Villa Le Cannicelle, Cilento Coast, Italy

Villammare · Cilento Coast, Italy: a family villa above the sea

Villa Le Cannicelle

A private villa over three self-contained floors, 56 metres above the Gulf of Policastro on the Cilento Coast, with five bedrooms for up to fourteen, a 12 by 6 metre infinity pool, terraces that step down towards the sea and a covered taverna with a wood-fired pizza oven. Taken whole, for weekly stays.

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The house

In stills

A first reading of the stay: rooms, light, and the quiet between them. Each still is a note, not a catalogue.

The infinity edge of the pool at Villa Le Cannicelle meeting the sea, an old olive tree on the terrace beyond — Photo courtesy of Villa Le Cannicelle

The covered ground floor terrace of Villa Le Cannicelle, its stone arches and balustrade open to the garden and the sea — Photo courtesy of Villa Le Cannicelle

A table and chairs on the terracotta pool terrace at Villa Le Cannicelle, an olive tree and the sea beyond — Photo courtesy of Villa Le Cannicelle

The pool and loungers at Villa Le Cannicelle seen from beneath a stone arch of the covered terrace — Photo courtesy of Villa Le Cannicelle

Red geraniums on a balustraded terrace at Villa Le Cannicelle above the pool, the Gulf of Policastro stretching away — Photo courtesy of Villa Le Cannicelle

A balustraded terrace with red geraniums at Villa Le Cannicelle, the sea and the pool below — Photo courtesy of Villa Le Cannicelle

An aerial view of Villa Le Cannicelle, the house, the stone taverna and the gardens among the trees above Villammare — Photo courtesy of Villa Le Cannicelle

The covered taverna at Villa Le Cannicelle, a long wooden table beneath the timber roof beside the summer kitchen — Photo courtesy of Villa Le Cannicelle

The pergola dining terrace beside the kitchen at Villa Le Cannicelle, with stone walls and a view of the sea — Photo courtesy of Villa Le Cannicelle

The stone pergola walk at Villa Le Cannicelle hung with bougainvillea, with seating looking out to the sea — Photo courtesy of Villa Le Cannicelle

The shaded pergola at Villa Le Cannicelle beside the lawn, the sea glimpsed through the trees — Photo courtesy of Villa Le Cannicelle

Bougainvillea and flowering beds in the Mediterranean garden of Villa Le Cannicelle above the sea — Photo courtesy of Villa Le Cannicelle

The lower garden of Villa Le Cannicelle, a young citrus tree on the lawn before the stone walls of the house — Photo courtesy of Villa Le Cannicelle

The large Mediterranean oak at Villa Le Cannicelle shading the lawn and flower beds, the hills of the coast beyond — Photo courtesy of Villa Le Cannicelle

An old bronze bell hanging in the garden of Villa Le Cannicelle, the lawn and the sea beyond — Photo courtesy of Villa Le Cannicelle

The ground floor living room at Villa Le Cannicelle, with blue sofas, bright art and French doors to the terrace — Photo courtesy of Villa Le Cannicelle

The ground floor living and dining room at Villa Le Cannicelle, with sofas, a long table and doors to the terrace — Photo courtesy of Villa Le Cannicelle

The main kitchen at Villa Le Cannicelle, with a blue tiled floor, a red fridge and a table for family meals — Photo courtesy of Villa Le Cannicelle

The kitchen window at Villa Le Cannicelle open over blue tiles to flowers and the sea — Photo courtesy of Villa Le Cannicelle

A stone arch at Villa Le Cannicelle framing the path to the pool and a glimpse of the sea — Photo courtesy of Villa Le Cannicelle

The Experience

How the days feel

Villa Le Cannicelle stands on a green hillside above Villammare, at the southern end of the Cilento Coast, 56 metres above the sea. From its terraces the whole Gulf of Policastro opens out, from the mountains of Calabria to the untouched coast of Punta Infreschi, and the water below changes colour through the day. Olive trees, cork oak and a Mediterranean garden close around the house, so the feeling is of height and privacy rather than of being on show.

This is a family house, and it is let as one. It belongs to Marzio and Antonietta De Nardo, brother and sister, whose family retreat it was before they opened it to guests, and they still look after every detail themselves. Built in the traditional style of the coast, with stone arches, square columns and terracotta underfoot, the villa rises over three floors, each with its own living room and kitchen, so a large party can gather at one long table and still find a quiet corner of its own.

Life here happens outside. Terraces step down the hill to the infinity pool, whose edge seems to run straight into the sea. A great Mediterranean oak shades the lower terrace, a vine pergola covers the path, and below the kitchen the taverna, a covered stone dining terrace for fourteen, draws everyone to the barbecue and the wood-fired pizza oven as the light goes.

