Enjoy an enlightening tour of Naples and folded pizza, a classic Neapolitan treat. Your panoramic drive will present views from affluent Posillipo Hill and of the imposing Castle Nuovo. The castle’s five towers make it one of Naples’ most recognizable landmarks. You will also see the Egg Castle, which holds a commanding position on the sea. In time, you will reach Spaccanapoli, a long street whose name means “Naples splitter,” a reference to it somewhat dividing the city in two. Here, you will visit the Jesuit church Gesú Nuovo and the Church of Santa Chiara, which was founded in 1310 and features an austere Provencal-Gothic style. To delve even deeper into daily life, you will walk through the narrow streets of Old Town, which UNESCO has declared a Cultural Heritage site. As you will discover, there is no better setting for an espresso and portafoglio or folded pizza, as the dish was invented in Naples.

HIGHLIGHTS:
• Drive through Naples taking in the panoramic views and passing key landmarks. • See two castles and several churches among the architectural highlights. • Walk through Old Town and pause to enjoy folded pizza, a treat invented in Naples.

OVERVIEW

Watch a fascinating woodworking demonstration in Sorrento and wander through the ruins of Pompeii, which reveal ancient life in a surprisingly candid way. The craftsmen will demonstrate the art of intarsia or wood inlay, which has long been associated with Sorrento. During free time that follows you might browse the boutiques and dine on your own. If you stop for lunch, be sure try a glass of chilled Limoncello, a sweet lemon-flavored liquor that has been produced locally for more than a century. You will then head to Pompeii, a Roman town forever known for the catastrophic eruption of Mount Vesuvius that buried it under ash and pumice in 79 AD. After watching artisans hand-carve classic cameos, you will meander through the excavated ruins. The buildings are largely intact, frescoes adorn the villas and everyday objects are scattered about, just as they were when the volcano erupted. Expect to see ancient baths, temples and residences with intricate mosaic floors.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Watch woodworkers demonstrate the art of intarsia or wood inlay, a specialty in Sorrento.
• Browse Sorrento’s museums and boutiques or dine on your own during free time.
• See the artistry behind the making of traditional cameos in Pompeii.
• Walk through the ruins of Pompeii for an eye-opening look into ancient life.

HELPFUL HINTS

• Dress in weather-appropriate clothing.
• Wear flat comfortable walking shoes.

Spend hours of free time in Pompeii exploring the areas that sound most intriguing to you. Be sure to ask the guide for recommendations during the drive, so you can maximize your time at the famed archaeological site. At the entrance to Pompeii, you will pause to watch artisans hand-carve beautiful cameos using time-honored, traditional techniques. You will then be free to meander through the ruins at your own pace. During the catastrophic eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD, the entire city was buried under ash and pumice, which preserved it for centuries. Now excavated, the ruins offer an accurate picture of life 2,000 years ago, as the residents had little warning of the catastrophe to come or time to flee. Many of the buildings are largely intact and everyday objects are scattered about, just as they were when the volcano erupted. In all likelihood, you will also see macabre plaster casts of some of the victims.

HIGHLIGHTS:
• See the still-active volcano Mount Vesuvius looming in the distance on the way to Pompeii. • Watch artisans hand-carve cameos in a studio near at the entrance to Pompeii. • Spend hours meandering through the ruins at your own pace with no schedule to follow. • Explore the areas of Pompeii that sound most interesting and linger in them, if you choose.

Enjoy the spectacularly scenic Amalfi coastline from the best view possible on a leisurely boat ride and then head to Sorrento for lunch. Hailed as a UNESCO World Heritage site, the rugged coastline is physically beautiful, naturally diverse and emotionally moving all the way to Amalfi, where you will disembark. While meandering about on your own, be sure to see the 13th-century cathedral, especially its medieval bronze doors, the first of their kind in Italy. The original city of Amalfi lies somewhere offshore, as it slid into the sea during the earthquake of 1343. Following lunch and a woodworking demonstration in Sorrento, you will have more free time to explore the lovely cliff-top setting. Sorrento offers sweeping views of the Mediterranean with iconic Mt. Vesuvius looming in the distance. No wonder Sorrento was a favorite resort of wealthy Romans in ancient times. Highlights include extraordinary architecture and the almost palpable vibrancy of everyday life.

