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Campania |
Capital: Naples
Major airport: Naples (NAP) |
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Coastal Campania has been tempting travellers for
many millennia: it was off these shores that Ulysses
had his crew tie him to the mast of his ship so as
to prevent him from succumbing to the allure of the
local sirens. It could be said too that Campania’s
attractions contributed to the demise of the Roman
empire, for many of her emperors and senators
preferred to cavort in their seaside villas here than
attend to their responsibilities at the capital.
Along the craggy southern flank of the Sorrento
Peninsula lies Campania’s best-loved area, the
Amalfi Coast or Costiera Amalfitana. Here, villages
are stacked up almost vertically against the steep
hillsides, and connected by roads which are never
straight or flat for more than a few feet at a time.
The benefit it, of course, that every flowerbedecked balcony or window enjoys a breathtaking view of an impossibly blue and marvellously sparkling Mediterranean Sea.
Naples, the province’s largest city, is both chaotic
and spectacular, a crumbling yet vibrant metropolis
packed with architectural gems of the Middle Ages.
Its skyline is dominated by dormant Vesuvius, the
volcano that in AD 79 buried the Roman cities of
Pompeii and Stabiae in hot ash, and smothered
nearby Herculaneum in a sea of mud. Excavations
in these ruins have yielded countless artifacts and a wealth of information about the daily lives of the
vanished inhabitants. The ruined cities themselves
are wonderfully evocative, even though many of the artifacts are preserved in the enormous Museo
Archeologico Nazionale in Naples.
More than one Roman emperor sought refuge from
the daily grind on the lovely island of Capri,
poetically dubbed ‘The Breasts of Venus’ for reasons which become obvious as soon as you catch sight of its silhouette. A place of rocky cliffs, citrus groves, white-washed villas and few private cars, the island boasts two villages: busy Capri and
quieter, more remote Anacapri, both with their
share of excellent restaurants. |
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