A Calling to Campania: Eboli and Paestum

We Greeks sit around the sea like frogs around a pond — Plato

There are a lot of mysteries surrounding my nonna’s family. Her name, for instance: was it DeAngelis or Iaccovazza? I’ve heard both. But until I get to the little town hall in her (fingers crossed) village near Salerno, I won’t have a chance of knowing for sure. So it’s still on the bucket list.

Tim and I had been to the region of Campania before. Tucked into the south-central west coast of Italy, it contains Naples, Sorrento, the Amalfi Coast, and Pompeii and, over the years, we have visited all those places. But lately, having discovered Basilicata to the east and the incredible Matera, I got interested in reading Carlo Levi’s 1945 classic, Christ Stopped at Eboli. Which, it so happens, is also in Campania.

Levi – doctor, painter, political prisoner because of his anti-Fascist views in 1935 — provides an account of his year-long exile in Lucania (now Basilicata) and the belief of the people that they have been abandoned by Christ, Christianity, and morality. They tell him they have been “excluded from the full human experience.” In other words, Christ stopped at Eboli, in Campania, and never made it any farther south, where the conditions were unspeakable and the people were mostly desperate.

So of course, I had to see Eboli. And Tim had to see Paestum, having heard that it was right up there with Pompeii. And so in May, without a tour to tend to, we took off from Sulmona and did a little exploration on our own.

Our base for three days was a hotel in the centro of Eboli which we reserved through AirBnB. It was magnificent. Apartamento “La Vacca”with its 16th century terrace off the kitchen, right next to an abandoned noble palazzo. There was evidence that someone had been working on the palazzo, but we saw no sign of it while we were there.

La Vacca was a fully furnished, contemporary, self-catering apartment of the highest quality with the best view in town. Of course, there was a vacca in the apartment – at least a painting of one – by one of the region’s prominent political artists, Francesco Cuomo. It’s a popular name in Eboli.

The modern, rather whimsical painting contained an assertion, which was anything but. It’s a wow. I’ll give you both versions:

L’italia é come una vacca

L’italia é come una vacca, nessuno ha il coraggio di accarezzala
—   Ma tutti la vogliono mungere.

Italy is like a cow

Italy is like a cow, nobody has the courage to caress her
—   But everybody wants to milk her.

The city smells like jasmine and boasts really fascinating architectural details. It’s a little reminiscent of Matera, actually, without the sassi. Very hilly, lots of ups and downs, but if you’re a good driver, you can manipulate the streets. And, unlike Matera,  there are parking areas sprinkled throughout the centro.

We found a few very nice restaurants in Eboli, especially the one on our last night. We ventured out late, not even sure we wanted to eat after a long day in Paestum, but stumbled upon a local place called Vico Rua, a pizzeria with an outdoor garden. Because it was late, we took the only table available inside and, even though the staff seems not to speak English, we managed brilliantly and had a fabulous send-off to Eboli. Good wines, good antipasti of local meat and cheese, and great pizza.

What really struck us (after the vacca painting in our apartment) is that this is clearly a city of artists – culinary, architectural, dance, music, and fine arts — who are very aware of the Carlo Levi connection. Vico Rua has a rotating art exhibit and, when we were there, there was a fantastic display of large wooden plates painted with a singular black-garbed character interacting rather joyfully with vegetables, bread, and cheese. Imaginative and smile-inducing. We walked back to the apartment full and happy that we had come.

My first observation about Eboli, after checking in, was that this small city seemed to have its act together, tourist-wise. It is very frustrating in Abruzzo that the local businesses, together with the government tourist board are, for the most part, totally inept at marketing themselves. Upon arrival in Eboli, we were presented with brochures about a few museums, information about restaurants and accommodations, even a little bit about the history of the place. I was impressed.

But with the exception of the restaurant information, the brochures were mostly wrong. Nothing was open when they said it was. I was particularly disappointed about not getting to see the museum commemorating Operation Avalanche, the September 1943 Allied invasion of Italy through Salerno. We stood outside the museum’s doors for 20 minutes waiting for it to open, but it never did, and we were not alone. Score one for the tourist board, but it needs to get the attractions to play along.

 

Magna Graecia

Paestum, on the other hand, did not disappoint in any way. One of Italy’s UNESCO World Heritage Sites, the Parco Archeologico di Paestum is a must-see if you are interested in a classical tour of Italy, since it boasts the most extensive remains of Magna Graecia anywhere. An archaeological site housing three Greek temples and a variety of other ruins (Roman forum, amphitheatre, residential buildings), this is a fabulous place to spend a few hours.

Because we were coming from Sulmona, about three hours away, we drove. But Paestum is actually serviced by train from Salerno to the north and Sapri to the south. We parked right near the train station and took the 15 minute walk down a shaded country road to reach the historical site, and were rudely announced by the white peacocks on the other side of a stone wall. If you’ve never heard a peacock call, Google it – it’s really odd.

The original Greek city of Paestum, called Poseidonia, dates from around 600 BC. It was conquered by the Lucanians 200 years later and then by the Romans in 237 BC but, as the Roman Empire collapsed, so did Paestum. In the 18th century, the temples were rediscovered by local road builders, by intrepid travelers like Shelley and Goethe and, finally, by the emergence of the Grand Tour, which  encouraged an interest in antiquities.

Even though the day was sunny and hot, we walked spellbound through the site with its three Doric temples: one to Athena, one to Hera, and the biggest one, to Neptune (Poseidon). They are without roofs now, but the remaining columns, pediments, and ornamentation speak to the remarkable skill of the builders and the gravitas of the buildings themselves.

