The Neapolitan dialect is said to be the best known of the Italian language in the world. This comes as no surprise: music, as we know, is a universal language and it is easy to remember the accompanying lyrics. And Neapolitan songs are known throughout the world. Who has not heard or sung "0 sole mio" at least once? And yet, the diffusion of the Neapolitan dialect hides another truth: Neapolitan is not a dialect, it is a true and proper language that expresses and
transmits an autonomous culture, formed and consolidated over the centuries. Naples, in short, has a history apart. And it is for this that it is so well-known, beloved and visited: because there is no other city like it in the world, with its inimitable characteristics. It fascinates and conquers whoever stays therefore even for a short time. And how could it be otherwise when confronted with the beauty of its sea, the fascination of its history, the good humour of its people, and the beauty of the innumerable architectural treasures of all eras and all styles that grace the city? A fascination and ability to enchant, throughout the whole of Campania, the region of which Naples is the capital: in the splendid Neapolitan islands of Capri, Ischia, Procida, on the spectacular Amalfi coast, in the magnificent Reggia di Caserta, in the archaeological site of Paestum (in the province of Salerno) and so many other beautiful centres of Campania. The ancients called this land
"felix" (happiness) with good reason.
Naples greek and roman - decumani - churches - palaces and crafts - art and history of the ancient Gothic, Renaissance, Baroc and Neoclassical city of Naples.
Naples today - the "vicoli" ( a labirinth of long and narrow streets of the old section of this city), the Hills and the Residential quarters. The Sacred city - the Churches of Gesù Nuovo, Santa Chiara, the Cathedral, San Lorenzo and its excavations, San Domenico Maggiore, San Francesco di Paola, etc. - Naples underground. Pompei - Vesuvio
Along the coast road throught the Spa centre of Castellamare to Pompei, important Roman commercial centre buried by ashes from Mt. Vesuvius in 79 a.d. Visit of the excavation. We then go along the motorway to begin the climb up to Mt. Vesuvius, ascent to the crater on foot.
Capri - Anacapri
Depart by hydrofoil. On arrival at picturesque Marina Grande, the main port, mini coach will take you along the winding road up to the mountain village of Anacapri, Villa S.Michele from where you can enjoy magnificent views over the island and the Gulf of Naples. return to Capri town, for a visit to the gardens of Augustus in the southern part of the island to enjoy the views of the famous "Faraglioni" rocks and the Charterhouse of San Lorenzo. return to Marina Grande by funicular railway for the return hydrofoil trip. Positano - Amalfi - Ravello
From Sorrento along one of the most romantic and scenic roads in Italy, the Amalfi Drive, to Positano where a short stop will be made for photos; then to Amalfi where we see the beautiful Cathedral, and have time for shopping, exploring. Afterwards ride up to Ravello and the panoramice Villa Rufolo.
Salerno - Paestum
Motorway to Paestum. Visit of the best preserved Greek temples out side Greece, and Museum, with expert guide. Lunch. After lunch to Salemo for a brief stop to see the promenade and the Cathedral.

Caserta - Cassino
Caserta: Here a visit is made of the Palace of the Bourbon Kings, wih its' apartments, gardens and waterfalls. Then on to Montecassino, we will visit the Benedictine Abbey, completely rebuilt after the destruction of World War 2.

MUSIC ATTRACTIONS AND INSTITUTIONS
RaveIlo:This charming town grew up many years ago, in the Middle Ages, on a mountainous spur extending into the sea, between the Dragone and Reginna valleys, above Amalfi. Even today, among the splendid villas and the wonderful gardens constructed in the last centuries, the jewels of Arab-Sicilian architecture used to construct the city in the 12th c., still stand out: an elegant, flowery style, with oriental features, which can be admired in the beautiful church of Santa Maria a Gradillo or in the Villa Rufolo (13th c.) building, where there is a wonderful garden of exotic plants which fascinated the musician Richard Wagner, and which since then has been called Garden of Klingsor. The duomo of San Pantaleone, built in the 11th c., but restored in the 18th c., is also beautiful. It contains a remarkable marble pulpit designed by Niccolò di Bartolomeo from Foggia, and, above all, the blood of the saint, which liquefies on the anniversary of the martyr. In this natural scenery, so rich in precious historical evidence, an elite tourist industry developed, among whose enthusiasts was the great and mysterious diva Greta Garbo.