The sandy beach of Villammare is about 700 metres away: a former fishing village with a palm-lined seafront, family-run restaurants and beach clubs that still feel local. Beyond it lies the Cilento National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage landscape of sea caves, hill villages and the Greek temples of Paestum, in a part of Southern Italy that mass tourism has largely passed by.

Why EVC loves it

Why we would send you here

Three floors, one family Each floor is self-contained, with its own living room and kitchen, so grandparents, parents and grown children share the villa without living on top of one another.
A pool on the horizon A 12 by 6 metre infinity pool on a terrace 56 metres above the Gulf of Policastro, open from mid-April to the end of October.
Dinner in the taverna A covered stone dining terrace for fourteen, with a summer kitchen, a charcoal barbecue and a wood-fired pizza oven, beside the vine pergola and the old oak.
Italy without the crowds Villammare is a former fishing village with a sandy beach about 700 metres below the house, in a corner of Campania that mass tourism has largely passed by.
The coast by boat Private skippered days to the sea caves of Palinuro, the cove of Porto Infreschi and the beaches of Maratea, arranged on request.

The bedrooms

Five bedrooms, three floors

Three bedrooms on the ground floor beside the garden, one on the first floor opening onto a panoramic terrace, and one beneath the roof with an arched window over the sea, for up to fourteen with the sofa beds.

Room 01

The ground floor

Three bedrooms · Queen, double, and queen or twin · Two shower rooms · Covered sea-view terrace

Bedroom 1 has a queen bed and French doors to the covered terrace, with the sea in view. Bedroom 2, a double, and Bedroom 3, made up as a queen or a twin, look onto the garden. All three have air conditioning and ceiling fans, a few steps from the main living room, the fireplace and the kitchen.
Room 02

The first floor

Queen bedroom · Child's sofa bed · Own living room and kitchen · Roof terrace

Up an outside stair, a queen bedroom with a child’s sofa bed opens onto a panoramic terrace above the sea. The floor has its own open-plan living room and kitchen, a large terrace laid for dinner, a small terrace facing the mountains and the roof terrace for the sun.
Room 03

The attic floor

Queen bedroom · Arched sea-view window · Own living room and kitchen · Balcony

At the top of the house, a queen bedroom beneath the sloping roof looks through a great arched window over the pool and the sea. A second open-plan living room and kitchen, with a double sofa bed, opens onto a balcony with the same view.

Photo courtesy of Villa Le Cannicelle

Inside the stay

The house, in notes

Where you sleep, what you eat, and how you arrive: the essentials, in brief.

A covered terrace beneath stone arches outside a ground floor bedroom at Villa Le Cannicelle, garden and sea beyond — Photo courtesy of Villa Le Cannicelle

The bedrooms

Five bedrooms over three floors

The villa sleeps up to fourteen, ten adults and four children, in five bedrooms over three self-contained floors, with four shower rooms.

The ground floor. The main living and dining room, with an open fireplace, a library corner and French doors to the covered sea-view terrace, and beside it the main kitchen. Three bedrooms: a queen room opening onto the covered terrace with the sea in view, a double and a room made up as a queen or a twin, both looking onto the garden, all three with ceiling fans, sharing two shower rooms.

The first floor. Reached by an outside stair, an open-plan living room with its own kitchen and a table for four, French doors to a large sea-view terrace laid for dinner, a small rear terrace facing the mountains, and the roof terrace for the sun. A queen bedroom with a child’s sofa bed opens onto a panoramic terrace and has its own shower room.

The attic floor. Up again from the roof terrace, a second open-plan living room and kitchen with a balcony over the sea, and a queen bedroom with a great arched window over the pool and the water, with its own shower room.

A table laid for lunch beneath the timber pergola on the kitchen terrace at Villa Le Cannicelle, the sea beyond — Photo courtesy of Villa Le Cannicelle

The table

Around the taverna

There is no restaurant here, and that is the pleasure of it. Meals are cooked at home, in the main kitchen, in the two upper kitchens or outside, and a private chef can take over whenever you like.

The taverna. Down the steps from the kitchen, a covered dining terrace seating fourteen, with a summer kitchen, a built-in charcoal barbecue and a traditional wood-fired pizza oven, the sea beyond the balustrade.

Other tables. An alfresco dining terrace off the living room, a pergola table beside the kitchen and two more dining terraces on the first floor, so breakfast, lunch and dinner can each find their own view.

Cooks on request. A private chef for one dinner or every evening, a pizza chef for a night at the oven, waiters for a long celebration, and the villa stocked before you arrive.

