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Going south…the Mezzogiorno
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Southern Italy is not the Amalfi Coast; indeed there is a lot more Italy further south…the glorious regions of Basilicata, Calabria and Puglia. The Italian’s call it “the Mezzogiorno” which, literally translated, means “noon time”. When referring to these regions, however, it simply means the southern half of the country.
For travelers who have seen Rome, Florence, Venice, the Amalfi Coast and other of Italy’s best known, over-crowded tourist destinations, the Mezzogiorno is full of incredible surprises and stupdendous delights.
The cities of the south are stranger and older, some laid-back and time-worn, others vivacious and bustling. The landscapes are many and varied – ranging from high mountains, to chains of cool lakes, to broad green valleys dotted with pastures, wheatfields, vineyards and olive groves that were first planted in time immemorial. And, of course, the southern coasts are legendary for their long sun-drenched, sea-lapped headlands and beaches, where Italians have been taking the summer sun forever.
Long before the early people’s had moved into what is now Tuscany or Lombardia or the other northern regions, the early Enotrians were here, hunting and cultivating the land. Then starting over 3000 years ago, came the Greeks and after them in successive waves of conquering civilizations: Saracens, Phoenicians, Carthaginians, Romans, Normans, Byzantines, Spanish and in their turn the Bourbon and Napoleonic French, each leaving traces of civilization that form the bedrock upon which modern life in the Mezzogiorno is built.
The Mezzogiorno is, in a word, fascinating; it is historically deep and culturally soulful, a place of imagination, verve, and endless wonder.Friends Travel LLP has THE very best contacts in Italy!
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