We actually began our day at the Museum of Paestum across the street, and I would recommend that you do that, too, so you can get a good sense of what you will see (and also what you won’t see, in terms of preserved sculptures, wall paintings, and other artifacts). Take special note of the fresco of the “Tomb of the Diver,” from a Greek tomb; they seem to love that!

There were half a dozen groups of schoolchildren from the area at the museum the day we were there. Normally, I would find this a negative, but I was really pleased to see how interested they were in their local historical site and how much they were learning and interacting with their teachers and museum guides. It gave me hope for the study and significance of history, something which is being eroded here in Salem as I write this.

When it was time for lunch, we went out of our way to find a specific place that we had picked out that got good marks on Trip Advisor. We never did find it. But we did venture into a most unlikely spot – the Ristorante Museo, right next to the museum. Of course, we expected the worst – a tourist trap with bad food. We couldn’t have been more wrong.

Because we were eating late, we were one of only two groups of patrons in the place. We took an outside table and were served by a lovely waiter who we later learned was named Marco. We got to talking and soon the chef came out — wearing a NY Yankees baseball cap. With Tim’s Boston Red Sox hat, a friendly banter ensued.

The chef, Franco, had worked for two years in London and Folkestone and was a delight to talk to. A second waiter was also named Franco, and before long, the five of us were in a wonderful conversation about Italy, the Mezzogiorno, and food. There was no way that I could eat dessert after the meal, and even Tim, declined, but Marco brought him a small slice of a special cake that they made, with a decorated plate that was irresistible. When Tim wolfed the first slice down, he brought him a piece of another specialty!

It was quite an afternoon, and a good farewell to Campania. As Tim and I walked back down the country road to get to our car, Marco pulled over in his car and asked if we wanted a ride (clearly we had been keeping them way beyond closing time), but we declined, saying that we needed a walk after the wonderful meal.

Campania has a lot of coastal charm that attracts thousands of visitors every year: Amalfi, Positano, Ravello, Naples, Sorrento . . . but it’s well worth going inland a bit to get a taste of ancient Greece — not to mention artichokes, tomatoes, figs, and lemons. And oh, what wine! Always, the wine — in this region, it’s the red Aglianico and the white Falanghina for me. We’ll be back to check out nonna’s village near Salerno. You should come, too!

 

Buon viaggio!

Thinking about going to Italy?

Here are a few reasons to travel with Travel Italy the Write Way Tours and Linda and Tim Jenkins:

  • We create unforgettable experiences for small groups of travelers (never more than 12 people) who don’t like tours.
  • Why “the write way?” Writing is something Linda does all the time when we travel; if you would like some journaling tips, just ask and she’ll set some time aside for a little “workshop.”
  • We always provide you with a journal, anyway, just in case you get inspired.
  • We always provide you with some free time and are happy to help with suggestions for touring sites and restaurants.
  • The reason we do not include airfare in our trips is that we want to give travelers the option of arriving earlier or staying later and extending their trip beyond just our offered destination(s). Besides . . . we’re not travel agents!
  • When we say, “dinner on your own” or “lunch on your own,” that doesn’t mean we can’t eat together. It just means those meals are not included in the price.
  • We provide all ground transportation, museum entrances, local tours, all breakfasts as well as many dinners and lunches. One of the reasons we do this is (a) to give you the experience/adventure of choosing your own meal experiences, and (b) to choose not to eat if it’s all been too much that day!
  • We encourage the “passeggiata” – the town walk, starting about 5:00 – even in large cities, along the main corso. We’ll experience together this most Italian of rituals.
  • We do not believe in Single Supplements.

Please watch for information about our May 2019 tour to Milan, Lake Como and Lombardia and also our October 2019 tour to Matera, Alberobello, Lecce and many other gems of the mezzogiorno. Contact me for more information.

Thinking About 2019

If you’re going through hell, keep going – Winston Churchill

 

That’s what I’m doing now, I suppose. Keeping going. Trying to put down on paper how I became Italian. Sounds funny, no? If you’ve been reading these posts over the years, this might come as a surprise. When was I not Italian? And what does “being Italian” even mean? For that, you’ll have to buy the book, she writes, sarcastically. Hopefully, later this year.

So much of my adulthood has been tied up with all things Italian — cooking, traveling, tour planning, blogging, exploring, attending travel shows, etc. But it wasn’t always that way. My WASP mother had some things to say about that. And living with her mother didn’t help, either. Nor did living with a dad and grandfather who were assimilated, to a greater or lesser degree, and who were even reluctant to talk much about Italy. My father never even went.

I had a puzzle to solve, a maze to work through, and a true heart to find at the end of it all. And eventually, I did. So I’ll keep going, and I hope you’ll enjoy the results. I am truly in the middle of it right now, hoping for a first draft of this new book before the summer arrives. My first readers have been put on notice!

But since Italy and travel are what I do when I’m not writing (abaout Italy and travel), I’ll tell you about my plans for 2019. Because they’re your plans, more or less. That is to say, I have been contacted by two different groups of people asking for two very different experiences, and I am ecstatic to oblige. While the details have to be worked out and reservations made, here, in brief, is what I’m looking at:

May 2019
Milan, Lake Como, and a Home Along the Po

We’ll spend 10 nights away – three of them in the heart of Milan, and seven of them in a glorious villa in the Po Valley.

