Departure
Sometimes things just start out right. After the movers took all my earthly possessions to storage, I need a place to sleep. Normally I would have just wagged my suitcase to the fleabag hotel down the block, but Expedia had a much better rate at the Parkway, next to the hospital. When I woke up the next morning, it was snowing like rip and blowing too. I just dragged my bag across the bridge to my office and never went outside. I was also glad that I was taking the train to Chicago, as there were over 1000 flights canceled at O’Hare that day. Why was I taking the train to Chicago you might ask? Well, it was $22 and my bag was definitely overweight. When I got to the Amtrak station they weighed it! In case one of their conductors might want to lift it! I took some stuff out, which I put back in as soon as I was on board. The train has more legroom than 1st class on the plane, and it arrived early.
I had scored a great ticket, using miles, from Chicago to Milan. There was a layover at JFK, but I spent it in the Alitalia lounge. They didn’t have much for food, but they had the makings for a Negroni and some very nice wine. Alitalia is the only airline I know that has an espresso maker on board. After a fitful night, the seat went flat but was a couple of inches too short, I had a cappuccino with breakfast. When I picked up my car in Milan, it had 10 Km on it. It is a Seat Leon which I think is made in Spain. My GPS took a while to understand it was in Italy not Hawaii, but eventually it found Trento and I was off. Unfortunately, I had not slept well the previous two nights and was having trouble staying awake. I hit a couple of rest stops for coffee, espresso 1€.
Trento
I had driven past Trento several times and noticed the castelli on the surrounding hills. This year I decided to stop and booked the Bonconsiglio Hotel right at the edge of the old town. For dinner, I went to Due Mori and had blueberry tagliatelli (not sweet at all, just blue) with a venison ragu, and a lovely ostrich steak in a mushroom sauce. With 2 glasses of a nice Teroldego, it was 36€.
The next morning I set out to see the town, first stop the Piazza Duomo, on the way I ran across a local market in the park. The Piazza had a fabulous fountain and a palace as well as the cathedral. The pedestrian streets of the old town were a delight to wander down. It was all boutique shops, cafes, bakeries, and restaurants. Behind the cathedral, a street musician was playing a pretty good sax. After wandering for an hour it was up to the castle Bonconsiglio (entry 8€). Originally started in the 13th century, it served as the seat of the prince-bishops of Trento until 1803. When Italy took over Trento after WWI it was restored as a museum. The ceilings were truly amazing, between the frescos and the 3-dimensional relief sculptures.
After checking out of the hotel I, once more, started driving north but tried to stay off the Autostrada. Eventually, I started seeing signs for Castello Thun (entry 6€). This is another castle started in the 13th century, but it stayed in the original family until 1992 (over 700 years). It still has the family furniture and is a remarkable example of a noble manor. The bishop’s room with the Hercules Door (dated 1574) is the highlight. After a couple of hours, I again headed north.
Corvara
As I went over the Passo Gardenia, it started to snow. This is my 17th year of skiing in Corvara. I always stay at Hotel Marmolada. At first, it was a 3 star and had just been remodeled. Over time it became 3+ and then 4 star. What improved the most was the food. The cost has crept up to 186€ a day with breakfast and a 4 star dinner. Wine is extra, but boy do they know their wine. Over the years I have become quite knowledgeable about Italian wine. The chef has a touch with pasta that is amazing; highly inventive, not too heavy and always delicious. There are always 3 choices for the pasta course and 3 for the main. The antipasto spread has 12 to 15 items plus salad. The deserts are nice and often there is a cheeseboard. In this area they serve cheese with Mostarda, which is a fruit jam with mustard seeds or another savory seasoning, quite different but complementary to the cheese.
It snowed all day Sunday and Monday, I skied Tuesday and Wednesday. It snowed Thursday, but sunny Friday. Saturday brought over 2 feet of snow. I skied mornings Sunday and Monday as it snowed in the afternoons. I stayed an extra day just hoping for decent roads to get out.
The second week brought some old friends to the mountains. I was especially glad to see Pekka and Mervi from Finland. I hadn’t seen them in a couple of years and wanted to get some more information on a planned trip to Finland this summer.
Pesaro https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pesaro
I left Corvara around 10 and took the scenic route thru the mountains to Belluno. With all the recent snow it was breathtakingly beautiful. Some of the villages just hang on the sides of the mountain. Ground-level is 3, 4 or 5 stories different from one side of a building to the other. Finally, I came out on the autostrada and the drive was fast and boring to Pesaro. I had a bit of trepidation as I had booked a hotel that was $30 a night. I found it easily and it was very nice. A block from the ocean, right downtown, wonderfully friendly staff, great apertivo list in the bar, free parking right out front (it was the dead season), and a nice breakfast. After settling in and having a cocktail, I walked a few blocks to Polo’s for dinner. The seafood pasta had 6 mussels, 3 dozen clams, a couple of crabs, some shrimp and a scampi, for 10 €. A half bottle of Rosso Conero was 11€. A mostly driving day but a rewarding finish.
Pesaro is the birthplace of Rossini, “The swan of Pesaro”? I visited his house, 10€ and included the city museum. The house was not much but there were a few exhibits including a 1564 edition of Dante’s Divine Comedy. The cathedral was more interesting, remodeled in the early 20th century, they have glass panels in the floor so you could see the original Byzantine mosaics. It was a pleasant town to wander for a morning, nice square, old churches, a music conservatory, the city museum (great 16th-century ceramic exhibit), and an old Roman wall that was now part of the exterior of something. Finally, I wound up at the Castello, which was not open to the public. I walked around the exterior, which was in decent shape, until hunger pangs started. Google maps led me to Moletto for lunch. Right on the water, I ordered spaghetti vongle (with clams). I was going to count the clams but there were at least 100, so I just took a picture. All that walking called for a nice nap.
