Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
( 0974 83 83 64;
lanterna@cilento.it
;
Via Lanterna 8; dm €13-16, s €17-20, d €32-45, tr €45-54; mid-Mar-Oct)
Agropoli's friendly Ostello La Lanterna has dorms, doubles and four-bed family rooms, as
well as a garden and optional evening meals (€10). The beach is a two-minute walk away.
SEAFOOD
€€
Il Vecchio Saracino
( 0974 82 64 15;
www.vecchiosaracino.it
; Via Granatelle 18, Agropoli; meals €25; 8.30pm-midnight daily, also
1-4pm Sun; )
Raise your fork to good-value, whisker-licking seafood at this local institu-
tion. Dishes sing with flavour, whether it's the beautifully textured shrimp and artichoke
gratin with homemade artichoke conserve, the
paccheri
(large, tube-shaped pasta) with
clams and monkfish, or the soul-coaxing Cilento fish soup. Many ingredients and
products are proudly homemade, from the salted anchovies to a string of smooth liqueurs.
TOP OF CHAPTER
Parco Nazionale del Cilento e Vallo di Diano
Stretching from the coast up to Campania's highest peak, Monte Cervati (1900m), and
beyond to the regional border with Basilicata, the Parco Nazionale del Cilento e Vallo di
Diano is Italy's second-largest national park. A little-explored area of barren heights and
empty valleys, it's the perfect antidote to the holiday mayhem on the coast.
For further information stop by the
tourist office
(p698)
in Paestum.
Sights & Activities
Grotte di Castelcivita
CAVE
( 0828 77 23 97;
www.grottedicastelcivita.com
; Piazzale N Zonzi, Castelcivita; adult/reduced €10/8; standard
tours 10.30am, noon, 1.30pm, 3pm Mar-Oct, also 4.30pm & 6pm Apr-Sep, 4hr tours 10am Sat Jun-Oct; )
Located about 20km northeast of Paestum, the Grotte di Castelcivita complex is where
Spartacus is said to have taken refuge following his slave rebellion in 71 BC. The stand-
ard one-hour tour winds through a route surrounded by extra- ordinary stalagmites and
stalactites, and a mesmerising play of colours, caused by algae, calcium and iron tinting
the naturally sculpted rock shapes.
The longer four-hour tours (€25) take place between June and October, when the water
deep within the cave complex has dried up. Hard hats and a certain level of fitness and
mobility are required. Visits should be booked a day in advance.
