VIOLA RESIDENCE >> I DINTORNI

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Our surroundings are rich in history, culture and the scenic beauty of the Vallo di Diano. The Natural Park of Cerreta is 3 km from Casalbuono.

You can visit Certosa di Padula or di San Lorenzo, declared as a UNESCO human heritage site just 10 kilometres away. Although the construction of this striking building began at the start of the 14th century, the work was only finished three centuries later. Second in terms of size only to the Carthusian monastery of Parma, the Padula monastery is one of the largest buildings in Baroque style in the whole of Italy. One of its special characteristics is that shape that recalls the grill on which St. Lawrence was burned alive.

The medieval castle of Macchiaroli is deserving of praise in the nearby Teggiano (16 km away), where a festival is organised every year in period costumes in the middle of August to relive the pomp and magnificence of the wedding that took place in 1480 between the prince of Salerno, Signore of Diano Antonello Sanseverino, and the princess Costanza, daughter of Federico di Montefeltro, the Grand Duke of Urbino.
It is a real journey back in time, with the chance to relive the past when the historical reconstruction “Alla tavola della principessa Costanza” takes place. The staging is particularly detailed, such as the making of costumes. However, the truly determining element is the use of theatrical figures, which falls totally to acting personalities, giving the spectators a feeling of going back in time.

Just over 20 minutes by car, you can visit the Pertosa or dell’Angelo Caves, which are the most important caves in southern Italy, whose origins date back to over 25 million years ago.
Crossed by an underground river (the Tanagro), they can only be accessed on board typical boats that guide the visitors through a series of tunnels that end in large natural rooms.
In all probability, these sites were already home to human beings during the Bronze Age. Tangible proof of this is found in the finding of jetties, whose remains have managed to resist erosion over time thanks to the particularly favourable climatic conditions that are marked by high levels of humidity.

Lovers of the sea are spoilt for choice. Among the best-known beach areas over a range of 30 to 40 km, we find Praia a Mare, with the characteristic island of Dino, which is rich in sea grottos. Scario, a sea village next to the unspoilt Messeta coast, is a tourist destination for the beauty of its depths. Maratea, the only strip of Lucana land bordered by the Tyrrhenian Sea, with a ragged coast that is rich in creeks, calette, little islands, grottos and beaches of rare beauty and with the 22 metre tall statue of Christ and with an opening of 19 fathoms, the second of its kind only to Rio de Janeiro. Palinuro, one of the main tourist locations in Campania, whose unspoilt coast offers the visitor charming expanses of beach and many little creeks, hidden bays, sea grottos and the natural arc, an enormous rock arch that extends out to sea, with a small bay behind it.