Vieste
Friday morning I started to follow the coast road but it wasn’t very interesting so I went down the autostrada. I had randomly picked Termoli for lunch as it was I little over 3 hours south. What a pleasant little town, narrow streets winding every which way, I would have been lost without my GPS. I opened Google maps to find lunch and Svevia was listed as the top spot. I circled a few times and eventually figured out it was in the old walled part of the city. I assumed that was pedestrian only so I parked and walked in. It was a darling little walled town, nicely restored, right on the harbor. I found the restaurant and it was super elegant. It didn’t open until 12:30 so I was the first one there. I ordered the Sepia ravioli (squid ink made it black) and had a nice glass of local white wine. It was absolutely the best ravioli ever, I wish I could have come back for dinner. The beaches were beautiful and I’m sure, in the summer they would be swarming.
The afternoon drive I avoided the main road and eventually got into Gargano National Park. It was winding, hilly, with great vistas of the Adriatic. I went thru Pesschici, hanging on the hillside and eventually arrived at the Palace Hotel in Vieste. The hotel was right off the main square and the outside was very nice. The lobby was unlit and echoed, there was no decoration or carpet anywhere. The room was clean and nice, but again, no decoration or carpet. The woodwork looked dirty, but on further investigation, it had been antiqued to look that way. The TV, not that I cared, was the size of my tablet. The breakfast, in the unheated basement, was pathetic. I know this was the dead season, but this was billed as a 4 star hotel. Most of the restaurants in town were closed, but I did find “Box 19” just a couple of blocks down. I had prosciutto with the sweetest pineapple and grilled sea bass.
In the morning I went out to see the old city. It was quite a hike up to the walled part, but worth it. An old man pointed me to the cathedral which had an amazing ceiling. When I got to the highest point there was a castle, but the army controlled it and it was not open. I am not sure what the army wanted with a 12th century castle, but it had a great view of the beaches. The village was definitely walking only, even a donkey would have trouble. Since it was the dead season, lots of construction was going on to get ready for the tourists. Unfortunately, the archeological museum was closed. The views of the harbor were great, and there were some Trabucco platforms, which are complex fish netting systems hanging on the side of the cliff. Meandering along the twisting stairways, and stopping at the many vistas was a great morning. At the north entrance to the old town, there was a private sea shell museum that had an extensive collection and small shop. Eventually, I found a quaint trattoria, Vechia Vieste, for lunch. After lunch it started to rain and I opted for a nap.
Dugenta
Sunday I started driving thru the Umbria Forest. I wondered why the GPS said it was an hour and a half to Manfredonia, 50km. I soon found out, it was one of the windiest roads ever. There were families of pigs and a lot of white dogs on the road. Eventually, I got to Manfredonia whose museum promised some Paleolithic exhibits. The museum was in a castle on the harbor, but closed for construction. So I headed for Lucera, in the fog. The cathedral closed at noon, which was when I arrived, but I have seen plenty of cathedrals. I found the amphitheater, there were 6 people in the ticket office but I was the only one looking at the ruins. The guide book said the castle, built by Fredrick II in 1233, was 13 km northwest, I found a castle on the GPS that was 13km northwest and headed that way. The roads were muddy and narrow. When I got there it was barely a ruin sitting in the rain surrounded by sheep. I think the guide book meant 1.3km. I finally got to the right castle. Just as I approached the gate, a woman walked out and locked it behind her! I did almost circumnavigate the exterior, 1km, but there was one disconnect on the trail that I might have attempted if it had been dry. I took pictures thru the various gates and don’t think I missed much by just seeing the outside. The rest of the afternoon was occupied by a very twisty, foggy drive to Dugenta. Dinner was pasta with a white rabbit ragu and wild boar ribs.
Tenuta Torre Gaia is a manor house and winery in the middle of a vineyard outside of Dugenta, 4 star $61 a night. I decided to stay for 4 days and try to get caught up on my writing. The dinners in the restaurant were fabulous, but it was a bit eerie as I was the only guest. The service was so personal and accommodating it seemed like a 5 star. Just after I checked in the brought some sparkling wine and snacks to my room, as I had mentioned that I had skipped lunch. On Monday I went to visit Telese Terme, which is known for its mineral baths. There was not much to see other than a few Norman ruins of the old wall. San Salvatore Telesino had some Roman ruins that were not worth seeing and an interesting old Norman Church. Driving aimlessly on the way back I came upon Castle Campagno (I’m a sucker for castles), which had been mostly incorporated into various houses. Dinner was a veal filet.
The next day I went to Benevento, which I thought meant good wind but was originally Beneventum, place where good things happen. There they had one of the best preserved triumphal arches in Italy, dedicated to the emperor Trajan. Across the street, there was a small museum with a video explaining all the decorations on the arch, 2€. From there I managed to find the old Roman Theater, which they still use for concerts. There was a lot of street construction so I just walked around the outside. The center of town was pedestrian and there was the church of Saint Sofia, one of the best examples of Lombard architecture left. From there I visited the castle which had been considerably updated. On my way out of town, I stopped at Ponte Leproso, a 1st century Roman bridge. Obviously rebuilt a few times, but still fascinating. Dinner was pork filet in a pistachio sauce.
Wednesday I went to Caserta to visit Reggia di Caserta. This palace was started by Charles of Bourbon in 1750, it is the largest royal palace in the world. It is about half a million sf per floor, and the 5 stories total 120 feet high. It has been used in multiple films including Star Wars. It reminds you that inequality is nothing like it used to be. The grounds are incredible, the back garden stretched over 3km to a waterfall constructed just for the king. There is also a massive aqueduct to bring the water to the waterfall. It being a quiet weekday, there were just some school groups visiting. The building has 4 courtyards and the exterior is undergoing considerable renovation. The royal apartments and gardens are the only part open to the public. On the way back I decided to visit Sant’ Agata de Goti which dates from the 10th century. Unfortunately, I decided to follow a local into the old part. It was so narrow I had to fold the mirrors in. At one point there was a rock sticking out of a wall that scraped the right fender. Thank goodness I got the zero deductible insurance. Eventually, I had to turn around and got completely lost. After encountering traffic, I was going the wrong way, I backed up and alley into a parking lot, turned around again, and finally found my way out. Tough day.