HIGHLIGHTS:
• Cruise to the village of Amalfi along the staggeringly beautiful Amalfi coast. • Spend free time exploring Amalfi’s boutiques and 13th-century cathedral. • Enjoy a lunch of classic Italian dishes and watch a woodworking demonstration. • Explore Sorrento on your own, including the Corso Italia shopping street, if you wish.

Cruise to the village of Amalfi along the beautiful coastline. Author John Steinbeck once described it as “a dream place that isn’t quite real when you are there and becomes beckoningly real after you have gone.” UNESCO agreed and declared the Amalfi coast a World Heritage site for its great physical beauty and natural diversity. The boat will afford you the ultimate up-close, front-row seat to observe the spectacular coastline. During free time in town, be sure to see the Cathedral of St. Andrew. Built in the early 1200s, it contains the relics of St. Andrew, which are kept in a subterranean crypt decorated with Baroque murals. The cathedral was constructed alongside an earlier one from the 9th century, and they are now joined into one, six-nave building. Also, leave time for shopping and a quick snack. Fried seafood in a hand-held cone makes a good choice for street food.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Cruise to the village of Amalfi along the staggeringly beautiful Amalfi coast.
• Spend free time exploring Amalfi’s boutiques and grab a snack, if you wish.
• Peruse the architectural splendor of Amalfi’s extraordinary 13th-century cathedral.

Spend free time in Sorrento, doing whatever you please, whether it be shopping or visiting the attractions that you find most captivating. On the scenic drive there, you will pause at an overlook to take in the stunningly beautiful coastline that stretches all the way to Sorrento. As an introduction to the city, you will watch woodworkers demonstrate the art of intarsia or wood inlay. You will then be free to explore on your own with no schedule to follow. For the ultimate view of Mt. Vesuvius across the bay, take the elevator to the clifftop park Villa Communale. For ambiance, Sorrento’s old quarter excels, as there is an abundance of one-of-a-kind shops, fine restaurants and artisan workshops. Be sure to leave time for a glass of chilled Limoncello, a sweet liquor made with Sorrento’s extraordinarily juicy lemons. The flavorful lemon juice is also used in some gelatos, a cup of which you may sample for free.

HIGLIGHTS:
• Spend free time in Sorrento, exploring the areas that sound most appealing to you. • Watch woodworkers demonstrate the art of intarsia or wood inlay, a specialty in Sorrento. • Enjoy a complimentary drink or cup of gelato, a refreshing treat available most everywhere.

Become immersed in the world of pasta through a behind-the-scenes tour of one of Italy’s oldest pasta factories, followed by a delightful pasta lunch. The venue for this enlightening experience will be Gragnano, an ancient city where durum wheat and semolina have been cultivated for thousands of years. It also has the ideal climate for air-drying pasta, a practice that is still observed to ensure quality. As you will learn while browsing an ancient mill and museum, pasta-making is a complex process that can’t be rushed. In fact, to achieve its Protected Designation of Origin status, Gragnano pasta must dry gradually for as many as four days and be extruded through a bronze die that imparts a rough texture that helps the pasta sauce cling to the noodle. The results are well worth the effort as you will discover while savoring a lunch of Gragnano pasta and locally made accompaniments.

HIGHLIGHTS
• Learn more than you ever imagined about pasta in Gragnano, a city synonymous with it.
• See how Gragnano pasta must be made to retain a Protected Designation of Origin status.
• Savor lunch that includes a Gragnano pasta dish and other Italian specialties.

HELPFUL HINTS
• Dress in weather-appropriate clothing.
• Wear flat comfortable walking shoes.

Settle in for an immensely scenic drive to the medieval town Tufo, where you will enjoy an inspired wine tasting and a traditional Campanian lunch. While driving through the bucolic countryside, you will gaze out over one breathtaking landscape after another, punctuated with vineyards blanketing the hills. Upon reaching Tufo, within the district of Irpinia, you will sample a selection of locally produced wines. One in particular – made from the white grape Greco di Tufo – is revered over the others. It may be the centerpiece of your tasting as this Protected Designation of Origin wine is so characteristic of the local terroir. Wine will also be served with the lunch that follows at a restaurant in the shadow of Tufo Castle, which perches atop a spike of volcanic rock. Although the menu changes seasonally, it may include fusilli topped with sausage and aubergine or tagliatelle with a hearty wild boar sauce.

HIGHLIGHTS
• Sample a selection characteristic Irpinia district wines such as the revered Greco di Tufo.
• Learn about the terroir that produces many Protected Designation of Origin wines.
• Enjoy a traditional Campanian lunch in a restaurant near Tufo Castle.

