Certosa di San Lorenzo - World Heritage Site in the Cliento

We “discovered” this monastery at Padula for the first time this Spring;  we were looking to take a relaxing day trip - one that would be a fairly short (an hour and a half or less) and simple drive from our home in Calitri.  

The drive out to the Cliento National Park near Salerno is spectacular - snow-capped mountains and lush greenery.  I think we’d have probably been delighted with just the drive (even though the day we picked was, unfortunately, overcast and not the usual, idyllic, sunny Southern Italy) , but the San Lorenzo monastery was certainly, unexpectedly, impressive and well worth a visit!  (The monastery was opened to the public in 1982 and is now a National Monument and World Heritage Site) 

The Certosa di San Lorenzo at Padula in Southern Italy is the second largest Carthusian Monastery in Italy (the largest is in Parma).  Dedicated to St. Lawrence, it was first founded in 1306;  the structure’s history spans over 450 years with the main portions constructed on the Baroque style.  It is huge - 320 rooms and halls - and includes the world’s largest cloister (almost 3 acres surrounded by 84 columns). 

According to the very strict Carthusian rules between meditation/prayer and work, there are very distinct spaces within the San Lorenzo complex:  the cloisters, the library (with a Vietri ceramic floor), the ornate chapels, the cloister gardens, and the large kitchen (legend has it that an omelet made of one thousand eggs was once cooked there for a visiting Charles V), the cellars with wine storage, the laundry, and the courtyards, where there were people working at stables, ovens, and an olive oil mill.  the exterior courtyards were worked by the novices, where they traded goods with the outside world.

The San Lorenzo Monastery is also home to the very modern archaeological museum of Western Lucania, where you can see an impressive collection of finds found at the local sites of Sala Consilina and Padula.  (Museum admission is included in the very modest entrance fee to the monastery). 

Ornately Decorated Chapel

Interior Courtyard and Portico

Monastery Details

Courtyard Entrance to the Monastery

Clcik Here to go to the Official World Heritage Website

 

Gourmet Food and Wine in Irpinia (Avellino)

“In the local dialect of Avellino, the Campanian province east of Naples, mesali means “tablecloths,” a sign of hospitality. Now, it is also the name of a new association of restaurants sprinkled around the mountains of Irpinia…

Irpinia’s rustic soups, homemade pastas, ricotta, legumes, black truffles, chestnuts, and heirloom fruits and vegetables, along with the area’s three DOCG wines — whites Greco di Tufo and Fiano di Avellino and powerhouse red Taurasi — will have you baaing with pleasure.” — Faith Heller Willinger, Gourmet, January 2007 (Click to Read the Full Article)

The 11 member restuarants of this new gourmet food association in the Avellino Province (Irpinia) can be found at http://www.mesali.org .  I have included some on my “Great Links” page - some do not have websites, but you can find contact details on the Mesali Website. Bon Appetito!

Italy Holiday Rental - Would you like to stay at Casa del Cipresso in Irpinia? Please contact us at SouthernItaly@comcast.net .

www.SouthernItaly.wordpress.com Copyright © 2007 All rights reserved.

 

The Norman Castles in Southern Italy

Castle del Monte -Puglia, Italy

Despite spending quite a bit of time in Italy, I had never been to Pulgia (Apulia); I honestly had no idea what to expect.  We had enjoyed seeing some of the other Norman castles built by Frederick II - Melfi, with it’s modern, top-notch renovation and impressive museum…imposing Lagopesole with it’s falcons still circling…we were excited to take on this famous “Octagonal Castle”.

Driving out of Campania and into Basilicata is really a gentle progression.  There are the same mountains and tress and streams….Hill Towns perched high above the greenery.  Driving from Basilicata into Puglia is an abrupt splash of cold water…well..perhaps, hot water…this was August, after all!  This was an unusually dry season and brush fires a common occurrence - I think it added to the contrast and starkness of Puglia (Apulia).  The landscapes changed - flatlands of amber and brown…here and there an olive grove or a tomato field.  Soon, the vineyards were rolling past…big, fat bunches of grapes hanging down, looking as if they should be snapped up in a photo and places on a wine label.  Had we not been on a highway, I think the temptation to grab a bunch right then and there would have been great.  More olives…and more olives…and more olives (!) I am told that all that brown does turn to green….but it is hard to envision.  Somehow, it makes the castle seem even more present on the approach - a great monument out of the stark dryness of the land.

Castle de Monte, perched up on the hill, jutting out from the flatlands certainly is impressive.  It is symmetrical and perfect and right out of a fairy-tale. 

