What a fascinating post, and such beautiful photos (sorry for lack of a better adjective!) Really interesting to see these famous places in the off season. The lighting, or maybe just your photographic talent, make these towns look so much better than when they are jammed with tourists–and in March yet, you mentioned! Funny about Tropea, cause for so long I’d seen photos of the cliffs and the turquoise sea. But I never found a compelling draw to actually visit. (For one thing it is really out off the way from a lot of other destinations I might want to visit. But also, as lovely as it must be, like Amalfi, maybe it has almost sold its soul to tourists (like us)! I’ve flown into Lemezia Terme twice but both times, went north…once to Amantea and, I think I mentioned, up that coast to Cilento and then to the Amalfi area. I’ll tell you what is one gorgeous town: Maratea, but again, even in September (and I am a rabid swimmer and had one of the best sea swims of my life off a “tourist” beach near there) what might have been the soul of the actual main town (it’s confusing since Maratea encompasses several different towns, or area, or maybe fracciones…anyway I think you get the idea even if my nomenclature is a bit shaky!) seemed almost hollowed out by tourism. Not english speakers…not at all, but tourists, still, and you could not find much local life although surely I just missed all that as I was there only about 4 days and tourism was very much in swing een in late September when the rains begin to creep in, or so I was told by locals. It’s actually in Basilicata, that tiny stretch of the region with a seacoast. The small hill town of Pisciotta in Campania is quite gorgeous and although it is VERY small, i’d bet that it might be a possibility to spend a few winter months…just a feeling I have, without having done any research and again, I stayed but 2 nights, as I remember. I’d bet the inland Cilento peninsula would be worth a deep research dive, but oddly enough, or maybe not so odd, most of the online sites I found focusing on this area were in German. Now this was about 10 years ago so who knows what the area is like now. I seem to remember, by the way, that the area is noted as one of the areas of the world with the longest longevity (oooh…redundant wording, I think but you understand…worth reading up on this as it is certainly not the only part of Italian where locals tend to follow the “Mediterranean diet.”
Anyway, sorry for my rambling…I still wonder, also, about Sardinia but do also have the fear that its fame for beaches and jet set types might put a damper on things, but then the jet set part is only around Costa Smeralda, as far as I know…
My goodness, here I am rambling, and dreaming, yet again, late at night, my last in my beloved small bit of Andalucia where i’ve already been planning more time late next winter…
Just one more idea…look into the “commune” of Senigallia on the Le Marche coast. There was something special about that small city that draws me back and I’d bet it would be lovely in winter, if not fit for true sun seekers. And there is at least one smaller village very close to there which draws a few discerning expats, although do not ask me what I mean by discerning. I also forget the name of this village but it was so pretty and very close to Senigallia and the sea.
Thanks again for taking the time for your insightful comments, and those gorgeous photos. And as much as I love trains, I do think one needs a car to discover some of these places off the “typical” tourist trail…
