Campania faces the Tyrrhenian Sea and includes one of the finest coastlines in Italy. The hinterland is essentially mountainous, with irregular massifs broken here and there by valleys and plains. In front of the Gulfs of Naples and Salerno, we can admire marvelous and enchanting islands: Capri, Ischia, Procida.
Naples is the regional capital. Other important cities are Caserta, Benevento, Salerno and Avellino.
Campania is in many ways Italy's most memorable and beautiful region. It forms a fertile crescent around the bays of Naples and Sorrento and stretches inland into a landscape of limestone rocks dotted with patches of fertile soil. The geological oddities of Campania include a smoldering and dangerous volcano (already famous for having destroyed Pompeii and Herculaneum), sulfurous springs that belch steam and smelly gases, and lakes that ancient myths refer to as the gateway to Hades. Its seaside highway is the most beautiful, and probably the most treacherous, in the world, combining danger at every hairpin turn with some of Italy's most reckless drivers. Despite such dark images, Campania is a most captivating region, sought out by native Italians and visitors alike for its combination of earth, sea, and sky. Coupled with this are Europe's densest collection of ancient ruins, each celebrated by classical scholars as among the very best of its kind.
Sorrento and Amalfi are in the vanguard, with the widest range of facilities; Positano has more snob appeal and is popular with artists; Ravello is still the choice of the discriminating few (such as Gore Vidal) who desire relative seclusion. The gorgeous island of Capri (accessible by ferry from Sorrento or Naples) was known to emperors before international travelers discovered it. But the popularity of the resort-studded Amalfi Coast is a more recent phenomenon. It was discovered by German officers during World War II, and then later by American and English servicemen (Positano was a British rest camp in the last months of the war). When the war was over, many of these servicemen returned, often bringing their families. In time, the fishing villages became major tourism centers, with hotels and restaurants in all price ranges. |
