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Space for artists, creatives and scholars to think, work and feel in the Cilento National Park, Italy.

Since 2006, Wassard Elea has rented affordable, self-catering apartments, in a small town in the south of Italy to artists, creatives and scholars of all kinds. We want to bring more creative people to the Cilento and the Cilento to more creative people.

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Our apartments

We have three self-catering apartments in the small Cilentan town of Ascea (say: a-shay-uh), two with a sea-view and one with a cosy garden, available for low rent to people working on creative or scholarly projects. Their names – The Philosopher, The Poet and The Artist – are a small tribute to the couple who founded Wassard Elea: Lars (the philosopher, 1944 – 2022) and Else (the poet, 1943 – 2012). The apartments are now owned and managed by their son and daughter-in-law, René and Leila, who are working on bringing them up to date while continuing to offer friendly, unpretentious retreat spaces in a charming and peaceful setting. See frequently asked questions or contact us.

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Ascea, Velia, Elea

Ascea is the name of the modern town, which developed from the ancient Greek colony, Elea, founded in the 6th century BC. Elea was home to the early Greek philosophers Parmenides and Zeno (of ‘Achilles and the tortoise’ fame!). Later, in Roman times, the town was known as Velia. The ruins of Velia/Elea are in Ascea and are open to visitors year-round. They are a UNESCO heritage site, famous for the Porta Rosa (Pink Gate), the oldest example of an arch of this kind in Italy, dating from the 4th century BC.

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