Southern Italy
 

Solo traveler willing to get off the "tourist track". Not really a "sight-see-er". More interested in the people and daily life. Based on the maps I am looking at there is a lot of Italy between Rome and Sicily. Suggestions?

Here's a whole thread about the Basilicata region: http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34401476

I've also heard wonderful things about the Puglia region. I've never been there, but I defintely want to go some time soon. I would also like to visit the Calabria region, but I would not go there completely alone.

Try to stay in B&Bs, private houses with rooms to rent, etc, so you can meet the locals.

Staying in B&Bs would be an interesting idea. I'm sure there must be some, but I'm not sure how easily you might find them.

If you truly want to go off the beaten track, I assume that you mean you'll be going to towns, not cities, probably in the the mountains. There will probably be many towns that have a single hotel, not very large, or perhaps a single agriturismo on the outskirts of town. Just being a guest and a foreigner in a town that rarely ses tourists will make you somewhat of a curiosity, but in a NICE way, and you'll have plenty of opportunity to interact with locals.

One suggestion I have if you are willing to plan parts of your trip ahead of time and not leave all of it loose to figure out as you go along, is to research when there are local festivals and plan to be in a town that has a particularly interesting festival. If you do that, you will need to reserve a hotel room in advance, since even hotels that are usually empty may be filled at festival time with former townspeople who return from the north or the cities to visit home during the festival, or, if it's a really good festival, also with tourists from northern Italy who visit to see interesting southern folkways. If the festival idea appeals to you, but you really didn't want to go quite as off the beaten track as I suggsted, consider going to Matera or Potenza, the major cities of Basilicata, when they have a festival worth observing.

Puglia is one of my favorite regions of Italy. There is a lot to see and a lot of beautiful places just to relax at. You should be able to find a good selection of accomodations in Puglia too. Calabria is a huge region with a wide variety of scenery but unless you are in one of the major cities, finding a hotel or B&B may be more difficult. If you have the time, I suggest you read "A Traveller in Southern Italy" by H.V. Morton. It's a great book which describes the author's travels through this region in the 1960s.

Go to www.slowtrav.com and under trip reports find mine from Spring 2000. We spent 2 weeks off-the-path in south Italy. Hope it helps.