Emperor Frederick II of Hohenstaufen (1194-1250) ordered the castle built in the year 1240 A.D.  Unfortunately, Frederick died before the castle was completed.

There is some debate as to the exact use of the castle.  Generally, it is thought from the layout of rooms (and bathrooms!) that it was used as a jail for the most part, and not a residence or fortress. 

Water is always important in the dryness of Puglia - a water collection system was designed on the roof, as well as in the courtyard.  On the interior, running all of the way around the foot of the interior walls, there were channels used to collect condensation; water would trickle down the cool marble.  The channels then directed the collected water. .

Most materials used for the construction were from the local area, with the exception of the highly ornate marble columns that hold up the roof.

When the castle was first built, the walls where surfaced with marble as well.  Over the years the marble fell off of the walls and/or was taken to be used as building material.   Things are still remarkably intact, including some of the enormous fireplaces (four of them).

  

Castle del Monte is an architectural gem and certainly lends a majestic authority to the vast lands of Puglia. 

It is an easy and fascinating drive from your home-base in Calitri: Driving Directions from Calitri to Castle del Monte

 

Would you like to stay at Casa del Cipresso (Calitri, Avellino, Southern Italy)? Please contact us at SouthernItaly@comcast.net .

www.SouthernItaly.wordpress.com Copyright © 2007 All rights reserved.

 

Pizza in Naples!

Naples, Southern Italy - Home of the Pizza!

 

Who DOESN’T love pizza?  In Naples, Italy (Campania), it is taken to an entirely different level!  This article, from smithsonianmagazine.com, By Dina Modianot-Fox is guaranteed to make you hungry!

The Art of Pizza

Cooking up the world’s most authentic pie in Naples, Italy

By Dina Modianot-Fox

Sitting in Ristorante Umberto, owned by the Di Porzio family for three generations and one of the oldest and most popular pizzerias in Naples, Italy’s southern megalopolis, Massimo Di Porzio talks about pizza as though it were human. “The dough should be moved carefully,” he says, “as if it were a baby.”

You have to understand: Naples is the traditional home of pizza and a place where people take their food seriously. So seriously that they masterminded an Italian law, passed three years ago, specifying what is real Neapolitan pizza—and it bears little resemblance to what we chow down in the United States in record numbers, an estimated 350 slices per second, amounting to a $37-billion blockbuster industry. Credit-card thin at the base with sparse toppings, the Neapolitan version is American pizza on a slimming diet.

But Di Porzio, not only a restaurateur but also an international economics graduate, will not be drawn into a food fight over which version is better, or condemn such U.S. creations as Pizza Hut’s “Stuffed Crust Pizza” or Papa John’s “Hawaiian BBQ Chicken pizza.”

“We are not the pizza police,” he says, reacting to some media description of the law passed in Italy in 2004 and currently being considered by the European Union, giving three pizzas—Marinara (tomato, garlic and oregano), Margherita and Extra Margherita (both with tomato, basil and mozzarella)—the same name protection as fine wine.

“I love all kinds of pizza,” continues the open-minded Di Porzio, who is general manager of Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana (VPN)—verace means real—the non-profit organization of pizza-makers, called pizzaioli, that helped write the law. “In New York,” he says, “we found some good pizza, other not so good, but these other pizzas are a different product—not the Neapolitan pizza.”

The Neapolitan pizza, as defined by law, is made from a specific kind of wheat flour and yeast, round, no more than 14 inches in diameter and cooked in a wood-fired oven at temperatures above 905 degrees Fahrenheit. Only top-quality ingredients can be used, including two local delights: plum tomatoes from San Marzano and, for Extra Margherita, mozzarella made from the milk of water buffalo, whose numbers have soared along with the cheese’s popularity.

But since the law went into effect, no one has been hauled into court for not pouring the extra virgin olive oil in a circular pattern starting from the middle, or for mixing the ingredients in a different order than the one prescribed by the painfully detailed regulations. The backers of the law—not all Italian pizzaioli are advocates—insist this is not about punishment but rather information regarding a key aspect of their culture.

Although the flatbread-with-topping idea is generally attributed to the Greeks, for centuries pizza has for been associated with Naples and its long struggle with poverty. Cheap to make and requiring few ingredients, pizza was a staple by the 18th century, sold on city streets and served on ships sailing from the Port of Naples (that’s how Marinara got its name). In the post-World War II era, residents were so poor that many bought pizza on credit, paying for it eight days later—when they got another one. This practice, called oggiaotto, was featured in the 1954 film L’Oro di Napoli (The Gold of Naples) and is still honored by some pizzerias.

