the South. There is a line of tourist -resorts along the coast, such as Agropoli (of Byzantine origin), Castellabate (built around an 11th century castle), Acciaroli, Marina di Ascea, Palinuro, Marina di Camerota, and Sapri.
We are in the wide, beautiful gulf of Policastro, with kaleidoscopic scenery of rocks, coves, rugged coasts studded with cluster-pines, hidden beaches, both sandy and pebble, and wonderful caves.
Here Campania gives way, although only far a short distance of little more than 30 kilometres, to Basilicata. This region has a small corner of paradise facing the Tyrrhenian, in which the most important tourist centre is Maratea on the steep mountain slopes, with the charming hamlets of Fiumicello, Santavenere and Porto. This place has only recently been discovered by the great mass of tourists; it stretches along a beautiful coastline with the little island of Santo lanni at its edge, and is attractive also far those who lave exploring underwater
Calabra Coast
Just one more step and now we're in Calabria, the furthest southern spur of the Italian peninsula, like a large platform extending out to touch the heart of the Mediterranean. Full of vitality and legacies of ancient times, this is the land of myths, of Scylla and Charybdis, of Byzantine religiosity, of the Aspromonte area which figures in the Chansons de gestes, of centuries old olive trees, of bergamot and jasmine.
This entirely Mediterranean and European region has received the strong impulses of its past history from the sea, and is building its future on the sea as well. Calabria is surrounded on two sides by the sea. The Tyrrhenian frames its western coast, where we find a mixture of highly varied environments, with characteristic flora and fauna. The mountains often plunge down into the sea with dizzy cliff drops. One example of the contrasts and the diversity of the natural landscape can be seen in the fad that, in the Paola area, you go up from sea level to a height of aver 1200 m. in the space of about 6 kilometres (as the crow flies). Costa Viola, Costa dei Gelsomini, Riviera dei Cedri: these are certainly evocative names to define the shores of a region that has found its true vocation in the tourist industry, putting it to great effect in places such as Praia a Mare (just aver the border from Basilicata), Scalea, Diamante, Cetraro, Paola, and also Amantea, beautiful Tropea, Nicotera, and Bagnara Calabra, where we are already in sight of the strait of Messina.
La Costa del Cilento
The tourist is welcomed at this point into the Cilento area. On a visit to this little piece of Italy, you can have a marvellous time wandering about the roads leading from the coast to the villages nestling on the rocky mountains. The Cilento area is a handful of little villages, each one more beautiful than the next, and visiting them means savouring the real flavour of the South. There is a line of tourist -resorts along the coast, such as Agropoli (of Byzantine origin), Castellabate (built around an 11th century castle), Acciaroli, Marina di Ascea, Palinuro, Marina di Camerota, and Sapri. We are in the wide, beautiful gulf of Policastro, with kaleidoscopic scenery of rocks, coves, rugged coasts studded with cluster-pines, hidden beaches, both sandy and pebble, and wonderful caves.
