Ischia, the green island

Acheloo travels - Ischia

Finally Spring is coming. Days are longer, the sun shines, the sky is clear and the air is sweeter: this is the right time to spend a week end or more in the island of Ischia, in the Gulf of Naples, to enjoy the warm sun and the silent winter sea, the cozy thermal parks and the services of the luxurious spas, and to taste local food at the typical restaurants of the place in the evenings.

When the boat approaches the port, the tourist realizes that he is arriving in the garden of Eden.
Ischia is an island with undeniable charm that attracts people from all over the world. It is a volcanic island in the Tyrrhenian Sea, at the northern end of the Gulf of Naples.

It is called the green island, the island of eternal spring, for its beaches, blue sea and spa resorts. The green hilly landscape is attractive, as are the little fishing ports, and you can enjoy a pleasant holiday without seeking out more developed attractions.



Acheloo travels - Ischia, The castle



Time can be happily spent taking boat trips, seeing the island by bus or enjoying food and drink on panoramic terraces above the sea. However, there are some particular sights which are worth seeing if you're staying in Ischia for a few days.

Acheloo travels offers several attractive solutions for your staying in Ischia. Visit our website or contact us for more information.

Acheloo travels - Villa Campolieto, Hercolaneum

Welcome back to everyone!

This article is the result of a long and detailed historical research. We hope you will find it interesting.
The area we want to introduce is the so-called "Miglio d’oro". This is a road with beautiful baroque villas (Ville Vesuviane), that from Naples arrives to Torre Annunziata, passing through Portici and Ercolano.
In XVIII century, Naples became the cultural centre of European Enlightenment for its natural beauties and for the charm of the classical myth and history. For these reasons in 1738 the Bourbon royal family and many noble families choose Portici and the surrounding areas, to build their new royal palace and aristocratic houses,  attracted by nature and the beginning of the excavations at Herculaneum.
The XVIII century sees also the birth of the modern concept of cultural tourism. In fact to complete their education, upper-class European young men undertook  the "Grand Tour": an educational travel to Europe in search of the classical antiquity and historical myth. The trip could last from several months to several years and Naples was the last and most attractive Italian city where travellers stopped. Sometimes, arriving in Naples, the journey  had no return because  people fell in love with the place so much, that decided to stay forever. It is the case of Lord William Beckett, who fell madly in love of Ravello and settled there for the rest of his life.

Today it is not easy to have the same feelings of wonder and curiosity that characterized the protagonists of the Grand Tour, but we can still visit some places where we can share intense emotions such as those described by Goethe in his "Italian Journey":

"(...) You'll never really adjusted to give an idea of this sea, this bay, this Vesuvius of this city with its suburbs, and with its castles, and above all of this air we breathe. (...) How to describe the magnificence of the streets, squares, gardens, the sea, when illuminated by the moonlight, as I see them lit up tonight? I am taken from the vertigo of infinite space, and in this sweet charm, my mind is dreaming things that i can dream only here. "- Wolfgang Goethe

To live those emotions we have to go back over the road of  “Miglio d’oro”. There we find the Royal Palace of Portici, Villa Ruggiero, Villa Campolieto and all the other aristocratic houses nearby. All that will report at the time of the Bourbons and their court. We can not fail to visit the archaeological excavations of Herculaneum and Oplontis, and the famous ruins of Pompeii to be fascinated by the myth of Roman classicism.
Very interesting to visit in this area, the Archaeological Virtual Museum at Herculaneum, a centre of culture and technology applied to the history.
We conclude our journey with an ascent to the cone of Vesuvius, to get to the main cause of so much death and destruction, and yet of so much history.
Why you are still waiting? Contact us and we will help you to plan and live this “historical” dream.

Acheloo travels - Vesuvius and the ruins of Pompei

 

Happy New Year with our itineraries

The Nativity

After Christmas holidays, we are preparing for the New Year Party. Some people have decided to spend  the last day of the year abroad or in the most important Italian cities, others prefer to stay home with their families. For those who remain in Italy for all those who decide to spend New Year's Eve in Naples and surrounding areas, we dedicate a series of tips on what to do and what to visit, away from the usual confusion, preferring something “unusual”.