The local table. Fish from the gulf, buffalo mozzarella from the plain of Paestum, Cilento olive oil and white figs, and tables at the restaurants of Villammare, Sapri and Maratea, reserved for you.

Sun loungers on the pool terrace at Villa Le Cannicelle beside an old olive tree, the sea and the Cilento hills beyond — Photo courtesy of Villa Le Cannicelle

Pool and terraces

An infinity pool above the gulf

There is no spa at Villa Le Cannicelle. There is the pool, the shade and the view.

The pool. A 12 by 6 metre infinity pool on the lower terrace, its edge set against the Gulf of Policastro, open from mid-April to the end of October, with sun loungers, parasols and an outdoor shower that looks out to sea.

Shade. A large Mediterranean oak and a vine pergola over the lower terrace, and a covered stone terrace with deep sofas for the hottest hours.

The solarium. A roof terrace on the first floor for sunbathing above the treetops, with the coast laid out in both directions.

On request. Massage at the villa, arranged with local therapists, and walks and treks in the hills of the Cilento National Park.

The three storey villa at Villa Le Cannicelle reflected in the infinity pool, the mountains of the coast beyond — Photo courtesy of Villa Le Cannicelle

The sea

Villammare and the Gulf of Policastro

The sea is close, and this coast is best seen from the water.

Villammare. The sandy beach is about 700 metres below the villa, with a palm-lined seafront, beach clubs and a small marina. It is walkable, but the last stretch of road back up is steep, so most guests drive the two minutes down.

By boat. Private skippered boats, arranged on request, run along the coast to the sea caves of Palinuro, the cove of Porto Infreschi, Scario and the beaches of Maratea, with a swim in clear water wherever the day suggests.

Further afield. From June to September, ferries leave nearby Sapri for Positano, the Amalfi Coast and Capri, for a day on the better-known coast.

On land. The Greek temples of Paestum, the ruins of ancient Velia, the hill villages of the national park and, inland, the Certosa di Padula. Pompeii and Matera are within reach for a longer day.

The covered stone terrace of Villa Le Cannicelle with sofas and a dining table beneath the arches, sea views on two sides — Photo courtesy of Villa Le Cannicelle

Who it suits

Families and friends, under one roof

Family

Three generations. Grandparents on the ground floor beside the garden, parents and children above, teenagers in the attic, each floor with its own kitchen and living room, and everyone together at the taverna table.

Two or three families. Self-contained floors make it easy to share a house without sharing every hour, with fourteen places at dinner when you want them.

Celebrations. A milestone birthday or an anniversary with a chef, waiters and the pizza oven lit, under the oak on a summer night.

Good to know. Villa Le Cannicelle is a private family villa, not a hotel. The house is yours alone: housekeeping comes each morning, six days a week, the owners are on hand for advice and reservations, and chefs and other help come in only when you ask. The villa is let for weekly stays. A car is useful for exploring, with gated parking for up to ten cars, and children should be watched at the pool, which has no lifeguard.

The pool, loungers and olive terrace of Villa Le Cannicelle seen from the top of the house, the coast of Cilento beyond — Photo courtesy of Villa Le Cannicelle

Getting there

About two hours south of Naples

Villa Le Cannicelle lies just above Villammare, in the comune of Vibonati, at the southern end of the Cilento Coast in Campania, close to the border with Basilicata.

By air. Naples International (NAP) is about two hours by car, and Rome Fiumicino (FCO) suits long-haul arrivals, with the high-speed train south.

By train. Frecciarossa trains from Milan, Florence, Rome and Naples stop at Sapri, about five kilometres from the villa.

By road. Private transfers from Naples, Salerno or Sapri station can be arranged, or a rental car delivered to the villa. The final approach is a short, steep lane up from the coast road.

By sea. In summer, ferries link Sapri with Positano, the Amalfi Coast and Capri.

Bougainvillea in flower along the stone pergola walk at Villa Le Cannicelle, the lawn and the sea beyond — Photo courtesy of Villa Le Cannicelle

When to go

Easter to October

The pool is open from mid-April to the end of October, and those are the villa’s months.

Early summer. May and June bring long days and a warming sea, with highs from the low to the high 20s °C, the 70s to low 80s °F.

High summer. July and August are hot and dry, with highs around 30°C, about 86°F, the sea at its warmest and the beach clubs in full swing. Mid-August, around Ferragosto, is Italy’s own holiday, and those weeks fill first.

September and October. Warm water, quieter beaches and the harvest in the hills, the best weeks for boat days and for Paestum.

Booking. The villa is let for weekly stays, and summer weeks are often reserved well ahead, so it is worth asking early.

Pair it with

A natural companion

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From the Journal

A story that includes this stay

Where this house appears in our writing, beside the places and companions we pair with it.

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