Campania Holidays

It was the Romans that first dubbed this slice of southern Italy the ‘happy land’. They set up shop in fancy, frescoed villas along the seafront – and even the Roman Emperors plonked down palaces. It’s no wonder when you look at Campania’s assets. Its clifftop towns hug the Bay of Naples and itsy-bitsy islands like Capri and Ischia are the sprinkles on top of the cake.

Campania’s not the fly-and-flop type. In the north, you can tie in a visit to Pompeii with a trip up the volcano that spewed ash over it in 79 AD. And Mother Nature really went to town in the south. The Amalfi Coast’s Crayola-coloured towns are snuggled between mountains and the Tyrrhenian Sea. Regional capital, Naples, is worth a trip, too – if only to try the pukka pizza.

Resort-wise, Sorrento tops the bill. Its cobblestone lanes are chock-full of lemon-scented shops and restaurants. And you can scoff buffalo mozzarella, freshly fried fish and cannelloni in Marina Grande’s seafront tavernas. It’s got some typically Italian lidos to lounge on, too. Or you can de-camp to nearby Meta di Sorrento, which has got its mitts on a rare sandy beach.