The Campania region of southern Italy borders on the Tyrrhenian Sea. It's capital city, Naples, is situated approximately 200 kilometres south of Rome. Campania also includes the legendary Amalfi Coast, which we cover in more details in the unique areas section of the website. This is a prevalently hilly region, extending along the Tyrrhenian Sea, from the mouth of the Garigliano river to the Gulf of Policastro. The main cities of the region include Napoli, Caserta, Benevento, Avellino, Salerno, Amalfi, Ravello, Positano, and Sorrento. |
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A lot of what we think of as Italian-Italian music, Italian food, Italian culture, even Italian music ("When the moon/hits your eye/like a big pizza pie/ That's Amore!") comes from the Campania region, and in particular Napoli--Naples. It's a wonder that it does not have the same allure and reputation as its sister cities to the north. But Naples, with its waterfront, its mix of the ancient and the modern, its art and culture and its contribution to worldwide culture, is just the beginning of the gifts of this region.
There's so much to see in Naples-Art lovers can visit the Madre, the Museum of Contemporary Art which is home to, among others, works by Andy Warhol, Mimmo Paladino and Damien Hirst. Even the transit system offers something for the art lover: works from major international artists have been installed at various subway stations making it the city's largest open air art gallery! For your fix of history and architecture, there's Santa Chiara that houses a monastery, dating back to the 1300's, tombs and an archeological museum. You can also see the cloister of the Clarisses, decorated with the precious majolica tiles in the Rococo style. The Nuns' Choir has fragments of frescoes by Giotto. There's the mysterious fortress of Castel dell'Ovo, the Egg Castle-much less exciting sounding when you translate it to English! Dating back to the 6th century BC, the castle's name comes from a story that the poet Virgil, who was also believed to be a great sorcerer, put a magical egg in the foundation to support the castle. Castel dell'Ovo is actually on a small island in the Naples harbour called Megaride. It is connected to the shore by a small rocky causeway. It has become a popular place for newlyweds to take their wedding pictures.
From Naples, it's just a short journey by car to the ruins of Pompeii and Herculaneum and the volcano Versuvius. Further up the coast is the beautiful port town of Sorrento, smaller and more serene than Naples. A drive along the Amalfi coast is truly a trip of a lifetime. Just driving along the coastline is an incredible experience. As you drive the twists and turns of the coastal highway you'll see small, often ancient towns with their brightly coloured houses built right into the cliffsides with breathtaking vistas of the sea below. The area is lush and verdant and the air perfumed with the fragrance of citrus and particularly the lemon groves for which Amalfi is famous. You'll find many places along the way, that produce the famous Limoncello liquor. The cities and towns of Amalfi are worth exploring from the narrow alleys of Positano, where you can get fitted for custom made clothing and sandals, to the panoramic views from the city of Ravello, an artist and writer's retreat for hundreds of years, now sought out as a wedding location for people from around the world. In the summer months, Ravello is home home to an internationally renowned music and arts festival. The city of Caserta certainly deserves a stopover, to see the Reggia Vanvitelliana and the old city centre of Caserta Vecchia. And then there are the islands in the Gulf of Naples: Capri, with its Grotta Azzurra [Blue Grotto], Ischia, a resort town famous for its spas and its volcanic mud and thermal spring waters. There is also the Castello Aragonese, that dates back to 474 B.C., and the Gardens of La Mortella. Then there's Paestum, one of Europe's principal archaeological parks, that features three Dorian styled temples and a small amphitheatre, as well as its coastline of long uncontaminated beaches. On the way back, headed for Naples, stop at Pozzuoli to admire the Flavio Amphitheatre, the Temple of Serapide, and the Terra quarter.
FOOD & DRINK
Simplicity and flavour. This is the winning combination for the cuisine of Campania. The result is a cuisine that uses fresh seasonal foods and lets the taste of those ingredients shine through (sound familiar?!!). The queen of the table is the pizza, and the Margherita pizza with its red, white and green-the color of the Italian flag, is the home favorite. The "princess", on the other hand, is pasta. Spaghetti, fusilli, vermicelli, the more the merrier. And it's topped with a variety of sauces, from the simple garlic and oil, alio e olio, to the famous San Marzano tomatoes (the canned San Marzanos are recommended by most chefs around the world), and of course ragù meat sauce - Neapolitan style. Fish dishes are also excellent around these parts, mussels, anchovies, octopus, and of course, baccala, or salt cod. Some of the other specialties include the mozzerella of Mongradone, limoncello liquor and a variety of superb locally produced wines, Taurasi all'Aglianico, Greco di Tufo, Asprino d'Aversa, Lacrima Christi, Fiano and Solopaca. The popular desserts include the rich flaky puffs known as sfolgiate, deliciously soft babà, often marinated in limoncello, and pastiera, a cake made with ricotta cheese and traditionally served at Easter.
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