Naples’ history is replete with pizza legends. A local pizzaiolo is said to have made the first Margherita in 1889, adding mozzarella to the tomatoes and basil to give the pizza, which he reportedly named after a visiting Italian queen, the colors of the Italian flag—red, white and green.

Much more recently, Di Porzio tells of the “the Dean of Pizzaioli,” VPN founder Vincenso Pace, who began making pizzas when he was ten and was so skilled that he altered the proportion of the ingredients according to the weather—for instance, adding more salt it if was hot, less if it was cold.

The VPN has taken the gospel of authentic pizza-making around the world, training locals and certifying restaurants, especially in Japan, where tourists returning from Naples have fueled interest for traditional pizza, and the United States, where the national branch has certified 16 restaurants.

At first, gaining fans for the Neapolitan pizza was “something of an uphill battle,” admits Dino Cardone, marketing director for VPN Americas. But recently, he says, the challenge has been to meet the demand for information, training and certification.

And what does a real Neapolitan pizza taste like? To someone used to American-style pizzas, a little bland in the beginning. But then you start enjoying the freshness of the ingredients and the lightness of the crust—the more you eat it, the better it tastes.

That said, don’t count on having it delivered. The law states that the real thing “should be consumed immediately, straight out of the oven, at the pizzeria. If the pizza is removed from the pizzeria to be eaten later, it can no longer carry the certification of a true Neapolitan pizza.”

Dina Modianot-Fox, a regular Smithsonian.com contributor, recently wrote about “Ancient Rome’s Forgotten Paradise.” Posted July 25, 2007. Updated July 31, 2007

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The Best Beaches of Puglia - The Gargano Coast

Gargano Peninsula - Puglia’s Best Beaches

“The more discerning head for the Gargano peninsula, the spur on the heel of Italy, a national park with long, sandy beaches, great forests of pine and a geographical location that tempers the summer heat with breezes blowing in from the sea on three sides. Come in August and you’ll barely hear an accent other than Italian. You will also get a remarkable insight into Italian family life and its enduring conservatism….You enter the Gargano from the vast plains of Puglia - the bread basket of Italy - and the transformation in the landscape is immediate and striking. The long, straight autostrada is replaced by cramped roads that cling to the forests above the sea. The smell of pine is everywhere.” - Telegraph.co.uk

Conde Nast Traveler, in it’s concierge.com, says “The boot’s heel is the new Tuscany. Best Baroque architecture; miles of beautiful beaches; incredible, singular cuisine.”

The Gargano Coast and beaches of Puglia are undiscovered gems and a truely authentic and special detour!

During the summer months, there is direct bus service from Calitri to the Puglia beaches - for your excursion, simply get on the bus marked, “Mare”! It leaves around 8am and returns you to Calitri around 6pm (the bus takes about an hour and half each way) - the perfect, relaxing, day at the beach in Puglia and back in Calitri in time for dinner!

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Italian Bread in Southern Italy

 

I have to admit, I pretty much love all Italian food….but when I am away from Southern Italy, what I miss the most is the bread from inland Campania! 

We have been known to buy a loaf of bread from the bakery, or even the supermarket -becasue even the supermarkets in Southern Italy have wonderful, fresh bread delivered daily-in Calitri and call it a meal! (and maybe along with some fresh deli meats and Caciocavallo Cheese or Buffalo Mozzarella  (Mozzarella di Bufala) produced locally)

Bob Rinaldi writes, in the “recipes” section of kingarthurflour.com: “When I was a young boy I would ask my grandmother about Italy. She told such fantastic and exciting stories that as a young man I began to take romantic trips to the home of my family in the mountains of southern Italy. One story that Nonna told often was of bread. She complained that the bread in “‘Merica” was too white and that was why people got sick so much. It took years of research and the patience of my teacher and bread coach Sharon Masone but here it is; the bread from the ovens of Calitri.”

Pane di Calitri

“Bread from the Ovens of Calitri”, Avellino in Hills of Southern Italy

(Click for the Recipe)

 

The Hill Towns

 

Hill towns, also referred to as citadel towns, are towns, particularly in Italy, which were built upon a hill for defensive purposes, usually surrounded by thick defensive walls, steep embankments, or cliffs. The hilltop settlements, which provided natural defenses for their earliest inhabitants, were fortified in the Middle Ages when earthworks and stone and wooden palisades were supplemented or replaced with massive stone and masonry walls, sturdy gates, and watch towers. In the late Middle Ages and Renaissance, even some of the smallest and most remote hill towns were adorned with churches housing works of art and impressive noble residences.

Italy’s hill towns have been studied for the communities that inhabited them, as repositories of Medieval and Renaissance art, and for their architecture.

