Saturday, December 31, 2011

DECEMBER 2011


NAPOLI GAVE US PIZZA!


























12012011 Bob: "Italy gave us pizza - we give them Mickey D's." Jokes & Trivia - Just For Laughs | CruiseMates
12022011 Naples. The Naples of our collective imagination. The old country, where one was always led to believe it all started. With a spoonful of nostalgia and even more sauce, we were told the Italian food we ate in America came from here. But to what extent was what we knew as Neapolitan ever Italian or even from Naples? What was lost in the long trip over all those years ago when the people who started these businesses first arrived? I thought I'd find out. Off to Naples, following the red sauce trail - Controsenso - that means ‘against sense.’ And very little about Naples makes sense. In the beginning, certainly, many will say, not the way they drive or navigate the roads in Naples' historic central district. Generally, everything here that you want to do -- the answer is ‘maybe,’ ‘we hope so,’ ‘I don't know.’ It's exactly like what's so great about this town. It doesn't really work.” - Anthony Bourdain, host of No Reservations. Tony Bourdain's Guide to Naples | Travel Channel
12032011 Quick: What looks like an oyster, but is crunchy and a little sweet? We’re talking sfogliatelle (say it with an Italian lilt: svohl-yah-TELL-eh), the crinkly, ricotta filled pastries from Naples which are, in my opinion, the crowning glory of Italian pastry. What makes them so charming, in addition to being absolutely delicious, is that they look impossible to make, almost mysterious. Sfogliatelle! The French make their mille-feuille (thousand layer) through a rigorous process of rolling, smearing with butter, then folding, rolling, resting, folding, rolling, resting. “Napoleons”, by the way have nothing to do with the little emperor, rather the word is a bastardization of napolitan, referring to Naples, Italy. Flaky Times in a Flaky World | myMEGusta
12042011 Thanks to the ancient import and export activities of its massive port cities and Mediterranean hubs, Campania Felix amassed a significant patrimony of grapevine material. Fertile growing conditions and volcanic soils, plus the proximity of Rome, a major domestic market, gave rise to authentic, varied and unique wines, represented today by crisp and polished whites such as Fiano di Avellino and Greco di Tufo, hearty reds like Taurasi made from the Aglianico grape, rosés, passito sweet wines and now metodo classico sparklers. Not only do many of the varieties come directly from ancient Greece, so do some of the growing methods. In Irpinia, the hilly growing area inland from Naples, cherry, pears and fruit trees were planted between grapevines as an alternative crop and as a trellis system for the grapes. This technique, borrowed from the ancient Greeks, was implemented as a way of suspending grape clusters sometimes as much as 16 feet off the ground to free space for vegetables and legumes planted underneath. Touring the Amalfi Coast | WineEnthusiast
12052011 The novelist Ali Smith feels her spirits lift as she explores the borderlands between fact and fantasy at the Villa San Michele on Capri. Earlier this year I stood in the sculpture loggia at the Villa, and I didn’t just look a god in the eye, I poked a god in the eye. Even better: I cleaned out the eye of a god. I leaned forward under the green bronze head of a Mercury looking down at me, one wing spread open on the side of his head, and removed a small piece of cobweb from the hollow of one of his eyes. It didn’t matter—or rather, it wasn’t what mattered. I was high up on Capri, whose rearing rock bluffs rise out of the sea into a choreography of cloud and cliff, a never-ending shape-shift between mist and revelation. Now you see, and now you don’t. Capri has a way of letting you see differently. A “dreaming sphinx”, Munthe noted in his travel journal in 1885; that’s what the poets called Capri, an “antique sarcophagus”. The Wings of Capri | Intelligent Life
12062011 The grandmother-granddaughter pairing didn’t greet me with hugs like I imagined. In fact, I didn’t know what I imagined, signing up to live with a host family for a month in Sorrento, Italy. The grandmother began grabbing my bag even to my English-Italian protest. “Faccio io! Faccio io!”, she kept saying. With jet lag and fear hanging over, all of the Italian I had picked up in one year in a classroom in California soared out into the Sorrento sky. Tongue-tied and tired, they showed me to my room, pointing to the shower. I can take a hint in any language. “Alle otto per cena, OK?” I mustered up a “Sí” and went straight for the shower. Learning Italian and How To Travel From The Nonna | Lonely Planet
12072011 Here is a video of the event "The Sound of 3R", that took place in Naples last weekend. "3R" stands for "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle". The performance, jointly realized by local environmental activists and a band of percussionists, underlined the fundamental importance of responsible environmental practices - such as working for a drastic reduction of waste, and re-using and recycling items as much as possible. The Sound of 3R | CIEE Study Center in Naples, Italy
