| Southern Italy | Travel agents and tour operators are welcome |
During the prehistoric period, and again in the Middle Ages, the Cilento region served as a key route for cultural, political, and commercial communications in an exceptional manner, utilizing the crests of the mountain chains running east-west and thereby creating a cultural landscape of outstanding significance and quality.
In two key episodes in the development of human societies in the Mediterranean region, the Cilento area provided the only viable means of communication between the Adriatic and the Tyrrhenian seas, in the central Mediterranean region, and this is vividly illustrated by the relict cultural landscape of today.
Brief description:
The Cilento area is a cultural landscape of exceptional quality. Dramatic chains of sanctuaries and settlements along its three east-west mountain ridges vividly portray the historical evolution of the area as a major route for trade and for cultural and political interaction during the prehistoric and medieval periods. It was also the boundary between the Greek colonies of Magna Grecia and the indigenous Etruscan and Lucanian peoples, and so preserves the remains of two very important classical cities, Paestum and Velia.
Interesting links:
CilentoTour - Discover South Italy (agritourism, hotels, castles, guided tours, good food, folklore, history, sea & beaches)
PAESTUM - La cittą antica ed il museo (Soprintendenza Archeologica per le province di Salerno, Avellino e Benevento)
Il Parco Nazionale del Cilento e Vallo di Diano (Federazione Italiana Parchi e Riserve)
Parco Nazionale del Cilento e del Vallo di Diano (Centro Turistico Studentesco e Giovanile)
Proposta di candidatura nella lista del Patrimonio Mondiale UNESCO (International Court of the Environment Foundation)
Parco Nazionale del Cilento e Vallo di Diano (CILENTO NET)