 

 

 

 

In Milan, we’ll have an orientation tour and cruise from Como to Bellagio along the lake. We’ll eat in the lovely town of Como, and have plenty of time to explore Milan on our own. What will you see? The Duomo? La Scala? The Brera Gallery? Or go for another boat trip and garden tour, perhaps?

At our villa, we can take our time. There are bicycles and there is a pool for relaxing. We’re in the heart of a small, walkable city with restaurants, pasticcerie, and more. And we’re well positioned to visit the incredible nearby cities of Ferrara, Bologna, Verona, and Mantova. We can visit the Ferrari Museum in Maranallo . . . we can have a tour of Parma to see how the world famous parmigiana cheese and parma ham are made . . . we can buy authentic balsamico in Modena . . . we can tour the Jewish Ghetto in Ferrara. We will certainly visit Cremona, home of the violin. And Tim will take us to a gorgeous river-side restaurant where some of the recipes date back to the medieval period.

This tour will include all accommodations, breakfasts, ground transportation, tours, and at least four lunches and five dinners. We’ll fly in and out of Milan, but you are welcome to add on some time before or after. I’m happy to help you plan some additional outings.

 

October 2019
The Best of the Golden Mezzogiorno

We’ll spend eight nights under southern Italian skies – 3 in the UNESCO World Heritage city of Matera, in Basilicata, and 5 in various locations in exotic Puglia, which could include Lecce, the capital of the Salento region; coastal Otranto; and the white-washed old town of Ostuni.

Matera has been named the European Capital of Culture for 2019, and things will be bustling! Must-see Matera is a unique troglodyte town of prehistoric grottoes, cave churches, and Renaissance houses, all excavated into the local limestone tufa stone. The rock-cut cave dwellings known as the Sassi, date back to Byzantine times. We’ll stay in a superb cave hotel and have a guided tour of this remarkable site which has developed from the “shame of Italy” in the 1950s into a lively, sophisticated city of artists, craftspeople, and superb restaurants. We’ll visit nearby Alberobello, home of the unusual hobbit-like trulli structures — simple, beautiful dwellings with cone-shaped roofs made of local limestone — and eat and drink the native primitivo and falanghina wines.

In Puglia, we will experience the beauty of the Salice Salentino peninsula, along with cooking classes and an introduction to the unique wines of the region. Did you know that Puglia produces more wine than any other region in Italy? It’s absolutely true – and you’re in for a pleasant surprise if you’re not already familiar with them.

This tour will include all accommodations, breakfasts, ground transportation, tours, and at least four lunches and four dinners. We’ll fly in and out of Naples, but you are welcome to add on some time before or after. I’m happy to help you plan some additional outings.

Pricing and final itineraries for both trips will be forthcoming by summer 2018. Each trip can only take 6 people, so let me know early if you’re interested!

Buon viaggio!

The First Time I Saw Italy

Times are bad. Children no longer obey their parents, and everyone is writing a book.  — Cicero

 

It’s true. I’m at it again. I’m writing a book. This public admission is what I am counting on to inspire my getting to the finish line in my lifetime. It is not a travel book, per se, but the excerpt here is a story about travel. About the first time I agreed to go to Italy. About how the decision changed my life. About how I have come to love the south. I hope you enjoy the story. And if you’re inclined to come with me and Tim to see what all the fuss is about the Mezzogiorno, we’ve got a fantastic Harvest time experience planned for October, which you can read about in the Tours section. Let me know this week!

 

I didn’t want to go. Italy was never on my bucket list. Why? Because I grew up with a father who never wanted to go, a grandfather who never went back, friends of my grandfather who did go back and returned with horror stories about being financially drained by their relatives. So I decided that Italy was not a place I wanted to go. “If you’re American, they think you’re rich,” Rosario had said. “All they want is your money,” Enrico had said.

We were not rich. We did not go.

Also, there was never any mention of actual family back in Italy, so I never knew if I had anyone to visit. Did my nonno have brothers and sisters? Who knew? Did my nonna have a family there? No one talked about it. In fact, there was a lot of confusion about where my grandparents were even from. For a long time, I thought Clemente came from near Viterbo, in a small village called Acquapendente, and that Maria came from a village of 2,000 called Montano Antilia, not too far from Salerno, in Campagna. Only recently, thanks to ancestry.com, did Tim learn that my nonno came from outside of Siena (we’re Tuscan!) in the small commune of San Casciano dei Bagni, one of Italy’s prettiest Italian villages (borghi piu belli d’Italia). Nonna’s roots have still to be confirmed.

Clemente Dini

It turns out that I had traveled to England, Wales, Canada, France, Belgium and Bermuda long before I saw Italy. It came about because (1) my husband decided it was high time I put aside my prejudices about Italy and go, and (2) some friends from church were organizing a trip and asked us to be part of the group. The decision to go changed my life.

In the fall of 1999, our friend Tom called and asked if we would like to be included in the planning stages of a possible trip to Tuscany. He said he had gotten information about villas from an agency and wanted to put together a small group to talk about it. We said yes, and soon found ourselves part of a group of eight people who would travel the following June and launch ourselves into an adventure in the little village of Cistio, northeast of Florence, in the lovely (unknown to us) territory of the Mugello.

