We were touring Southern Europe in the footsteps of Ernest Hemingway when we found ourselves in a quiet corner of Seville, one of his favorite cities.
At a small café, we met Benito, a charming Italian waiter and avid Hemingway fan.
Over Tinto de Verano and tapas, he spoke about the author with the kind of affection usually reserved for old friends.
Before we left, Benito offered a piece of advice that sounded less like a tip and more like a secret.
"You shouldn't miss Acciaroli," he said. "Hemingway loved its solitude—the old stone houses, the colors, the bell tower of the twelfth-century Church of the Annunziata. He came here and met the fisherman who inspired The Old Man and the Sea."
A few days later, already heading for Italy, we made a detour and arrived in Acciaroli, a beautiful fishing village tucked into the Cilento Coast within Cilento National Park.
It sits about 85 miles south of Naples—just over two hours by road—and close to the Amalfi Coast, though far less crowded. The landscape around it is classic southern Italy: rolling hills, olive groves, and dry Mediterranean scrub, framed by the deep blue of the Tyrrhenian Sea.
Acciaroli quickly exceeded expectations. In the historic heart of the town stands an ancient church, and nearby Saracen forts that once guarded the coast.
Down at the marina, small motorboats and fishing vessels bob gently in the water, a reminder that the sea still feeds the local way of life.
The town has also repeatedly earned the Blue Flag award for the environmental quality of its shoreline and famously clear waters.
We spent hours wandering narrow lanes lined with pastel-colored houses, small shops, and flower-filled balconies.
Locals waved from doorways or gathered in the old square to sit, talk, and watch the day go by.
Acciaroli feels relaxed and unpolished in the best way—one of the towns along the coast least affected by mass tourism and the development that follows it.
Yet one thing puzzled us. Where were all the very elderly residents we had been promised? We expected to see walking sticks and stooped shoulders, but they were nowhere. Then the realization arrived slowly and, once it did, it was obvious: they were there. They just didn't look like "old people" as we are used to seeing them.
Even the eldest were spry—upright, alert, and moving with an ease that didn't match their years. The town's reputation isn't only about long life; it's about long life with remarkable vitality.
Locals often seem spared the familiar burdens of aging that are common elsewhere—dementia, heart disease, arthritis, even certain cancers.
At the marina, watching fishermen haul in a generous catch, we met Mama Joya. Born in Acciaroli, she had spent 12 years in Rome working as a tour guide before returning home. We asked her why she thought the village produced so many centenarians.
"Depends who you believe," she said with a shrug. "There have been many fancy research projects. But as a local, I think it's a perfect storm: diet, a healthy environment, a close community, and a low-stress daily life."
Rosemary at Every Meal
She described a simple way of eating: locally caught fish (especially anchovies), home-raised rabbits and chickens, olive oil, and plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables. Rosemary, she said, appears at almost every meal, usually in home cooking.
Red wine is common, too—often a large glass, sometimes two. "It's good wine," she insisted, "high quality, no preservatives—nothing like what I drank in London, or worse, Los Angeles."
They also eat sheep and goat milk products and drink milk thistle tea.
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