NOVEMBER WAS PERFECT TIMING FOR TRIP TO SOUTHERN ITALY
The timing could not have been better than early November 2016 for a trip to southern Italy. The weather was sunny and in the low 60s, and the rainy season had not yet begun. As an added plus, some of the cities had already begun putting up their beautiful Christmas decorations. On my two-week jaunt to the South of Italy, I was joined by some of my usual travel companions from New York and New Jersey. We started out in Rome, flying into—where else?— Naples.
Our first morning, we enjoyed breakfast on the hotel terrace at dawn overlooking the Bay of Naples with Mount Vesuvius off in the distance. We learned that Napoli was the largest city founded by the Greeks, and so naturally it’s full of archaeological treasures. In fact, construction of part of the subway has had long delays because of discoveries such as three Roman ships. We also learned that the real estate overlooking the Bay of Naples is as expensive as it is in Manhattan. Naturally we couldn’t leave without sampling the famous pizza Margherita, which was invented in Naples.
And of course we had to go shopping along the Via Toledo which had so many beautiful, irresistible shops!! Half a day was not nearly enough time to spend in the National Archaeological Museum, but we did see a lot, including the famous “Toro Farnese” (Farnese Bull), a magnificent sculpture carved out of one huge block of marble. Before leaving this amazing city of famous Neapolitan songs, we had dinner on the waterfront at a restaurant named “La Bersagliera.” And not that there are women who are elite solders known as Bersalgieri (there aren’t), the name just means “una donna forte.” (strong woman). We made a brief stop in Benevento, walking under the famous Arch of Trajan, on our way down to Puglia, where we stayed in Bari.
We noticed that Bari was the one place we visited where there was a lot of security, with carabinieri and soldiers in armored vehicles stationed around the city, especially in front of the Basilica of San Nicola and in Bari Vecchia. We learned that legend has it that San Nicola was a kind man who gave money to a father of three daughters who needed a dowry to save his daughters from a drastic fate. The bones of San Nicola, which were brought back from Turkey, are kept in a crypt.
While we were visiting the Basilica, a group of Russian Orthodox priests and congregants were conducting a service, with incense and prayers in Russian. At the end, they each knelt down and kissed the box by the altar containing the bones of the saint. It was a very moving sight. We were told that San Nicola became known as “Sinder Klaas” in the Netherlands and eventually he became Santa Claus in the U.S. His red outfit was supposedly due to the influence of the Coca Cola Company. We took a walk around Bari Vecchia, the old part of the city with its maze of alleyways and winding streets, and learned that Bari was once considered the most dangerous city in Italy where a police escort was needed to go to church, but then “Operazione Primavera” cleaned up the area, and many people were arrested or paid to leave. Nowadays you see the many vegetable and fruit stands, the men playing cards, kids riding bikes, and women making the famous orecchiette pasta at outdoor tables.
The city features a magnificent Swabian castle and a beautiful walk along the sea, the Lungomare, where you can see fishermen bringing in their catch fresh from the sea or beating an octopus to soften it up. Bari is a major port which handles 2 million passengers annually on the big cruise ships. It is also a port from where many of the Crusades to the Holy Land were launched centuries ago, which may explain the tight security. We enjoyed some of the delicious seafood at a restaurant near the Lungomare, and were amazed to see a waitress walking through the restaurant balancing several dinner plates on one arm while talking on her cellphone.
That’s what you call multitasking!! Of course a visit to Bari would not be complete without a stroll down the Via Spadana, although sadly, the palm trees are no longer there. But you can find most every designer store your heart desires, from Gucci to Prada to Hermes to Furla and so much more. We also visited a modern design store close to the Lungomare, but the next day it had been temporarily transformed into the set of a popular TV talk show, which we watched on the outdoor video screen. That night the results of the U.S. presidential elections started coming in, although with the time difference it was almost dawn in Italy. Afterwards, everyone we encountered in the streets was anxious to give us Americans their opinion, which was one of shock, to put it mildly.
Driving south to Lecce, across the sea is Dubrovnik, Croatia. Of course beautiful Lecce is known as the “Florence of the South.” Maybe what stands out most is the ancient Roman amphitheater that sits right in the middle of the city, where centuries ago gladiators battled, wild animals fought, and sea battles were reenacted. In Piazza San Oronzo, we saw an 800- year-old olive tree, which is called a “teenager” in this land of thousand-year-old trees. To step on the coat of arms in the square is bad luck, we were told, and none of us was ready to risk that!! Nearby were the papier-mache' workshops, which at that time of year featured delicate presepi for the Christmas holidays.
