CAMPANIA FELIX

A five-days journay through the native scenes and delightful places of Amalfi Coast and its green islands, which allows you to merge in the typical colours and scents of their natural beauties.

Once it was called Campania Felix for the especially high quality of its lands, arisen from millenary volcanic settle and therefore very rich and fertile which were later on transformed by the sun and men activity turning into matrices for gorgeous landscapes.

Fire, soil, water and chlorophyll thus generated territories of a very high quality and exceptionally aesthetic, cultural, economic value.

1st day: THE ROYAL PALACE OF CASERTA

An extraordinary monument, UNESCO Human heritage site, wonderful sample of integration between “man built work“ and the park nature, born for the want of Carlo of Borbone to celebrate the European relevance of the reign of Naples referring to the French royal palace of Versailles as a model. Time at one's disposal for lunch. A well-assorted coffee shop is available inside the building and several restaurants can be found in its vicinity. Guided tour of the gardens after lunch.
The very extended green area surrounding the building is made up of the Vanvitelli’s Garden and the English Garden. The first one became in 1762 the solemn framework of the new borbonic capital, which has been moved to the quite valley of Caserta for security measures. Accordingly to Luigi Vanvitelli’s project, the placed should have recalled the “Campania Felix”, the paradise on earth celebrated by the Romans and the Borbons would have transformed in “Campania Felicissima” (=very happy Campania). The result of Vanvitelli’s work - the making of such an extraordinary monumental project required huge funds and several years of works even post mortem - represents the glorification of pureness of that fertile part of land, encircled by protective hills, with its routing waterfalls, with its spectacular water-passageway adorned with fountains and sculptures which ends on Mount Briano 3 kilometres far from the palace. Such a long view is enclosed within a huge park with rich Carpinus Betulus plantations, green grounds of live oaks, a ship basin, as the result of man rational artifice, and all fully arranged accordingly to severe Enlightenment and geometric requirements. The english garden was by the english plant breeder and botanist John Andrew Graefer, who was called in Caserta in 1786 from the english ambassador Sir William Hamilton, after he prevailed upon the queen Maria Carolina to carry out a park following the latest “trends” inclined to a romantic garden style made of caves, evocative views and passages, scenic and architectural stunning viewpoints. The story goes that the queen just meant to amaze her husband, Ferdinand IV, by passing him on a tray some fresh fruits from his garden. The garden not only has been the place of royal delicacies, but it also has represented a profitable and fruitful business as it provided with plants the gardens of Capodimonte, Naples and Portici and botanically affected most gardens of the peninsula. On request it is possible to proceed on with the visit of sumptuous royal palace apartments that are adorned with valuable furniture and paintings as the ticket includes the entrance to the palace, (guide is not included).

2nd day: ISCHIA

Soon after breakfast in hotel, we reach by ferryboat Ischia Island. It’s the biggest island of Neapolitan archipelago; it is also called the “green island” due to its remarkably fertile soil of volcanic origins, which allows the development of thick native vegetation and a rich farm production. Guided tour of hydrothermal park of Negombo, situated in S. Montano’s bay. Its uniqueness comes from the very lucky relationship between heterogeneous natural factors as mountain, sea, woodland, and a cute botanical heritage. Its history is relatively recent: in 1946 the duke Luigi Silvestro Camerini, humanist and great traveller, while he was looking for a proper place to establish a new park where he could show and grow all his botanical passion, happens to land on Ischia. The duke had already lived in Capri and Ponza as a political prisoner for a long time. The enchanting of this place and the resemblance to the bay of Negombo he could admire in Ceylon, make him decide for the San Montano’s bay. First of all the duke unified all the bay allotments under a single property, (unification required more than fifty deeds of sale), further he could start turning the marsh into luxuriant park. Duke’s heirs and fellow workers were to keep on the work availing of the landscape architect Ermanno Casasco. Casasco, following park project since 1988, aimed to carry out the park work exactly as the founder in the 40s was dreaming on to carry it out. Free lunchtime, Negombo self-service and restaurant are also available. In the afternoon we'll keep on visiting another "Eden" on earth: the Garden of Mortella. The garden once won the prize for “best Italian park" in the USA annual competition Briggs & Stratton Corp. The garden is a magic place, with south typical poetic and tragic qualities.
Sir William Walton, famous English composer and his wife Susana, felt under the spell of Ischia scenary and atmosphere, decided to establish over there their resting shelter away from London frenzy. In 1956 they found the right place just in a very desolated stone cave valley, which extended over 1.6 hectares on the hill. They charged the landscape wiz Russell Page to realize this fairy exotic garden in which are collected more than a thousand of rare plant specimens. La Mortella is now site of the William Walton foundation born to promote young musicians talent. The Mortella also guests a museum with a huge collection of Cecil Beaton Photographic works and a bizarre colourful little theatre created by the famous illustrator Lele Luzzati. While moving to the port of Ischia, should be enough time left before ferry departure we could stop for a short view of Sant’Angelo, amazing small village built on a promontory. Once back in Naples, hotel accomodation does include the dinner and overnight stay.