12082011 Antonio Salvatore Dattilo-Rubbo was born in Naples on June 22, 1870. Young Antonio showed early a talent for art, won a drawing prize at fourteen, and began his art training at the School of Fine Arts in Rome, then joined the Academy School in Naples. Although Dattilo-Rubbo’s painting was dark and academic on his arrival in Australia and it was these portraits and genre paintings, with their skilful craftsmanship and sound drawing, that gained him immediate acceptance by the art community in Sydney, the seeds of experimental development and interest in colour had already been sown. Cavaliere Antonio Dattilo-Rubbo: Painter and Teacher and some prominent pupils | Manly Art Gallery & Museum
12092011 Inaugurated in 2009, following Marco de Luca’s stunning restyling of Anacapri’s historic Add’O Riccio restaurant, located on the rocks just meters away from the Grotta Azzurra, provides the perfect water’s edge location in which to enjoy the island’s traditional fish and seafood specialties. With 6 terraces of various dimensions, and a total seating capacity of 300, Il Riccio easily transforms into a stunning venue for an unforgettable sea edge wedding reception or glamorous social event. Il Riccio, Capri, Italy | Live Fabulous: Nikki Fowler
12102011 We arrive at the Terme Belliazi at Casamicciola Terme about ten minutes later and once I have established that I can have a look at the Roman baths underneath before a massage, Richard goes to a sunny square to do a watercolour. This spa is like something out of a Fellini movie. I am taken past cublicles and through the half-closed curtain I can glimpse old men wrapped in sheets and moaning softly. On the black and white marble floor are buckets of mud and plastic sheets smeared with mud. This is fango. 'Si,' I reply bravely. 'I'll have the fango.' Roman Mysteries & Western Mysteries | flavias.blogspot.com
12112011 The book opens in Rome where her group of 10 women arrive to tackle jet lag while discovering some of the city’s ancient and modern treasures. On their transfer to the Sorrento Peninsula in Campania, the group stops off for a visit to explore the ruins of Pompeii. The next day they’re off to discover Campania’s ancient Greek heritage at Paestum. A brief stop at Vietri sul Mare gets the ladies in a flurry of ceramic shopping excitement, but it’s not until their third day in Campania that they get the first full taste of the Amalfi Coast’s beauty by visiting Positano. Gelato Sisterhood on the Amalfi Shore by Chantal Kelly | Ciao Amalfi !
12122011 The big boat takes you past these amazing cliffs of insanity to rowboat jockeys. Then you wait near the grotto entrance for your rowboat turn, and then your guide takes you into the legendary sea cave. The process takes an hour for a five minute cave tour but the journey makes it all worthwhile. As we approached the cave in our little boat, I had that same sensation I do in the opening moments of The Pirates of the Caribbean. Here, there are no rails. The blue reflection is spectacular. Our guide sang well, putting others to shame. Instead of sailing back to Capri’s main harbor, we asked our guide to drop us off at a pier nearby. capri | Rachel: Photo Diary
12132011 Our walking/hiking tour of the Amalfi Coast begins in Cava de’ Tirreni, a town with a thousand years of history, nestled in a hilly landscape overlooking the Mediterranean Sea and known as the “green gate of the Amalfi Coast.” The location of this town, with its impressive Benedictine Monastery, is the perfect starting point for our adventure and an easy access to the coastal walks. Walk ancient paths and dramatic seascapes. | Siciclando
12142011 Journeying to the Amalfi Coast, you’ll enter a landscape dominated by limestone cliffs and brilliant blue seas. In Pompeii and Positano, archaeological wonders mingle with ristorantes serving Italy’s best-known dishes, regional wines, and chilled liqueurs like limoncello. Guided Walking | Country Walkers
12152011 The city of Salerno has taken holiday lights to another level with their whimsical and creative Luci d’Artista displays. Stroll through the medieval streets of Salerno’s historic center through Il Giardino Incantato, The Enchanted Garden, where you’ll discover dragons and fairies surrounded but a world of colorful floral lights. It’s a magical setting for holiday shopping in Italy! 5 Ways to Celebrate Christmas and New Year’s in Campania! | Charming Italy
12162011 Kelly Brook is staying at the L'Albergo Della Regina Isabella on the island in the Bay Of Naples and chose to have a dip in one of the hotel's three pools. She turned tourist as she strolled the streets of old Napoli before taking to the waves on a boat trip. The brunette beauty also cooled down with an ice cream as she checked out the pottery on a souvenir stand. She wrote on her official Twitter last night: 'In Naples! Men are looking at me like I am Gelato!! Are there women in Italy??' Ciao bella! | Daily Mail
12172011 The book opens in Rome where her group of 10 women arrive to tackle jet lag while discovering some of the city’s ancient and modern treasures. On their transfer to the Sorrento Peninsula in Campania, the group stops off for a visit to explore the ruins of Pompeii. The next day they’re off to discover Campania’s ancient Greek heritage at Paestum. A brief stop at Vietri sul Mare gets the ladies in a flurry of ceramic shopping excitement, but it’s not until their third day in Campania that they get the first full taste of the Amalfi Coast’s beauty by visiting Positano. Gelato Sisterhood on the Amalfi Shore by Chantal Kelly | Ciao Amalfi !