Of course we had to see Lecce’s beautiful Cathedral of Santa Croce, with its façade of lions, dragons, angels and undersea creatures which took three generations of artisans to create. Next door to the cathedral is a new Jewish museum, not yet officially open. We made a day trip to Otranto, where we went to the famous cathedral with a crypt with the skulls and bones of the 800 martyrs who were killed by the Ottoman Turks after a pitched battle, for refusing to convert to Islam. A month after he was elected, Pope Frances traveled to Otranto for the canonization of the 800 martyrs, and there is a plaque in the cathedral commemorating his visit.
We also saw the many famous mosaics in the cathedral’s floor, such as the one depicting creatures from the Inferno and another mosaic of a cat with boots on only his two left paws. Knowing that the 60 million olive trees in Puglia produce some of the world’s best olive oil, that evening we visited a fancy masseria for a delicious dinner and wine tasting, and we went down to the wine cellar and learned how their wine was made and also how they made their delicious olive oil. Our hostess was a British expatriate who had worked there for 17 years and had some very interesting stories to tell us. Otranto is the easternmost point of Italy, so on a clear day you can see Albania 45 miles away.
We learned that there is a big celebration here every New Year’s Eve since this is the first place in Italy to welcome the New Year. Next we traveled to Ostuni, in a beautiful area with watchtowers along the coast and many whitewashed houses. It was built on a hill, like many towns, for protection. From the third floor of the houses, boiling water could be poured on invaders. One of its wonderful restaurants is the “Osteria del Tempo Perso,” and along the way, a man playing guitar and harmonica was singing Bob Dylan songs with an Italian accent.
Our next trip was to Alberobello, with its 1,400 trulli, or conical stone houses. We visited the “royal trullo,” the only one with two floors, which had gunports in case of invaders. The crafty townspeople built the walls around the trulli so they could be easily disassembled when the tax man came around, and then quickly reassembled. Next, we paid a visit to Matera, in Basilicata, which is the Culture Capital of Europe for 2019, and we learned that the road from the airport in Bari has already been widened in anticipation of the influx of visitors. Of course Matera is famous for the 6,000 casagrotte in the sassi, the homes carved into the caves. It’s possible to visit one of them to see how the people lived under primitive conditions with their animals, until around the 1950s.
The sad situation was written about by Carlo Levi in his book “Christ Stopped at Eboli.” But Matera has been transformed into a thriving city with a lot of visitors from Europe and beautiful little shops. There is also a big art museum which features a huge sculpture of a raindrop by a Japanese artist. One of the little shops features the “fischetti,” the colorful painted whistles in the shape of animals, including ones in the shape of a rooster, which is considered good luck. Just in time for the Chinese “Year of the Rooster”!! Crossing from Puglia into Basilicata, we passed many mountains and canyons, and we learned that the best water comes from this area, and in fact, Coca Cola uses this water for its products all over Europe. Our final stop was Sorrento, a beautiful city where Christmas decorations could be seen everywhere, including in the beautiful parks and gardens. The views were spectacular, especially across the Bay of Salerno.
We stayed at the beautiful, Old World-style Imperial Hotel Tramontano, which you enter via a long driveway with palm trees and flowers everywhere. Next door are public gardens with more palm trees and flowers, and benches to sit and relax and enjoy the view overlooking the water. In the hotel, we enjoyed our breakfasts and dinners looking out on the Bay of Naples with Mount Vesuvius and Pompeii in the background. In a hidden alcove in the lobby, there is a plaque which names the famous guests who have stayed at the hotel, such as Keats, Shelley, James Fennimore Cooper, the Prince of Wales before he was King George, Queen Wilhemina, and a Russian princess.
The last line on the plaque says: “You who are visiting now are our honored guests, just as they were.” But the hotel may be most famous for the song “Torna a Surriento,” which was composed by Giambattista De Curtis on the Tramontano terrace. Exploring the city was an amazing adventure. We found a store called “Shopping Victims” and had dinner at the Ristorante o' Parrucchiano which featured “magical gardens” and where we encountered an American couple who had been to the restaurant 40 years ago on their honeymoon.
Down the street from our hotel was a beautiful church with a statute of San Francesco, and next door was an artists’ gallery which was having an exhibit of Sofia Loren photographs. When we went inside to take a look, there was a inner courtyard with a big tree in the middle defying gravity and leaning at a 45o angle. And next to the photos of Sofia, there was an exhibit of Art Deco music boxes and carillons. They were all beautifully decorated with delicate paintings and scrolls, and all of them (30 or more) were playing at the same time, which created an angelic sound.
When it was time to leave, we flew from Naples back to Rome and then New York. Arriving at Fiumicino Airport, always a hectic place, we made our way to the Alitalia lounge and there we were greeted by the sounds of a piano. A talented young guy was playing classical piano, ragtime and blues, for over two hours, with our plane visible beyond the big glass window behind him. Such an enjoyable way to pass the time while waiting!! Is that not so Italian?