Campania: Holiday Apartments and Holiday Homes

Campania brings together ancient cities, volcanic landscapes, historic monastic complexes and protected coastal areas within a compact region. The UNESCO World Heritage site includes the ancient cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum, the Villa of the Mysteries, the Villa of the Papyri, and Villa A and Villa B in Torre Annunziata. Their history is closely connected to the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD 79: Pompeii was buried under volcanic ash and lapilli, while Herculaneum disappeared beneath pyroclastic surges and flows. The archaeological sites of Pompeii, Herculaneum and Torre Annunziata were gradually excavated and have been open to the public since the mid-18th century.

Culture and History

The collections of the MANN also lead into the ancient world of Campania. The mosaic section displays examples from private houses in Pompeii, Herculaneum and other sites in Campania. The collection covers the period from the 2nd century BC to the 1st century AD. In the Parco Archeologico di Cuma, the ancient Via Sacra leads up the hill to the Acropolis and the Tempio Maggiore. From the park’s Belvedere terrace, there are views of the islands of Ischia and Procida.

Another significant site is the Certosa di San Lorenzo, the largest monastic complex in southern Italy. It has been on the UNESCO World Heritage List since 1998. The visitor route includes the church, the refectory, the kitchen, the large cloister, the monumental staircase and the Procurators’ Cloister, among other areas. As a result, religious architecture, spaces of monastic daily life and representative passageways stand directly alongside one another within the same complex.

Landscape and Nature

The complex of Caserta includes a 123-hectare Royal Park, a 3-kilometre-long Via d’Acqua and more than 200 botanical species in the English Garden. Along the coast, the Costiera Amalfitana stretches along the southern coast of the Sorrentine Peninsula in the province of Salerno. It is regarded as a landscape of outstanding cultural value, shaped by nature and human activity. Its landscape combines rocky areas, woodland and scrubland with citrus groves and vineyards.

The UNESCO World Heritage site of the Costiera Amalfitana covers 11,231 hectares. It includes 15 municipalities, agricultural land and three nature reserves. In this way, coastal formations, cultivated land, settlement areas and protected natural areas are interconnected within a shared World Heritage area.

Volcanic Traces

At Mount Vesuvius, the volcanic character can be followed not only at the archaeological sites, but also directly in the landscape. The Gran-Cono trail in Parco Nazionale del Vesuvio is 4,010 metres long as a round trip, reaches a maximum elevation of 1,175 metres and takes about two and a half hours. The trail is easy and begins and ends in San Vito in Ercolano. Its surface runs over young volcanic ash and lapilli as well as small lava flows that formed during the 1944 eruption.

Archaeological Spaces and Trails

For visits to the ancient sites around Paestum, the combined ticket for the Parchi archeologici di Paestum e Velia includes access to the archaeological areas of Paestum and Velia as well as to the Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Paestum. A free shuttle connects the Voza car park near Paestum with the Museo dell’Heraion sul Sele.

The 14-kilometre Sentiero della Primula nature trail is an additional option. It runs across a headland and offers views of the sea, forests, rivers and archaeological areas. The Parco Nazionale del Cilento e Vallo di Diano also has a network of old hiking trails and promotes walking. The trails and landscapes thus range from volcanic ash on Mount Vesuvius to coastal, river and woodland landscapes in southern Campania.

Traditional agricultural and food products are also part of the region’s culture. The official register of traditional agricultural and food products in Campania includes 614 registered products.

The regional classification also includes Avellino, Benevento and Naples. The linked subregions provide further regional perspectives within Campania.

For the overarching travel overview: Italy.

More Destinations

More places within the same destination:

Lombardy, Sicily.