Why You Should Add Salerno and the Cilento to Your Italy Trip
We asked Antonio for his honest advice. Here is Salerno and the Cilento, in his own words.
Skip the assumption that Campania ends at Positano. South of Salerno, past the Greek temples at Paestum, the Cilento National Park covers a wilder, quieter coastline and an interior of hill towns that almost no international visitor reaches. Start at Paestum for the temples, head into the Cilento along the coast through Agropoli and Castellabate, and eat fresh buffalo mozzarella from a dairy in the Piana del Sele. Come in spring for the climate.
Antonio Quaglia
Hello, my name is Antonio, and I am a cultural and tourism operator deeply connected to my territory: Paestum and the Cilento, a land rich in ancient history, breathtaking landscapes, and living traditions.After earning my Master’s degree in Tourism, Territory and Local Development, I chose to dedic
Most visitors draw their Campania map around Naples, Pompeii and the Amalfi Coast. It is a defensible itinerary, but Antonio Quaglia, who knows the southern stretch deeply, would tell you it leaves out the best part.
Antonio lives in Salerno and advises travellers through The Voyage Co.
What is the hidden gem of Campania most visitors never reach?
We asked Antonio about the part of the region that visitors most consistently miss.
Il Cilento, simply. South of the Amalfi Coast tourist circuit, the Cilento National Park covers both a beautiful stretch of coastline and a wide interior of hills and valleys where small towns have barely changed in generations. The coast here is spectacular, with clear water and far fewer visitors than the Amalfi or Sorrentine Peninsula to the north, and the national park interior rewards anyone willing to drive into it. Antonio describes the whole region as a treasure chest of wonders, and the reason most visitors never open it is simply that it sits outside the area most tour operators cover.
How to spend 48 hours in Salerno and the Cilento
We asked Antonio to plan two days for a visitor to his region.
He would start with Paestum. One of the best-preserved ancient Greek temple complexes in the world sits here, in the flat plain south of Salerno, and it is an extraordinary place that most Italy visitors do not know exists. Three Doric temples, two of which are nearly intact, built in the 6th and 5th centuries BC, standing in a field between the mountains and the sea. Most people know Pompeii. Far fewer know Paestum, and yet the temples are older and the atmosphere around them is remarkably different: open sky, tall grass, almost no crowds on a quiet morning. Give Paestum the time it deserves.
From there, he advises to head south into the Cilento. Follow the coast road, stop at Agropoli or Castellabate, find somewhere for lunch and let the afternoon slow down. This is a part of southern Italy that runs on its own pace, and the right way to experience it is to adapt to that.
The mistake visitors make in Campania
We asked Antonio what he sees most often from travellers to this region.
Only visiting the northern part of the region. Naples and Pompeii and the Amalfi Coast are all worth visiting, but treating them as if they are the whole of Campania means leaving Salerno, Paestum and the entire Cilento completely undiscovered. The region does not end at Positano, and Antonio's view is that the further south you go, the more genuinely interesting the landscape, the food and the way of life becomes.
The best time of year to visit Salerno and the Cilento
We asked Antonio when he would personally recommend coming.
Spring. The reasoning is practical and immediately convincing: less chaos and an ideal climate. Southern Italy in July and August is hot in a way that makes being outside in the middle of the day genuinely uncomfortable, and the more popular coastal spots along the Cilento fill up with Italian summer visitors. In spring, the temperatures are comfortable, the landscape is green and full of wildflowers, and you can move through the towns and coast without fighting for anything.
What to eat in Salerno and the Cilento
We asked Antonio for the one food experience visitors should not miss.
Mozzarella, and he means this in the most local possible sense. The Cilento and the Piana del Sele, the broad plain just south of Salerno where Paestum sits, are at the heart of buffalo mozzarella production in Campania. This is where the real thing is made: mozzarella di bufala pulled fresh that morning from a local dairy, still warm, with a texture and flavour that bears almost no resemblance to the supermarket version most people have encountered. Find a local caseificio, buy it fresh, eat it simply with a little olive oil and a piece of good bread, and understand what the rest of the world has been trying to imitate.
Salerno and the Cilento are what southern Italy looks like when you stop where most itineraries end and keep driving. Greek temples in a quiet field, a national park most people have never heard of, mozzarella from a dairy down the road. Go further south than the guidebook tells you to.
Salerno and Cilento travel FAQ
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