12182011 South of Naples, Positano is one big cliff rising from the Bay of Salerno. The town’s one road winds, turns back on itself, loops around churches and villas and trees that have been here since donkeys determined where the road would go. The advent of the automobile gave Positano to the world. Yet, despite metallic din drowning whispery breezes, I have not found a corner of Positano that lacks an avian chorus. Perhaps natural selection increased the volume of birdsong to give visitors the music they did not know they missed until they arrive woozy and white-knuckled from the hairpin road from Naples, vacation nerves jangling, inner accountant snapping, “You paid a lot for this, and you better get your money’s worth.” Positano | Stiggerink's Blog
12192011 From the first moment, you're transfixed. Must be something about standing hundreds of feet above the blue-green Mediterranean. Or the lemon-infused air wafting through olive groves. Or the fishing villages carved out of cliffs. Your feet glide upon centuries-old cobblestones. Up ancient steps etched into rugged hillsides. To the magnificent vistas from Path of the Gods. From Italy's Amalfi Coast to the Isle of Capri | Backroads
12202011 The Cilento coast is fairly rocky territory, with the shoreline lapped by a crystal sea. We cycle through quaint fishing villages where the traditional way of life is still very evident. We ride to the Greco-Roman city of Paestum with its well-preserved temples and amphitheatre, before heading to the stunning Amalfi Coast itself. We spend two days riding here, visiting beautiful towns like Minori and Positano, but also exploring the peaceful hills inland with their spectacular sea views. Cycling tour in Cilento and Amalfi | Explorer Travel
12212011 Caught the train to Naples and then took the local train (Circumvesvian) to Sorrento. The Circumvesvian wasn't the most comfortable ride, but the cheapest way to get to Sorrento. The hostel (Seven Hostel) we stayed at was great, I absolutely loved staying there. It felt more like a resort than a hostel and it was cheap. We dropped off our stuff and walked along the coastline, stopping at a few viewpoints suggested on the map. The water was amazing, it was blue and so clear that you could see everything on the bottom. My favorite place - Sorrento | TravBuddy
12222011 There is no end to the wealth of native grape varietals in Campania, whether white or red. Vines seem to love its volcanic soils, spilled so many centuries ago from Mount Vesuvius and Mount Massico along the northern coast. Ancient Romans used Campania as their playground, and who can blame them—with perfect produce and vineyards which practically grow themselves. The Romans’ most famous wine—Falernum—is believed to hail from these volcanic soils. Powerful Aglianico flourishes here (as it does too in Basilicata, which claims similar volcanic soils) while native grape Casavecchia is bottled by a handful of winemakers intent on preserving history in a bottle. White wines from Falanghina, Biancolella, Greco or Fiano are a good reason to spend long evenings on the island of Ischia, off the coast of Naples, gazing at the sea and indulging in fresh seafood. Italy > Campania | north berkeley wine
12232011 Victor Burgin used the photograph as a starting point and a diagram. "It tells me to begin in Pompeii." Before his trip, he thoroughly researched the Pompeii ruins from books. In Pompeii, Burgin found the same columns where the woman and photographer once stood. He first took a panorama of stills as well as photos of the columns. The video installation combines both series of photographs. Burgin quotes from his own accompanying text, which describes the basilica: "The capitals are Pompeian Ionic, their volutes embellished with palmettes curling back to the abacus." Victor Burgin: Voyage to Italy: 'It's not simply an architectural photograph' | Press Republican
12242011 ‎"Our peculiar tradition has been to combine art, creativity, design and industrial products," said Vincenzo De Luca, the Italian Consul General to Shanghai. "When I was in high school, I read a lot of newspapers and magazines about international issues and affairs. I also enjoyed movies and music from foreign countries. Beginning in the 1970s in Italy in the schools and universities there was a lot of attention paid to international issues and foreign culture," De Luca told the Global Times. "Students were also very interested in those fields." It was in his final year of university, when he attended a course in international relations, that a teacher told him that he had the makings of a good diplomat. "And he encouraged me to attend preparation courses for the diplomatic career examination when I graduated. I passed the examination soon after. That was in Naples in 1987." The perfect blend | Global Times