In the second half of the 20th century, many of Italy’s lesser-known hill towns, especially those located outside Tuscany and Umbria, experienced steep population declines as their residents left for urban centres. In recent years, this trend has reversed with a deepening appreciation of Italian hill towns and interest in their preservation.

From: Hill town, Wikipedia.org

“Today, the obsession is with hill towns. Partly this is because so many of us have already visited the major cities and seen their renowned sites. It is also probably because there were no such things as the motorbike or the Fiat one hundred years ago. In those days, Italy’s great cities were relatively calm, the broad streets were impressive rather than nervewracking, and the populations were far smaller. All that has changed since World War Two, and as a result we now find ourselves longing to get out of the cities, out into the country, to visit the small towns, eat real food, meet real people, experience the “real Italy”. 

Of course, if you stop to think about it, there’s nothing to support the claim that small-town residents are any more “real” than big city denizens. What is likely, however, is that you will have more opportunity to chat with them for a few moments while you sip caffè or scoop up gelato. If you are on the street in the late afternoon, you will not only witness but actually become a part of la passeggiata, the ritual arm-in-arm stroll that brings entire hill town populations out of their houses. On the surface, it would seem la passeggiata serves no other purpose than to stretch one’s legs and exchange the latest gossip. In reality it is also a much more subtle experience, a reassurance that one is indeed an integral part of the town’s human fabric, and that one’s place in that arrangement is exactly what it was yesterday and the day before and, for that matter, on any given day in one’s local family history. During la passeggiata it becomes very clear to everyone that the main difference between small-town residents and big city denizens is that the latter are usually immigrants, whereas the former most likely live in the house their great-great grandfather once converted from a stall.

Of course, the other reason we are so enchanted by hill towns is that they look so great. Most of them have kept faithful to their original character, because their hilltop locations made it impossible for them to expand. The “new towns” had to be built in the valley, sometimes a mile or two away. This meant that as families expanded, especially in the past 100 years, the second-, third-, and fourth-born children would move down the hill and build new homes there. The child who remained in the hill town might make adjustments such as adding plumbing and electricity, but he would generally keep the building’s exterior intact, giving us the quaint winding alleys, colorful flower boxes and impeccable shutters we see beckoning to us in posters and pictures.

…(There is a) wide selection of hill towns. Most of them are rarely visited by foreigners, so you are less likely to find crowds, congestion or calloused local residents. Do try to peep into the tiny churches and ancient buildings while you’re there, but remember that the most important experience in a hill town is to share in the life of the village. We suggest you carefully review the items on your “must-see” agenda, throw out at least half of them and replace the time you’d have spent there by just sitting at an outdoor cafe or trattoria, watching the people and making local friends. It’s easy as pie in Italy’s “unknown” hill towns.”

- Taken From In Italy Online , where you can read about Hill Towns in every region if Italy!

There really are so many undiscovered Hill Town gems in Southern Italy!  Explore and find you’re own favorite! There are WAY too many to try and list here…but…here are a few you may not have heard of to get you started:

“Unknown” Hill Towns in Campania

Gesualdo - hilltop town dominated by a story-book castle. Directions from Calitri to Gesualdo.

Teggiano - see Roman ruins, several well-preserved medieval buildings, a 12th-century cathedral and of course, a 14th-century castle. Directions from Calitri to Teggiano.

Benevento - lots of Roman antiquities. It has a 2nd-century BC theatre, a towering triumphant arch, and a well-preserved gate, and almost every house in town has bits and pieces of the ancient monuments plastered into its façade.  Directions from Calitri to Benevento.

“Unknown” Hill Towns in Basilicata

Melfi’s imposing Norman castle’s eight towers can be seen for miles around, standing on the hilltop surrounded by a host of pre-Roman graves. The town gate dates back to Norman days. Directions from Calitri to Melfi.

Acerenza’s rooftops seem to have been neatly shaven to form a perfect round profile. Its 11th-century cathedral is one of the finest in the region, and its crypt is particularly worth a visit. Directions from Calitri to Acerenza.

Rivello looks almost alpine, sprawled along the side of a densely wooded hill caught between Mounts Coccovello and Sirino. There are loads of ornate balconies, two nice churches and a beautifully frescoed convent, but the town’s most charming feature is its authenticity and simplicity. Directions from Calitri to Rivello.

Montescaglioso’s location is similar to Orvieto’s: it occupies the entire top of a broad flat plateau. The graceful cloisters of the Sant’Angelo Abbey are especially worth a visit. Directions from Calitri to Montescaglioso.

