May 22, 2009
Trajan's Arch in Benevento
Obelisk of Isis
Pedestrian Zone Benevento, Campania (rather quiet during the traditional midday, Southern Italy "siesta")
April 2, 2009
Herculaneum
A new treasure from Herculaneum was unveiled in Naples on Tuesday, where it will join a major exhibition exploring life in the Ancient Roman town buried by Vesuvius in 79 AD.
The show, running until April 13, already features over 150 artefacts and human remains uncovered over the last three centuries but the new relief, uncovered by accident last month, is stirring fresh interest.
The marble sculpture, dating back to the 1st century AD, apparently depicts two separate scenes centred on Dionysius, the Greek counterpart of Ancient Rome’s god of wine and merrymaking, Bacchus….
CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE
New treasure joins Herculaneum show
Herculaneum is a great day-trip to take from Casa del Cipresso! For driving directions from Calitri to Herculaneum, please CLICK HERE.
April 2, 2009
Visiting The Royal Palace at Caserta is a great day-trip to take from Casa del Cipresso! For driving directions from Calitri to Caserta, please CLICK HERE.
March 26, 2009
Giro d'Italia 2009 - Route Map
We were just thrilled to hear that this famous race would be passing so near to Calitri, Avellino, in two of it’s stages this May (Avellino and Benevento stages)!
Saturday May 9
Lido di Venezia, Venice, 20.5 km
Sunday May 10
Jesolo to Trieste, 156 km
Monday May 11
Grado to Valdobbiadene, 200km
Tuesday May 12
Padova to San Martino di Castrozza, 165 km (uphill)
Wednesday May 13
San Martino di Castrozza to Alpe di Siusi, 125 km (uphill)
Thursday May 14
Bressanone to Mayrhofen, 242 km
Friday May 15
Innsbruck to Chiavenna, 244 km
Saturday May 16
Morbegno to Bergamo, 208 km
Sunday May 17
Circuit Race in Milano, 155 km
Monday May 18 – REST DAY Giro d’Italia 2009
Tuesday May 19
Cuneo to Pinerolo, 250 km (uphill)
Wednesday May 20
Torino to Arenzano, 206 km
Thursday May 21
Sestri Levante to Riomaggiore, 61 km (timetrial)
Friday May 22
Lido di Camaiore to Florence, 150 km
Saturday May 23
Campi Bisenzio to Bologna, 174 km
Sunday May 24
Forlie to Faenza, 159 km
Monday May 25 – (uphill)
Pergola to Monte Petrano, 237 km
Tuesday May 26 – REST DAY Giro d’Italia
Wednesday May 27
Chieti to Blockhaus
Thursday May 28
Sulmona to Benevento
Friday May 29
Avellino to Monte Vesuvio, 164 km
Saturday May 30
Naples to Anagni, 203 km
Sunday May 31
Rome, 15.3 km
April 10, 2008
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).
Clcik Here to go to the Official World Heritage Website
October 9, 2007
“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!
June 6, 2007
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!