12252011 The history of the Greek community of Cumae is of great historical importance for the West since it transmitted the Greek culture to the local communities, and it made the letters of the Greek alphabet known to the Latins, laying the basis for the alphabet which would afterwards become the most important in the world. archaeological trip to cumae | CIEE Napoli
12262011 I Borboni is a leading producer and champion of Asprinio di Aversa, an ancient white wine varietal with tree-hugging vines. The winery, which I visited in May, is situated in the town of Lusciano, about halfway between the two provinces where Asprinio is produced, Naples and Caserta. The appellation takes its last name from Aversa, the town in Caserta around which most of the vineyards are found. To grow Asprinio, I Borboni supports a traditionally Etruscan viticultural system known as vite maritata (“married vine”) by which the vines wrap around the tree trunks of poplar trees and climb to heights of 15 metres. This poses special challenges for the grape pickers, hence the made-to-measure scala napoletana. Joseph’s ladder & the vineyards of Aversa | youngandfoodish
12272011 Some maintain that it comes from a wild native variety domesticated by the Etruscans living in Capua (a city in the province of Caserta). It has similar etymological origins as some of the primitive Lambruscos (Aspro and Cruet) and was cultivated in the same way (vines trained to live supports such as trees, in the case of Asprinio, popular trees) as many of the Lambruscos from the Po River Valley. So there. Asprinio | my life italian
12282011 Follow me inside the kitchen of working-class pizza joint in downtown Napoli and see how they make deep fried pizza, the cult Neapolitan street food. Pizza Fritta is a Neapolitan street food that has never quite taken on outside Naples but enjoys a cult-like reverence amongst the locals. The concept is simple - seal the toppings between two layers of pizza dough and deep-fry it until crispy. Pizza Fritta | fxcuisine.com
12292011 You all might wonder how come I have this access to the kitchen of one of the best restaurants in Amalfi Coast – Conca del Sogno. Well, this is because my husband’s grandfather was one of the first customers of the Tizzani family, the owners of this wonderful restaurant, so they know my husband’s family since they started this business. My husband always tells me his grandfather Enzo used to be quite a personality. Whenever “nonno” Enzo visited Conca del Sogno, he would sneak into the kitchen to see what the chef and the cooks where preparing. Behind the kitchen door of Conca del Sogno | Tales of Ambrosia
12302011 Our winery, Cantina Episcopio, founded in 1860, embodies a tradition which we have never betrayed. In 126 years, the Don Pasquale bar has “sipped” stories from the movies world, confessions from stars in the show-business, melanchonies of love, dreams of freedom, ideas for tales, and inscrutable silences. Hotel Palumbo’s Ristorante “Confalone” provides pleasure for the palate and a feast for the eye. In the Sala San Giovanni – a 17th century dining room that boasts a priceless painting of St. John the Baptist by Guido Reni, one of Caravaggio’s pupils – and in the Sala Grande – with its 18th century majolica floor and panoramic terrace with superb view – guests can enjoy beauty in its noblest and most varied forms – right here in Ravello. Hotel Palumbo stands 350 metres above sea level: the astounding blues of sky and sea are enhanced by the intense green of the Hotel’s Mediterranean gardens. Luxury Hotel in Ravello: Hotel Palumbo | Italian Collection
12312011 Review of Mustilli Falanghina Sant'Agata de' Goti DOC 2010 by Franco Ziliani: “This wine is vinified in a very simple way. The grapes are hand-selected and -picked. Crushed immediately, the must is fermented in stainless steel at a controlled temperature for about two weeks and is subjected to frequent bâtonnages (stirring of the lees). When needed, a portion of the must undergoes malolactic fermentation. The wine ages at least three months in bottle. My tasting "told" me this about the wine: A vibrant golden color, dry nose, focused, great backbone and elegance, intense and layered, with notes of citrus and orange blossom, hints of white peaches and apple and almond. Altogether a fragrant, zesty wine with a marked minerality. When you first drink it, its attack is dry and clean, rapidly expanding on the palate with great freshness and richness. On the finish fills your mouth and has a rather long finish, all underlined by a wonderful acidity. This Falanghina has a load of energy and liveliness, making it a pleasure to match with your meal and, indeed, to be drunk as an ottimo aperitif. Again, many thanks to Leonardo Mustilli for having rescued Falanghina and made it one of the key white wines of the South.” Ode to Falanghina | Muddy Boots

Wednesday, November 30, 2011

NOVEMBER 2011


ANDIAMO!

























