Have you ever seen the movie Benvenuti al Sud? If you have, you know what I am talking about. If you haven’t, you should, especially if you are planning a holiday to Southern Italy. It is very funny and shows the negative perceptions and stereotypes of South Italy, which turn out to be mere prejudices.
Alberto – as a punishment – has to move from the north to Castellabate, south of Naples, in the Cilento region, to work as the postmaster of the town for two years. Driving down the Autostrada del Sole, full of worries, he finds himself in a beautiful, safe and clean town where people live a good life, and soon realizes that the dreaded southerners are the friendliest people with a big heart.
Our base to discover Cilento
On our first trip to Cilento we chose the village of Castellabate as our base to discover the northern part of Cilento National Park. We were hesitating if we should stay in the borgo on top of the hill with amazing views, in the small marina of San Marco or in Santa Maria with beautiful beaches, all hamlets of Castellabate. In the end we chose an apartment a few steps from the sea and the fishing boats. From our balcony we enjoyed the view of the water at the end of our tiny street. Life was really quiet, with the occasional fisherman arriving with his boat.
We visited Santa Maria, collected shells on its sandy beaches, took photos of the picturesque arcades and watched the sunset. But in the end what we loved the most was the medieval hilltop town of Castellabate. It is also listed among the most beautiful villages of Italy: I borghi piú belli d'Italia.
With its maze of narrow alleys, cozy piazzas, tiny wine bars and the magnificent seaview from several panorama points, Castellabate stole our hearts. We knew that next time this is where we would like to stay, we just didn’t think it would be so soon.
How it all started
When I travel, I avoid cheap plastic souvenirs, instead I usually choose a nice ceramic bowl for our kitchen at home or a handcrafted jewelry. So I ended up in a jewelry shop on the piazza. Just like I always do, I started chatting with the lady working there and I asked her about a bed and breakfast I had been looking at, but in the end did not book. Turned out it was owned by someone in her family and she organized a quick visit for us.
So, ten minutes later we were sitting in the breakfast room of the B&B enjoying a great conversation with one of the owners, Ciro, and he was so friendly it felt like we had known each other forever. We were talking about things to do in the area, tourism in Cilento and Campania, hidden gems we should not miss and the olive harvest in the fall, and within one hour the itinerary of our small group Cilento slow tour was ready. Ciro seems to know everyone and has been a great help ever since.
Small group slow tour in Cilento
A few months later we were back with our first Cilento group. My family and nine wonderful people who had all travelled with us before on Italian slow tours and who trusted us to spend a week in a region they had never even heard of.
We spent the first four nights in Ciro’s wonderful rooms and while he was away for a couple of days, his brother Lello and Lello’s daughter Jlenia made sure we were having a great time. Enjoying breakfasts on their terrace under the lemon tree and the huge bougainvillea bush, with amazing seaview, everyone would have been very happy even if we didn’t go anywhere.
For Ciro nothing was impossible, with him all my ideas turned into reality.
Stepping into the movie
One of the highlights of the tour was watching Benvenuti al Sud in the local bar of Alessia, who stayed open for us in the evening and even surprised us with a large plate of focaccia. We recognized the most famous sights of Castellabate in the movie: the arcades of Santa Maria where Alberto enjoys dinner with his new friends, the Piazza 10 Ottobre 1123 where he works in the post office and where we just had pistacchio gelato, and the famous sign, which plays an important role in the movie.
Napoleon’s brother-in-law, Gioacchino Murat was King of Naples and as such also ruled this area. He said in 1811: Qui non si muore. It means, you don’t die here. He too was fascinated by Castellabate.
It’s impossible not to fall in love with this town, when you walk up to the Piazza Belvedere from where you can see all the way to Capri.
The square was named after San Costabile Gentilcore, an abbot who founded the castle in 1123 to offer protection for residents against Saracen attacks. This also explains the name of the town: Castel of the Abbot. Costabile is a very popular name here. The owner of our favourite wine bar is called Costabile, and also in the movie you will meet two of them: small Costabile and big Costabile.
Once the movie was over, we walked back to our accommodation and sat down in the kitchen, which was also featured in the film. It was the kitchen of the mamma of Alberto’s local friend. It felt like stepping into the movie, and we also had a huge plate of fig cake to enjoy.
Home office in Castellabate
The accommodation has some suites and apartments as well, and my favourite is the superior suite with the large closed terrace. We are hopefully returning in a few months to discover more of the inner areas of the national park, mountains, hills, farms, caves and river gorges, and I would definitely like to stay in this suite.
My dream is to spend a few weeks in the suite with my family, live like a local in Castellabate, drive around to discover more hidden secrets of Cilento and meet the people who work hard to make Cilento what it is today. Then in the evening sit on this amazing terrace with my laptop and a glass of Cilento aglianico wine and share these stories with all of you.
