On the west coast the area extending from Naples to the extreme tip of the peninsula is called the Southern Mediterranean. The surface of this region is hilly and mountainous, the southern Appennines rising to an altitude of about 3,000 feet. Vines are grown almost to the summit of these mountains.

Some of the most famous wines of the Augustan age of Rome were produced in this region. Especially that famous product Falernian is said to have come from this part of Italy. The wines made in the vicinity of Vesuvius are still deemed some of the best found in the country. Lacrimae Christi, one of the most famous wines of modern Italy is thought to be the very wine known as Falernian at the time of Horace. This wine has a high alcoholic content, at times above 14 percent. This province produces more wine than any other region of Italy.