We are planning a trip to visit southern and eastern Italy, after having visited Rome, Florence, Bologna and Venice in the north, and day on the Amalfi coast, on a past trip. We know we want to spend some time in Naples (and Pompeii), but could use some recommendations on other interesting towns and places to visit in the south and the eastern coast. Also, it is easy to hop over to Sicily from the Boot? That would have some interest to us also.
How about Puglia? There are direct trains from Caserta to Lecce, taking about 4 hours.
From Napoli, take the train the short distance to Caserta and spend a night there so you can visit the Royal Palace:
https://reggiadicaserta.cultura.gov.it/en/
Then head to Lecce, a lovely city with Baroque architecture and a Roman past. Visit Oltranto to the south. Then from Lecce you can work your way up the coast with stops at the seaside towns like Monopoli, Polignano da Mare, and others.
If your flight home is from Rome, you can take a direct train there from Bari.
Thank you!
This article is a good primer for visiting the east coast: https://www.marthasitaly.com/articles/190/italy-s-east-coast
Covering east, south, and Sicily is way too ambitious - leave yourself a few more Italy trips for future dreams.