Cilento and Maratea: the quiet side of Campania

Route description

From Salerno, the SS18 runs south across the plain of the Sele to Paestum, where three Greek Doric temples stand in open fields, older than the Parthenon and among the best preserved anywhere. Allow a few hours for the temples and the museum across the road.

Just south, Agropoli has an old town on a headland above the harbour. From here, coastal roads wind through the Cilento past fishing villages and beaches to Palinuro, where boats visit the sea caves around the cape.

The route then continues along the coast into Basilicata to Maratea, a small town with a large statue of Christ on the mountain above the sea. The coastal and mountain roads are narrow and winding, so take them slowly in a motorhome, and avoid August, when the coast is at its busiest.