3rd day: RAVELLO AND SORRENTO

Visit to Ravello, most poetic place of the Amalfi Coast, 350 m. above sea level, overhangs the whole peninsula just midway between sea and sky. The charm of this small town along the centuries has been recalling all genders writers, artists and musicians. Wagner itself right from this place could draw inspiration for writing second chapter of his Parsifal. Guided tour to the neo-gothic Villa Cimbrone, which was built one thousand years ago on the spur maximum jut where the population centre is, a wonderful villa surrounded by vegetation and enriched with sculptures coming from all around. Lord Grin Thorpe, who as a good Englishman, fell head over heels for the Amalfi Coast where he decidedly established, commissioned the work. The villa gorgeous garden, which looks sheer over sea, is full of amazing decorations and eclectic structural elements, with a variety of small greenish rooms offering their top-to-toe sight of the coast. Free-lunch time, the area is plenty of panoramic restaurants very near to the town centre.
Guided tour of Villa Rufolo in the afternoon. The villa consisting of a conglomerate of Arabian Sicilian buildings of the XIII-XIV centuries, is established on a natural observation platform with an outstanding Moorish cloister, which dominates the area with its arches and a luxuriant hillside terraced garden overhanging on sea. In the second half of eighteenth century, the Scottish Sir Francis Nerville Reid bought the villa and gave it back to its ancient glory and a romantic appearance of ruins.
Daily program ends in Sorrento with full time at your disposal for in town walking and shopping (we suggest you to buy a bottle of DOC “limoncello” fresh liquor), through the streets of one of the most famous Italian tourist centre.  Overnight stay in Sorrento.

4th day: CAPRI

Early in the morning, ferryboat transfers from Sorrento to Capri, the “Blue Island”. It’s a pearl over the se, the place where nature and beauty merge, where myth and history collide, where myth and history may still really tell. The island can do distinguish from all the other important islands on the world because beside comparable natural beauties, the island owns such vibrant past and suggestive recollection no other island on earth can boast of. Roman emperors, Augusto and Tiberio, masters of the world, elected the island as their favourite shelter and set up on it their gorgeous villas; Grand Tour romantic travellers, artists, writers, all of them appreciated its attractiveness while looking at the landscapes Omero had sung the praises of in the Odyssey.
The Swedish doctor Axel Munthe, at the end of the eighteenth century, fell himself under the spell of this island and decided to buy a ruined chapel of the X century a.c. and a humble house that was built-up on some roman ruins hillside Mount Barbarossa. His idea was to turn these buildings, both set beside Anacapri picturesque village, into a “broad sunlight sanctuary”: the bright Villa San Michele. In “the history of San Michele”, Doctor Munthe’s famous essay, he writes: “my house must be open up to the sun, the wind and the sea voice, similar to a Greek temple and where much, much, much sunlight is allowed to spread in”.
The place is adorned with ancient furniture, artworks and finds, its luxuriant garden well shows the romantic and symbolist taste of the century, from the garden the unique views of the Naples Gulf are absolutely outstanding. At the end of the guided tour of the Villa, lunch break and free time at one’s disposal until ferryboat departure. There are plenty opportunities to spend allowed time as for example:
Relax in the comfortable atmosphere of the “Piazzetta” (=small town square), the charming meeting place right in the heart of local high life, where you might also enjoy walking among the luxury shopping street and sit for a coffee break in one of the numerous trendy bars.
If sea conditions are good, it is possible to reach by boat Grotta Azzurra (the blue cave/grotto) where to enjoy the magic of sea reflex above the extraordinarily cobalt blue seabed.
Another opportunity is to visit “belvedere” (=beautiful viewpoint) which overlooks on the Faraglioni, smashing rock pinnacles originated by the sea erosion.
Visit the ruins of Villa Jovis, the residence of Tiberius, on which the archaeologist Amedeo Maturi was writing as follows: “for the uniqueness of its plan and its rocky nature this villa represents the most rational and environmental construction the Romans might have ever realized, even considering the rocky land it is built-up on. It is one of the most magnificent monuments of construction engineering of the I century of empire”.
Back in Sorrento, typical dinner served in the hotel to taste all delicious traditional dishes of this area. Overnight stay.

5th day: THE BOTANICAL GARDEN OF NAPLES

Morning breakfast served in hotel, coach transfer to Naples. Visit of the botanical vegetable garden.
On December 28th of 1807, the king thus reigning on Naples Giuseppe Bonaparte, enacted laws to carry out a “Royal Plants Garden in order to promote public education and the cropping of all those spices which are recognized to be healthy and helpful in the agricultural and industrial dealings”. This way he gave origin to the modern botanical vegetable garden. Even if it does not rank among the most ancient botanical vegetable gardens, absolutely it is one of the most relevant one for the great variety and quality of its plant specimens. Its Museum of palaeo-botany and ethno-botany, newly established, is a living museum and together with its historical greenhouse represents one of the most significant places in Europe for preservation, education and research activities.
Lunch time is at one’s own disposal for enjoying the city, maybe tasting a slice of hot pizza at Brandi, where pizza “Marguerite” was born, or sipping a nut-coffee with flaky pastry in the Plebiscite Square.