THIS EDITION WRITTEN AND RESEARCHED BY

Cristian Bonetto, Gregor Clark, Helena Smith

Naples &Campania

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Southern Italy

©Lonely Planet Publications Pty Ltd

Welcome to Southern Italy . . . . . . . . . . 4

Southern Italy Map . . . . . .6

Southern Italy’s Top 10 . . .8

Need to Know . . . . . . . . . .14

First Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16

If You Like… . . . . . . . . . . . .18

Month by Month . . . . . . . 20

Itineraries . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

Travel with Children . . . . 26

Eat & Drink Like a Local . . . . . . . . . . . 28

Regions at a Glance . . . . 33

NAPLES & CAMPANIA . . . . . . . . . 36Naples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39Bay of Naples . . . . . . . . . 61Capri. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61Ischia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68Procida. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70South of Naples . . . . . . . .71Ercolano.&..Herculaneum. . . . . . . . . . . . . 71Mt.Vesuvius. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73Pompeii . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74Sorrento. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82West.of.Sorrento . . . . . . . . . 85Sant’Agata.sui.Due.Golfi. . . 85Marina.del.Cantone. . . . . . . 86Amalfi Coast . . . . . . . . . . 86Positano. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87Praiano.&.Furore . . . . . . . . . 90Amalfi. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91Ravello. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93South.of.Amalfi. . . . . . . . . . . 95Salerno. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95Paestum. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98Costiera Cilentana . . . . . 99Agropoli. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99Parco.Nazionale.del..Cilento.e.Vallo.di.Diano. . . 100

PUGLIA, BASILICATA & CALABRIA . . . . . . . 102Puglia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103Bari. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105Trani. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109Castel.del.Monte . . . . . . . . 112Polignano.a.Mare. . . . . . . . 112Promontorio..del.Gargano. . . . . . . . . . . . . 112Vieste. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113Monte.Sant’Angelo. . . . . . . 115Peschici. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .117

Foresta.Umbra . . . . . . . . . . .117Isole.Tremiti. . . . . . . . . . . . . 118Valle.d’Itria . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119Grotte.di.Castellana. . . . . . 119Alberobello . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119Locorotondo. . . . . . . . . . . . 121Cisternino . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122Martina.Franca. . . . . . . . . . 122Ostuni. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123Lecce . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124Brindisi. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129Southern.&..Western.Salento. . . . . . . . . 132Oria. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132Galatina. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132Otranto. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133Gallipoli . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134Taranto. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135Basilicata . . . . . . . . . . . . 137Matera . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138Potenza . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145Appennino.Lucano. . . . . . . 145Aliano. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145Castelmezzano.&.Pietrapertosa . . . . . . . . . . . 146Basilicata’s..Western.Coast . . . . . . . . . . 146Maratea. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146Calabria . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147Northern.Tyrrhenian.Coast. . . . . . . . 148Praia.a.Mare . . . . . . . . . . . . 148Aieta.&.Tortora. . . . . . . . . . 148Diamante. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149Paloa. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149Cosenza. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149Parco.Nazionale..della.Sila . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151Ionian.Coast . . . . . . . . . . . . 154Le.Castella. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154Gerace. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155

ON THE ROAD

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Contents

Parco.Nazionale.dell’Aspromonte. . . . . . . . . 155Reggio.di.Calabria. . . . . . . 155Southern..Tyrrhenian.Coast. . . . . . . . 158Scilla. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158Capo.Vaticano. . . . . . . . . . . 158Tropea . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159Pizzo. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159

SICILY . . . . . . . . . . . .161Palermo . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165Tyrrhenian Coast . . . . . .177Cefalù. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177Aeolian Islands . . . . . . . 179Lipari . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179Vulcano . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182Salina. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183Stromboli. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185Ionian Coast . . . . . . . . . 187Taormina. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187Catania. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192Mt.Etna . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198Syracuse & the Southeast . . . . . . . . 199Syracuse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199Noto. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207

Modica. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .208Ragusa. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 210Central Sicily & the Mediterranean Coast . . .211Agrigento. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211Western Sicily . . . . . . . . 215Marsala . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215Selinunte. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217Trapani. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217Erice. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 221Segesta . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 222

Southern Italy Today . . . 224History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 226The Southern Way of Life . . . . . . . . . . . 240The Mafia . . . . . . . . . . . . 246The Southern Table . . . 248Art & Architecture . . . . 256