Sorento
Thursday I checked out and set the GPS for Heracleum. This is one of the towns covered up when Mt Vesuvius erupted in 79AD. It was farther away than Pompeii and was covered in ash, so it is much better preserved. It is now in a southern suburb of Naples. A 21€ ticket gets you into 5 different sites and is good for 3 days. There were about 6 cars in the garage and a few tour buses. Heracleum doesn’t get many visitors and the scale makes it very approachable. You walk on 2000 year old mosaics and see frescos from the same age. Some of it is still buried under the new town. The next stop was Oplonti, this was a massive villa in the middle of the modern town of Torre Annunziata. There is some attribution of it to Nero’s second wife. The frescos were impressive. My final stop was at Boscoreale, which was in the middle of some high rise projects, you would never find it without GPS. The site wasn’t much to see, and you couldn’t go in the house, but the museum was okay. Enough ruins, I headed to my next hotel. To get there I had to drive thru Sorrento, which was a massive traffic jam (and this was the dead season). Hotel Nido is perched on a hill above Sorrento with a view of the town and the bay of Naples. For 56€ a night I got a nice basic room, parking, breakfast, and dinner. They also had a shuttle into town, nice since there was almost nowhere to park in town. Dinner was bruschetta, spaghetti with clams, grilled fish and vegetables, and a Caprese salad. It was only 3 star, but the deal of the trip, so far.
The next morning I headed to Pompeii. Driving thru Sorrento in the morning was a bit easier. Pompeii is the top archeological site in Europe, with over 2.5 million visitors a year. Again it was mostly school groups this time of the year. The site is immense. There is a lot of conservation work going on. You think this is a lot of the same and then you see and open doorway and go in and see something amazing. Supposedly the standard of living in this period of Rome was not equaled in Europe again until the 19th century, and after seeing Pompeii, I believe it. Pompeii was hit first by several meters of burning pumice and the next day by 6 meters of ash. Most of the organics were burnt away and the roofs collapsed, but the frescos are still stunning. After 3 hours of walking on rock paved streets, my legs were hurting. I think I saw all the main sights. The guide book panned the places to eat at the site, but I needed to sit, and the place just outside the gate had an attractive patio. I started with some fresh orange and lemon juice which was incredible. Lunch was pasta with peas, very tasty, but I think they used all their leftover pasta, there were 6 or 8 different shapes.
After lunch I started looking for the Villa Stabia, which I could have never found without my Garmin, even Google maps was confused. It was another immense villa covered up in the same eruption. Virtually no one was there and, again a totally fascinating site. The villas were the highlight at least for me. I drove thru Sorrento one more time, I can’t imagine how bad the traffic must be in the high season. Dinner was gnocchi with gorgonzola and veal with porcini mushrooms. When I checked out the next morning I got a bit of a shock. The bill seemed high, but when I looked in the fine print of my reservation confirmation it said 19€ taxes and fees. VAT is usually 10%, so I guess the rest was dinner. Oh well, still a pretty good deal and a view to die for.
Agropoli
The drive to Agropoli the next day was only 100km but took most of the day. It was billed as the most scenic drive in Europe but that is only if you are a passenger. The driving was very intense, mostly less than 30kph. Positano is supposed to postcard pretty, but I could not look up and there was nowhere to stop. Occasionally there were pull-offs that I took advantage of to get a few pictures, but I think the Oregon coast, or route1 in California can hold their own with the scenery. Of course, they don’t have cute little Italian villages hanging on the cliffs. I did manage to stop for coffee twice and finally landed in Salerno. The seaside promenade was full of locals, it was a sunny Saturday. There was even a chocolate festival going on. After walking the length of the promenade and back, I stopped at Pinocchio’s for lunch, a tiny local place. Their idea of soup, fruita de mare, was all shellfish and a little broth, clams, razor clams, mussels, giant scallops, shrimp, all in their shells. 17€ with wine and espresso. I reached the Medea Beach resort in midafternoon. It is right on the beach, and several fishermen were fishing in the evening. After checking in, I went into Agropoli to look around. I trudged up to the castle, and the view was great. It was originally a Byzantine castle but was reinforced and enlarged when the area was controlled by Spain, and they had a pirate problem. Afterwards, I enjoyed an Aperol Spritz at a beach side bar. Back at the hotel, I walked down to the beach to see the sunset. I actually saw the green flash (2nd time in my life) which is supposed to be good luck.
The reason you come to Agropoli is to see the Greek ruins at Paestum. In the 5th and 6th centuries BC most of southern Italy was part of greater Greece. In the 4th century BC, it is was conquered by the Lucanians and later by Rome. The site is immense with walls 5km long. The main 3 temples have stood since they were built, and the 2nd temple of Hera is the best-preserved Doric temple anywhere. The small museum had many of the tombs which were elaborately painted on their inside. Admission to the museum and site was 7€. It was Palm Sunday and the place was deserted until noon, then people started showing up for their Sunday stroll and a coffee. They had, and were exchanging, olive branches. In the 1930s a civil engineer cut a road thru the middle of the site. He was tried and put in prison for wanton destruction of an historical site. The size of the site, the condition of the ruins, and the lack of people, made this one of the most memorable Greek sites I have seen. All that ruin trudging, made me hungry. On the way back to Agropoli I saw a small open sign and stopped at a beachside place. I was the only customer. Bruschetta, gnocchi with clams and ½ liter of wine 13€, the view was free. A brief nap and a long walk on the beach capped a perfect day.