NAPOLI - Piazza del Plebiscito: There is something of the architectural embrace of Bemini's St Peter's Square in Rome about the Doric semi-circle which _ frames the Chiesa di San Francesco di Paola, a gift from the then King Ferdinand I ; i i of Bourbon to the city of Naples for having re-conquered the kingdom after ten
. A !
years of French occupation. It was actually a Frenchman, Joaquin Murat, who in
, 1810 ordered the construction of the semi-circle as part of a transformation of the shapeless open space where people's festivities and public celebrations had been held up till then into an urban setting more in keeping with the nearby Palazzo Reale (Royal Palace). The finishing touches were the two Equestrian Statues of Charles of Bourbon (this statue was by Antonio Canova) and Ferdinand I.

Napoli - Church Santa Chiara: Some people say that the church itself is the finest part of the group of buildings here (the church is joined to a convent), even though its BaroqueRococo decorations were destroyed by air-raids in 1943. A sense of the sacred is in the air, possibly because the origins of Santa Chiara are linked to two very devout individuals (Robert I of Anjou and his wife Sancia laid the foundation stone) or because the fact that almost all of the members of that family have their last resting-place here has transformed the place into something of an Angevin pantheon. In fact, the royal tombs are splendid and Gothic like the Clarisse nuns' Choir imbued with the creative flair of Leonardo di Vito (Giotto frescoed its walls). Others, however, take the view that the finest part of the convent is the Clarisse
cloister, more of a garden than a place of retreat and spiritual meditation, on account of the triumph of majolica colours.
Napoli - Duomo: The history of the most important church in Naples, dedicated to Our Lady of the Assumption, reaches to the dawn of Christianity, and at least as far back as the 4th c., when the Basilica di Santa Restituta was built which, together with the subsequent Basilica Stefania (Vlth c.) was incorporated into the present Duomo. The neo-Gothic appearance of the late 19th-c. facade recalls that the church is another Angevin foundation (it was commissioned by Charles I of Anjou at the end of the 13th c.), as well as displaying the results of the many projects of restoration and structural alteration. In fact, the structure of the Duomo bears traces of almost all the styles: the entrance doorways are 15th-c., a century younger than the pillar-bearing lions of the central opening and the Virgin Mary with the Christ
Child by Tino di Camaino in the lunette. The interior, in the form of a Latin cross, is Baroque in appearance, as is the Cappella del Tesoro di San Gennaro, scene of the liquefaction of the saint's blood.
 
Napoli - Galleria Umberto I: The huge cross-shaped glass construction with a dome at the centre is not a factory, as it might appear, but the Umberto I Gallery, an edifice typical of the somewhat triumphalistic taste of the belle epoque, with its rhetoric and pride in a civilisation too confident in the then emergent idea of progress. Its position directly facing the San Cario theatre is starling: it seems to have been built on purpose to disturb and oppress the serene harmony of the opera house with its immense structure. Yet the gallery which fortunately is one of the few public buildings for which the neapolitans have to thank the house of savoy carries out its function as a covered piazza with distinction. The shelter it provides is especially welcome on rainy days.
 
 
Napoli - Chiesa del gesù: The interior of the Neapolitan Jesuits' place of worship is a Baroque feast. It was built in 1584-1601, re-using the diamond-point ashlar facade from a 15th-c. palazzo. The exterior facade may look dark, but the interior is a spectacular triumph of marble facing, stuccoes, frescoes and sumptuous altars, and here the greatest exponents of Italian art worked between the end of the 16th c, and the middle of the 19th c., artists like Francesco Solimena, who frescoed, on the ~ counter-facade, The Expulsion of Heliodorus from the Temple, or Giovanni Lanfranco, responsible for the Evangelists in the pendentives of the cupola.
Napoli - San Lorenzo Maggiore: The tirelessly devout Angevins were also founders of this place of worship where the writer Giovanni Boccaccio met Fiammetta. In fact, there was already a church here from the Vith c. onwards, and this was rebuilt by Charles I at the end of the 13th c. and then modified. That sequence of events is documented both in the facade, which looks 18th-c, even though it still has the doorway from the previous building, and in the interior, where the Cappella Cacace is the most interesting example of Baroque decorations applied, in the 17th-18th c., onto the Gothic structure (the church's apse is magnificent). From the cloister of the monastery, the visitor can travel back in time into Naples's past, even as far back as Roman and Greek times.
 
