Just a few minutes from Marina di Casal Velino lies Pioppi, a hamlet of Pollica, where the American scientist Ancel Keys lived and worked for over forty years, studying the diet of the local population. That research gave rise to what we now know as the Mediterranean Diet, recognised by UNESCO as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity — and it's in Pioppi, at Palazzo Vinciprova, that the museum telling this story is located.

What to see. The Mediterranean Diet Living Museum combines interactive exhibition rooms, Keys' personal library, and workshops dedicated to traditional Cilento cooking. A journey that weaves together science, history and gastronomy, to understand how a simple way of eating — fish, vegetables, oil, legumes — became a dietary model studied worldwide.

Don't miss. Beyond the museum, it's well worth strolling through the small village of Pioppi, with its houses overlooking the sea — the very same landscape that accompanied Keys' years of research, still remarkably unchanged.

Getting there. From Marina di Casal Velino, Pioppi is just a few minutes away by car along the coast — it's the closest hamlet to our property, making it one of the easiest and quickest trips to organise, even for a short visit between swims. If you'd like to know the museum's opening hours or some tips for planning your visit, just ask us at the guesthouse.

There is so much more to see and do in Cilento: discover all the other destinations and experiences in the area.