Directory A-Z . . . . . . . . . 262Transport . . . . . . . . . . . . 273Language . . . . . . . . . . . . 281Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . 286Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 289Map Legend . . . . . . . . . . 295

SURVIVAL GUIDE

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SPECIAL FEATURES

Eat & Drink Like a Local . . . . . . . . . . 28Pompeii 3D Illustration . . . . . . . . . . . 76Historical Riches . . . . . . 78The Southern Way of Life . . . . . . . . . . . 240The Mafia . . . . . . . . . . . 246

Historical Riches Few Italian regions can match Campania’s historical legacy. Colonised by the ancient Greeks and loved by the Romans, it’s a sun-drenched repository of A-list antiquities, from World Heritage wonders to lesser-known archaeological gems.

Paestum Great Greek temples never go out of vogue and those at Paestum (p 98 ) are among the greatest outside Greece itself. With the oldest structures stretching back to the 6th century BC, this place makes Rome’s Colosseum feel positively modern.

Herculaneum A bite-sized Pompeii, Herculaneum (p 72 )is even better preserved than its nearby rival. This is the place to delve into the details, from once-upon-a-time shop advertisements and furniture, to quirky mosaics and even an ancient security device.

Pompeii Short of stepping into the Tardis, Pompeii (p 74 ) is your best bet for a little time travel. Snap-locked in ash for centuries, its excavated streetscapes offer a tangible, 3D encounter with the ancients and their daily lives.

Subterranean Naples Eerie aqueducts, mysterious burial crypts and ancient streetscapes: beneath Naples’ hyperactive streets lies a wonderland of Graeco-Roman ruins. For a taste, head below the Complesso Monumentale di San Lorenzo Maggiore (p 43 ) or follow the leader on a Napoli Sotterranea (p 52 ) tour.

Campi Flegrei The Phlegraean Fields simmer with ancient clues. Roam where emperors bathed at the Parco Archeologico di Baia (p 49 ), sneak into a Roman engineering marvel at the Piscina Mirabilis, or spare a thought for doomed martyrs at the Anfiteatro Flavio.

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1. Parco Archeologico di Baia (p49), Campi Flegrei 2. Ruins of Pompeii (p74) 3. Tempio di Nettuno (p99), Paestum 4. Ancient mosaic in Casa di Nettuno e An trite (p72), Herculaneum

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Cristian Bonetto Coordinating Author, Naples & Campania An ex-writer of farce and TV drama, it’s not surprising Cristian clicks with southern Italy. The Italo-Australian has both lived and holidayed in the bel paese (beautiful country), and his musings on the region’s food, art and politics have appeared in newspapers, magazines and websites across the globe. When he’s not in Napoli dodging scooters and seek-ing out more secret wonders, you’ll find Cristian scouring the rest of the globe

for insight and delight. Cristian tweets at @CristianBonetto.

Gregor Clark Sicily Gregor caught the Italy bug at age 14 while living in Florence with his professor dad, who took him to see every fresco, mosaic and museum within a 1000km radius. He’s lived in Le Marche, huffed and puffed across the Dolomites, and fallen head-over-heels for Sicily while researching Lonely Planet’s Cycling Italy and the last three editions of the Italy guide. A lifelong polyglot with a de-gree in romance languages, his peak experience this trip was celebrating his

birthday atop an erupting Stromboli.

Helena Smith Puglia, Basilicata & Calabria Helena has been visiting Italy since she was five. At that time chocolate spread on toast was the main draw – now she goes back for the warmth, the art and the atmosphere. Researching this edition took her from mountain villages in Abruzzo to Baroque Lecce and the ancient cave city of Matera.

OUR STORYA beat-up old car, a few dollars in the pocket and a sense of adventure. In 1972 that’s all Tony and Maureen Wheeler needed for the trip of a lifetime – across Europe and Asia overland to Australia. It took several months, and at the end – broke but inspired – they sat at their kitchen table writing and stapling together their first travel guide, Across Asia on the Cheap. Within a week they’d sold 1500 copies. Lonely Planet was born.

Today, Lonely Planet has offices in Melbourne, London and Oakland, with more than 600 staff and writers. We share Tony’s belief that ‘a great guidebook should do three things: inform, educate and amuse’.