Venosa
I think the next day was a Monday, it is getting hard to tell the days apart. As I started down the road there was construction and a detour. The GPS was no help so I just followed a bus with the thought that he didn’t want to be on this very narrow twisting back road either. Once we got back to the main road it was only a few kilometers before I exited to another back road. Since my hotel did not have breakfast, I stopped at the first bar and had a cappuccino and a croissant 2.30 €. Eventually, I came to Velia, another world heritage Greek site, founded in the 6th century BC by the Greeks who were driven out of western Anatolia by the Persians. It is so amazing to have a site like this entirely to oneself, admission 5€. Nothing was really restored or very well marked. There were some Roman ruins atop the Greek. After an hour I came upon an excellent paved road which lead up to the Rose gate. This is the best example of a Greek arch I have seen. The Greeks understood arches but seldom used them. So I spent 3 hours and it was only me, the ruins and the geckos.
I then managed to get to Sapri for lunch. I really think sometimes my Garmin just likes to take circuitous routes. I have started back checking it with google maps. Sapri is a tiny, delightful, laid back beach town with a nice but short promenade. Lunch was linguini with squid ink, and the best glass of white wine so far, 13€. I had almost randomly chosen Venosa for my next stop. It is the birthplace of Horace and calls itself the city of poetry, Hotel Sorriso had a dumpy lobby, but very nice rooms. The woman at the desk when I got there had no clue, and the room had no Wi-Fi. After a while, a young woman came in and fixed the Wi-Fi, moved me to a better room, and served me a drink. The room had a heated towel rack, so I decided to wash a couple of sweaters which I could get dry on the rack.
Another morning and it was still cloudy. I walked down to the town square to visit the castle and museum. They were closed until 4pm. So I walked back to the hotel. The front door was locked and there was a sign closed on Monday, but it was Tuesday. Then I saw a doorbell and someone let me in. Shortly, I got back in the car and drove to Melfi. While people have lived here for a very long time, most of the history dates from the 11th century when the castle was built. It is quite imposing on the top of the hill. I managed to drive thru the old city without scratching the car and found a parking place close. I hiked up to the castle and started wandering thru. There was a very nice museum but the lights were off. I wandered thru anyway. There seemed to be some kind of conference going on there too. On the way out I noticed that what I thought was the restaurant was actually the ticket office. Maybe if I had bought a ticket they would have turned the lights on? I found a place called Grotta Azzura for lunch. Very elegant, with a few businessmen eating. I had ravioli with bacula, a salad and wine of course. A meandering drive back finished an OK day.
Policoro
Wednesday morning brought rain, it let up for a few minutes as I packed the car. I was headed to Castel del Monte built by Fredrick in the 12th century. It was gleaming white limestone dominating the area from atop the hill. Everything pretty, including the fireplaces had been stripped out, but it had been cleaned up and was a world heritage site. The reviews on google were bad because there were no furnishings, but I thought it was exactly like a medieval castle should be. It was octagonal, with a central courtyard, totally symmetrical. Well worth the stop. Close to the castle was my first winery stop Torrevento. No one seemed to speak much English, but eventually persistence got me a taste and I bought a couple of bottles of their signature Nero di Troia @ 9€. Best wine at that price in many years.
I headed for Gravina in Puliga as they have a distinctive DOC white wine, but it was pouring as I drove thru and I didn’t stop. I stopped in Matera looking for 19 Bucca, a winery and shop. It turned out to be in a cave under the main square. Lunch was tuna carpaccio with the best raw red prawns I ever tasted, and poor man’s spaghetti with olives and tomatoes. The wine wasn’t great so I just had one glass. It continued to rain as I headed to Policoro. As I neared by destination, Garmin said an hour 20 minutes and google said 10 minutes, I followed google. Hotel Calla was in an odd part of town and had a sign the size of a cell phone. The lobby was quite nice but the rooms were barely ok, clean but in need of refreshing. The breakfast spread was truly impressive, 20 platters of pastries. They must have a compulsive baker in the family.
The days are getting hard to tell apart. I need to check my phone to be sure that it is Thursday. I am definitely getting tired of cloudy, windy, and rainy. The hotel had a brochure about the Costa Jonica with suggestions for several small towns to visit, so that became the day’s itinerary. First I drove down to the beach. A beach in the dead season can be a dreary sight, so I went for the small towns. The first was Novi Siri, an ancient medieval town perched on a hill. The castle is now apartments. I moved on to Rotondella, a very typical hill town. There was parking down below for the summer, but I found a spot just off the main square. The view was worth the drive. After some wandering, I tried the door on a nice looking restaurant but it was locked. As I stood looking at my phone for another place, the owner came by and unlocked the door. I had the local pasta which his mother rolls out with her hands. The flavor and texture were something special. She also makes the bread. I don’t understand their business model, I was the only customer and lunch with a salad and wine was 12€. Oh well, just enjoy. My last stop was Montalbano, but it was cold, windy, and deserted so I didn’t stay long.
Friday broke clear and sunny so I opted to go to Maratea, which was a longer drive than I would normally like, but everyone had told me it was the best town on the west coast. The drive thru the Parco Del Pollino was very pleasant, though the last third was very twisty. There is actually a ski area in southern Italy! Then you come out on the cliffs above Maratea and the view is breathtaking. The main town wasn’t much so I decided to drive up to the white Christ statue above the city. The drive was quite an experience winding and twisting and finally out on piers hanging in midair. The view of the coast and the harbor were unique. I threaded my way down to the port and had lunch at Lanterna Rosa. Pasta with clams, mussels and squash blossoms was followed by a delicious grilled fish. With wine 49€, not cheap but sitting on the 2nd floor balcony looking over the yacht harbor was totally relaxing. The downside of sitting on the patio when it is cool is you have to eat fast or your food gets cold. I drove south past Scalea and eventually turned inland and back to Policoro. Once again Garmin tried to tell me to turn down a dirt road and take 4 hours to get back. But sometimes Garmin does better than google. I hate needing 2 electronic aides, I hate driving in circles more.