HELPFUL HINTS
• Dress in weather-appropriate clothing.
• Wear flat comfortable walking shoes.

Enjoy an enlightening tour of a family-owned organic farm and then dine on an inspiring lunch made entirely with ingredients from the farm. Both venues are located a bit inland in Scala, a hilltop village said to be founded in the 4th century by shipwrecked Roman sailors. A member of the Ciccio family will show you around the terraced farm and describe the organic methods used in the vineyards, fruit orchards and vegetable fields. Everything is grown without chemicals or fertilizers and when the produce is harvested the natural flavors are at their absolute peak. It is a difference that you can taste as you will discover while dining on dishes prepared with ingredients from the Ciccio family farm. The menu will depend on what is freshest and seasonal that day. The views will be panoramic from the restaurant, as well as from the road as you make your way to and from Scala.

HIGHLIGHTS
• Tour an organic farm in the village of Scala with a member of the family that owns it.
• Learn about the natural methods used to grow and harvest the various crops.
• Savor an organic lunch comprised entirely of ingredients from the farm.

HELPFUL HINTS
• Dress in weather-appropriate clothing.
• Wear flat comfortable walking shoes.

Stroll past landmarks and through tunnels before settling in for a lunch of pizza, a classic dish first created in Naples. You will see the imposing 13th-century Castle Nuovo on the way to Piazza Plebiscito, the city’s largest pedestrian square. Four Bourbon royal residences overlook the piazza, including pink-hued Palazzo Reale. During free time, you might browse the shops or simply relax while taking in the sights. Naples also features a stunning attraction below the surface—the Bourbon Tunnel. Begun in 1853 as an escape route for royalty, the cavernous tunnel was never finished and became part of an aqueduct system. As you will discover while in the depths of the tunnel, it was also used as an air raid shelter during World War II. Returning to the surface, you will stop for a lunch of Pizza Margherita. It is a fitting choice, as the dish was supposedly invented in Naples to honor the visiting Queen Margherita of Savoy.

HIGHLIGHTS:
• Walk through the delightful streets of Naples, passing landmarks such as Castle Nuovo. • Spend free time shopping and exploring in the expansive square Piazza Plebiscito. • Explore a series of 19th-century tunnels that were conceived as a royal escape route. • Enjoy a classic lunch of Pizza Margherita, which was supposedly invented in Naples.

Explore the carefully preserved ruins in Paestum, which the Greeks founded around 600 BC as the city of Poseidonia, and see many of its excavated artifacts in the archaeological museum. The remains of three of the world’s finest ancient Greek temples still stand at Paestum. Two of them are dedicated to the goddess Hera, the other to Athena. Incredibly, the site was abandoned and forgotten for centuries after the nearby Silarus River silted up and created a malarial swamp. Excavations began in the 18th century and the wonders that have been unearthed present a fascinating glimpse into the world of the ancient Greeks and Romans. At the archaeological museum in Paestum, you will likely see a collection of terra cotta statues, decorative stone carvings of dancing women and war heroes, and a funerary painting of a man diving into water that may represent his transition into the afterworld.

HIGHLIGHTS:
• View the ruins of three Doric temples in Paestum that are among the finest in the world. • Gain insight into how Paestum was founded and its demise after the nearby river silted up. • Browse the enlightening artifacts in the archaeological museum in Paestum.

Spend free time meandering through downtown Salerno before heading into the countryside for a delightful tasting of local wines and olive oils. As you explore Salerno’s city center, be sure to look up at Forte La Carnale, a 16th-century hilltop fort that has been restored as a cultural center. The family-owned winery Casa di Baal will offer you a different insight into local life, as you tour the vineyards. The family practices natural vinification instead of using chemical fertilizers. It’s a difference you can taste, as you will discover later in the wine cellar. The selection of wines may include a soft white made entirely with fiano grapes and a supple red made entirely with aglianco grapes. Fresh-baked bread and extra-virgin olive oil from the farm is typically served as an accompaniment. You may notice the symbol of an elephant around the farm; it’s an homage to Hannibal, who used elephants in the Second Punic War.

HIGHLIGHTS:
• Tour a family-owned farm that produces wine and olive oil using organic methods. • Sample several wines paired with fresh-baked bread, olive oil, meats and cheeses. • Explore the atmospheric city center of Salerno during free time.