11012011 Andiamo is one of the first words I learnt in Italian. It means, "let's go!". It's also a word I use every day - many times a day. It's something I say a lot to my little boy when we're leaving the house, getting out of the car, leaving day care. It's a precious but fun family favourite. And so I was so excited when I saw a book called Andiamo when I visited Ariel bookshop in Paddington not too long ago. Of course the book was about Italy - but it was about my favourite part of Italy - the Amalfi Coast. Andiamo by Kelly Barber | daily imprint
11022011 Fresh back from our honeymoon in Italy I thought I’d share some images from two of my favorite places. First, I’d like to introduce you to the beautiful and magical island of Capri. In Capri we stayed at the fabulous J.K. Place where we were spoiled silly and had the grandest time. The interior decor is flawless and full of design inspiration at every turn. Every morning when we would head downstairs for breakfast, I felt as though I was waking up in a home decor dream. Viva Italia | Impetuos Style
11032011 A married couple from Pompeii have been reunited with the recovery of a missing piece of a 2000-year-old marble puzzle made of several inscribed fragments. Broken apart and buried during the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 A.D., the pieces belonged to a tomb inscription. Smashed to pieces by the eruption, the inscription, or what remained of it, was stored in the huge deposits of the National Archaeological Museum of Naples. Although there are some other small pieces missing, the inscription is now legible and reads: "Lucius Catilius Pamphilus, freedman of Lucius, member of the Collinian tribe, for his wife Servilia, in a loving spirit." After spending nearly 2,000 years apart, Lucius Catilius Pamphilus and Servilia were finally reunited. "What makes the story so beautiful is the way the inscription was fragmented, with the name of the wife separated of that of the man, and the 'in a loving spirit' bit left with the wife's fragment," Kruschwitz told Discovery News. Pompeii couple reunited in marble inscription | Discovery News
11042011 Father Borelli was a young Italian priest his work for the urchins of Naples never ceased. 'The Scugnizzi' meaning the spinning tops had no place to eat, sleep or go to school. They slept in the gutters and during the day they darted about stealing to survive, they were known to have done many worse things to stay alive. For months the young priest dressed like them and behaved like them to gain their confidence. He found refuge for the boys in a crumbling disused church determined not to leave them in the lurch. Graham Green the author asked Gracie if she would go along and sing to them and she agreed although she felt rather nervous. What could she sing to a bunch of boys and youths hardened to a ruthless fight for existence before they were ten, not love songs, not sad songs, gay songs then. The boys eyed her their faces quite expressionless some noisy others looked furtive. She commenced with a Neapolitan ditty after the second song the boys joined in giving her a happy grin. Father Borrelli | Our Gracie
11052011 For his fave hotel, Jonathan Adler picked La Scalinatella which features 30 rooms, each with terraces that offer amazing views of Capri and its dazzling blue sea. I love that the design of the hotel is bit trapped in the 80s. With the blue, yellow, and white palette, kitschy accessorizing, paired with the dolce vita of Capri, it’s totally the Eccentric Glamour that he and Simon are fans of. Jonathan Adler Checks Into La Scalinatella | Hotel Chic
11062011 The top three most expensive can all be all be found in Italy. Marina Grande on the island of Capri costs the princely sum of €2,585 per day. “Many yacht owners are surprised that Capri is more expensive than Porto Cervo and that Puerto Banus charges higher prices than Monaco,” said Harry Peralta, Managing Director at Engel and Völkers Marbella. Spain Has 3 Of World's 8 Most Expensive Marinas | i-marbella.com
11072011 Monte Nuovo (140m. high) is the youngest mountain in Europe and was formed after a volcanic eruption on 29 September 1538. This eruption, preceded by numerous earthquakes, swallowed up the village of Tripergole on the east shore of Lake Lucrino and caused the depopulation of Pozzuoli. In 1996 an interesting Wildlife Reserve was inaugurated on its slopes, in order to protect the geological, botanical and zoological resources of the Phlegraean Fields. Monte Nuovo | costieraflegrea.com
