Everyone knows the Amalfi Coast. Almost nobody drives south from there. Below Salerno: Cilento National Park with Greek temples, Maratea with a giant Christ statue, then into Puglia.
Build this itinerary →Drive south from Salerno. Paestum (45 min): three Greek temples 6th–5th century BC, better preserved than anything in Greece. Temple of Hera II is Doric perfection. Museum (€12 combined): Tomb of the Diver (470 BC, only major Greek painting from this period). Cilento: Acciaroli (where Hemingway allegedly spent a summer), Capo Palinuro (sea caves, €15 boat tours), Marina di Camerota (wild beaches, zero tourists). Sleep any village: €50–70 sea-view double.
Drive south through Sapri into Basilicata. Maratea: 32 coves beneath a 22m Christ statue (1965). Medieval, steep, unspoiled. Continue into Calabria: Scalea, Diamante (300+ murals on buildings, free). Cut east via SS106 to Taranto (3h) or via Potenza to Matera. Enter Puglia from the south through Salento or from the west through Matera. You'll have seen Italy that 99% of tourists never will.
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