The cradle of the Mediterranean food culture
CAMPANIA
The first inhabitants of the actual
Campania were the Aurunci and the Opici, two tribes having Greek
origins. They settled in the 8th century B.C. in the area North of the
actual Naples until the 6th century B.C. when the land was conquered by
the Etruscans first and the Sannites after. In the 4th century B.C.
Campania was under the control of the Roman Empire which gave it the
name of Campania felix due to its beautiful Mediterranean scenary, its
pleasant everlasting mild climate, the colors and scents of its fertile
soil and the thermal baths considered precious by the Romans. Under
Roman organization and regulation, the region enjoyed a period of peace
and considerable wealth until the damned year A.D. 79 when the volcano
Vesuvius suddenly and cruelly erupted covering the cities of Pompeii
and Herculaneum with a thick layer of melted lava and suffocating ash.When the Roman Empire collapsed, Goths and Byzantines groups fight
for power throughout the 5th and 6th centuries until the Lombards
entered the scene and occupied the area. The Normans came next,
founding soon after the kingdom of Sicily, renamed the Kingdom of
Naples and the Two Sicilies.
The French Bourbons were the last foreign dominators over the
Italian soil, and in the 19th century Naples became the capital of
southern Italy.
CITIES
Avellino, Benevento, Caserta, Naples, Salerno.
ART AND CULTURE
Whenever talking about Naples and Neapolitans it comes natural to
think about pizza, probably the most genuine, complete and never boring
human invention! And it was in Naples that in the 19th century a
Neapolitan cook prepared it in honor of queen Margherita and called his
pizza right after her: Pizza Margerita. The real recipe must contain at
least two typical Campania ingredients: San Marzano tomatoes and
fiordilatte mozzarella cheese. Obviously the scented leaf of basil
should never miss.
The Neapolitan cuisine is probably the most wide and surprisingly
simple you could ever find in other Italian cities starting from pizza,
passing from the strong coffee made with moka to mozzarella cheese and
the locally made limoncello di Sorrento a lemon-based liqueur that in
recent years has become famous all over the world.
Food has made the success of this land but I guarantee you that
there are many and many other reasons to come and visit Campania. The
notorious Vesuvius eruption that covered the rich cities of Pompeii and
Herculaneum with a thick layer of melted lava for example has left the
two cities perfectly intact and visitor are immerged in a real
city-museums where the sad end of people and animals is still alive in
the statues of lava discovered in both places.
Naples landscape "vulcano Vesuvio" - copyright by www.bgphotographyandvideo.com
THINGS TO DO
Naples is a lively, welcoming, sunny city, full of cultural and artistic curiosity with its monuments, beautiful palaces and buildings, museums, theaters, open-air markets and coffee-shops.
Almost 30 km (20 miles) far from Naples you can miss a visit to the spectacular Reggia di Caserta (the Palace of Caserta) that was the summer house of the Bourbons and not only is a copy of the Palace of Versailles, but in the whole is counts 1,200 rooms!
Even the coastline boasts some well known enchanted places such as Sorrento, Amalfi and Positano (well know as in the 1960s was the set background of the movie "La dolce vita") and do not forget the small Islands among which stand out the beautiful Capri and Ischia that boasts the greatest number of thermal baths in the world.