The amphitheater in Fiesole, just northeast of Florence

And so it was that Tom and John, Jack and Patrick, Sandi and Katie, and Tim and I set off in two ridiculous Fiat Multipla SUVs in the days before cell phones and set off for parts unknown. Of course, we went to Florence, several times. We went to Lucca and walked around on the city wall. We went to Pisa for the Luminaria di San Ranieri on Sandi’s birthday. We ordered a gorgeous whipped cream cake from the local pasticceria on John’s birthday. Patrick recited Shakespeare for us at the teatro romano in Fiesole. We met scorpions. We gaped at the monstrous Benetti yachts in the harbor in Viareggio. We saw rain so hard we thought our villa would be washed down the precarious mountain on which it was perched. We fell in love with the wine, with the olive trees, and with the fresh air and sense of freedom that we experienced there. And I wrote.

Italy was the first place that truly inspired me as a writer. Before that, it was all assignments. Here was the stuff of family, of tradition, of fear, of desire . . . here was a culture I could sink my teeth into and that, in some ways, I felt I already knew a little about. And I thought, sadly, about how bad it must have been in the early days of the 20th century for my grandparents – and thousands like them – to leave this countryside for the complete unknown. To risk everything. To lose everything. To start anew. The ocean crossing alone would have scared me to death.

During those two weeks, we bonded as a group of friends and we bonded as travelers. Group travel doesn’t always work out (as anyone who’s tried it can confirm) but this trip worked. We ate breakfasts at home, had lunches out, and dinners were often just heavy antipasti in the garden. We learned how satisfying cheese, salami, and crusty bread can be when accompanied by wine, olives, friends, and stars.

We explored the museums and churches of Florence, and John, our historian, told us which were the can’t-miss sites. Being face-to-face (so to speak) with Michelangelo’s David and then Donatello’s David (which, by the way, I prefer) . . . seeing Boticelli’s Birth of Venus and Ghiberti’s Gates of Paradise was more extraordinary in every way than I imagined.

We drove around a lot, stopping at wineries, some of us climbing up to the top of Brunelleschi’s dome or the towers in San Gimignano for breathtaking views. We strolled through the small, wonderful city of Borgo San Lorenzo near our villa and were welcomed into a corner table at a local restaurant for one of the best meals of our lives. We let it happen, and there was no going back.

Since this trip, nearly 20 years ago, I have returned to Italy many times. I have traveled to Sicily, to Milan, to Verona and Vicenza, to Rome and Venice, to the Ligurian Coast, the Cinque Terre, Como, the breadbasket cities of Modena, Mantova, and Parma. I have seen the Ferrari Museum and eaten great food in Bologna. I have been awe-struck by the Byzantine mosaics in Ravenna and by the quiet beauty of Ravello and the Amalfi Coast (off-season). And then I discovered Abruzzo, which for me is the gateway to the Mezzogiorno. Southern Italy. And that’s where I found my heart.

Sulmona, in the mezzogiorno

Giuseppe Garibaldi famously said, after the unification of Italy in 1861, that now that they had made Italy, it was time to make Italians. This has been an ongoing struggle, especially between the north and the south, whose diverse economies and ways of life continue to create tensions in the country. So I am the product of both the north (Tuscany) and the south (Campagna) and, while I admire and appreciate the Tuscan sensibilities, I have found a home in the south.

Matera, in the mezzogiorno — the Cultural Capital of Europe in 2019!

It is a little ironic that my first trip to Italy was centered on Tuscany; we even spent a day in Siena, but couldn’t find a restaurant that was open so we moved on after taking in the Piazza del Campo (where the famous Palio is held every summer) and then gaping at the huge fresco of “The Allegory of Good and Bad Government” in the city hall. I was so close to my nonno’s origins and had no idea. I will go back, this time armed with more knowledge about Clemente. My next trip to Tuscany will be like going home.

Buon viaggio!

Sulmona Italy Vacation Rental

Our Tiny Italian Flat

I was offered a free villa in Hollywood, but I said no thank you, I prefer to live in Italy — Ennio Morricone

 

This is our tiny flat in Italy. Stone and tile and wood in a 70 square meter structure that comprised the western wall of the city some 1000 years ago, with a lower level rumored to be Roman – a cantina, perhaps, for cold storage of wine and produce. When we are here, we rattle around together in this one bedroom, one bath, combined kitchen-dining-laundry room, with the strange but lovely lower level. It’s not perfect, but it’s enough.

At home in the States, we want more. We acquire, sometimes without even knowing why. In Italy, we are content with a few decent things and the rest from IKEA or the second-hand store. We have no TV or radio so we read at night after the passeggiata and dinner, if we are not out with friends. Or we go to sleep early and feel rested and not nearly as cranky as we do when we are back home. (Full disclosure: we do have internet!)

Sulmona Italy Vacation Rental

We are not naïve. We know there are problems in Italy. The children mostly leave towns like ours (and those much smaller) to go to the big cities – or even abroad – in search of meaningful work. The cash economy (read: under the table transactions and bribes), while being cracked down upon, still persists. There are high taxes but, like other places in Europe, residents actually get something for their money: health care, college, and retirement benefits.

Both Tim and I have had reason to avail ourselves of the local doctor and pharmacy here and, I can tell you, it’s vastly preferable to what we have to go through in our American system. Quick service, well-priced prescriptions, and no need for a note from my dead mother to prove who I am. They don’t even need my height and weight and a run-down of what over-the-counter vitamins I’m taking, because – let’s face it – none of that is relevant!