Saturday started out nice and the rain was not supposed to come until afternoon, but it started at 11. Just when you start to think you know what these hill towns are about, you pull into a place like Pietrapertosa. It was founded in the 9th century by the Saracens. I knew the Arabs raided this part of Italy and had occupied Sicily, but didn’t know they have moved this far inland. This place, somehow, clings to the side of the hill, some of the streets are on piers out in thin air. I started hiking up to the Saracen castle and the rain started picking up. I made it up ¾ of the way and the walk kept getting steeper. I could have made it but worried about coming down on the slick flagstone walk. I wish I had brought my walking stick. They had zip lines from Pietrapertosa to Castlemezzanno, which were not operating that day. These lines put you in face down and head first, and you are way high over the valley, they call them angel flights. It looked like fun but not in the rain.
When I had my fill of walking in the rain, I drove over to Castlemezzano on a very narrow road, washed out in places. This was a smaller version of Pietrapertosa and it spit a bit of snow as I approached. I parked in front of the church and looked for lunch. I soon found the “Scarpone Vechia Trattoria.” (Old Boot) The food was not very good, but there was a lot of it and it was packed with locals. The rain had stopped by the time I finished. On the drive home both Garmin and Google agreed on the route. Soon enough I came to where the road was closed and neither of them were any help. The road looked like it had been closed for a while, so I tried to go east to find another main road. Eventually I got back 45 minutes later than I expected. I had hoped to see an Easter festival in some town but finally figured out that most of the festivals were on Thursday, not Sunday. Such is life when you don’t speak the language very well. I finally figured out that Euro Spin was a grocery chain, not a laundromat chain, and bought a couple of bottles of wine. I got a nice bottle of red and one white for less than 4€, total.
Easter Sunday broke clear and sunny. Also early, as this was the day daylight savings began in Europe. I planned an easy day looking at ruins. Garmin said there was an archaeological site in Scanzano so I started there. I found the site and there were excavations under a canopy, but it was completely fenced off and no one was there except sheep. The next stop was the museum in Metaponto, it was one of the best curated small museums ever, 2.5€ admission. Next was the site of the temple of Athena. This site had very little reconstruction and was a bit overgrown but you still got that feeling of the old Greek layout. Finally the temple of Hera, also referred to as the tomb of Pythagoras. The temple was originally 12×6 columns and 15 of them were still standing. I took a brief detour up to Montescaglioso to kill some time. They had a very ancient monastery but it was closed until 4. I am starting to get a bit more comfortable driving in these extremely narrow towns. It was still early so I stopped at the Policoro museum and ruins of Heraclea. The entry was 2.5€ but they couldn’t make change from 3€. They weren’t going to let me in but I told them to keep the change. The early exhibits were good but overall the museum was a yawn. The site was huge but just the foundations and also skippable.
Since I didn’t find lunch I walked up to the Policoro town square for dinner at ai Portici. I started with pasta with porcini mushrooms and red prawns. I love red prawns, cooked or raw they are very tasty. My main course was swordfish, total with wine, water and salad was 26€. I don’t know if it was because of Easter or just Sunday night but the whole area was swarming with people, there was even a band set up outdoors. I decided that the hotel was ok. Not the best but a good location for exploratory day trips.
Monday started cloudily but cleared up by 9. I stopped for fuel and the café at the gas station was mobbed, people cruising for a parking spot. It slowly dawned on me that Easter Monday was a holiday and that was why there were so many people driving like it was their first time. I had another route for visiting hill towns. The first stop was Tursi, as I drove toward it I could see the ancient burgh of Rabatana high on the hill above the town. With a little dumb luck, I managed to drive through town and up to the old ruins. Interspersed with long abandoned buildings were rebuilt houses and B and B’s. The view was dramatic. Next was Valsinni with its castle and walled old town on the peak of a hill surrounded by the new(ish) town. Senise would have been an interesting town to wander but the wind had come up and it wasn’t that welcoming. There was a church from 1270 and some very narrow lanes that I did not drive down. Sant’Arcangelo and Aliano were similar to Aliano having some new (but old-style) hotels. No place was open for lunch anywhere, but in Aliano, there was a bakery that was almost sold out, and I got a piece of focaccia with tomato. As I approached Stigliano the road had mostly collapsed but there was a detour. At the town the main road was completely gone, earthquake I guess. The twisting and washed out places were getting to me and I decided to call it a day.
Tuesday (March 29) I decided to try and find a winery. As best I could tell there was one in Villa d’Agri, so I headed north. As I neared my destination both Google and Garmin went offline, like the twilight zone? The town wasn’t much and eventually I found the wine shop but it didn’t open until 4. I backtracked to Viggiao which looked interesting. It was very sleepy but pleasant, so I looked for lunch. I usually look for lunch around 1 but I am always the only person there until 2. The Tre Torres pizzeria did not serve pizza for lunch, but the pasta was good. Since the weather looked like it was going to stay decent, I had the car washed, and after 5 weeks it really needed it.
Taranto
I checked out of the hotel and noticed that they didn’t charge me for the evening drinks I had. On a whim, I decided to checkout Bernalda, birthplace of Francis Ford Copala. The old part was quite charming. After that, I headed for Gioia Del Colle to find a couple of wineries. My first stop was Polvanera, and it was a fairly substantial operation. In a bit, one of the daughters, who spoke excellent English, showed up and toured me thru the winery and to the tasting room. They had a large cellar cut into the limestone that they used for aging their wine. They made a very interesting Primativo sparkling wine, and their reds were categorized by alcohol content. Angelina opened 7 bottles for me to try. She went on to explain that she and her friends finished all the open bottles at the end of the day. I did by 2 of the sparkling wine and 2 red Primativos. She then offered to call the next winery to see if they were open. Plantamura was the next stop. It was a very small operation and they explained in detail how they pruned their vines and the importance of using different sized grapes. The smaller ones add complexity. It was the best Primativo I have had. I bought 3 bottles, and then she gave me the two we had just opened to taste. Unfortunately they didn’t take Visa so I had to pay with a combination of Euros and dollars.
