A bit reluctant to leave this lovely little campsite but it is time, so we head north and inland to the town of Lecce. As is often the case, walking into the old town from the outskirts, I question whether it will be worthwhile as the streets are busy and dwarfed by grubby apartment blocks, cars parked every which way and very little in the way of green space and then we turn a corner….
And are greeted with clean pedestrianised streets lined with impressive, elaborate buildings and quaint archways and alleyways leading to more of the same….
Eventually leading us to the main Sant Oronzo Square, bathed in golden sunshine and alive with colour, the buzz of chatter and laughter and serenaded by music from a local guitarist….
The original 1739 wooden and copper sheathed statue of Sant Oronzo (the patron saint of Lecce) having been replaced in 2024 on the column by a bronze replica is now housed in a rather grand glass wrapped structure, which unfortunately was so reflective it was nigh on impossible to capture in this light but also quite engaging the way that is captured the crowds and buildings opposite….
Also in the Piazza is the original Roman Amphitheatre dating back to the 1st C and discovered in the early 1900’s when construction work began on the Bank of Italy. Only about a third of the amphitheatre has been recovered as the rest had already been built over….
Away from the main square we continued to wander around the relatively quiet streets….
Until we had completed a circuit of the old town, before making our way back to the Park and Ride on the outskirts where we had left the van.
Next stop beautiful Alberobello – featuring some 1500 Trulli houses (drystone circular huts with conical roofs built without mortar so that they could quickly be dismantled should the Kingdom of Naples Tax Inspectors come looking) dating back to the 15th & 16th C and what a magical place….
We wandered around for several hours as it was just so enchanting and becoming even more magical as the sun began to set….
We spent the night just a few steps away on very well organised motorhome aire / car park – all services including electricity and very safe – perfect.
A beautiful sunny day again today but a stiff and cold wind blowing down from the north. A perfect drying day today so we got a load of washing done and out on the line before heading out for a walk through the sheltered forest and then out onto the windy beach at Baia dei Turchi….
Not a great deal of shelter to be had on the beach and with the fine sand coming at you in waves we opted to return to the shelter of the trees and amble down to Spiaggia Azzurro to catch a bit of respite in the shelter provided by the closed up activity centre there.
I sat for a while just enjoying being and throwing a pine cone that Tilly had brought from the forest for such an activity….
Fortunately Tilly is very easily entertained and quite happy to walk for miles or not, as long as there is a bit of fun in her day, she is good.
It is fascinating to look at the shapes and forms created by the wind in this fine sand….
A lovely sunny day, not too warm so just right for what we have in mind. Having decided that co-ordinating the very infrequent bus service to the campsite was not going to work we ventured the short distance in the van into Salerno. Having selected a large car park by the station as suitable for daytime camper parking on Park4Night I was fairly confident, even when confronted with the chaos that ensued once we arrived in Salerno.
However this confidence was short lived as we approached said carpark and I could see that it was pretty chocablock and even though we are only 6m most car parking spaces are not doable unless there is space behind to overhang a bit. I didn’t risk it and carried on towards the seafront in search of something more suitable. Unfortunately everywhere was heaving with double parking an interesting feature of italian parking, on the premise that by sticking your hazard lights on all will be fine!
At a complete loss and in fact just looking for somewhere to pull over and research alternatives when I spied a motorhome Aire and pulled in on the off chance. It was next to and run by a vehicle recovery yard and they were quite happy for my to park in the secure area for the daily charge of 10 euros (this was actually the overnight price which was fair and I would have stayed if I were not already paying for my camping spot up the road).
By now time was running a little tight for us to catch the 11.40 ferry and so we set off at a pace to Piazza Concordia, the ferry terminal, passing the ruins of Salerno castle and enjoying views back across the city from the marina….
We made it just as the ferry was boarding and enjoyed the coastal journey passing the picturesque villages of Vietri sul Mare, with it’s hilltop Cross, Cetara and hillside Ravello….
Before arriving at our destination – Amalfi….
The village was very busy on this fine sunny day and firstly we walked away from the crowds to get a coastal view of Tovere San Pietro, take in the small beach and look back across the village over the marina….
Stealing our selves for the hustle and bustle we ventured into the village, through the main Piazza and up the narrow streets to Amalfi Cathedral….
As is often the case, by veering away from the main streets and choosing to wander along the back streets and alleys, we can get more of a feel of the place without the company of the crowds….
Having our fill, we headed back down to the coast at the opposite end of the village, admired the first (of many as it transpires) ‘Tree of Life’ bronze sculpture overlooking the crystal clear Amalfi waters and views back across the village….
Walking roadside along the very narrow and twisty road that feeds all the villages on this coast and one that I would not wish to drive in any form of vehicle unless guaranteed a right of way – albeit and probably part of the problem, as it is used by buses and coaches as well as cars and strings of motorcyclists and cyclists alike. A short time later the footpath left the road and we started our descent into Altrani….