Sorrento: This is a big tourist town on the northerly coast of the Sorrentina Peninsula. The name of this beautiful city evokes one of the most mysterious and fascinating creations of classical mythology, the Sirens: according to legend, the ancient Surrentum grew up in a place sacred to the cult of these capricious creatures. The original site of the city, excluding a few sporadic prehistoric traces, dates back to Roman times, and even now the Tasso, Fuoro and San Cesareo roads reflect the road layout of the ancient Roman town. The beauty of the site (Sorrento grew up on a tuff plain on the Lattari mountains, dropping sheer into the sea) and the mild climate made the city one of the major tourist destinations of the region, possibly slightly spoiled by the pressure to build which has grown enormously over the years. In the centre, between the 18th c. palaces and the shops displaying the beautiful wood inlay work typical of the city craftsmen, there is an interesting public building dating back to Angevin times, the Sedile Dominova (15th c.).
AMALFI - Duomo: The cathedral of Amalfi, dedicated to Saint Andrew, was founded in the 9th c., when the city became a free republic, and was remodelled several times: the facade, decorated with mullioned windows with two and three lights, and Arab-style arches, was rebuilt in the last century after the collapse of 1861. The church stands at the end of a high flight of steps, and is entered through a Gothic portico, clad with black and white streaked marble; at the side is the bell tower, the sole relic of the early building (1180-1276). The entrance is through a wonderful bronze doorway encrusted with silver, cast in far-away Constantinople in 1066 by Simon of Syria: the internal structure, based on a basilica design, retains a few features of the original building, such as two ambos (two small lateral pulpits) covered with mosaics and a splendid baptismal font in red Egyptian porphyry.
 
 
CAPRI : The main tourist town on the island, a place which by now has become legendary for the beauty of its dazzling white houses, covered with terraces or small barrel vaults, and for its fascinating society. It is enough to think of the famous 'Piazzetta' (Piazza Umberto
I), which for decades has been the crossroads of the whole of international high society, and which is still today the most lively place in the town, full of coffee tables and surrounded by discreet buildings, such as the church of San Stefano, which almost fades away behind all this bustle and activity. Capri grew up between two hills, at a panoramic spot not far from the sea; rather isolated, on the contrary, is the Carthusian monastery of San Giacomo, constructed in 1371-74 and now used as an exhibition centre.
Ischia: The main town on the island is formed by an older part, Ischia Ponte, and a more modem part, Ischia Porto, which grew up in the 18th c. around the submerged crater of a small volcano. The arch of colourful little houses around the fishermen's beach, at Ischia Ponte, still speaks of the times when the town, founded around the 13th c., was exclusively inhabited by fishermen and sailors. Now, life on Ischia is linked with tourism and with its famous thermal waters (the Baths were founded in 1845): the beautiful church of Assunta (13th c., rebuilt in the Baroque style) and the castle, fortified in 1438 by Alfonso V, are also worthy of a visit.
 
Salerno - The Duomo: At the end of the year 1000, duke Roberto il Guiscardo and bishop Alfano, a highly cultured man, wanted to build a splendid cathedral for their city, to celebrate its power and glory. Thus came into being the extremely beautiful cathedral of Salerno, one of the masterpieces of Norman architecture from the Middle Ages, now softened and embellished with details in the Byzantine and Islamic styles. The church was consecrated in 1085 and was intended to hold the remains of San Matteo, discovered at that time. The cathedral, with its basilical design with three naves, is preceded by a wide porticoed atrium, with a large Romanesque-style doorway, with marble scoring. Inside there is a very high transept and the raised presbiterium, following the typical pattern of Norman churches.