With 100€ I now had 9 bottles of excellent wine. I got back in the car and my phone went offline. Garmin refused to find Taranto, the biggest town in the area. I managed to get to the center of Taranto as the GPS finally calculated the trip after 30 minutes of driving. However, the only way to the hotel was with my phone and google maps. I didn’t even have an address. I turned the phone off and on a couple of times, and then decided to try my best recollection from when I made the reservation. It took me almost an hour to navigate the 10km from the center of Taranto to the BnB. Finally, the phone came back online, or I never would have found it. Il Giardino delle Jacaranda is quite a palace. Kind of off the normal track, these people have built an amazing 3 room BnB. My room was huge and very elegant. I settled in and started drinking one of the bottles from Plantamura. The husband came out and explained that the house was designed by his wife and she always had so many things for him to work on. He tried a taste of my wine and said he would bring me something much better tomorrow. He also offered to drive me to a good restaurant for dinner. It was a very nice place and the food was good. Unfortunately, they did not season the Dorado fish when they grilled it and it was a bit bland. The orecchiette with broccoli rabe was interesting but bitter. The fried baby artichokes were perfect. A bit expensive at 58€, but a nice end to an interesting day. Francesco picked me up and I went right to sleep when I got back to the BnB.
My intention in staying in Taranto for a week was to finally get something up on the web for this blog. I worked until noon and then went out for a drive. I tried to find a beach to walk but failed. After trying a couple of restaurants on google maps, that were closed, and one that had completely disappeared, I wound up back in Taranto for lunch. Friday I drove into old Taranto, and the traffic was backed up due to a wildcat strike. Eventually, I reached the island with the old Aragonese castle. The Italian Navy controls the castle and was restoring it. They were very solicitous until the tour started and the tour guide spoke zilch English. There were only two others on the tour and it was quite interesting if you love old castles as much as I do. I went to Al Canale for lunch and had a wonderful raw seafood platter and some linguini with clams. Saturday I didn’t go anywhere, just worked on the blog. My stomach was not doing very well either. I finally decided to post the text and work on the pictures later. I have been drinking a bottle of wine each evening, but the wine Francesco brought for me to try was way too sweet for my taste.
Sunday was a beautiful sunny day. I went back to the old city and found the underground tour, Sunday only 10:30. There were 22 Italians who showed up. We started going down into the bowels of the city. Some of the basements were cut out of solid rock, some opened on the water. They dated to the Greek and Roman times. After a while, they started to look alike, and the tour was all in Italian, so I wandered off about noon. The Duomo was having mass but I did look in for a minute. I stopped at the Museum of the Spartans, only open at 11 on Sundays, but it was private, a bit kitschy, and closing already so I moved on. Parking is free on Sundays so I decided to drive to the Archaeological Museum. It was free on the first Sunday of the month. They had exhibits about funerary practices of the Greeks and Romans. There were some wonderful pieces of gold jewelry and wreaths from Greek time. Also, they had done a nice job curating many small pieces of terra cotta. Lunch was at Gatto Rossa, gnocchi with shrimp followed by grilled calamari, 30€.
Gallipoli
Wednesday I was feeling a bit better and set off for Gallipoli, originally a Greek city and now just a pleasant touristy old town on an island. You could drive around the perimeter but not thru the center. I would not want to try as some of the streets were barely 6 feet wide. I was staying at Palazzo Mosco. After 2 circuits around the city I parked at the port and hunted out the hotel, and it was too cute. Perfect location in a restored ancient building. Breakfast on the rooftop terrace and one level further up there was a patio with a great view of the sea. The room was tiny and taller than it was wide. The bath was great. I was not very hungry so dinner was just pasta with shrimp.
Thursday was clear and sunny and I started walking around the city. I was a bit weak from not eating much, so I had a nice, bland lunch prosciutto with melon and scaloppini limone. I did have a nice Aperol spritz and some cheese at a sidewalk bar while I watched the sunset. Friday was cloudy with showers predicted. I walked around the island clockwise stopping at the marine museum 1€. It had skeletons of various sea mammals including some small whales I had never heard of. Then I went to tour the old castle 2€. It was a self-guided tour and I only saw one other person the whole time I was there. A very interesting place, they had a 9 sided room with a vaulted ceiling that was 20m across and 10m high. By then it started to sprinkle so I took a nap. In the afternoon I circuited the city in the opposite direction. It amazed me what I saw that I had missed walking the other way. None of the sidewalk bars were open, so I waited for dinner. I forced myself to go out, none of the restaurants opened until 8. I did finally eat a substantial meal.
Saturday was cool and sunny. This is the perfect island for walking around, I could do it every day. After a bit, I walked over the bridge to the mainland to see the Greek fountain. It turned out to be from the 16th century and had originally been built at another spot. It was not in great shape and a horde of young people were sitting around it. There was some kind of political rally going on with lots of sloppily made banners, young people cheering, and some old guy talking. Lunch was the best grilled swordfish I ever ate, huge, moist, lightly seasoned. With a salad and a delicious white wine, 24€. I kept walking since the Wi-Fi was out at the hotel. At sunset I again sat at a sidewalk bar and had a couple of glasses of a wonderful Primativo. The wines are tasting better, I guess that means I’m mostly over my intestinal distress, finally.
Oria
As I puttered down the road, I passed a winery. It looked open so I turned around and went back. It was quite large and there was a steady stream of people going in and out filling their 4 liter jugs. They had 8 taps to fill from. Since I didn’t have a jug, I asked to taste. Their specialty was Nero Amaro and they opened 2 bottles for me to try. I bought a very nice bottle of the reserva 4.70€. They seemed delighted with the sale? Eventually, I got to Francavilla Fontana. It was starting to rain when I parked, and there was a nice looking restaurant right there so I had lunch. By 2pm the place was jammed. The people around Puglia are short but they pack away the food like footballers. After lunch the rain had let up so I wandered a bit taking pictures of old buildings and looking for the Imperiali castle. It was sold in the 16th century by S. Carlo Borromeo, along with the neighboring town for 40,000 ounces of gold which he distributed in one day to the poor and plague infected in Milan. The school I where went to first grade was St. Charles Borromeo! The castle looked nice from the outside but was closed and no sign that is was open to the public. So I went to Oria and the B&B Messapia. Nice clean and quiet for 40€.