Sulmona Italy Vacation RentalThere are few or no good jobs in Italy at the moment, but neither are there abundant job opportunities in the States for many folks. In the U.S., whole industries have been gutted in the middle part of the country; expensive advanced degrees are required for many fields; and most students come out with a Bachelor’s degree and tens (if not hundreds) of thousands of dollars in unforgivable student loan debt. Most millennials I know have to juggle two or three or even four jobs to make a viable living and are still enduring roommates well into their thirties. The concept of buying a house is foreign to them. Marriage and children are delayed. It’s a whole different world than the one I grew up in and I feel terrible for them.

It goes without saying that the government in both places is largely corrupt, and we know that. Still, I guess what we can’t understand (either by language or cultural experience) won’t hurt us directly, as long as we don’t live here full time. So, all in all, we prefer the place with the great food, the saner pace, and a population that is not suspicious or stressed out all the time. Plus, they don’t seem to have any gun violence nearby; in fact, most people say they leave their doors unlocked here, there’s so little crime. Our Italian friends are terrified for us every time they hear about another mass shooting. They think we live in the Wild West. I’m beginning to think they’re right.

These are strange days, living this transatlantic lifestyle. When we’re in Italy, we often miss important events going on in the States. When we are back in Massachusetts, we miss Italy terribly. It’s a neither here-nor-there existence at the moment, but hopefully that will change.

We’d like to spend more time in our tiny flat – maybe 4 or 5 months a year. We’d like to live more like locals here and stay without feeling like we have to leave right away. We have good friends here already; I am looking forward to writing more here, and I know Tim is already making a list of the causes he wants to take on. Time is the enemy, of course.

For now we go back to our tiny flat for a total of three weeks every year; the rest of the time we are in Italy, we are taking small groups of travelers around to our favorite places. We’ve been to Rome, Assisi, Venice, Vicenza, Le Marche, Matera, Trani, and countless spots in Abruzzo. We never tire of it. We live for the reactions: the first time a traveler sees the Trevi Fountain, climbs up to Roccacalascio, eats a fig right off a tree, makes her own pasta, tastes real gelato for the first time . . . it’s magic. We want to make more of it.

But we always come back to our tiny flat: the place with the amazing vaulted ceilings that is walking distance to the park and the best restaurants in town. If you want a self-catering experience, our tiny flat is for rent over AirBnB, and we’d love to share it with you.

If you’d like to take one of our small group tours (designed for people who don’t like tours), we have two coming up in 2018: one to Rome and Abruzzo in glorious May, and one to LeMarche and Abruzzo in time for the harvest in October.You can find information about both of them here.

We hope to see you here one way or the other! Casa Linda

 

Buon viaggio!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gabriele, the Dog, and the Genius

I just returned from leading a glorious tour up north in Italy, to Vicenza, the city of Palladio, and Venice, La Serenissima. In addition to having a blast with a return group of travelers — plus two new friends — I had some nice inspiration time on trains and in my room. Here’s the first story to emerge . . . LDJ

 

Gabriele, and his blonde spotted dog, 16 years old and nearly deaf and blind, walk slowly together in sestiere San Marco, looking curiously like brothers. Gabriele’s sandy grey ponytail and the dog’s floppy sandy ears move in time to the water in the canals being stirred by the pivoting gondolas in front of the Hard Rock Café. The staff at our hotel know Gabriele and his dog. They approve of our encounter when we tell them the story later.

The two go to work at the small art store every day. The dog takes up his post on a raised canvas bed behind the cash register. He is even too old to greet the customers any more. He just sleeps, shifting every now and again to catch a sea bird in his dreams.

Gabriele, meanwhile, gets the shop ready for the tourists – too many tourists, he says. They buy a postcard or two or a cheap print of the Rialto Bridge and leave. But they are not his market anyway. No, Gabriele is here for the artists of Venice. He sells what they most need: canvas, brushes, paints, mats, drawing pencils, and fine Venetian papers to line the covers of hand-made books. The tourists see none of this.

We speak to Gabriele and ask about an artist whose work we have just seen on the island of Torcello the previous day. His name is Leonardo D’Este. Gabriele’s eyes widen as we say the name. Yes, he says, he is a friend. A most gifted artist.  A customer too, he says — he was just here yesterday buying supplies. He says “Leonardo” and puts out one hand, palm up. Then he says “Leonardo” again and puts out the other hand. It is a comparison. The two Leonardos. We all agree.

Young Leonardo (age 44) is a master portraitist. We tell Gabriele the story of how we met his mother, Aurora, on Burano, at the restaurant where he works as a waiter. He was not there, but another waiter called Aurora and told her that some people had come to speak to Leonardo. He was back in Venice, buying supplies, it seems. We told Gabriele about how she is so proud of her son that she took us to his studio to see his work, apologizing as we walked for the humbleness of what we were about to see and the fact that nearby construction was making a lot of dust.

He paints in the morning, when the light is good, and then works at the restaurant when he is finished. He does only commissions, it turns out, and only from life. Never from photographs. When we saw his work at the restaurant Villa 600 on Torcello, we thought we were looking at old masterworks. Rembrandt, perhaps, or possibly John Singer Sargent. But on careful study, it is clear that he has contemporized their style a bit, while maintaining the old light emerging miraculously from the dark background. The faces are fantastic. Genius.

Leonardo’s small studio is strewn with books by both Rembrandt and Sargent. He is self-taught, and he studies them. His latest commission is enormous – an El Greco-sized full body portrait of a man with a background of glorious red and gold fabric. The portrait takes up most of the studio. Aurora shows us where the subject stands, where Leonardo stands, how he runs up to get close and copy the details, then runs back for a full view. We saw some completed works, one better than the next. He even had a small unfinished self-portrait which helped fill in some of the blanks about who Leonardo is. His is an interesting face: narrow, imperfect, not beautiful, but full of character. And maybe a little sadness, or maybe we are bringing that.

