Once upon a Time there was the Sea...

From Velia to Punta del Telegrafo
An itinerary among history and myth, which runs through the historical stages of the founders of Elea, Focei, and which exhibits sacred wells, Roman baths, and amphitheatres, the remains of a millennial civilization.

The Coast of the Mermaids

The Mountain of Capaccio Vecchio
This itinerary leads through the rocks and the vegetation of the Mountain of Capaccio Vecchio to the ruins of the castle which overlooks the plane
of Paestum underneath.
Here it is possible to visit the archeological site and the museum.
Visitors reaching this place will be drawn nearer to some aspects of the history of Cilento, and at the same time they will enjoy a spectacular landscape, a huge amphitheatre where the presence of nature and man blend.

Mount Cilento

Mount Stella and Rocca Cilento
An itinerary on the mountain which is known as Mount Stella.
This mountain is considered today, as it was in the past, a strategic point for the control of the coast of Cilento and of its stretch of sea, up to one of the centres which sprung up along its ridges: Rocca Cilento.

Pearls of Cilento

The Caves and the Historic Centre of Castelcivita
The caves disclose an enchanting underground landscape which has
given hospitality to man for 40.000 years.
A series of galleries, saloons, tight passages and wells create unique places:
the Castle Room, the Crocodile Room, the Vegetables Room, the Pagoda.
A few miles from the caves lies Castelvicita which, clutched at a rocky spur, overlooks the valley of Calore underneath.

In the Middle of the Earth and Memory

The Throat of the Stream Sammaro and Roscigno Vecchio
Going down the throat of the stream Sammaro is like entering the depths
of the earth where not fire, but clear and fresh water springs.
The ghost village of Roscigno Vecchio is fascinating:
it was abandoned a century ago, but today it revives thanks to the interest
shown by the population of Cilento for their roots and their culture,
whose evidences are preserved in the little Ethnographic Museum
which has been set up in the town.

Among the Sacredness of the Mountain

The Ancient Path of the Pilgrims from Novi Velia to Mount Gelbison
The itinerary leads to one of the most visited sanctuaries in Campania,
the Sanctuary of the Madonna of Novi.
Moreover, it gives the opportunity to go through the most important of the
many paths leading to the peak of Mount Gelbison..

The Realm of the Otter

The Throats of the River Calore
The otter, the undisputed queen of the rivers, has found a warm welcome
in the rivers of the Park and particularly in the river Calore.
This river has been able to carve in the rock many "works of art",
among which potholes and lateral basins.
During the past centuries the people living here have left indelible signs
of their civilization: two wonderful medieval hog-backed bridges.

The Mistery of the Antece and St. Michael Archangel's Cave

Who did sculpt the Antece, the mysterious warrior of "Costa Palomba"?
The itinerary leads to the Alburni Mountains, which have been inhabited since prehistoric times, towards the enigmatic sculpture which seems to watch over natural beauties such as the big beeches, the overhanging rocks, the caves,
the swallow holes, and the beautiful landscapes which make the
Alburni Mountains fascinating and mysterious.

Where Nature Blends with Faith

The Rupestral Sancturary of the Martyr S. Mauro
The rupestral Sanctuary of the Martyr S. Mauro is surrounded by the intense
green of the ilex grove and is clunched at a calcareous slope which,
lying in a higher place than the village, seems to protect it from above.

The Sentinel of Cilento

S. Severino of Centola and Roccagloriosa
Since their inhabitants had to defend themselves from continuous incursions,
these villages arose in inaccessible and elevated places, Roccagloriosa in the fourth-fifth centuries B.C. and S. Severino many centuries later.
These places have left us the signs of the past which we can find in the castle,
in the baronial palace, in the houses of S. Severino, in the typical graves
of the ancient Lucania in Roccagloriosa.

The Lone Valley

Laurino and the Grava of Vesalo
Going beyond a beautiful medieval arched bridge, you can reach the church
of St. Elena, which is situated below the historic centre of Laurino,
near Gorgonero. Here a spring flows into the river Calore.
The lone Soprana valley begins exactly in this place, and goes up among
the rocky pinnacles of Scanno del Tesoro, among old homesteads
and marvellous beechwoods.
At the end of the valley there is a deep and spectacular chasm called the Grava
of Vesalo, one of the many karst phenomena characterising the calcareous
rocks of the whole area.

The Wild Beauty of Nature

The Cave and the Karst Resurgence of the Auso
This itinerary leads along the road surrounding the Alburni Mountains and
along the spectacular karst resurgence of the Auso.
Among stone hog-backed bridges it is possible to reach the Old Mill,
which in the past provided the energy to set into motion the turbine
of the old hydroelectric generatin station.

The Valley of the Mills

A Route among History and Nature
An itinerary among history and nature to discover man and the activities
through which he shaped the landscape.
Along this route there are many signs of the old farming community:
the urban spaces, the houses, the vegetable gardens, the pastures,
the rural homesteads, the Turky oak wood.
At the end of the itinerary it is possible to reach the famous Valley
of the Mills characterised by ancient water mills.

In the Depths of the Earth

Morigerati and the Cave of Bussento
The itinerary leads below the village of Morigerati, where the river begins to flow underground and only reappears few miles further down.
The whole area offers one of the most beautiful sights of the Park:
a marvellous stone-paved mule track which is partly carved in the rock and which, after a series of downward hairpin bends, leads to the entrance of the cave.