Daytrip's guide to Campania

Campania is where much of what the world calls Italian food began. Pizza was born in Naples, mozzarella comes from the buffalo plains inland, and the tomatoes ripen on volcanic soil. Come hungry, and eat standing up when you can.

• Try a margherita at La Notizia, the first Michelin Guide pizzeria
• Grab a cuoppo, Naples' paper cone of fried seafood
• Mozzarella di bufala comes fresh from the Caserta plains
• Piennolo tomatoes grow on the slopes of Vesuvius
• Gragnano, near Naples, is Italy's dried-pasta town
• Finish with a warm sfogliatella and an espresso

No region in Italy shows more of the ancient world. Greeks and Romans built cities here, and Mount Vesuvius preserved several by burying them in 79 AD. Some sit inside modern towns, others stand alone in open country.

• Pompeii is a full Roman city frozen in time
• Herculaneum, in Ercolano, is smaller but better preserved
• Greek temples stand at Paestum, near Salerno
• Villa Poppaea at Oplontis keeps vivid Roman frescoes
• Cumae, in the Campi Flegrei, hides the Sibyl's cave
• The Capua amphitheater, near Caserta, is second to the Colosseum

The ground here is volcanic and still restless. Vesuvius looms over the bay, and west of Naples the Campi Flegrei simmer with craters and steam. Inland and south, Cilento trades the fire for mountains, gorges, and caves.

• Hike Vesuvius to the crater rim above the bay
• The Astroni reserve fills an old crater near Naples
• Circle Lake Averno, the mythical gate to the underworld
• Underground rivers run through the Pertosa caves in Cilento
• Palinuro's sea cliffs and caves anchor the Cilento coast
• Cool off in the Calore river gorges inland from Paestum

Campania's cities reward more than a quick stroll. Their museums, castles, and monuments hold the art and history the region is built on, from Greek bronzes to Baroque grandeur. Give two or three of them real time.

• See Naples' Archaeological Museum for the Farnese marble statues
• Climb the Certosa di San Martino for the best view over Naples
• Spot the Vanvitelli Aqueduct’s stone arches near Caserta
• Benevento's Hortus Conclusus sets Paladino's sculpture in a cloister
• Above Salerno, hilltop Arechi Castle overlooks the gulf

Three islands sit in the Bay of Naples, each with its own character. Capri is dramatic and glamorous, Ischia green and thermal, Procida small and quiet. Boats run from Naples and the coast, and the water is the whole point.

• Row into Capri's Blue Grotto and its glowing water
• Capri's chairlift climbs Monte Solaro for the long view
• Soak in Ischia's seaside thermal gardens
• The Aragonese Castle sits on its own islet off Ischia
• Corricella's fishing houses stack above Procida's harbor
• Climb to Terra Murata, Procida's old walled quarter

Campania's best wines come from the hills and the volcano, not the coast. Irpinia, near Avellino, makes the region's serious reds and whites, while the Sannio near Benevento pours easy Falanghina. Book winery visits ahead.

• Taurasi, the "Barolo of the South," is Irpinia's dark Aglianico red
• Greco di Tufo, a mineral white, comes from Tufo's hills
• Fiano di Avellino is a rare southern white that ages well
• Bosco de' Medici pours Lacryma Christi below Vesuvius, near Pompeii
• Feudi di San Gregorio pairs a Michelin-starred restaurant and cellar