< the Italy That 'Italians Keep · to Themselves
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THE TIMES Saturday January 15 2011 30 Travel i!!i!!iiiiil'" 1111, l!i!ii!i'iHi,: I, 11I1i,l'!iJH iHiI I11 .:1 • Mediterranean < The Italy that 'M Italians keep · to themselves Leave the tourists on the Amalfi coast and head a little farther south to the peaceful Cilento, says DaVld Aaronovitch • • eddings are to the Cilento what fog used to be to the Thames. Every where we go in this hilly, coastal area south of Naples, hitchings are being held, celebrat be reconnoitre the church, shepherded by edorplanned. their chirruping wedding planner. Down in In the Palazzo Belmonte in Santa Maria the piazza, a long table in the best pizzeria di Castellabate, where we are staying, a sags under the weight of food for a party of large group of Irish people drift down to 20 Midlanders either going to or coming breakfast under the sunshades, the chatty from a loud marriage. Even across the Bay outriders for an immense nuptials to be of Amalfi, high above the sea in a public gar held the next day. Up in the hillside village den in Ravello, the air is rent by the sound of Castellabate, close to the castle of the of a helicopter landing and disgorging a abbot, a British bride and bride groom-to- wedding-cake bride in windy white. So, (HRIS WAROE-JONES FOR THE TIMES David Aaronovitch and family. right. stayed in the Palazzo 8elmonte in Santa Maria di Castellabate. above. The village of • Acciaroli. top left What . you . expenence" IS the authentic • Italian seaside holiday, not as obviously a great place for a great moment, world heritage site of Castellabate, the and certainly a good place for a good mo ruins ofancient Paestum and Velia, and the reconstructed ment. Could it be because ofthe good wine? village of Acciaroli, where Hemingway for Northern Apart from those getting wed, few for used to stay and the true location - some eigners seem to find their way as far south say - for The Old Man and the Sea. They Europeans as the Cilento, the hilly area of Campania, may catch up with the true mozzarella di only a couple of dozen miles south of the bufala, but they are a long way from where packed Bay of Naples and Sorrentine pen it is actually made. + insula. So they miss out on the Unesco The villas, rented townhouses and the lr.w " THE TIMES Saturday January 15 2011 Travel 31 Stay in the Cilento · Velia Vista The Hotel Hermitage This is part of a 17th·century country In the Cilento National Park.justoutsidethe estate and working farm. surrounded by vi llage of San Marco di Castellabate. the olive groves and wooded hills. converted hotel. below. has a large terrace overlooking intoa hotel and self-catering the pool and landscaped grounds,Seven accommodation, It is conveniently located nights' B&B. including flights from Gatwick. to explore the nearby Cilento National Park start at£359ppCtwo sharing) through Citalia and the local town of Ascea. which has (08444151987. citalia,coml. Roman ruins, A week's self-catering Will Hide in a one-bedroom apartment starts at £430pp(for two sharing) including car • As the sun softens, the early passeggiata hire. but not flights. with Inntravel begins, with pushchairs, toddlers, mothers, (01653617000. www.inntravel.co,ukl. grannies and dads strolling between the clothes shops and the ice cream parlours, where, by 9pm, the Nutella-flavoured ice Residenza d'Epoca 1861 cream will have sold out. From small cafes This lovely little seaside hotel (0039 come the sounds of distant crowds, as men, 0974961454. residenzadepoca1861.it) watch football on the big screens. in the town of Santa Maria di Castellabate In the square, on most evenings, there is has only six bedrooms, B&B doubles start a jewellery and knick-knack market, sup at£86, planted one day a week by vegetables and fruit. On one side the kids squeal to go on Hotel Villa Sirio the slot rides while their fathers take turns Also in Santa Maria di Castellabate. this • on the life-size mechanical rodeo bull. On elegant hotel sits on the seafront next the other side is a row of pizzerias, the to the little fishing harbour, Book pizzas cooked from scratch in the kitchen. through Long Travel (01694722193. This is where we end up most evenings, long-travel.co,uk), Dinner. bed and having first watched the keepy-uppy foot breakfast sta rts at £75pp for two ball competition on the town beach while sharing, sipping granitas from the outside chairs of a bar. There are few rituals as pleasant as those that you can devise for an evening in Santa Maria. The