Through the narrow alleys of Lentiscosa

The main road along the Cilento coast leads directly through some impressive medieval villages whose narrow streets were built long before the age of the motor car, such as in Pisciotta or Lentiscosa. When there’s oncoming traffic, there are often only a few centimetres between vehicles as you weave past parked cars, corners of houses, overtaking mopeds and locals, while the oncoming Italians try to claim their right of way with typical nonchalance.

In Lentiscosa, on the link from Marina di Camerota to S.Giovanni a Piro, the passage is actually so narrow that traffic lights only allow one direction at a time to avoid jams and accidents. As I drive through, just a few centimetres away from me, some men sit unperturbed in a café playing cards; in the doorways, I catch a brief glimpse of the dark silhouettes of women in black dresses rushing by.

For many visitors — especially Americans, who are used to wide roads and big cars in their towns — the narrow, winding cities of ‘old Europe’ often provoke ‘Oh my god’ outbursts of emotion; for us, it’s rather clear why Italy is the land of the Vespa and the Fiat 500.

More pictures in the Cilento gallery.