Campania holidays

Beaches probably aren’t the first thing that springs to mind when you think of Italy. That’s because bathing platforms and coastal lidos are more common in the country than stretches of sand. Having said that, Campania offers up a few golden bays and pebbled coves. You have to hire sunloungers on most of them, but they tend to come with enough facilities and watersports to keep you occupied for the day.

Maiori Beach is the longest unbroken stretch of sand on the Amalfi Coast. In fact, it unravels for a whole kilometre, which explains why it’s been attracting sunbathers since Roman times. There’s a promenade behind the beach, where you’ll find plenty of restaurants serving everything from tangled pasta dishes to fresh fish.

If you like a bit of elbow room when you’re sunbathing, it’s worth taking a trip to Duoglio Beach, just a kilometre from Amalfi. You access this secluded bay via a steep set of steps. The thought of the return journey up the stairs is all it takes to deter fair-weather beachgoers, so you’ll be left with a bit more room to manoeuvre.

It’s easy to sniff out a bargain in Campania – many of the cheapest souvenirs are lemon-scented. The cliffs along the coast are covered with lemon groves, and so the fruit is used to make perfumes, soaps and liqueurs. Check out Sorrento’s Tuesday market. It’s towards the western end of Corso Italia – just head up the hill. Alternatively, get limoncello from the source by visiting the liquor producers, Giardini di Ravello, on Via Civita in Ravello.

Sorrento’s old quarter, the Drains, overflows with little artisan shops selling inlaid wood. Handmade jewellery is easy to come by, too, as is leather – expect to see racks of shoes, purses, wallets, belts and bags. If you’re in the market for ceramics, meanwhile, head to Piazza Duomo in Amalfi. And if you just want a short browse, wander down Corso Italia in Saint Agnello, where there are a handful of souvenir shops.

There’s no shortage of designer labels in Campania. Sorrento’s Corso Italia brims with boutiques. Ditto the Via Toledo in Naples. The price tags rise as you head down this pedestrianized street towards the chi-chi stores of Via Chiaia and Piazza dei Martiri. Over in Ishia Ponte, there’s a designer mile called Corso Vittorio Colonna.

Campania is an old-hat at relaxed evenings out. You’ll be tripping over traditional restaurants in Sant Agnello, Positano, Ravello and Amalfi. Just head into the town centres and you can’t miss them. In Sorrento, Piazza Antonio is the place to go for a drawn-out dinner. Alternatively, you can head to Chiesa di San Francesco to catch an outdoor concert.

Campania is seasoned with after-hours nightlife rather than coated in it. In Sorrento, you’ll find the livelier bars around Piazza Tasso and Piazza San Antonio. Over on Ishia, Corso Vittoria Colonna in Ishia Town is the ringleader when it comes to bars and discos. In Positano, meanwhile, there’s a decent helping of wine bars around Spiaggia Grande.

Along with streets paved with Gucci, Capri is famous for this salad. Thick slabs of mozzarella share plate space with equally thick slices of tomato, and they’re all garnished with torn basil and oregano. It’s normally dressed with extra virgin olive oil and ground black pepper.

It may be the plain Jane of the pizza world, but it’s arguably the best. The Margherita was invented in 1889 by Rafaele Esposito. He cooked up a patriotic-looking pizza for Queen Margherita, with tomato, mozzarella and basil standing in for the colours of the Italian flag.

This limoncello-soaked brioche is the mother of all liqueur cakes. While the roots of the baba are hotly debated – it would seem the French came up with it first – most agree the Campania version eclipsed earlier incarnations and has never been beaten since.

Since famous foodie, R W Apple Junior, of New York Times fame, declared ‘Neapolitan wine finds high notes’, southern Italian wines have been enjoying their moment in the sun. He described this majestic red wine as the ‘Barolo of the south’.

Made from the Amalfi Coast’s home-grown lemons, limoncello is a sweet liqueur. Bottles of this bright yellow liquid come out after dinner and it’s served as an ice-cold digestif. You can also mix it with vodka, cranberry and lime juice to make a blush cocktail.