Castellabate is a climb hill and you can reach it either from Perdifumo or from a nice and panoramical road that rises from the sea of Santa Maria.
Here is the town hall’s seat, a pretty and picturesque small palace, live everything in this corner of paradise.
By car you can reach a parking that overlooks the wonderful Belvedere, the view sweeps over the sea, the hill rich of olive trees and of Mediterranean maquis.
Santa Maria, San Marco, Punta Licosa: a truly exceptional spectacle!
The castle gave its name to the place dominates the Belvedere.
Here, in the 12th century, the Abbey of Cava dei Tirreni, owner of the area, built the castle (of the Abbot) to protect the coast from the incursions oh the saracens pirates, but also to organise a trade that started from the small ports
from which Santa Maria and San Marco were born.
Today the castle can be visited and from the bastions the view goes even farther.
Entering the alleys of the medieval old town, passing close to nice fashion and typical products stores, you reach the small square made famous by the film “Benvenuti al sud”.Don’t look for the post office of Claudio Bisio, it doesn’t exist.
In its place there is a pretty bar with outdoor coffee tables, where is necessary to relax in a picturesque atmosphere.
So, a visit to the village is very pleasant, and moving away just a little bit from the centre, the village opens to the surrounding countryside, on the beautiful hillside inside Cilento, which is equally charming.
The road that connects Castellabate to Perdifumo is an excursion inside Cilento: the air of quiet, restful landscapes, olive groves and orchards,which is the other characteristic of Cilento, different from the sea, but even more authentic and characteristic.
Right in this relationship between coast and hill, between sea food and agricultural products, all of them characterised by quality and authenticity, there’s the sense of Cilento, the place where the Mediterranean diet has been studied and certified; good and capable of leading to a long healthy life.
