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You know the film by Claudio Bisio and Alessandro Siani, Welcome to the South? Well we want to take you to the megaset of this blockbuster movie… so welcome to Castellabate!
We always follow the exits to Salerno.Today is a wonderful day, finally there is the sun after days and rainy days, it is really hot, it seems summer.
Before leaving a lot of people asked us if we would go to Castellabate “above” or Castellabate “below”. We were a little laughing… actually Castellabate below corresponds to the area near the sea, Santa Maria di Castellabate, the part above is properly the village of Castellabate.
Here we are right in the “above” part of Castellabate, recognized as one of the most beautiful villages in Italy. We are guests of the Tamara period residences and waiting for us on our arrival is the nice Mr. Lello.
Lello is Neapolitan, he spends 6 months of his life in Castellabate and 6 more in Calabria, a bit nomadic like us. It immediately makes us settle into our room, a beautiful depandance overlooking the sea and beautiful blue majolicas on the floor. We don’t have time to waste, we have to settle down quickly and head to the center of Castellabate.
The village is quiet, there are few people but there are tourists. The roads are often narrow, there are steep climbs and quite high steps. We do not need maps, Lello confirmed it to us, just enter between the alleys that go up and down and sooner or later you get to the main square.
How do you recognize the square? Well if you’ve seen Welcome to the South you recognize it right away, but don’t expect to find the famous post office because here, there is no… actually what we saw was nothing more than an ice cream parlour, transformed specifically for the film.
There is a small restaurant still closed, with tables set and colorful flowers, a small winery in which to taste also cured meats and cheeses of Cilento, a small shop of souveniers. And then a wonderful view of the endless verdant fields, those where the land seems to be particularly generous perhaps because it has always been caressed by the sea air.
If you are curious about where the famous tombstone is with the engraving “HERE NOT MUORE” by Joachim Murat,then you must head to the actual castle.
This wonderful stone construction, reigns over the country and overlooks one of the most beautiful sea views of the country. We pay only one euro to visit it and in a second we are immersed in the maritime history of Cilento. Remains of oars, amphorae anchors surround us as we carefully read the ancient history of the country’s marina.
Today the Abbot’s Castle welcomes exhibitions and works by artists, many of whom have created miniatures of the city and its most beautiful and well-known places, yesterday as today. There is also an exhibition dedicated to cinema and an exhibition dedicated to the great Toto. Speaking of Cinema, did you know that Castellabate was also the set of other movies besides Welcome to the South and Welcome to the North, its sequel? In fact, they were also filmed here We believed directed by Mario Martone and 11 meters , a documentary film produced by RaiTrade, directed by Francesco Del Grosso.
As we stroll through the castle and get lost to follow landscapes and small tunnels, the daylight slowly fades. The sunset we enjoy from the balcony of our wonderful room.
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