DESTINATION INFORMATION

Campania is the region where the culture of Southern Italy started in the centre of Magna Graecia. Its lost cities like Paestum, near the Palazzo Belmonte, still stand above the sea where Ulysses sailed, as does Pompei, the only Roman city which survives virtually intact, thanks to the natural catastrophe which preserved it for the wonder of posterity. Campania has survived earthquakes and volcanoes over the centuries, producing a resilient warm and welcoming people, descendants from its history of Greeks, Lombards, Byzantines, Saracens, Normans and Spaniards (and not a small dash of Italian!) all combining to make this vibrant and picturesque area the most fascinating cultural mix in Europe. Above all, Campania offers that most valuable commodity to the holidaymaker – the sea. It is further south and beyond Naples, around the shores of the Tyrrhenian, that our two idyllic locations are found on the fabled Amalfi Coast – Positano. Opposite, at the southern end of the Gulf of Salerno, the Palazzo Belmonte at Santa Maria di Castellabate, where CV started in Italy, almost 24 years ago. So diverse is Campania, that only a few hours drive south from Rome brings you to palm trees, buffalo farms where mozzarella is made and a noticeable increase in temperature. Campania give the aspiring tourist the chance to be caught up in the intoxicating timelessness of a part of Italy that only the more sophisticated travellers know about, and its wonderful mixture of ancient history and the best pizzas in the world is certainly a beguiling combination.