Oria was founded by the Messapii in the 8th century BC. They came from Illyria which is now Albania. It has a nice old city which still has 2 of its 3 gates. I hiked up to the cathedral which was nice and had a great view and then up to the castle. Again closed and I later found out it was privately owned. There was an old Jewish quarter that was decimated by the Saracens in the 9th century, and one of the gates was called the Gate of the Jews. Afterwards, I drove to Manduria, another Messapii town. Pliny the Elder described the town and its well with an almond tree growing out of it which can still be seen today. There were extensive ruins but again no entry. I wandered about the new town with its many nice Baroque buildings and had lunch in a place built into the back of the castle wall. The front of the castle had become a bank. There was an art installation by the park, dense with small statuary and mosaic but I never figured out the message.
Bari
Tuesday I drove thru Villa Castelli. Eventually, I found the castle and it had been turned into apartments. I caught glimpses of the dome and steeple of the church but could never get a good angle for a picture. Martina Franca was worth a stop, maybe even a day. The second largest city in Taranto province, it had the nicest old city. Very white marble streets, lots of shops, a university, and great looking restaurants. But it was too early for lunch. I drove on to Acquavilla delle Fonte because the name sounded interesting, it was completely dead, nothing open around the main square. Eventually, I passed a café with people and pulled over. I had a nice pasta with asparagus, wine, water, and coffee for 7€. Then I continued on the Bari. My GPS actually found the Hotel Zodiacus. It was the smallest room so far but the young guy at the desk pointed out all the best spots to check out. The hotel was in the main shopping district and a few blocks from the old city. Every other street in the shopping district was pedestrian only, but the shops were like anywhere in the world.
The old city is very much occupied by locals. I walked the walls and stopped for an Aperol spritz. In the morning I went to the castle, but they were having some function there. I passed several older women making orecchiette, and drying it outside. The Basilicata of St Nicholas had bones supposedly interred there in 1089 and they seep some kind of fluid that is collected on May 9th of each year. A nice lunch at a sidewalk café, a nap, and it was time to pick up my friend Ginny at the airport. She was right on time, and after we did a bit of catching up, we had a pleasant dinner in the old city.
Thursday after breakfast, we wandered around Bari so Ginny could see the sights and then we drove north and had lunch in Trani. This is a beautiful little port town with a nice castle and cathedral. We ate at a dockside restaurant. The next stop was Barletta which had a massive fort which, of course, was not open. Then there was a fantastic triumphal arch in the middle of the street in an industrial district? That evening we sat on Bari’s main square drinking our Aperol’s and looking up places to eat on TripAdvisor. We settled on La Uascezze and got two different walking directions, one on Google maps, and one thru TripAdvisor, also using google maps? The outside menu board listed Wild Ass Chunks in tomato sauce, but neither of us had the nerve to order them. The food was outstanding and Ginny compared the Bresole to her Sicilian grandmothers.
Alberobello
Friday we headed south along the coast. The coastal drive was quite pleasant and eventually we got to Monopoli and had coffee and a pastry. The old city was cute and the Basilica was impressive. Then we backtracked to Polignano a Mare. What a delightful seaside town. Tiny marble streets that all ended overlooking the sea. Several locals were fishing, but I did wonder if they really could reel in a fish when they were 20 meters above the sea on the cliff where they were standing. At a pleasant juice bar on the main square, we talked about lunch. We opted for Locorotondo (crazy circle?) which was perched on a hilltop some distance inland. The old city was very white, very cute and very small. The view over the valley was great. We had lunch in a tiny hole in the wall, which was nice but not memorable.
As we approached Alberobello the trulli became more frequent. These started out as conical, dry-stacked stone storage buildings. A few hundred years ago they started to become houses and are now ubiquitous in this area. We checked into our trullo, 110€ a night, which had just been renovated. It was huge and the sink in the bathroom was carved out of a single 4’x2’x2’ block of stone. We were in the residential section of town which had 400 trulli, across the main street there was a district with over 1000 trulli. We wandered thru the more touristy section for the afternoon and had dinner at Pinnacolo. The whole village had an other worldly feel but most of the trulli were occupied as local residences.
Lecce
Saturday our first stop was Ostuni, perched atop a hill. We hiked up to the cathedral and the view over the valley. That part was quite touristy but the part of town across the square was just narrow lanes, stairs and white residential areas. A very pretty town but not that different from others except for the size of the old part. After Ostuni we decided to drive down the coast, starting with Villanova, a sleepy fishing village with a crumbling old fort. All of the little places along the coast had old towers or forts. The temperature was near 80 and the beaches were beautiful but deserted. There were no cars on the roads or people in the towns. The dead season is truly dead in this area. After a bit we drove past the Brindisi airport and weeds were growing on the taxiway. The town was very industrial until we stumbled on to the harbor front and had a pleasant lunch overlooking the bay, at Bernardi, a little wine bar. We watched as a large ferry spent almost an hour turning around and sailing out of the harbor.