“Unknown” Hill Towns in Apulia

Minervino Murge has been nicknamed the balcony of Apulia, because it makes a perfect lookout across the Murge Valley below. It has a Norman cathedral, a 12th-century castle, andmany pretty sandstone façades. Directions from Calitri to Minervino Murge.

A Special Thanks to In Italy Online, where I got much of this information.

 

Italy’s Great Unknown: Aglianico del Vulture

“Those wine lovers who have heard of Aglianico usually know it as the variety that makes Taurasi, Campania’s most famous red wine.  But Basilicata is Aglianico’s Italian home–although it originated in Greece, as did most grape varieties in southern Italy.  Aglianico arrived in what is now Basilicata around the 7th century B.C., and shortly after made its way to Campania…Monte Vulture is in northwest Basilicata.  The eastern slopes of Vulture, around the towns of Rionero, Barile, and Melfi, are the sites of the best Aglianico vineyards.  The soil, composed largely of deposits from the ancient lava flows, is rich in potassium and tufa, the porous calcium carbonate stone that is ideal for grape growing.  The late-ripening Aglianico variety thrives in this soil and climate” Discover the Mount Vulture home of Aglianico…right across the the Campanian border (Calirti, Avellino) in Basilicata (Potenza) and the slopes of Mt. Vulture!  READ the full article/review about some of  the Aglianico del Vulture wines, by Ed McCarthy, WineReviewOnline.com.

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Recipe: Calitri Wild Boar

Recipe - Foods from Southern Italy!

I don’t own a lot of cookbooks…actually…I don’t own ANY Italian cookbooks.  I just love all the Italian recipes you can now find on the internet!  I wanted to share this one from the Avellino province in Campania, Southern Italy (Calitri, to be exact!) It’s from ”Molto Mario” on the Food Network. (Click the link below to view the recipe - don’t worry, you can substitute pork for the wild boar!)

Wild Boar in the Style of the Eastern Side: Cinghiale di Calitri

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Antiquing in Italy - Antique and Open-Air Markets in and Around Calitri

  

Every second Sunday of the month (excluding January and February), Calitri hosts an antique market (Antiquacalitri) on Corso Giacomo Matteotti starting at 10am. 

Calitri’s weekly outdoor market (household goods, fresh local produce, cheese, etc.) is held every Thursday from 9am-1pm. 

Sunday is market day in the nearby towns of Lioni, Bisaccia and Nusco (about 9am-1pm) - a good option to stock up on food when most shops in Southern Italy are closed for the day on Sundays!

Here are some other Italian Antique markets (and Southern Italy Flea Markets) in the area:

Mirabella Eclano (Antiqueclano) - Every last Sat., (4pm-9pm) and Sun. (9am-9pm) of the month, Piazza XXIV Maggio

Avellino (Mercato dell’Antiquariato) - Every first and Third Sun. (8am-7pm) of the month, Piazza Castello

Potenza (Mercatino delle cose usate e d’altri tempi) - Fourth Sun. (9am-9pm) of the month, Piazza Mario Pagano

Salerno (Mostra Mercato) - Every Fourth Sun. (9am-7pm) of the month, Piazza Sant’Agostino

Salerno (Mostra Mercato dell’Antiquariato) - Every Second Sat. and Sun. (9am-9am), Piazza Sant’Elmo

Salerno (Mercatino dell’antiquariato in viale Kennedy) - every second Sat. and Sun. (9am-7pm) of the month, viale J.F. Kennedy

Salerno (Anticaglie Sotto Le Stelle)Every first Sat.(5pm-10pm) of the month, except July and August, Historic Center

Apice (AnticApice) - Every last Sat. (3pm-9pm) and Sun. (9am-9pm) except July and August, Piazza Municipio

San Lorenzello (Mercatino) - Every last Sat. and Sun. of the month, Historic center

Napoli (Fiera Antiquaria Napoletana) - Scheduale Changes (Usually thrid weekend of the month) - Click HERE for the Website w/ Info. Viale Comunale

Napoli (Mercatino di Poggioreale) - Sundays (8am-1:30pm), via Nuova Poggioreale

Please be sure to leave a comment and info. if you know of other Antique Markets (In Southern Italy - near Calitri, Avellino, Campania)I have left off the list… or if you have gone Antique shopping at any of these markets!

Would you like to stay at Casa del Cipresso? Please contact us at SouthernItaly@comcast.net 

 

Amalfi in Winter

Sant’Andrea Church - Amalfi

The main piazza in Amalfi just has to be one of the most relaxing spots in the world…I could sit at an outdoor table and sip a glass of Tramonti wine for hours…off season that is.  The piazza gets pleasantly busy during Spring and Fall…but just enough so that people-watching becomes an art and the traditional evening stroll up and down the main drag is just lively enough. 

