Italy Tours

Southern Italy

Italy’s south begins in Campania, where one of the country’s most enthralling cities – noisy, independent, pizza-loving Naples – and one of its most striking natural sights – brooding, conical Vesuvius – and some of its most alluring coastlines – the stunning bays of Naples and Salerno – draw the eye and flood the senses of delighted visitors. Don’t miss Naples’ verve and vigour, lemon-scented Sorrento’s colourful charms, the dizzying Amalfi Drive, and gorgeous resorts like Positano, Amalfi, Ravello and Salerno, all awash with Southern Italian colour and crumbling charm. Offshore, Capri epitomises island idylls and expensive chic – a must-do, must-see bucket-list favourite.

Further south still, in the dusty provinces of Puglia, Basilicata and Calabria, another Italy awaits. These regions have been shaped as much by successive invaders as by the hardy inhabitants, and Spanish, Greek and even Arab influences are evident in the towns and cities, culture and cuisine of Italy’s sun-baked foot. Discover Bari’s souks, Alberobello’s iconic, conical trulli, Lecce’s Baroque treasures, the barren beauty of Le Murge's hills and some of the Adriatic’s bluest, most inviting waters on the gorgeous, verdant Gargano peninsula – all part of Puglia’s increasingly popular attraction.  

Completing the mainland south, known as the mezzogiorno – literally midday, but flowing to the region’s sun-filled days – the provinces of Basilicata and Calabria are the country’s least populated and most rugged of all. Here, Matera’s famed Sassi caves, some recently inhabited by some of the country’s poorest souls others much renovated and sought after, draw increasing numbers from across the globe. Calabria, Italy’s toe, faces west to the Tyrrhenian Sea and east towards the Ionian Sea, across which its Greek colonisers once sailed. Largely ignored by all but the most intrepid traveller, places like pretty cliff-top Tropea, on Calabria’s west coast, university seat Cosenza, the wild, protected Sila National Park and the ancient Greek relics at Locri on the Ionian coast, all await discovery and exploration.