Garmin brought us directly to the Palace B&B in Lecce but there was no sign so we tried Google and went to the other side of town. Eventually we arrived back where we belonged. The lobby looked like a tenement but the room was new and looked over the main boulevard. It was a 2 story suite and once we got the WiFi to connect it was fine @ 85€ a night. We took an initial stroll into the old city and went to the Roman Amphitheater which was in pretty good shape. It appeared that they had only excavated a quarter of the original as there was just a pie shaped part to see and the rest was paved over. There was also a Roman theater which prompted a discussion of the difference:
Theater – semicircular for performances
Amphitheater – circular for performances, athletic events or animals
Circus – larger oval for horse or chariot races
Stadia – Linear for foot races and other athletic events
Lecce is called the Florence of the south for all its Baroque architecture. We spent the better part of the day looking at the buildings and piazzas. Some of the churches were very Rococo inside. The castle was forgettable but the public garden was delightful with its fountains and walks. Lots of families were out on a sunny Sunday. The main street was quite touristy but the rest was quiet and refreshing to stroll thru. Lunch at a small outdoor café was pleasant. The old city still had several gates some of which were recently rebuilt. We got to the city museum 20 minutes before it closed and didn’t think that it was worth 4€. All in all a nice way to spend a Sunday. The next day we searched out the archaeological museum, it looked like an abandoned prison but was actually part of the university campus. Lots of graffiti on the outside and not much on the inside. We had free street parking but the birds in the tree had covered our poor little Spanish car, just one of life’s little surprises.
Gallipoli redux
Monday we drove down the coast. As we started south I noticed mountains across the water, they turned out to be Albania! Our first stop was Otranto, a very small port that was important in Roman times because it was the closest to Greece and was the jumping-off point for places east. It had a nice fort and a lovely old walled part that was on two levels. The view from the walls was great and the cafes were pleasant. We drove on south thru the largest park in Italy and eventually stopping in Santa Cesarea Terme which had a fantastical Moorish bathhouse perched right on the coast. There were several small resort towns and great sea vistas, it was one of the best coastal drives anywhere. We stopped for lunch in Leuca which is the southernmost point of the heel of the boot. Lunch was right on the water with a view of the lighthouse. The grilled swordfish was perfect. Then the owner decided to show off his dog who could do arithmetic. The dog would bark the answers to simple addition and such. It was truly annoying but the Germans there seemed to love it. The drive back up the Ionian side was less interesting.
We stopped in Gallipoli for one night and stayed again at the Mosco Inn. We walked around the island and then sat on the roof and had our Aperol. I can’t capture in words or pictures the relaxing feeling we had sitting on the roof with our drinks and appetizers looking over the harbor. As evening approached we went to the fish market and they shucked a couple dozen oysters for us with wine it was 45€, not cheap but superbly fresh. Some more walking around the town then wine and pizza on the plaza closed out a perfect day.
Matera
The morning broke clear but windy. Breakfast was followed by a brisk walk and we headed out. We stopped briefly in Manduria but the archaeological park was still closed. We were going to Grotaglia, which is famous for ceramics. It was the deadest town yet. Not a single business around the main square, the ceramic museum in the old quarter was closed, all the shops in the “ceramic quarter” were closed. We had to go out of town to find an open restaurant. Paradiso restaurant was huge, probably an event place. We were the only customers. Everything was very good except for the pasta carbonara, which was inedible. Many back roads later we pulled into Matera. We found the garage the B&B had reserved for us but it was way far from the B&B. The B&B was not answering their phone. We drove into the center of town, miraculously found a parking space, and started looking for it. No one on the street could help us. When someone finally answered the phone, she spoke no English. I gave the phone to a shopkeeper, who also spoke no English and finally, he pointed us to an apartment building atop some stores. Eventually we got settled and parked in a closer garage. The B&B was 3 rooms on the 2nd floor of an apartment building but in the center of the upper city. It was very small and not much for breakfast either.
Matera was recommended by so many people both in Italy and the states it probably could not live up to the hype. The first evening we looked over the valley and saw the old city built into the hillside. The houses have traditional fronts but are caves behind. Across the valley are true caves that are much older. We had a tough day so we ordered a nice bottle of Alianico for dinner. The Osteria San Francesco was excellent but we were the only customers. I had the lamb and Ginny had an individual lasagna with branzino. The next morning we descended into the Sasso Caveoso and visited the convent of Santa Antonio. The frescos were billed as fabulous but there were only fragments of color. Every cave wanted 2€ to enter. There weren’t many tourists but the school kids made up for them. We hiked around to the Sasso Barisano visiting churches and plazas on the way, and then up to the cathedral. Lots of stairs and interesting facades but this town is not that old, 15th century and up. The blandness, not white and no color, left us feeling blah. Also after seeing underground cities in Cappadocia and Petra there was no novelty. Lunch at 19 Buca was excellent. I started with grilled octopus and cuttlefish with a citrus dressed salad, followed by lamb wrapped in bacon and grilled on a skewer. We kept wandering and taking pictures. Dinner at La Terrassa would have been better if it was warm enough to eat outside as the view was over the Sassi.
Thursday morning we started back. Our first stop was Bari to pick up Ginny’s jacket that she left there, then it was on to Termoli. We had lunch at Svevia and it was the best lunch of the trip. We started with an assorted cold seafood appetizer and then the mixed fish grill with two fish a giant prawn, cuttlefish and octopus. Ginny had the black ravioli, with wine 54€ and well worth it. The beaches at Termoli are the prettiest on the whole east coast of Italy. Back on the road for a few more hours brought us to Ancona, a delightful port town with loads of ferries to Greece, Croatia, Albania, and other places in Italy. We stayed at the Grand Hotel Palace right on the harbor side 110€. It is an aging but still an elegant place at the edge of the old town. We walked to the shopping district and ate at the Osteria del Pozzo. The monkfish and the local wine were superb 44€.
Our last day, we drove to Parma. It has a huge old city, and after a few wrong turns and some very narrow streets, we found a garage to park in. this was the first city that had people on the streets, loads of them. We ate at an outdoor café and watched the people strolling by. The woman in the mini skirt and spike heels, pedaling the bike was interesting. Then it was on to the Milan airport and the Malpensa Inn where I always stay. However, the restaurant close by had closed so we walked about 1km to a pizza place and enjoyed our last evening. The pizza was crisp and the wine cheap, a nice finish to two wonderful months. The flight the next day had no surprises unless you count how quickly I got thru customs at JFK.