This village is much smaller and quieter than it’s neighbour and we spent a while mooching around the streets and sitting on the sea front enjoying the sun and just watching the world go by and being….
Rather than dice with death on the roadside and progress any further we opted to use the pedestrian tunnel which connects Altrani and Amalfi and head back to the port….
We toyed with the idea of continuing further along the coast to attempt to visit Positano but the next ferry wasn’t until after 4 and the bus queues were horrendous so for us, Positano will remain unvisited! Instead for an alternative perspective we opted to catch the bus back to Salerno and were lucky enough to get one of the last seats using the bus ticket that we had purchased in Sorrento.
The bus journey was interesting as it crawled its way stopping and starting to allow traffic to pass along the narrow road but we got some lovely glimpses of many of the other villages – Minori, Maiori and it’s sea fort, Erchie with it’s beach and sea fort….
And extensive views of the much larger Vietri sul Mare and coastal Salerno beyond….
The mile or so walk back to the van was taken at a much more leisurely pace along the sea front in Salerno and our return journey was much more straight forward with us being back and settled on site in time to catch the rather spectacular sunset across the bay to the Amalfi coast where we have spent the day….
At the risk of sounding controversial and though we enjoyed our visit to the Amalfi Coast, I think Cinque Terre was prettier and more dramatic.
Quite a bit of rain overnight and light rain throughout the morning and some pretty torrential downpours, however, we have a plan and so late morning we made our way the short distance to the train station just as the heavens opened….
and caught a very busy (standing room only) clanky old train into the heart of the gentile town of Sorrento….
A gap in the rain allowed us to wander the busy streets lined with eateries and soak up the the atmosphere….
Find a little respite from the crowds in the Cloisters of San Fransisco….
And walk down the quieter back alleys…
The sun came out right on cue for us to enjoy the amazing coastal views, spot the crusie ships in the bay, accounting for at least some of the visitors and the turquoise seas and the smidge of sand that is Spiaggia de San Fransisco…
After a bit of ferritting around we did also find the forgotten ‘Valley of the Ferns’ with its derelict old Mills which were cut off from the sea in 1866 when the main Piazza Tasso (first photo above) was built and closed down by the 1940’s because of rising humidity and industrial obsolescence….
Having had our fill of wandering around the town we headed back to the station and is still relatively early bought bus tickets to visit Positano. However at this point our luck ran out as the queue was quite shambolic with people jumping in where ever they felt like it, no actual pavement to stand out of the the way of arriving and reversing buses, Tilly having to be carried to prevent her getting trodden on or run over, no indication of when the next bus would arrive and to crown it all, a half and hour in the rain came – seriously!
We gave it another 15 minutes by which time it was nearly 4pm and we were both soaked and there was a return train just after four, so we hurried back to the station and luckily managed to get a seat on said train.
Slightly disappointed to have not made it to Positano but thankful to be out of the rain and in the warmth of the van by 5, we settled down for a nice cosy evening.
Today’s stats:
Miles walked – 7
Train / bus tickets (which I did get to use in Amalfi) – £8.99
Thunderstorms again during the night and a rather wet morning as we left this little gem of a location taking a last walk along the beach before heading south again….
The road hugged the coast for a while, but for the most part any views down to the sea were obscured by trees, though we did manage one quick and rather wet stop to look down on the old town of Gaeta and it’s beaches….
After one accidental wrong turn leading us down into traffic chaos in Napoli which was very much a case of just nudging our way into the traffic in order to get back onto the correct road and cost us a good half an hour of sheer stress and then somehow ending up going through the same toll booth twice costing us 2.40 euros a time we arrived on Camping Zeus, a pleasant enough site, if a little impersonal, right by the entrance to Pompeii….
As it was only early afternoon and the skies have cleared we decided to head straight out and visit Pompeii….
As I’m sure you are aware, Pompeii is the ancient roman city frozen in time as it was buried under 20 feet of ash from nearby erupting Volcano Mount Vesuvius on 24th October AD79. Excavations began in the mid 18th C and are still ongoing. Between 10-20K people were believed to have been living in this wealthy city and historians believ some 2000 would have perished therein. The vastness of the area surprised me and it took us a good 3 hours to just wander around roughly the perimeter….
The theatre and Ampitheatre are impressive structures largely remaining intact….
A project to restore a vineyard is underway with Mount Vesuvius visible in the background….
The ever present mountains of the Appennines running down the spine of Italy providing a backdrop to the ancient ruins and the odd glimpse of life outside the city….
As we wander down street after street, many of them residential and wonder at the stories they can tell….
A few of the properties still retain some of the original interiors which was fascinating….
We wandered through the more sombre exhibition of the casts that have been made of recovered bodies all depicting signs of the trauma they experienced….
