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Southern

NATURE ITSELF SEEMS A LITTLE WILDER IN SOUTHERN ITALY, where a single landscape can encompass smoking volcanoes, fertile green valleys, steep sea cliff s and cobalt seas. Italy’s greatest hits may lie further to north, but the south may actually tug harder at the heartstrings, with its friendly and voluble people, piquant culinary traditions, wild backcountry and splendorous, palm-fanned cities.

With the exception of ’ notorious traffi c, this is also perfect driving country. Naples, Vesuvius and the Amalfi Coast are Grand Tour musts. But lesser-known routes reward for their pure surprise factor, from Cilento’s pristine coast to the ski slopes of Sicily’s Madonie Mountains.

Aeolian Islands Views across cobalt seas from Lipari to Vulcano (Trip 35) JEAN-PIERRE DEGAS/HEMIS/CORBIS © ^# /·E80 Terni L Viterbo ^# Rieti ^# ^# #\ /·A1 Corsica /·A24 #] Av Capo #_ Southern Linaro R Monte Cavo T Italy (949m) L Palau Capo FG37 #\ Capo Circeo d StintinoSt d'Orso #\ #\ #] Olbia Ponza Castelsardo ^# MonteMonte R Sassari Timidone #] Alghero (361m) ^# Tyrrhenian Nuoro #\ Dorgali R Sea Monte Oddeu (1063m) R ^# Punta La Marmora Oristano FG #\ (1834m) 38 Laconi de SARDINIA #\ Ver

a Sanluri #\

st Muravera

San Co ^# Pietro #\ Salina Cagliari Sant'Antioco Capo Malfatano

P Trapani /·A2 Marettimo ^# 0¸A29dir C MEDITERRANEAN Favignana #\ SEA Marsala #\ S Selinunte

e# 0200km 0100miles Pantelleria

ShadowSh of Vesuvius 2–3 Days Salento Surprises 5–7 Days p Head from Naples’ tumult to u From sunny beaches to Lecce’s ’s long-buried mysteries. (p273 ) madcap baroque in Italy’s heel. (p 317 ) Southern Larder 3–4 Days Across the Lucanian Appennines q Pair raw beauty with exuberant v 5–7 Days cuisine on ’s coast. (p 283) From idyllic Maratea, cross ’s mountains to otherworldly . AmalfiAm Coast 7 Days (p 325 ) r A stunning coastline of vertical The Calabrian Wilderness landscapes and chic resort towns. (p 291) w 8–10 Days Cilento Coastal Trail 4–5 Days Immerse yourself in the natural beauty of s A rugged peninsula where Italy’s least-explored region. (p333 ) mountains meet the pristine sea. (p301 ) Puglia’s Pilgrim Trail 4 Days WondersWo of Ancient Sicily t Northern Puglia’s castles, dazzling x 12–14 Days coastline and deep cultural roots. (p 309) Sicily’s age-old appeal, from Arab roots to Greek splendours. (p343 ) 270

38-southern-italy-open-tr-ita1.indd 270 22/11/2012 11:56:37 AM i L'Aquila ^# Pescara ^# Isole /·A25 Tremiti #] Guardiagrele DON'T Parco 4 ABRUZZO \# MISS /· #] \# Termoli /·A14 Nazionale Viesta Avezzano del Gargano Adriatic E R MOLISE #] #\ Monte Sant' Angelo Sea Isernia Golfo di Monte ^# San Severo Tranquillo ^# Manfredonia Vietri sul Mare (1841m) Campobasso /·A1 \#Trani LAZIO FG29 ^#Bari Bring back a piece CAMPANIA A16 Golfo /· #\ Conversano of the Amalfi Coast di Gaeta PUGLIA /·A14

Naples Mt Vesuvius BASILICATA from this seaside

^# R(1281m) Matera a ‚ Potenza ^# idyll, renowned for its

FG25 ^# ^# Taran to Lecce

‚ #\ ^# #] ‚ ^# bright-hued ceramics, Sorrento #\ Castelmezzano #\ FG Parco FG on Trip 31 Nazionale 30 r FG27 FG26 FG28 Golfo di Gallipoli \# del Pollino #\ Monte Taranto #\ #\ RPollino Santa #\ Maratea #\ R (2248m) Maria di Morano Calabro Capo Palinuro Monti di Leuca Orsomarso /·A3 Hike this rocky (1987m) promontory for #\ Camigliatello Silano Cosenza ^# gorgeous views of the ^# CALABRIA Crotone Cilento coast, followed FG32 ^# Capo Rizzuto by a snorkel in its cobalt Aeolian Stromboli Pizzo Catanzaro Islands Capo #\ Golfo di waters, on Trip s Vaticano A3 Squillace Ustica Salina Panarea /· Lipari #\FG Vulcano 35 Messina #\ Gerace Milazzo \# ^# R Montalto Matera ^# (1955m) ^# Cefalù

/·A29 \# /·A20 Reggio Visit Matera, where

Pizzo Ta o r m i n a Ionian 0¸dir Carbonara R‚ FG34 #\ Calabria Sea ancient cave dwellings (1979m) #\ Mt EtnaR Petralia (3340m) /·A18 are transformed into SICILY Soprana ^# /·A19 ^# wine bars and boutique Ion Enna Co Agrigento ian sleeps, on Trip ast v ^# FG36 FG Gela ^#Syracuse 33 ^# Ragusa Golfo ^# #\ di Gela Hotel Ristorante Pomieri At this lonely inn, Into the Madonie Mountains 3–5 Days mountain-grown y Escape from Sicily’s coast into this ingredients are hiker’s rugged paradise. (p357 ) transmuted into unforgettable meals, on Sicilian Island Hop 7 Days Trip y z After climbing smouldering Etna, strike out for the Aeolian’s volcanic mysteries. (p365 ) Sicilian Baroque 5 Days Monte Fossa delle { Gawk at the sumptuous cities and towns Felci of Sicily’s scenic southeast. (p373 ) Pack a picnic starring Emerald Coast 5–7 Days the prized local | See why the Aga Khan bet his fortune on wine, then this splendid stretch of Sardinia. (p381 ) climb Salina’s highest peak for dazzling views Historic Sardinia 7 Days on Trip z } Cross Sardinia’s wild interior in search of the island’s Bronze Age past. (p389 )

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