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ACCIAROLI AND MARINA
DESCEA |
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The facilities, and the beaches, improve the closer you get to ACCIAROLI
, about 10km further south - one of the Cilento's larger resorts and a
port for the hydrofoils plying the coast during summer. The railway
joins the shoreline again at MARINA D'ASCEA , a fairly indifferent
resort but surrounded by hotels and campsites, especially along the
lengthy sand beach that stretches north to Marina del Casalvelino.
Close by, MARINA DI VELIA gives access to the site of Velia (daily
9am-1hr before sunset; L5000/2.58) - comprising the ruins of the
Hellenistic town of Elea, founded around 540 BC and an important port
and cultural centre, home to its own school of philosophy. Later it
became a favourite holiday resort for wealthy Romans, Horace just one of
many who came here on the advice of his doctor. The decline of Velia
parallels that of Paestum - malarial swamp rendering much of the area
uninhabitable - though the upper reaches were lived in until the
fifteenth century. There, however, the comparison ends: the remains of
Velia are considerably more decimated than those of Paestum and the town
was never as crucial a centre, with nothing like as many temples. At the
centre of the ruins the " Porta Rosa ", named after the wife of the
archeologist who conducted the first investigations, is one of the
earliest arches ever found - and the first indication to experts that
the Greeks knew how to construct such things. Up from here, the
Acropolis has relics of an amphitheatre and a temple, together with a
massive Norman tower - visible for some distance around.
Outside the site there's a restaurant, the Amoroso (no closing day) and
beyond here a small beach - though this can get crowded in summer.
There's another restaurant, too, La Torre (no closing day), 200m up the
road going towards Agrópoli.
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