An Idyll to Idle In
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An idyll to idle in Adam Bruce Someone observed this February that if only we had this amount of sunshine in July, Scotland would be a fine place to spend your summers in. As we contemplate another soggy summer, there is a place only a few hours away where summer is as it should be: warm, azure-skied and bucolic. Last October, as what had passed for summer in Scotland definitely passed away, I flew to Naples in search of "la dolce vita". An hour and a half later, the waters of the Bay of Castellabate lapped at my feet as I relaxed on the soft sandy beach. The scent of pine and eucalyptus wafted across the shoreline, borne by the gentlest of breezes. On the horizon a small fishing boat made its slow but steady progress back to harbour. At that precise moment I wasn't sure what was the more satisfying sensation; that I was totally relaxed, warm and sun-kissed; or, that my neighbours at home would be switching on their central heating. This part of Italy, in the centre of Magna Graecia, has always brought out the hedonist in its visitors. It was from the peninsula along from where I sat with my toes in the water that the Sirens sought to lure Ulysses on to the rocks. Ancient Greeks chose wisely when they settled in Paestum. The Romans took their ease at Pompeii and at Herculaneum, the Bourbon kings built their summer palace and pleasure gardens at Caserta. Today the tourists that the Amalfi coast attracts includes those Americans for whom another summer in the Hamptons is just too much. On this coastline stands the 17th-century stately home of Principe Angelo di Belmonte in its five acres of garden on the very edge of the sea. The Palazzo, built around a central courtyard with cascading bougainvillaea and tumbling plumbago and jasmine, was built by the Prince's ancestor, Parise I, as a large hunting lodge to accommodate the parties that sought out wild boar and deer that roamed the coastal headlands, The Belmonte dynasty stretches back to the Lombards who invaded early medieval Italy, and includes four cardinals, and several politicians and ambassadors, one of whom, Antonio Pignatelli, signed the peace treaty between Napoleon and the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. Today, the Palazzo has been partly converted into a hotel, and is without doubt one of the treasures of southern Italy. "There is nothing like this Palazzo by the sea until you reach Sicily," smiles Angelo di Belmonte, who still lives in a private wing of the property. Nestling in parkland above its own private beach, and with views to Capri and Ischia, it is a hidden gem on the south Italian littoral. Guests can stay in apartments in the oldest parts of the building, some of which have self-catering facilities, or in luxurious villas, tucked away in the gardens, with rooms overlooking the still waters of the bay. For guests who want nothing more than some time of total and complete relaxation, the Palazzo envelops you in a sensation of utter tranquillity. Time seems to stand still. You are dimly aware of other guests, but even then the noise of the most boisterous of children seems to be absorbed in the old walls. After a few gentle days spent wandering through the Palazzo's jasmine-filled gardens, on the private beach or by the pool, the curious visitor may feel ready to explore the world outside the walls of the Palazzo. The village of Santa Maria lies beyond the gates. Here, there are cafés, restaurants and shops, and on Saturday mornings there is a market where you can buy everything from an extra bikini, to the most delicious mozzarella di buffalo. Itinerant north African traders jostle with Neapolitan stall-holders to hustle a few more euros from you. Remember: haggle, haggle, haggle. Of all the shops in the village, my favourite is the Cornetteria by the little piazza where you can feast on cornetti con cioccolato and watch the world go by. In the neighbouring cheese shop, they will vacuum pack chunks of parmesan for you to take home to jealous relatives. There are those who would argue that Italian food is best enjoyed eaten outdoors and in the sunshine. Here you can test that theory to the limit. The Palazzo has its own restaurant - il Belvedere - where you can taste specialities of Mediterranean and traditional Neapolitan dishes, sitting at linenstarched tables under cool parasols looking out over the sun-dappled waters of the bay. In the evening you dine out under the stars, listening to the waves lapping on the shore below. On a clear night you can catch a glimpse of Capri's twinkling lights. It is incredibly romantic. There is no compulsion to eat at il Belvedere - although its simple elegance and fine food is appealing - and the village offers several alternatives, from a pizzeria on the shore to an excellent fish restaurant along towards the market. The neighbouring villages of Castellabate and San Marco also have their own excellent places to eat. The area around Castellabate is protected by Unesco, and Castellabate itself stands on a hilltop nearly 1,000ft up. To get to this medieval village you must drive up the narrow hilt road with precipitous hairpins and passing places. Once at the top you are rewarded with extraordinary views out to sea, north to the Bay of Salerno, and inland to rugged hills and olive groves. It is pure, unspoilt southern Italy. If you are feeling particularly sybaritic you can hire a small boat from the harbour at Santa Maria and be ferried out to the coves of the Punta Licosa. The Palazzo will organise a picnic and you can spend the day at ease swimming, sunbathing or sleeping on the boat's gently rolling deck. From Castellabate you can venture further south along the coast, towards the ancient ruins of Velia, stopping at pretty fishing villages such as Acciaroli, where you can feast on crispy calamari and local white wine. Further southwards still are the great cliffs and blue rocky grottoes of Palinuro and inland the famous Certosa di San Lorenzo in Padula, founded in 1306. It was here that in 1535 a frittata of 1000 eggs was prepared for the Emperor Charles V and his court. Also within easy distance of the Palazzo are some of the finest cultural and architectural treasures in southern Italy. The ruins of Paestum -which lay hidden in a mosquito-ridden forest for almost 1,000 years - are the best preserved Greek site in Italy. Founded as Poseidonia by Greek traders in the 7th century BC, it became one of the busiest and most prosperous trading ports on the southern Italian coast. By the 9th century AD, silt and Arab raiders had forced the town's remaining inhabitants to move elsewhere, and when they left the town was swallowed up by the surrounding forest. It was the road engineers of Charles III of Naples who stumbled on the site, and today you can visit the temples of Neptune and Ceres and marvel at their clean lines and ageless beauty. From the Palazzo you can drive north to Salerno, and then on to the romantic Amalfi coast, and the communities of Amalfi, Ravello and Positano. Amalfi is another old trading port, which reached its zenith in the 9th century AD with merchants trading all over the Levant and Asia Minor. It is in the crypt of its fantastic Arab-Norman cathedral that you will find the last remains of St Andrew, removed from Constantinople in 1204. When I visited, he had been removed for cleaning, but the neighbouring display of the diocesan silver gave an indication of the historic wealth of the town. Further on along the twisting coastal road is Positano - which, according to my guide book, "spills down from the comiche like a waterfall of pink, cream and yellow villas". In the high season it is perhaps too full of tourists, and the beach is tough and rocky. But you can spend a relaxing day here in June or September, and combine the trip with the hilltop village of Ravello, where Gore Vidal retreats each year to write and contemplate the state of the Union. Back along the road to Salerno you come to Vietri, which is at the centre of a dynamic pottery industry. You would spend a small fortune on Vietri ceramics at home, so stock up here. Ask nicely and they will pack and send it home for you. Getting to the Cilento from Scotland is not difficult. Low cost carriers can fly you there for less than the cost of flying to London, even in the peak months of July and August. The shoulder months of June and September are the best time to visit - free of school and local holidays, and at a temperature that will not make you boil - the region is at its most welcoming. From Naples airport you can hire a car and drive the hour and a half to the Palazzo, but the easier option is to ask the hotel to arrange a transfer and hire a car when you get to Santa Maria. If Gino collects you, he will stop en route to point out sites of interest. An alternative way of getting to the Palazzo is to combine it with a visit to Rome and Naples. The fast train from Rome to Agropoli - only 20 minutes from Santa Maria - takes three hours and you get to see the Neapolitan coastline in all its glory.