Scario

 

Scario is just a small fishing village and holiday resort south of Napoli in the Gulf of Policastro, but we found it a delightful place to spend a few days. Nestled in amongst the rugged cliffs, caves and grottoes of the south west coast of mainland Italy, Scario shares the picturesque qualities of the Amalfi coast without its overexposure. The houses are weathered stone or stucco in creams, pinks and yellows, and the town clearly takes pride in its gardens. At this time of year fruit trees are laden and there are vivid flowers everywhere, while shade trees provide relief from the intense sun of high summer. The town’s backdrop is mountains skirted by pine and cedar forest.

Tourism seems to be fairly low-key. Families from Rome have their holiday villas and apartments here, along with a scattering of foreigners, but the town seems to be a ‘real’ town with butchers and hardware stores as well as the restaurants and bars, along with a sense of community.  On the evening we arrived, the church was filled to overflowing with people celebrating Mass accompanied by the local children’s choir. The evening passegiata along the waterfront was always a friendly and colourful affair, with stylish summer fashions, new babies on display, the elderly arm in arm with a strong young grandson or daughter and of course all the children high on gelato at midnight.

Waterfront promenade, before the evening crowds

 

The old boys gather for cards

 

We had a couple of excellent meals at a family ristorante called La Piazzetta where I had a lovely rich seafood risotto and a lesson in the correct way to eat cigale.  Terry had pasta with mixed mushrooms.

 La Piazzetta

Besides a sheltered harbour at reasonable cost, Scario also has clear water for swimming, pleasant places to walk – and did I mention the gardens? We happened to see a post in the real estate agent’s office offering a ‘small villa with garden’ for €98,000 – very tempting!

 

 Old buildings nestling amongst the villas

 A beautiful waterfront