I don’t think I will ever stop being amused by Amalfi’s traffic light in town…yes…the only one…it controls “rush hour” so that a single car can squeeze (barely) up the road and the pedestrians quickly back up the the side of the buildings to avoid getting hit…can’t help it…it just amuses me every time.

Last winter, I came to the conclusion that winter was the absolute BEST time for a trip to Amalfi.  Firstly, we discovered that the temperate coastal weather is….well temperate :-)  and even if it’s chilly and raining for the day up in the hills of Avellino, chances are good that by the time you drive the hour down to Amalfi, the sun wil be shining and you can leave your sweater in the car!  The streets and beach are wonderfuly deserted and there are no reservations needed at the restaurants…some are closed up for the off-season, yes, but that makes the choice easier…I figure it’s a good assumption that anywhere open in the off-season on the Amalfi Coast, must be getting a decent local crowd…who won’t put up with “tourist menu” food only! Many of the kitchy shops are closed too…don’t know if this is good or bad…but it does make for a more authentic-feeling stroll when you are not surrounded on all sides with kiosks selling the very same ceramics…maybe you can actually find something pretty and unique this trip? Oh…and another perk…plenty of parking!!  What a luxury that is on the Amalfi Coast! 

Be sure to take the time to visit the cathedral (although, the facade itself is rather impressive and the steps and exellent resting spot/place to eat your lemon gelato!) square of Amalfi. The original church dates back to the ninth century, but in 1203, it was completely rebuilt in “Arabo-Normanno” styles. The cathedral’s facade and gold mosaics were from a renovation in 1861. The bronze doors were actually casted in Costantinople in 1066, when Amalfi was a powerful republic.  You can also visit the cloister (the enterance will be on your left after you go up to the cathedral) and crypt (from 1253).

Next trip I think we will visit the paper museum (!)…something I always SAY I will do…and then never make it there!

As travelers journey down the fabled Amalfi Coast, their route takes them past rocky cliffs plunging into the sea and small boats lying in sandy coves like brightly colored fish. Erosion has contorted the rocks into shapes resembling figures from mythology and hollowed out fairy grottoes where the air is turquoise and the water an icy blue. In winter nativity scenes of moss and stone are created in the rocks.- Taken from Fodors.com, Amalfi Coast and Capri Overview

Obviously, after reading this…I just MUST be there next time before the festive Christmas season too! 

We had a lovely lunch at:

Ristorante Trattoria da Gemma   
Via Frà Gerardo Sasso, 9
84011 Amalfi (SA)
Phone and Fax: +39 089 871345

(open off-season too!)

-When the tourists have gone from the Amalfi Coast Summer season, they are replaced by the old Southern Italian ways…we snapped this photo of local “Transportaion” on the main street in Amalfi in Winter! 

 