We want to propose two particular itineraries. We speak about: a visit to the “Forgotten Nativity", and about "Aeterno Flore"

Handmade Nativity is an old Neapolitan tradition . Many have been the artists who carved little masterpieces of art, representing the characters of the crib. Among all we remember an Italian artist of the eighteenth century: Sammartino, who carved also the sculpture of the Veiled Christ. Many of the "works" of Sammartino, are kept in the Museum of  Certosa di San Martino.

It is from there that our guide Ludovica will take you to discover the origins, the curiosities and the secrets of the Neapolitan crib, "observing the city from top to bottom!"  La Certosa, in fact, was a monastery built by Charles of Anjou in 1325, on the hilltop overlooking the Gulf and the city. Today the building is a museum.

The “Aeterno Flore” is instead a guided visit in the mysterious athmosphere of the catacombs of San Gennaro. The guides are some actors playing the life of Ianuarius and telling old stories and anecdotes. This visit can be booked till January the 8th and take place only in the evening.
For those who do not want to stay in Naples, and prefers to see something different, we advice a romantic evening walk in the centre of Salerno, to admire the spectacular exposition of luminous artworks: "Luci d'artista", that enchant visitors until January.
Do not hesitate to contact us for any information.
HAPPY 2011 TO EVERYONE!

Christmas time



San Gregorio Armeno st.

At Acheloo travels we are very busy during these days, preparing our windows for Christmas: colored lights, an original Christmas tree and  so many offers to propose to our customers during this holiday period. This time we want to offer our readers something different, a return to our origins and lost traditions. A walk back in the past to find the colors, smells, tastes and sounds of Christmas in Naples streets beginning from the end of November.

We start our visit from the heart of Christmas market in Naples in Via San Gregorio Armeno: the historic center of the ancient Greco-Roman city, the largest historic center in Europe (1,700 hectares), listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site, with 27 centuries of history, and more than 400 churches! Along this narrow street, a series of workshops expose and sell outside on the street, all kinds of shepherds, and all the accessories and objects necessary for the scene of nativity. In some shops, it is also possible to assist at artisans’ work, while assembling and painting their handmade shepherds.

At the end of the street of San Gregorio Armeno, we reach the little square in front of the Basilica of San Lorenzo, dating back 1200. Beneath San Lorenzo, about half of an original Roman market has been excavated . In this area each corner, each stone, each building tells a story: Naples underground, the ruins of the Roman theatre inserted into the walls of the buildings, the church of  "anime pezzentelle" (“poor souls”)


At lunchtime, the return to origins, brings us to the "Cantina", a sort of canteen. At the beginning of the century, in the old wineries in Naples, people could buy wine and they could spend some time sitting at a table with friends, eating something with a glass of wine. Today these sort of wineries are very few , but they are the only places where you can try popular dishes of the ancient Naples, eating in a warm and homely everyday atmosphere, in the heart of the city.

Contact us for information about this itinerary

Hi to everybody from Italy




 Hi to everyboby!

First of all I want to introduce ourselves. This is the English version of our Italian blog. We are a travel agency and a tour operator, founded in April 2004, located in the South of Italy, not far from Naples, with a deep experience in tourism and incoming in the best places of Italy.

Through this blog, we want to inform you  about our services. We will give you useful tips to travel in safety in Italy, as well as advices and curiosities about the most beautiful places to visit in our region and all over our peninsula, about our amazing landscapes, our history and traditions.

We love to travel. For this reason, first of our services is to make a trip unforgettable because we plan everything according to customers’ taste and needs. We take care of them in the phase of organization and during their vacation, ready to respond also if they are on the other side of the world. We never let them alone.

So, do not miss the appointment with our blog: together we will explore the fascinating world of tourism in Italy and abroad.