Campania

Campania is a region of Southern Italy, bordering on Lazio to the north-west, Molise to the north, Puglia to the north-east, Basilicata to the east, and the Tyrrhenian Sea to the west. The region covers 13,595 km² and has a population of 5.8 million.

Campania is divided into the provinces of Avellino, Benevento, Caserta, Naples (Napoli), and Salerno. The regional capital is Naples (Napoli). The name derives from Latin, as it was called by Romans Campania felix ("fortunate countryside"), a name that is shared by the French province of Champagne.

Tourist attractions include the Sibyl's cave at Cumae, the Greek temples at Paestum, the Roman ruins at Pompeii and Herculaneum, the volcanoes of Vesuvius, Campi Flegrei and Ischia, the Amalfi Coast (Costiera Amalfitana) from Sorrento to Salerno and the islands of Capri, Ischia and Procida, and the village of Calitri.

Campania is undoubtely acknowledged as the birthplace of pizza. It is also home to Lacryma Christi wine. Campania is regarded throughout Italy as the producer of the best Mozzarella di Bufala (Mozzarella made from buffalo milk).

Calitrian cuisine is renowned in the region of Campania for being very tasty and rather spicy. Typical hand-made pasta dishes include cingul', the local dish par excellence. This is short, twirly pasta boiled and then served with a thick, tasty tomato sauce. Other varieties of pasta with the same sauce include lahan' and aurecchi' r' preut'- (priest’s ears in the local dialect). Others are annazze', served with delicious hot tomato sauce and pecorino cheese; and sciliend' (a special vermicelli-like pasta) with a condiment of garlic-fried oil and hot chili pepper. Meat-based delicacies include m'gliatiegghij' a local favourite made up of tasty roulades of kid or lamb casings garnished with cheese, offal, garlic, parsley, salt, pepper and sliced sausage; sfritta, or chopped pork meat sautéed with hot peppers; also sammuchij', a local pudding made of pork blood seasoned with minced lard, little segments of orange peel, rice, raisins, cinnamon, pork casings, walnuts, salt and chili pepper powder.

A traditional fish-based delicacy is stockfish a la ualanegna, the favourite of plowmen in the past (ualan' means plowman), in which stockfish is boiled and flavoured with garlic, herbs and chili peppers.

Agriculture is one of the most important sources of production in Campania, even if irregularly distributed over the coastal areas and the hilly regions. Cereal growing has been replaced by fruit and vegetables, and Campania is the largest producer in Italy of tomatoes, cauliflowers, beans, potatoes, fennel, broccoli, aubergines, cucumbers, cherries, peaches, apricots, plums, figs, walnuts and hazel-nuts.

Territory: The region faces the Tyrrhenian Sea and includes one of the finest coastlines in Italy. The hinterland is essentially mountainous, with irregular massifs broken here and there by valleys and plains. In front of the Gulfs of Naples and Salerno, we can admire marvelous and enchanting islands: Capri, Ischia, Procida. Campania is a region celebrated for its climate, the fertility of the lands and the astonishingly beautiful landscapes. The territory is mostly gentle hills, apart from the Matese mountains bordering Molise and the rugged Irpinia area. The Vesuvius on the Gulf of Naples is one of the very few still active volcanoes in Europe. The two beautiful gulfs of Naples and Salerno with the Amalfi coast, separated by the Sorrento peninsula, are world famous for the high cliffs, sandy bays, grottoes and islands (Ischia, Procida, Capri), each view an enchanting postcard picture, and such a great experience for the senses, the feel of the air, the odours of the pine trees, lemons and oranges, that the ancients rightly called this region "felix ager", a happy land.

Cities: Naples is the regional capital. Other important cities are Caserta, Benevento, Salerno and Avellino.

Museums: In Naples: the National Museum, which houses one of the most important archaeologic collections in the world (statues by the great Greek masters Policleto, Lisippo and Prassitele); mosaics and wall paintings from Pompeii; the collection of jewels, small bronzes, household goods and utensils. In the Museum and Galleries of Capodimonte, tourists can admire all-time pictorial masterpieces by Titian, Michelangelo, Raphael, and Caravaggio; sculptures, tapestries and ceramics. The National Museum of San Martino has historic, artistic and monumental sections. In Benevento, the Museum of the Sannio holds an important archaeologic room with Samnitic, Italic, Italiot relics and an interesting collection of coins, with very rare gold coins of the Longobard Princes. Precious works of art can be admired in the Cathedral Museum and the Provincial Museum in Salerno.

To be visited: The splendid Amalfi coast; the marvelous islands; the Imperial Villa in Capri; the Royal Palace of Caserta with its splendid Italian gardens; Herculaneum and Pompeii.