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I Sassi di Matera

Matera…the Sassi Caves…just one of those places…the more I read and learn about, the more fascinated I become….I’m sure you’ll be hooked too!  It is considered to be, by some, one of the most extraordinary spots on earth, which is why it was listed as a UNESCO official World Heritage List location. “The Sassi -Matera has gained international fame for its ancient town, the “Sassi di Matera” (meaning “stones of Matera”). The Sassi originate from a prehistoric (troglodyte) settlement, and are suspected to be some of the first human settlements in Italy. The Sassi are houses dug into the rock itself, known locally as “Tufo”, which is characteritic of Basilicata and Puglia. Many of these “houses” are really only caverns, and the streets in some parts of the Sassi often are located on the rooftops of other houses. The ancient town grew in height on one slope of the ravine created by a river that is now a small stream. The ravine is known locally as “la Gravina”. In the 1950s, the government of Italy forcefully relocated most of the population of the Sassi to areas of the developing modern city. However, people continued to live in the Sassi, and according to the English Fodor’s guide: “ Matera is the only place in the world where people can boast to be still living in the same houses of their ancestors of 9,000 years ago.   “ Current local administration has become more tourism-oriented, and has promoted the re-generation of the Sassi with the aid of the European Union, the government, UNESCO, and Hollywood. Today there are many thriving businesses, pubs, and hotels. One of the benefits of the ancient city, is that there is a great similarity in the look of the Sassi with that of ancient sites in and around Jerusalem. This has caught the eye of film directors and movie studios. Like every city or town in Italy, Matera has a number of churches. However, nowhere else in Italy, and possibly even the world, will one see such a diverse collection of buildings related to the Christian faith. Some even believe that the very first “churches” ever used for worship were formed in the slopes of the surrounding ravine. Because of the ancient and primitive scenery in and around the Sassi, it has been used by filmmakers as the setting for ancient Jerusalem. The following famous biblical period movies were filmed in Matera: Pier Paolo Pasolini’s The Gospel According to St. Matthew (1964). Bruce Beresford’s King David (1985). Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ (2004). Catherine Hardwicke’s The Nativity Story (2006). Other famous movies filmed in the city include: Alberto Lattuada’s La Lupa (1953) Giuseppe Tornatore’s L’uomo delle stelle (1995) The Omen (2006) Matera, Italy. (2007, June 9). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 03:11, June 12, 2007, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Matera%2C_Italy&oldid=137001773 Matera, the Jewel of Basilicata  “A place to explore “Sassi” dwellings, learn of Lucanian culture and enjoy delicious food… Matera is a suggestive, fascinating city with steep cliffs plummeting down into a deep chasm. It is one of the two main cities in the region of Basilicata and was called Lucania by the ancient Romans because of its dense woods. In the middle of the city’s green hills, an enchanted, peaceful haven in central southern Italy, one finds the famous Sassi homes dug directly into tufaceous rock. These dwellings tell age-old stories about the presence of Paleolithic man, making this one of the most suggestive locations in Europe. UNESCO included it on its World Heritage list in 1993 and Mel Gibson selected this location to shoot his latest film, “The Passion”. Today, together with the two neighborhoods of Barisano and Caveoso, it constitutes the city’s historical residential center. These ancient dwellings are found within two wide rocky cavities and are distinctive in their incredible rupestrian architecture which, instead of being built within empty space, were built into empty space. And this testimony of ancient civilization is there for the whole world to see.   The Piano or “Plain”, the part of the region’s capital which is developed on a plateau to the west of the Sassi, can actually consider itself Matera’s “other half”. Built on the base of traditional urban canons, with its churches, squares and palaces, it is the testimony of the 17th to the 19th centuries, when Matera was the capital of the Regia Udienza of Basilicata. Breathtaking views and fascinating churches in Romantic and Baroque style are just some of the beauty that this city has to offer. For a complete itinerary of the area of Matera, one should start off in Montescaglioso in the Bradano valley and stop to admire a collection of artifacts of ancient farming life at the Ethnographical Museum, located inside the church of St. Francis of Assisi. Returning to the valley, one comes across the Parco delle Chiese Rupestri, a concentration of numerous churches. Embellished with Byzantine frescoes and dug into the grottos, they provided shelter for monks who were escaping prosecution from the iconoclasm. Moving up along the coast, one reaches Pisticci and can then head towards one of the most famous archeological areas, the excavation site of Metaponto, with its streets, buildings, and other constructions brimming with history. Also to admire is Hera’s temple with its 15 doric columns, also called Tavole Palatine, as well as the sacred area of Apollo and the theater.   The culinary tradition of this area is connected to pastoral farming, which can be rediscovered in recipes from the inland. These create a perfect fusion with the flavors of the highly fertile area along the Ionian coast. For this reason, in the trattorie and farm holiday locations, one can enjoy dishes of pasta and vegetables, a part of the most modern Mediterranean diet, and second courses of meat with the strong flavors of ancient Lucania. Among the typical dishes of the area are those made of bread, such as the parataccone, a hard bread cooked with turnips and hot pepper, or pignata in crosta di pane, with mutton and wild herbs, which you can taste at the restaurants “Venusio” and “Le Spighe”. Also worth trying is nghenderata, a dish offered to guests at the Favale castle, made of salted pork prepared with seasonings and sealed in a jar. There is also a wide variety of cheeses, such as varieties of fresh or aged caprino, ricotta, caciocavallo and scamorza. As for wine, although it is not strictly connected to Matera, is Aglianico, a red wine with DOC status from the area of Monte Vulture. Its grapes grown in hilly volcanic areas, it is an excellent accompaniment for roasts, grilled meats and game.”
From http://www.sanpellegrino.com/flash_site/articolo.asp?id=224  Author: Adele Lapertosa  Matera is Great Day-Trip from Calitri - Driving Directions Would you like to stay at Casa del Cipresso? Please contact us at SouthernItaly@comcast.net

 

Chef Antonio Pisaniello in Nusco

 I was very excited to find this article (about this local favorite restaurant in nearby Nusco) from Bon Appetit on  epicurious.com …  I hope you enjoy the read!

“Antonio Pisaniello is the chef American chefs go to when they’re in need of inspiration. He’s this secret region’s secret weapon. Here’s the story and the recipes behind the legend. 

