Top Five Travel Destinations in Southern Italy

Guest Post by Cherrye Moore

Over the last few months I’ve shared some of my favorite sites in my adopted southern Italian hometown, Catanzaro and five of my favorite things to do in Calabria-the toe of the boot. However, if I can expand just a bit more, I am pretty sure I could rustle up five great travel attractions south of Rome.

Let’s see … .

1. Amalfi Coast (Campania) – The Amalfi Coast might be the worst-kept secret in Italy-it’s chic, it’s trendy and everyone loves it. Still, it is worth mentioning. I prefer to base myself on the Amalfi Coast when I’m in that area because you can spend your days exploring many of the smaller, less touristy villages, you can dine daily on freshly caught seafood and you can easily get to Capri, Pompeii, Herculaneum or other tourist hotspots that surround the coast.
   
2. Matera (Basilicata) – In 1993, Matera was made a UNESCO World Heritage Site for the Sassi cave dwellings that are spread throughout the old part of the city. With more than 120 chiese rupestri, or rock-cut churches and buildings to explore, as well as numerous hotels and restaurants that are housed inside a cave, Matera is a once-in-a-lifetime and often unforgettable experience for travelers.
   
3. Alberobello (Puglia) – Known as the “trulli” capital, Alberobello is located just an hour east of Matera in the province of Bari in neighboring Puglia and is an UNESCO World Heritage Site of its own. Famous for the conical “trulli” limestone dwellings, the trulli in Alberobello are referred to by UNESCO as remarkable examples of this prehistoric building technique. Many visitors enjoy dining in trulli restaurants or staying overnight in a trulli hotel.
   
4. Reggio Calabria (Calabria) – Reggio Calabria, often referred to as Reggio, is thought to be one of the most beautiful cities in the region and features two of Calabria’s most beloved monuments-the Bronzi di Riace, that date back to 460 BC. The Riace bronzes were discovered in 1972 by a diver off the coast of Riace, Calabria and are thought to have been buried at the bottom of the sea for thousands of years.  In addition to seeing the famous Bronzes, visitors to Reggio can have a passeggiata along “the most beautiful kilometer in Italy” and enjoy views of Mt. Etna in nearby Sicily.
   
5. Palermo (Sicily) – I am yet to find an Italian city that can rival Palermo in terms of rustic, old World energy. The streets are a’bustle with an eclectic hodgepodge of Arab, Viking and Italian influences-to name a few-and the generations of foreign invaders have left their mark on Sicily’s cuisine, making it one of the most preferred regional fares in the country. Stroll along Corso Vittorio Emanuele to see the famous Duomo, the Quattro Canti (four corners) and the Fountain of Shame, then settle in for a Sicilian cannolo or cool off with an icy fruit flavored granita.
   

Cherrye Moore is an American freelance writer and Calabria tour organizer living in Catanzaro, Calabria. She writes about travel for MNUI Travel Insurance and about traveling in Calabria on her site, My Bella Vita. You can also visit her at her Bed and Breakfast in Catanzaro, Il Cedro B&B.

About The Author

Cecil Lee

The author is an avid traveler and photography hobbyist who loves to share with others his travel and photo-taking experience in many popular tourist destinations around Europe, Asia and Australasia. Read the exciting stories with many photos captured on his journeys.