Arcomagno – a little piece of Italian Paradise

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If you are driving the Italian coastal road near San Nicola Arcella, south of Rome, you need to know about Arcomagno – a little piece of Italian paradise.

Arco Magno means Great Bow, and this place certainly lives up to that name.

 

Overnight Stop at Casa al Mare Airbnb

We had been travelling from Sicily to the Amalfi Coast, with an overnight stop in Marina Del Fuscaldo at Airbnb “Casa al Mare.”

If you are looking for a nice apartment in a quiet town with a short walk to the beach and easy driving to other locations, staying near Arcomagno is perfect.

And remember to pack these 8 Essential Items for your travels.

 

Searching for Arcomagno, Italy

A view down on to a beach and blue water
The stairway leading from San Nicola Arcella beach can be seen at the right-hand side of this photo

Once again, the sun was shining, and the temperature was in the mid-’20s. We were planning to stop and have a swim as we had four hours driving ahead of us.

During our time in Sicily, we got into the habit of swimming in the sea and fell in love with the warm, clear blue water.

We had read about Arcomagno and decided we would try to find it. As we passed San Nicola Arcella, we came to a lookout with views of the stunning coastline. We could see the bay but no sign of our destination.

After a little googling on MapsMe, we decided to take the winding road down to the beach.

The beach only had a few locals swimming and sunbathing.

We could see a path to our destination up a cliff. Oh well. Let the adventure begin.

A Risky Climb

Looking down on waters and and arch San Nicola ArcellaSan Nicola Arcella
The view of the Arch of Aeneas from the top of the stairway.

Despite the “Forbidden Entry – otherwise, you might die” sign, we headed up and over the top.

Sure, there were rocks above that may have come loose and squashed us, but we were determined not to be denied.

The climb was good exercise and built on our desire to get into the beautiful water.

As we crested the cliff, we could see down into one of the two collapsed caves.  This was Arcomagno or Great Cave.

The top of the cave had fallen, but the entry had remained intact.

A family played in the water, but there was no sun shining in that spot, so we headed into the space between the two caves bathed in sunshine.

Inspiring Destinations Arcomagno
Having a ‘bath’ in a rock formation

Here, we were welcomed by a stunning view as the water in the small inlet looked so inviting.

One of the best things we have discovered about travelling to southern Italy in October is the weather is still warm, and there are a lot fewer people on holiday.

Apart from the family in the other cave, only one other couple was enjoying this stunning spot!

An arch leading to blue waters of San Nicola Arcella
View from the inside of the Arch of Aeneas.

We went through a narrow tunnel into the second cave; the large rocks from the former roof had to be scaled down to the small beach at the entry.

We couldn’t wait to get into that clear water, so we stripped off and dived.

The water was a perfect temperature – no chill factor at all.

We spent half an hour swimming and diving in from the rocks, then lay on the large volcanic rocks to dry off.

These were huge rocks; some were very glassy and smooth to lie on.

Inspiring Destinations Arcomagno
Sunbathing at Arcomagno
Arcomagno, Italy
Terry dived off the rocks

More swimming, more sunbathing, and then we were joined by Luca, an Italian guy from Rome.

Luca had swum in from the raft he and his girlfriend were hand-paddling from the next bay.

The Secret Blue Cave of Arcomagno

Inside a cave with luminescent blue water at San Nicola Arcella
There is a secret entrance to a ‘Blue Cave.’

Luca had been here a few days and told us about a secret entrance into a ‘Blue Cave’ you can only access by swimming.

We had been in two similar blue caves previously; one was the popular blue cave from Split. The other was at Bellevue Beach in Dubrovnik.

The Blue Caves are created by sunlight entering the cave and reflecting off the white sand/rock of the cave floor.

We swam to the point between the two caves, and sure enough, there was a small channel about 8 meters long and very narrow – Terry’s shoulders kept bumping the sides.

Then we entered the cave, and the iridescent blue water of this natural phenomenon was amazing.

The first cave we saw had a freshwater spring feeding it, so we swam towards it.

The water temperature dropped noticeably as we approached the arched entrance.  We made it to the beach and quickly decided to head back to warmer waters.

We returned to our rocks to sunbathe a bit longer before realizing we had spent nearly three hours in this remarkable place.

We had to hit the road as we still had three hours of driving to our next destination, Vico Equense, near Sorrento. A popular Italian must-see destination.

 

4 comments

  1. Dhara says:

    Lovely place! Would love to explore the Italian coast some more when we go back to Italy. Your photos are gorgeous!

    • TravelKiwis says:

      Thanks Dhara, We are loving the beautiful coasts around here – more exploring tomorrow, then off to Rome for a few days. When are you planning to visit Italy again?

  2. TravelKiwis says:

    Thanks Priti – it was just an amazing place to visit and of course we spent a lot longer here than anticipated. Luckily the water here was a lot warmer than Cathedral Cove. But as you say, another reminder of home.

  3. TravelKiwis says:

    Thanks Jess, we did feel a little naughty, but felt we were safe :-). It was an amazing time we spent there and so glad we made the effort. cheers Terry & Maura

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