OUR WRITERS

Although the authors and Lonely Planet have taken all reason-able care in preparing this book, we make no warranty about the accuracy or completeness of its content and, to the maxi-mum extent permitted, disclaim all liability arising from its use.

Published by Lonely Planet Publications Pty LtdABN 36 005 607 9832nd edition – Mar 2014ISBN 978 1 74220 751 3© Lonely Planet 2014 Photographs © as indicated 201410 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1Printed in ChinaAll rights reserved. No part of this publication may be copied, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, recording or otherwise, except brief extracts for the purpose of review, and no part of this publication may be sold or hired, without the written permission of the publisher. Lonely Planet and the Lonely Planet logo are trademarks of Lonely Planet and are registered in the US Patent and Trademark Office and in other countries. Lonely Planet does not allow its name or logo to be appropriated by commercial establishments, such as retailers, restaurants or hotels. Please let us know of any misuses: lonelyplanet.com/ip.

©Lonely Planet Publications Pty Ltd

Start on the Tyrrhenian Coast with three days in culture-packed Naples. On day four, time-travel in Pompeii before spending two relaxing nights in Sorrento shopping for artisan crafts, people-watching behind oversized sunglasses and sunning on its nearby beaches. Next up is the enigmatic Amalfi Coast. Lap up two days in romantic Positano and a further two days in Amalfi and panoramic Ravello, the latter home to breathtak-ing gardens and a summer-long arts fest. On day ten, continue east to Salerno for fabu-lous seafood and street life, then shoot inland to ancient Matera. Give yourself a couple of days to explore the town’s extraordinary sassi (former cave dwellings) and to hike through the dramatic Matera Gravina gorge.

Continue on to the fortified port of Gallipoli for medieval architecture and the town’s famed raw seafood. The following day, see Ionian and Adriatic seas meet in Santa Mar-ia di Leuca, then take two days to lap up the sugar-soft, white sand beaches of the Baia dei Turchi in Otranto. Next stop: Lecce, home to some of Italy’s most extraordinary baroque architecture. Spend three days here, making a side trip to Galatina to admire its astoundingly frescoed 14th-century basilica. From Lecce, it’s an easy onward jump to transport hub Brindisi.

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Grand palazzi (mansions), spectacular coastlines and World Heritage-listed towns and ruins – savour the best of southern Italy on this truly unforgettable route. Begin with four days in Naples, exploring its art-crammed palaces, secret cloisters and aqueducts. Take a day trip to Caserta to gape at its bigger-than-Versailles royal palace and another day trip to the haunting ruins of Pompeii. Treat yourself to two days on ethereal Capri, one of Italy’s most spectacular islands, before jumping across to Sorrento for a day of shopping and ambling.

Come day eight, it’s time to hit the hairpin turns of the Amalfi Coast. Indulge with two days in Positano, from where you can hike some of the breathtaking Sentiero degli Dei (Walk of the Gods), and another two nights in Amalfi or Ravello. Roam the stoic Greek temples of Paestum on day 12 before continuing east to fellow World-Heritage treasure Matera, taking two days to wine and dine in its arthritic laneways and extraor-dinary ‘cave’ buildings. Next up are the Greek ruins of Metaponto, the former home-town of Pythagoras and location of the incredible Tavole Paltine, one-time meeting point for medieval Crusaders. More ancient tales await in nearby Policoro, with archaeologi-cal artifacts spanning 9000 years. From here, slip into the sprawling wilderness of the Parco Nazionale del Pollino, Italy’s largest national park. With Terranova di Pollino as your base, spend three days hiking through invigorating woods and exploring the curi-ous Albanian villages of San Paolo Albanese and San Costantino Albanese.

Continue west to the superlative coastal jewel of Maratea. Allow two days to bathe in its turquoise waters, then continue south to Calabria’s seaside showoff Tropea for two further days of seafood and sunsets. Further south in Villa San Giovanni, catch a ferry across to Sicily, spending two days in stylish, coastal Taormina, Sicily’s former Byzan-tine capital and home to the world’s most spectacularly located Greek amphitheatre. On day 25, scale mighty Mt Etna, then head back down for the architectural wonders of Catania on day 26. Wrap up in stunning Syracuse, a picture-perfect jumble of sun-bleached ruins, baroque piazzas, animated markets and irresistible blue sea.