In any case, the studio is small, devoid of any kind of technology save electric lights. This drives his mother mad. No telefonino, she laments. Perhaps he is missing another commission and she cannot reach him. I will kill him; no, really, I will kill him, she says in her Venetian dialect which, astonishingly, we sort of understand. But that is not the case.

We leave our information with Aurora and tell her we’d like to contact Leonard for a self-portrait. This shocks her, and we have to say it several times. We want a portrait of her son, the son we have never met? Yes. He is a master and we want his self-portrait while it is still affordable. I think she is not sure of us, but agrees to tell him when he returns.

Next day we meet Gabriele and his dog. It seems that while we were talking to Aurora, Leonardo was here with Gabriele, buying more paint. Incredible. The dog shifts gently in his bed. Perhaps there is a little smile.

 

Buon viaggio!

 

 

 

 

 

 

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GUEST POST: Precautions To Ensure A Relaxing Vacation

Thanks to Jane Moore for this terrific and useful post. Jane’s mantra is: travel, eat your greens, move your body. Commit for a month and drop her a line to let her know how you feel! She loves exploring unfamiliar places and writing about her experiences on FitWellTraveler.

There are many reasons to take a vacation. Visiting old friends and family, touring popular sites, or just going to find those out-of-the-way restaurants that serve the best local food are all great reasons. But above all else, a vacation should be relaxing.

That’s the point! You need that downtime to recharge your batteries so you can better deal with the stress of work. But what happens when your vacation is the thing causing you stress? It’s not like you won’t have any fun, but still, a vacation is supposed to be relaxing.

And with a little planning ahead of time, it can be. You just need to be careful about three major sources of vacation stress: travel, lodging, and your place back home.

Getting There Is Half The Problem

Air travel can be really easy — or really stressful. Yet it’s often the best way to get to your destination. So what can you do to make it less stressful? It helps to know your rights as an air passenger.

USA TODAY explains that there are some valid reasons for delayed or canceled flights. Weather and mechanical problems can ground flights, and that’s no one’s fault. If your flight is delayed, be prepared for a longer stay in the airport. Make sure you have any toiletries and medications handy as well as enough money to eat there.

But what happens if your flight is overbooked and you get bumped? As Money explains, the airline must get you a new flight after asking for volunteers. If this happens, you can get money if the new flight puts you in more than one hour later than originally planned.
Lodging And Safety Concerns
You managed to keep your seat on the plane, you’ve landed, and you’ve arrived at your hotel. Your vacation is about to start — unless the hotel lost your reservation. What can you do when your hotel has no record of you? There are several things:

  • Bring a printed copy of your confirmation email proving you made the reservation and they confirmed it.
  • Stay calm and start by asking them to just fix the situation. You may even wind up with an upgraded room.
  • Keep polite no matter how stressful this is. Giving into anger and frustration just makes more stress for everyone.

Check out this article for more ideas on getting your hotel room.

Once the hotel is sorted out, it’s time to finally enjoy the sights. This is one of the best parts of the trip! But to make sure it doesn’t get stressful, you need to be smart about things. Safewise.com recommends keeping your cash and credit cards separately and making a copy of your passport or driver’s license. You never know when a thief might strike.
Will Home Be A Distraction?
Thieves aren’t just a problem for tourists. When you’re traveling, your home is more likely to be robbed. While there is no way to guarantee a safe home, there are a few ways to make it unappealing to criminals.

  • Set lights and electronics (like you TV) on a timer.
  • Ask your neighbors and friends to keep an eye on the place.
  • Make sure all your doors and windows are locked, including those in your garage.

Many have dogs at home to deter criminals, but is keeping them home when you travel a good idea? That depends on your dog’s needs, but you often can. Of course, you will need to have a pet sitter their to take care of them.
You Deserve To Relax This Vacation
Going on a trip should be restful. By taking a few steps for your flights, hotels, and home, you can focus on what you need — that relaxing break from it all.

Buon viaggio!

Image Source: Pixabay

Autonoleggio: The Worst Thing About Travel

No, no, no. There’s no such thing as cheap and cheerful. It’s cheap and nasty and expensive and cheerful -Jeremy Clarkson

I’ve been traveling for quite a while now, and no matter where I go — Italy, the UK, France, Belgium, San Francisco — the absolute worst part of the trip is dealing with car rental agencies. And, when we rent a car in Italy, it’s the gift that keeps on giving: six months later we always get notification of some unprovable speeding violation or driving in a “zona limitato” that results in a mad scramble to pay the bill within 24 hours because, if we delay, it will cost approximately three thousand times as much.

It really leaves a bad taste in my mouth that this country that I love so much will play games like this with its visitors. Sometimes the tickets are already paid for by our credit card (provided by the car rental agencies) and the notifications are just that. A fait accompli. Sometimes, like last year, we are notified that we were filmed in a head-on collision and were expected to pay vast sums of money to the car rental agency to pay for the totaled car. Of course, there was no such collision (we might have remembered such an incident, no?) and it allegedly happened the day we left the country. But that sinking, violated feeling takes a while to shake off.