In a small southern Italian village called Nusco, an affable chef named Antonio Pisaniello strolls the Sunday farmers’ market, picking out the ingredients that will make their way into lunch later that day at his restaurant, La Locanda di Bu. There is a bright saffron bouquet of fiori di zucca, bundles of just-picked bitter field greens; pure white cow’s-milk ricotta still warm from the making; and perfectly streaked pancetta. “La Locanda” has become a culinary mecca here in the province of Avellino, in the interior part of Campania — all’interno, as the Italians call it.

This mountainous region is not as well-known as the sunny Amalfi Coast and the boisterous pizza capital of Naples that lie an hour or so to the west. And Antonio Pisaniello is this secret region’s secret weapon, a sort of culinary guru to American foodies, from chefs to restaurateurs — and now, with the recipes here, to home cooks, too.

To fully understand the power of Pisaniello’s food, you first have to talk to the pros: California restaurateur Victoria Libin fell under the spell of his cooking during a culinary tour of Campania. Her critically acclaimed San Francisco restaurant A16 is named for the highway that cuts through the region. She sent the restaurant’s opening chef, Christophe Hille, to study with Pisaniello in Nusco. “If Antonio hadn’t taken in our chef and taught him everything, we probably wouldn’t have this restaurant,” says Libin. Ore Dagan, production supervisor at Paul Bertolli’s new Berkeley-based company, Fra’ Mani Handcrafted Salumi, spent five months working in Pisaniello’s kitchen. Dagan saw Pisaniello sway the locals away from the Italian tendency to eat with a hyper-regional bias. And this was no small feat. “He cooked amazing seafood that even the locals could love,” says Dagan. “Because they’re mountain people, this is not something they were familiar with.” Rocco DiSpirito was so blown away by a meal prepared by Pisaniello that he invited him to cook at his restaurant in New York. Pisaniello was the Italian guy bringing a bit of the Old World to the very New World circus that was DiSpirito’s reality TV show, The Restaurant. DiSpirito describes Pisaniello as having an uncanny ability to find that sweet spot between traditional Italian cooking and his own personality. “He has a true sensibility that few people have,” says DiSpirito. “It’s something that I hoped I had when I was a young chef. I think he has a sixth sense.”

That sixth sense comes through in the following recipes. In their minimalism they can seem both traditional and modern. The handmade Irpinian pasta (Irpinia is another name for the province of Avellino) is prepared with just flour, water, olive oil, and salt and is served with a simple fresh cherry tomato sauce studded with pancetta and fresh oregano; it’s a bright new angle on an old standby. Humble white bean soup gets a welcome sweet-hot hit from spicy polenta. Ricotta gnocchi are fried for a little crunch and sauced with an earthy purée of broccoli. This is food that is both new and unmistakably Italian — delicious and thoroughly inspiring. “

— Carla Capalbo, Bon Appétit, September 2006

Photo From: www.borghitalia.it

Would you like to stay at Casa del Cipresso? Please contact us at SouthernItaly@comcast.net .

 

Southern Italy Holiday Home

Casa del Cipresso is a cozy home in Southern Italy; it is available for weekly rentals year-round;  A great, affordable, family alternative to a B&B (Bed and Breakfast) or Pensione! 

Please be sure to check in for postings in our “Southern Italy Blog“  for lots of information about the local area and our self catering holiday home.

For more information, including Rates, Directions and more photos, please click on the ”buttons” at the top of this page.

Please browse through our link page to learn more about the location and town of Calitri, things to do and see nearby, and anything else we think may be of interest! 

Italy Holiday Rental - Would you like to stay at Casa del Cipresso? Please contact us at SouthernItaly@comcast.net .

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Child-Friendly Italy

Italy with Kids 

It is so much fun to see Italy through a child’s eyes…my six-year old son is always armed with his little, blue, plastic, Fisher Price camera (he takes hundreds of photos and goes through SO many batteries!) and full of opinions about everything! He asked if he could post something about Italy…so…here it is…Italy from a six-year old child’s perspective… 

“There are lots and lots and lots of great places to go in Italy, like Paestum and Lagopesole and Melfi and I love Pompeii!  The pizza is great!  I always order the pizza Margherita.  I like to get pastries at the coffee shop and I like to get hot milk with sugar for breakfast.  I love Italian ice cream!  I always get lemon and vanilla.”

“If your kids like volcanos, southern Italy is the place to be. Besides Mt. Vesuvius, there are other volcanic craters and formations and islands formed by volcanos” - Travelforkids Website.  It also has some good suggestions for things to do in Naples with Kids, an excellent list of Children’s Books About Pompeii and Herculaneum and a list of must-sees when visiting Pompeii with children.

Would you like to stay at Casa del Cipresso? Please contact us at SouthernItaly@comcast.net .