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!
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