In early spring, I read a review from my friends at Welcome to Sulmona about car rentals. Katy and Susanna said, in no uncertain terms, that if anybody planned to rent a car whilst in Sulmona or other parts of Abruzzo, that they should contact Riccardo at Orso s.n.c., a start-up rental agency founded and run by a local Sulmonese. I did. And, folks, it’s a whole new world!

First of all, Riccardo is as nice as can be and his English is very good. But best of all, he is all about service. He has studied the rental car market and knows what the other companies are doing wrong. So what you get from him is good, clean vehicles; exceptional and timely service; and no surprises. No fear-based insurance scams, no outrageous holds on your credit card, no bait and switch. Just an honest transaction, beautifully executed.

In May, I needed a 9-passenger van so that Tim could assume his duties as driver/co-tour guide on our Taste of the Mezzogiorno Tour. We would be logging a lot of miles: from Rome to Sulmona, on to Trani (with stops in Polignaro a Mare and Alberobello), on to Matera and then back to Rome. My choices were to go back to one of the two other rental agencies at Rome’s Fiumicino Airport, where we had had not-so-great experiences every time — or to take Katy’s advice and try Orso s.n.c.

I contacted Riccardo by e-mail a few months earlier, and told him what I needed: a diesel fueled, manual transmission 9-passenger van in good shape, with unlimited mileage, that could withstand the ups and downs (literally) of the tour I had planned. And he came through with flying colors, keeping me apprised for weeks about the make, model, price, etc. It was more reasonable than any van I’d rented, in better shape, and he delivered it right to Fiumicino for me. And, at the end of the trip, he met us back at Fiumicino right on time.

Our beautiful Opel van

But that’s just the beginning. After we parted at the airport, Tim and I went up to the car rental floor to pick up the car we had reluctantly ordered from another company (because, at the time, Riccardo didn’t have the small sized car we wanted; after 10 days in a big van, we wanted a petite model!). When we got to the firm’s desk, we learned that nothing close to the car we had ordered was even available . . . that they would charge us a huge premium for insurance (which is why their stated rate was so low) . . . and that they would not rent us the car without Tim’s International Driving Permit.

Don’t believe anybody when they tell you the IDP is not necessary – these people seriously would not rent us a car without it. When I couldn’t find it, I suspected that I had left it in Riccardo’s van. My M.O. is to unpack it and put it in the glove box right away, so it’s ready to show to any Polizia or Caribinieri who might stop us along the way.

I called Riccardo (a tad hysterical and borderline explosively angry) and he said he would come to the rental lot and meet me with the paperwork. He was halfway back to Rome to meet a friend, but he (a) searched for the IDP, (2) turned the van around, and (3) found us and returned the license. That’s service!

I cannot recommend Riccardo and Orso s.n.c. enough. He has been adding more cars and vans to his fleet since May and will be ready for us when we arrive in Sulmona in October. He also offers driving services, GPS, child seats and pick-up and delivery at any train station in the Abruzzo region. Tell him Tim and Linda sent you . . . and rest assured that you’re getting the best deal and the best service around!

Buon viaggio!

(Nearly) a Month in the (Old) Country

I am not a great cook, I am not a great artist. But I love art and I love food, so I am the perfect traveler — Michael Palin

It keeps getting better, Italy. And I’m pretty sure that’s not just a comparison to what’s been going on in the good ol’ USA these days. No matter where you stand on the political spectrum, it’s hard to argue the fact that we are of late an enormously divided people who wake up to unsettling news each and every morning.

Celano, en route from Fiumicino to Sulmona

For a little more than three weeks, Tim and I have been back in Italy, answering endless questions (“Is it really true?”, “Did you learn nothing from us with Berlusconi?”) and trying to focus on showing our travelers a good time and enjoying the food, wine, vistas and slower pace that rural Italy offers.

And our travelers! Every tour has its own special ambience, and this year was no exception. Our “Taste of the Mezzogiorno” group was seven enthusiastic people strong and included one fellow who had never even been to Italy before. I love the fact that he was introduced to the South first, before being overwhelmed by Rome, Florence and Venice. Now he understands about the “forte e gentile” Abruzzese people . . . about the strategic importance of the beautiful blue Adriatic . . . and about the rugged communal life of the interior.

Un trabocco, along the Ortona coast

On this tour we tried to show off three ways of life in three different regions: small city life in Sulmona (Abruzzo), a jewel of a port city in Trani (Puglia), and the remarkable sassi settlement of Matera (Basilicata). Along the way we stopped in Ortona, saw trabocchi along the coast, were wowed by Polignare a Mare and got a close-up look at the trulli houses of Alberobello. It was a lot of driving and, once again, my eternal gratitude extends to my husband, Tim, for driving a nine-person van up and around the surreal switchbacks of southern Italy.

In each region we ate local food, visited local wineries and learned about history and culture from knowledgeable local tour guides. I think it’s a great way to experience the authentic (an overused word, I know) Italy. Our small groups receive warm welcomes, hear good stories, make friends and even get an occasional invitation to someone’s home. It cannot be beat.

Trulli in Alberobello

This fall we are doing something a little different. By popular demand from former travelers, we are going to Venice. I said I would do it only if they agreed to see Vicenza, as well. So we go off on a non-driving tour of two great Northern cities, and then Tim and I will return to Sulmona, where our hearts are.

Ciao from bella italia!

Our next tour of the Abruzzo region (and who knows where else?) will be in May 2018. Think about it if you’re up for a small group experience like no other. Watch this space and my Facebook page for more details.

Tim and I go back to Salem, Massachusetts in a few days, where we know a thing or two about witch hunts. We’re looking forward to Venice in the fall . . .

