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Where to stay the night between Naples and Matera

Where to stay the night between Naples and Matera

Old Sep 29th, 2014, 11:09 AM
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Where to stay the night between Naples and Matera

Looking for recommendations on where to stay the night and what we should see en route between Naples and Matera.

We will arrive in Naples at noon on Thursday October 16 and need to arrive in Matera, Basilicata, sometime the next afternoon or evening. (It's a 3 hour drive, according to mappy.it)

Visiting Paestum - staying overnight near the ruins - was my first choice.

But I'm deterred the need to drive through the miles of crummy sprawl that reportedly stretch between the motorway exit and the archaeological site itself. And I did not find any accommodation that screamed out: "Must stay here!"

3 Questions:
1. Is Paestum so highly regarded that we should just ignore the charmless surroundings and so-so hotels?

2. Or can anyone suggest an alternative focus for our 24-26 hours between Naples airport and Matera?

We like scenery, history and cute towns. We don't much like crowds, so we did not really consider visiting the Amalfi Coast on this trip.

3. What about this 3rd option: Drive straight to Matera on October 16? That means we could spend a 3rd night in the region, in addition to the 2 we've already booked (on the 17th and 18th). Or is that an overly generous allocation of time?

Your views and advice, please!
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Old Sep 29th, 2014, 11:52 AM
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Paestum is really a wonderful site, but the surrounding area is indeed charmless. In fact, I haven't seen a town yet in that part of Italy that oozed charm. There are a lot of ugly modern constructions and poorly maintained towns. Near Matera, we saw several rather small towns that seemed to be in the middle of nowhere, but were full of large ugly modern apartment buildings. (Matera itself has lots of ugly modern buildings surrounding the Sassi, which is what everyone goes there to see.)

We spent a night in Irsina, which is along your route, and illustrates my point. In a desolate landscape, suddenly you come upon a town with a street grid like Manhattan, and lots of ugly modern apartment buildings, but apart from the main street, which is a numbered highway, it seems somewhat abandoned. In fact, officially it has a population of about 5,000. It looks like a city that 95,000 people left.

Since the drive is so short, I'd just go straight to Matera and spend an extra night there. Any of the nice spots I can think of are east of Matera, and would be more easily visited while you're staying in Matera. Altamura is worth a visit, and so is Alberobello, although it's rather touristy.
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Old Sep 29th, 2014, 12:24 PM
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Thanks for your insights on urban developments in that part of the country. (It seems Sicily does not have the monopoly on shoddy apartment construction and random development)
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Old Sep 29th, 2014, 12:50 PM
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I've been to a lot of towns in southern Italy that have lots of tourism potential, totally ruined by a lack of urban planning, incompetent urban planning, corruption, or all three.

A good example is the city of Norma, in the province of Latina. It has a lovely position (although a little hard to reach) on top of a cliff, and an impressive archaeological site. The town is a mishmash of decrepit old buildings and ugly new ones, and some that are a jerry-rigged combination of the two. The archaeological site would make you cry to see its desolation and lack of care. Most of it is partitioned off with ugly plastic orange fencing.

Nearby, the little town of Sermoneta is a jewel, but its castle and many of its buildings are owned by a private foundation, which keeps it well maintained, and probably has a certain influence in the governance of the town as a whole.
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Old Sep 29th, 2014, 04:16 PM
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I try not to believe the worst about the Mezzogiorno. But the northern Italians I meet are at best impatient and at worst scathing about their southern cousins. Fortunately Puglia is a bit wealthier and a bit better preserved than the neighbouring regions.
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Old Sep 29th, 2014, 05:15 PM
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I agree that the town area between the highway and the temples in Paestum is pretty ugly and uninteresting, but it's really not that far. We were there in July and I don't remember exactly how long but not more than half an hour or so. We stayed at a great little hotel - Il Granaio dei Casabella - on the side street near the temples. About a 10 minute walk. The hotel was lovely, beautiful garden, gated parking, easy to find. The temples are magnificent so if you have an extra half day I would highly recommend them. We drove from Paestum the next day to Matera. The drive wasn't horrible but we did get lost (only time on the whole trip). I describe all of this in my trip report (http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...ast-puglia.cfm). The part you'd be interested is is wedged between the Amalfi Coast and Puglia sections.

Photos of the temples - http://www.pbase.com/annforcier/herc..._villa_adriana
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Old Sep 29th, 2014, 09:20 PM
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IMO, Paestum is worth it. No question! YMMV. BTW, make time for the small museum there - it has some unique things.

Also, FWIW, I thought Salerno vastly underrated. It isn't between Naples and Matera, but could be a great place for a night before or after Paestum.
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Old Sep 30th, 2014, 12:14 AM
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The museum at Paestum should definitely be part of any visit to the site.
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Old Sep 30th, 2014, 06:01 AM
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tedgale - Where are you staying in Matera?
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Old Sep 30th, 2014, 06:36 AM
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1. You mentioned Sicily--If you have seen the temples there, maybe you would not feel as compelled to see those at Paestum.
2. I only skirted the area, but perhaps Agropoli for a night, if you decide to see Paestum?
3. I depends on where you are flying from and if jet lag is an impediment to even a short drive.
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Old Sep 30th, 2014, 09:28 AM
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If you want to sleep close to Paestum, check the medieval city (Unesco site) of Castellabate and places like
http://www.residenzamatarazzo.it/#!home-eng/c1a2w
http://www.hotelcastello.co.uk/hotel.html
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Old Oct 1st, 2014, 06:53 AM
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Holly uncasdewar: We are staying at a small Matera inn called Ai Terrazzini.

Glad to hear the commendation for the Granaio. The property looks fine and reviews are good, though decor of the rooms looked a little frumpy to me.

Still seesawing. I appreciate all the comments, advice and discussion.
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Old Feb 17th, 2015, 05:26 PM
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Strong recommendation for a great ride.... Stay for a night or two in either Castelmezzano or Pietrapertosa. These are Macchu Pichu sort of mountain villages among the dolomite cliffs of Basilicata. Amazing views and great villages. Stay for the night view of Castelmezzano from the little piazza overlooking the town. This is about a halfway point between the Amalfi Coast and Matera.

--Jerry
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