Must See Campania
|
By Dion Protani
|
Latest update: 20 November 2023
|
|
The Must See Campania sights are among the very best the country can offer. With so many wonderful places to consider, making this list was both difficult but enjoyable at the same time and after much deliberation, and no doubt some controversy to come, I've plumped for the following sights, and yes, in the order in which they are displayed.
Top of the list is the island of Ischia; now I accept it's probable that I'll be accused of bias here as this was my home for many happy years, and the place that originally inspired the Review series of websites. |
The creation of those websites has taken me to every corner of Italy, something like 3,000 places in total, but nowhere for me can capture the same magic which is conjured by Ischia.
Related Links
|
Ischia is the most Italian of all of the country's islands, a combination of historic sights such as the medieval Castello Aragonese, surrounded by sea and accessed by a stone bridge to the mainland, but also wonderful beaches where you can swim in bright, cobalt blue water.
It's also a fascinating geological site which produces hot thermal water that modern bathers can enjoy at a series of thermal parks. At the centre of the island is the verdant Mount Epomeo with its myriad walking routes that you can enjoy all year round, but especially in spring when the island's flowers are in bloom. |
Castello Aragonese, Ischia
|
Positano, Amalfi Coast
|
Campania can boast half a dozen different UNESCO World Heritage sites and the first of those on my Must See Campania list is the Amalfi Coast. Situated entirely within the Province of Salerno, this 37 mile (60 km) stretch of coastline starts just before the town of Positano whose houses cling on to the cliffside for dear life, desperate to continue the dreamy vistas of the bay below.
Further east you come to Amalfi, full of history and one of the most dazzling squares in Italy, Piazza Duomo, whose steps lead up to Amalfi Cathedral. Inland from Amalfi lies the hill town of Ravello, itself with a glorious cathedral but better known for its two iconic gardens: Villa Rufolo and Villa Cimbrone. |
|
The capital city of Campania is certainly not to be missed either.
Naples was once the most important city in the world; a city whose fortunes have waxed and waned dramatically over the years, leaving behind it a tapestry of colliding cultures, architectural anomalies and an underground world that's just as fascinating as that above ground. Napoli's bustling port area is still hugely important in terms of trade and travel, making it a melting pot of cosmopolitan charm, the most vivacious of all the Italian cities. Among the highlights, Naples can boast the world's oldest theatre, Teatro San Carlo. |
Belvedere San Martino, Naples
|
Faraglioni, Capri
|
Much of Naples' charm has to be sought out, sometimes under cover of something outwardly less inspiring, but the same cannot be said of the island of Capri.
Nothing is hidden here, everything is spectacular, glamorous and usually expensive. Smaller than Ischia, it veritably bursts at the seams on a daily basis with visitors jostling for position to visit the incredible Blue Grotto. In Capri's main town, all but the rich and famous can but window shop on the chic shopping street Via Camerelle which knows not the meaning of a price tag. The rest of us can take solace in the island's spectacular natural sights such as the Faraglioni sea stacks and the turquoise encrusted beaches. |
|
Casting its shadow over Naples and the surrounding area, Mount Vesuvius is the malignant presence that destroyed the city of Pompeii with its fiery outburst in 79 AD.
When the city was excavated thousands of years later, archaeologists poured plaster into the cavities which revealed the sombre statues that we see today on visiting the site. These figures, frozen in time, bring the final, horrific moments of Pompeii vividly to life and so intact is this vast archaeological park, that it doesn't take too much imagination to see what life was like 2,000 years ago, one of the most graphic snapshots of a bygone era anywhere on the planet. |
Pompeii, Campania
|
Marina Piccola, Sorrento
|
The Sorrento Peninsula offers a certain charm, grace and splendour that has been lost to much of the world. Waiters wearing gloves and white waistcoats will pour you an invigorating Cappuccino while you gaze out at the Bay of Naples from Villa Comunale, the airy garden that stands at the top of a cliff.
Wander inland and you'll find a couple getting married at the Church and Cloisters of San Francesco, intermingling with the locals as they take their passeggiata through the town's many shopping areas. Away from Sorrento itself there are towns like Meta and Vico Equense, less heralded but oozing charm and yet to be fully discovered by the majority of tourists. |
|
Directly north of Naples lies the city of Caserta, one of the region's five provincial capitals but whose fame is owed almost entirely to its shining light, the Royal Palace of Caserta.
This is another of Campania's UNESCO World Heritage sites and comprises not only a glorious palace full of 18th century splendour, but a garden whose dimensions have to be seen to be believed. To walk, for example, from the doors of the palace to the fountain at the far end of the garden, takes some 45 minutes, during which time you'll pass other-worldly sculptures, water features and pristine lawns. |
Royal Palace of Caserta, Campania
|
Paestum, Campania
|
Dwarfed by the fame of Pompeii but no less in stature, is the archaeological site of Paestum (pronounced "PESS TUM").
The once important city of the Magna Grecia region, it was founded by the Greeks around 600 BC and is one of the best preserved archaeological sites of its kind in the world. The highlights here include three wonderfully intact Doric Temples as well as a museum where you can learn more about the city's past. Paestum is located in the southern part of Campania, in an area particularly famed for its production of Mozzarella cheese. |
|
Narrowing this list down was no easy feat; I mean, I couldn't including absolutely everything, as "everything" takes up this whole website, rather than one little page. However, I couldn't compile this list without including the island of Procida.
Famous as the setting for the film Il Postino and for some of The Talented Mr Ripley (mostly filmed on Ischia), Procida is the proud possessor of one of the most beguiling sights in the whole of Italy, the incomparable Marina Corricella. Just a short hop on the ferry from Naples followed by a climb up the walled citadel, Terra Murata, brings you the breathtaking sight of the tiny houses, waving a magic wand of colour through the sea. |
Marina Corricella, Procida
|
There is more, much more to Campania than the sights above and I have to give an honourable mention to the archaeological site of Herculaneum and the beautiful Cilento Coast, down in the Province of Salerno close to Paestum. And of course, everything in Campania is underscored by the looming, menacing presence of Mount Vesuvius, which cannot and should never be ignored.