Buon viaggio!

In Abruzzo: Arrosticini on the Range

This article first appeared in DreamofItaly.com

If you’re a fan of spaghetti westerns, you might recognize the location of Ristoro Mucciante, a barbecue-delipicnic spot on Campo Imperatore in the region of Abruzzo. This is the area Italians call “Little Tibet” because of its similar mountainous terrain, but also because of the geography of spirit that the area invokes.

In 1970, Campo Imperatore was the site for a series of westerns, including one called They Call Me Trinity whose star, Bud Spencer, just died this past June. For those who are too young to remember, “spaghetti westerns” were a genre popular in the 1960s thanks to director Sergio Leone’s film-making style. The term was coined by American film critics because most of these westerns were produced on limited budgets and directed by Italians. Think A Fistful of Dollars, For a Few Dollars More and The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly.

Today, what’s left from this era is a log cabin rising out of nowhere, nearly 5,000 feet above sea level at the foot of the Gran Sasso mountain, and there are always scads of cars and motorcycles in the parking lot. And that parking lot? Filled with BBQ grills and coals ready for cooking the local favorite, arrosticini (lamb skewers) that you can buy inside. What’s going on here?

This is the home of the freshest Abruzzese farm-to-table street food imaginable — and the locals make regular pilgrimages out here, hauling their salads, side dishes, tablecloths and kids for a picnic experience like no other. On sale besides the lamb skewers: a variety of sweet and hot pork sausages, gorgeous thick beef filets, three or four different kinds of local cheese (Pecorino is my favorite), homemade bread and an assortment of chips, cookies, sodas, beer, wine and soft drinks. Just add the ambiance — and cook your own meat!

And because it’s well situated between Castel del Monte and the resort at the top of Campo Imperatore, a lot of tourist traffic passes by this curious place as well. Why? For film buffs, this area is famous, having provided backdrops for films like The American, The Name of the Rose, and Ladyhawke. As for Campo Imperatore, its historical claim to fame is that from August 28 to September 12, 1943, the local hotel served as the prison of Benito Mussolini until he was liberated by the German armed forces.

Today, the Campo’s Rifugio Campo Imperatore (www.refugiocampoimperatore.com) is the main accommodation of its namesake ski resort and is a good starting point for hiking on the western slope of the Gran Sasso. There’s even a notable observatory here which, since 2001, has been home to the international program that led to the discovery of some 61,000 asteroids.

Back to the Ristoro Mucciante: it is owned by brothers Rodolofo,

Rodolfo at work!

Roberto and Gianni, who grew up in nearby Castel del Monte, the grandsons of a butcher. They still raise some 500 sheep in the area and their next project is working to earn a “biologic” (organic) designation and complete the vertical integration by raising all the plants their sheep need to eat.

Rodolfo and his brothers do not do this fulltime; in fact, Rodolfo is an accountant by profession. But they are very happy to work with their parents, keeping this unique tradition alive. Their enthusiasm is contagious, and it’s clear they do this as much for love as for profit.

“This is the best work in the world,” says Rodolfo, with a grin. “When people ask me what they should see in Abruzzo I tell them Castel del Monte, Calascio and Santo Stefano di Sessanio. But first, see Ristoro Mucciante.”

Ristoro Mucciante
Localita Madonnina
Castel del Monte
(39) 0862 938357
Open daily from May 1 to October 31, 9:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m. Open on weekends during the rest of the year, weather permitting.

— Linda Dini Jenkins

And here’s a video I shot with Rodolfo last May, in a raging wind storm. Thanks to Melissa Vice and Cucillo Conad for their hard work!

https://www.dropbox.com/s/gwqr5mejaxb5y9j/Ristoro_Mucciante_2016.mov?dl=0

Buon viaggio

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Led by author and blogger Linda Dini Jenkins and her husband, Tim, Travel Italy the Write Way tours are small group, intimate experiences where the locals take the lead. Linda and Tim have forged strong relationships with winery owners, cheese and olive oil producers, chefs, hoteliers, ex-pats and others who, together, will give you an experience you’ll never forget. LEARN MORE…

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If you’re looking for an exceptional self-catering experience, consider Casa Linda in the heart of old Sulmona, one of the most beautiful small cities in Abruzzo. Less than two hours from Rome’s Fiumicino airport, Sulmona has everything you need for a relaxing holiday. It’s also close to the beach and skiing/hiking areas. Casa Linda is a charming, well-appointed apartment, lovingly restored by one of the area’s preeminent architects, just steps from the Cathedral of San Panfilo at the edge of the Villa Communale (city park). LEARN MORE…

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Writing has long been Linda’s passion, and she started writing about Italy nearly 20 years ago. Travel Italy the Write Way combines her love for Italy with her love for travel writing, blogging, and finding new ways to tell about the experience of travel in both prose and poetry.

Even if you can’t travel with her in person just yet:

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SMPE

Sulmo Mihi Patria Est The poet Ovid said this about a million years ago: Sulmona is my fatherland. There is evidence of his life all around the city of Sulmona in Abruzzo. It makes me happy to be in a place that recognizes the importance of letters and poetry. Ovid watches everything from Piazza XX Settembre Regular readers will know that Tim and I started our adventures in Sulmona more than 10 years ago, but started buying property with friends in 2014. We’ve since added two more apartments in the building and now it is all ours. And one of them might be yours — at least for a holiday rental! Hard work by our friends Louis and Vicky, Carlo…

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