Palazzo Belmonte, where we are staying, is perfectly placed to enjoy both • the day and evening offers of Santa Maria, • the back door giving on to the beach and the main gate on the street near the square. It is a huge 16th-century, four-storey building now divided into suites. Its gar dens feature ancient trees extending along the slope and the Palazzo not only has a connection with princely history, but the actual prince, There, at breakfast, in a corner of the patio, sits Angelo Granito Pignatelli di Belmonte, the sixtysomething 13th Principe di Belmonte, hair slicked back, in white shirt sleeves and linen trousers. We take a trip to the best local archaeo logical site, the ancient Greek city of Paestum, about ISkm north. On what had been a malarial and overgrown plain Highlights of China between the hills and the sea, Paestum was hotels in the Cilento resound to the more or less lost between its abandonment A cruise along the scenic Yangtze River, cadences not of' German, English or at the end of the Roman era and the including the famed Three Gorges, is French accents, but to Italian dialects. 18th century. The result of this period of considered by many the highlight of a visit Here, on the shore of the Tyrrhenian Sea, obscurity was to preserve the structures of to China. Our tour combines this memorable what you experience is the authentic the most spectacular Greek temples any experience with visits to the historic imperial Italian seaside holiday as Italians like to where in Europe. The temples of Hera and sights of Beijing and Xi'an and dynamic take it, not as reconstructed for Northern Athena stand, almost all their columns Shanghai. A fast paced tour, it offers the Europeans. Getting there and pediments intact, far more complete ' opportunity to see much of the country and its On the beach, each hotel has its own pha Easy Jet (easyjet.com) even than the Acropolis in Athens. main sights within a comparatively short visit. • lanx ofloungers, their beds carrying their offers flights from the UK The temples are wonderful, but in the • Day 1 to Day 5 - Beijing: own distinctive colours, until the strand to Naples, nearby museum you can find the painted 6vernight flight from London for 4 nights in China's looks like a still from a Kurosawa battle frescoes from Greek tombs, including the capital, including visits to the Forbidden City and scene. By Ham each day the whole place is beautiful and poignant Tomb of the Diver. Great Wall of China. given over to the full Italian family. Signor Less poignant are the kitsch busts ofMusso • Day 6 to Day 7 - Xi'an: stands in the shallows, contemplating the Iini in all the local giftshops. Fly south for 2 nights in historic Xi'an, including view, his brown stick legs separated from palazzobelmonte,com) The next day we take the ferry from San a visit to the world famous Terracotta Warriors. has B&B doubles from Marco, across the bay to Amalfi, layered his brown bowl of a belly by tight, tight • Day 8 to Day 10 - Yangtze cruise: Speedos. And not black Speedos at that, €186 (£155); €273 in into the mountainside of the Sorrentine Cruise the mighty Yangtze River aboard our but white or sky blue: essays in unrequest high season, peninsula. We take a taxi up to Ravello and comfortable cruise ship from Chongqing to ed suggestion. Signora lolls vastly on the the family's favourite restaurant, the Yichang, including the spectacular Three Gorges, sunbed with her novel, or hands out crisps Cumpa' Cosimo on Via Roma. When the • Day 11 to Day 13 - Shanghai: and drinks to handsome boys and wrig proprietress Netta Bottone suggests a dish, Fly to Shanghai for 2 nights in this vibrant city, • gling girls,just back from the surf. By Spm accept it. We eat a perfect selection of including introductory tour. the action begins to move to the prome pastas. Then to the Villa Cimbrone, high nade and the town. Sandals slapping, above the sea, where Greta Garbo stayed • Hong Kong extension: Add a stopover in Hong Kong. 3 nights from £275. people make their ways to the cafes on and Virginia Woolf and Violet Trefusis stilts just behind the beds, for a coffee, a B1oomsburyed. Book with confidence KUONI l.-ll!!ll @ beer, chips or a tomato salad. Here, a glimpse down from the Terrazzo IS Travel Collection part ,~If\ B1\ Santa Maria is two ports connected by a dell'infinito reminds you of your mortality, of the Kuon, Group Part of the Kuonl group V258X narrow walkway, plus a small beach, a and a whirr of helicopter blades presages square, a church, a park and a main street. the arrival ofthe bride. + .