Part 1: Paradise Lost in Palinuro
Exploring Timeless Wonders Along the Southern Coast of Cilento
“Jurassic Park,” our boat captain yelled into the wind as we sailed past rocks that looked like they were from a movie about the beginning of time.
How can it be that this ravishing place, in a country that is among the top five tourist destinations in the world, is virtually unknown? By the sheer number of posts on social media it would seem logical to conclude that either Lake Como or the Amalfi Coast are the prettiest places in Italy. Certainly, that’s where all the tourists go. But neither are - it’s the cape of Palinuro, in the southern part of Cilento, which nobody seems to know about.
The name Palinuro comes from Virgil's epic poem "The Aeneid” which is to say this place is mythically beautiful. Palinuro was the helmsman of Aeneas's ship during their journey from Troy to Italy, but he fell asleep at the helm and was thrown overboard by the god of sleep, causing his death. Aeneas later encountered him in the underworld.
The village of Palinuro is one among a string of small fishing villages, including Pisciotta, Marina di Camerota, and Scario. All were very poor until the 1950s when Palinuro became home to the first official Club Mediterranee. Founded by Gilbert Trigano who was called “the French King of Camping,” Club Med was a lifestyle resort offering a simple, back-to-the-earth vacations in unlit straw huts with communal eating and washing. Through the early 1980s, it was the place to be — a popular, groovy, sometimes topless, all-inclusive frenchy Eden in southern Italy with Polynesisan-style tiki huts. From April to October, a direct train line from Paris to Palinuro brought 4,000 French tourists a week. Naturally, other hotels and tourist villages emerged for Europe’s jet set. The 1963 film Jason and the Argonauts was shot here, and you could buy a FIAT convertible in Palinuro Blu—a shade that matched the color of the local blue grotto.
The Land that Time Forgot
Years with a reliable stream of tourists enriched local politicians who reportedly lined their pockets but didn’t invest in maintaining and modernizing the local infrastructure. When the Club Med corporation went bankrupt and was sold in 1980, Palinuro's location closed, and the international crowd trickled off. Roads and services declined.
Italian families still come in August and there are plenty of inexpensive B&Bs and local apartments for rent in addition to campsites, and shaggy family resorts which cling to the cliffs overlooking spectacular wild beaches. The 2017 Wonder Woman film was shot on the Mingardo beach, which you can see from the side of the road while driving to Marina di Camerota, the next town over. But there are no five-star hotels, or fancy restaurants, no Instagram influencers posing in their lemon sundresses, and very few people who speak English. It feels like the 90s which, if you’re from the “Before Sunrise Generation” like me, is pretty great.
In late April, the only other tourists in Southern Cilento were hiking groups from Northern Italy. My friend Jessica and I were the only ones on a boat tour where our mouths hung agape as we cruised past cliffs which look like raw cut cathedrals,
Adriano our boat captain slowed down to navigate into the Blue Grotto and explained that things are starting to change in Palinuro. The local administration understands what needs to be done, and more young people are sticking around. The potential for active tourism is endless. This is also an ideal destination for snorkelers and SCUBA divers to explore 35 underwater caves. Yet, except for two weeks in August during the Italian summer holidays, he says, it’s rarely crowded.
“I know I come from paradise,” Adriano said, “and I only want to stay here and share this with others.”
A Boatride Back to the Beginning
The primeval vibe felt here is not only because of the virgin landscape. The sea caves contain bones and tools that belonged to Neanderthals, and evidence of a Paleolithic fishing village made by more organized Homo Sapiens. There are also animal bones from when the continents were pressed together as Pangea. The caves containing the bones are officially closed to the public, though Adriano told us that growing up here means he has swum through all the tunnels, and explored the caves. At one particularly Arcadian stretch of the coast, you can see people who hiked down to the caves from the cliffs, some sunbathing, others setting up kayaks and paddle boards. One of the larger caves was used during World War II to hide all the local pigs from the Nazi soldiers. Today it’s more of a lovers cove.
While being able to make all your travel reservations online is considered an advantage, the Internet has also made spontaneous decisions impossible in popular tourist destinations. Bots are snapping up tickets to the Colosseum for resale before mere mortals can get them, and if you haven’t made your Amalfi Coast plans at least six months ahead of time, you’re in big trouble. Meanwhile in Palinuro, you can just wander down to the waterfront and check the schedules at the tourist office to see which boat is leaving next. A 2.5 hour boat ride costs € 30, just three bucks more than an Aperol Spritz on Capri.
There are morning tours, afternoon tours which are ideal for the most direct light inside the Blue Grotto, and aperitivo tours where you get to eat and drink in between swimming and exploring white stone beaches. The highlight is the Baia di Buon Dormire or the Bay of Good Sleep which earned it’s name as a place where fishermen could nap and wake up with their nets full. You can only reach it by boat which drops you off in shallow water so you can swim to the white sand. It was cold when I jumped in, but the Southern Italian sun is strong and I couldn’t imagine anything stopping me from submerging my whole body in that translucent turquoise.
Palinuro offers a truly immersive experience for those not just willing to get off the beaten path, but who eagerly want to. It’s the kind of place where you can eat a pile of fresh razor clams for lunch, take a nap, and forget you ever had a digital life. In Palinuro, time stands still in the best way possible.
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Next week I’ll be back with Part 2 of this journey across the southern edge of Cilento, with a story about La Lamparata - the tradition of fishing for anchovies at night with nets, in Marina di Camerota.
#CONVINTA
Great post-- can't wait to check this out!