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Sicily is sweet, spicy and intriguing. For a taste, fly into Palermo and take three days to savour its fusion architecture, mo-saics and markets. Spend day four roaming the ruins at Segesta before continuing on to Trapani to sample its Arabesque cuisine. The next morning head up to Erice, one of Italy’s most arresting med-ieval hilltop towns. Come back down to spend day six sipping sweet local wine in Marsala and day seven exploring ancient Selinunte. More archaeological marvels await on day eight at the Valle dei Templi in Agrigento, with its five Doric struc-tures perched on a ridge overlooking the Mediterranean coast. On day nine, shoot southeast to the Val di Noto and spend a couple of days in its baroque, World Heritage-listed towns, especially Ragusa, Modica and Noto. Change gear on days 12 and 13 with a stay in youthful, worldly Catania, a city famed for its fish market and kicking nightlife. Tackle Mt Etna on day 14 before two days of wining and sunning in chic, coastal Taormina. From Messina, catch a hydrofoil to the Aeolian Islands for five days of island-hopping along this arresting volcanic ridge.

3 WEEKS Best of Sicily

Puglia is one of Italy’s most underrated regions. Start your revelation in dynamic Bari, exploring its ancient historic centre and huge Romanesque basilica. Strike out south, via Polignano a Mare, to the fa-mous Grotte di Castellana, Italy’s longest network of subterranean caves. From here, a two- to three-day drive south will take you through some of the finest Valle d’Itria towns, including Alberobello, with its hobbitlike trulli houses, wine- producing Locorotondo, beautiful baroque Mar-tina Franca and chic, whitewashed Ostu-ni. Next up is Lecce, dubbed the ‘Florence of the South’ for its operatic architectural ensembles and scholarly bent. Hire a bike and spend at least three or four days here before moving on to Galatina to see its basilica, awash with astounding frescoes. Head east to the fortified port of Otranto and the inviting beaches of the Baia dei Turchi, then push south along the wild, vertiginous coastline to Santa Maria di Leuca, the very tip of the Italian stiletto. Conclude your adventure in the island city of Gallipoli, feasting on raw sea urchin and octopus in its elegant town centre.

2 WEEKS

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24

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Three islands stud the Bay of Naples, and each has its own distinct feeling and ap-peal. Fly into Naples and soak up the city’s heady jumble of hyperactive street life, frescoed churches and erudite pal-aces. On the third day catch a hydrofoil to Capri, your first island stop. Amble lazily through the chichi laneways of Capri Town and Anacapri, roam the ruins of an imperial Roman villa, and be rowed into the world’s most arresting sea grotto. On day five, catch a ferry west to Ischia, the biggest of the bay islands. Spend your three days sauntering through luxurious gardens and soaking in the island’s famous thermal waters. Swoon over the island’s renowned white wine and tuck into its most celebrated dish, coniglio all’ischitana (Ischian-style rabbit). If you can manage to pull yourself away, catch a ferry across to pocket-sized Procida on day eight for two days of lo-fi bliss. Relive scenes from the film Il Postino in pastel-hued Marina Cor-ricella, eat fresh fish by the beach and take a dive to explore the island’s rich marine life. Refreshed and recharged, it’s an easy hydrofoil trip back to Naples.

9 DAYS Campanian

Island HopStart your soulful saunter in the cave city of Matera. Spend a couple of days explor-ing its famous sassi, as well as the chiese rupestri (cave churches), on a hike along the Gravina. From here, continue south to the Parco Nazionale del Pollino for a seri-ous nature fix. Base yourself in Terranova di Pollino for four days, hiking through pine woods and beech forest to Basilicata’s highest peak, Monte Pollino, and dancing to the zampogne (double-chantered pipes) in the Albanian villages of San Paolo Al-banese and San Costantino Albanese. Don’t leave the park without spotting the rare Bosnian pine tree, pino loricato. Lungs filled with mountain air, it’s time to head west to the gorgeous coastal gem of Maratea. Pass a couple of days sooth-ing your muscles in the town’s crystalline Tyrrhenian waters, kicking back at local bars and feasting on fresh seafood. From here, head south to Calabria on the SS18 coastal road. If it’s September, you might catch a chilli-eating competition in Dia-mante. Otherwise, keep moving until you reach Calabria’s most arresting coastal town, Tropea, where your journey ends with piercing views and sunsets.

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