11082011 Last week Jennifer Williams of "Basketball Wives" rolled to Capri, Italy for a little fab vacay time with her girls Mashonda, her publicist/agent Deanna, and Bow Wow's mom Teresa Caldwell. The ladies shopped it up and chilled with friends. And looked fab while doing so. Pics inside from their Italian coast getaway.... The ladies hired a paparazzo were spotted along the streets of Capri town last Friday. They (and their cute maxi dresses) shopped in boutiques, ate dinner at Villa Verde, and supposedly had the Italian men gawking at their presence. Capri Candids: Jennifer Williams, Mashonda, & Bow Wow's Mom Teresa Get Fab In Italy! | The Young, Bl
11092011 When I was young, I lived in Naples, Italy for several years. To be exact, for the first year or so I lived on Capo Posillipo on the northern edge of the bay with Vesuvius on the far side. The apartment we lived in was right at the water's edge in a repurposed old fortress called Villa Volpicelli. Shopping was generally done in three ways; going to market, sending to market, or buying from vendors. Going to market with Teresa was like going to the theater. She was a small woman but she loomed large in her stubborn intent to not pay more than she wanted to. Like many Neapolitans, Teresa was flamboyantly voluble. She would be operatically horrified that a quarter of a bushel of ripe peaches direct from the orchard was going to cost 200 lira (32 US cents at that time), she would press the back of her hand against her forehead and start to swoon like a Victorian lady with "the vapors", only to instantly recover and start to scream at the shop owner for having the gall to try to rip her off. Day 11/180: Napolitano style | A Solitary Herbivore
11102011 Monocle continues their collaborative work with some Salvatore Piccolo (Napoli) button-up shirts. Two shirts were available but it would seem that only the light blue striped remains. Piccolo is garnering more love across the Atlantic as we set our sights on Italian tailoring for our next focus. Find them in the Monocle Shop. Salvatore Piccolo for Monocle Shirts | Selectism
11112011 A wedding in a converted convent on the Amalfi Coast in Italy was perfect fitting for true romantics, Audrey Stenson and David O’Brien. After looking at a number of hotels in Sorrento and Amalfi, the couple decided on a converted convent from the 13th century- the Hotel Luna Convento. They were married by the parish priest of Amalfi who was aided by an official translator. As the church was in the same building as the hotel, guests followed the bride and groom through the lemon tree grove to the reception where they were greeted with champagne and cocktails. Serenades and Sunsets | Confetti
11122011 Today while twisting and turning along the Amalfi Coast-from Sorrento, through Positano then up and out of the town of Ravello, we were treated with a pre-Thanksgiving surprise! Our eyes were fixated on the explosion of vibrant colors that flooded our minds. A little bit of exploring filled our afternoon with joy! I share with you my falling in love with an Italian fall! As we leave Ravello, we took the route that brings you through the town of Angri. It leads you out from the Amalfi coast and into the heart of the foliage. It gave our eyes a cornucopia of colors. Falling In Love | gibsonchop
11132011 The dreamy Le Sirenuse at Positano where one man (a waiter named Raffaele) arrives promptly at 5:00 p.m. every evening & lights 450 candles by hand & then when all the guests have left (el jeffe & i being last) he gently extracts the remains of each and every candle so that their containers can be carefully washed and new candles placed within – ready for lighting the next day. Amazing. 29.11.10 | the narrow
11142011 Linda Fargo: Once upon a time, there was a magical island, far away, that rose impossibly steep out of water impossibly blue. Happily that wasn’t a fairy tale, but rather, my recent and very real trip to the isle of Capri—Italy’s storied jewel in the sea. There’s Caprese salad, Caprese style, and Caprese life—all authentic, effortless, and essentially Italian. Highlights? The opening of the Tod’s sponsored Jackie O photo exhibit: Jackie! What a quintessential American style original! Who would have thought that simply a headscarf, sunglasses, t-shirt, and flat sandals could be so chic?! Then there’s the extra long vino bianco and pasta vongole lunches, laying lazily on the rocks, intermittently reading Patty Smith’s memoir, and taking in the vista under the blue striped umbrellas at La Fontelina beach club. Also, the day boat with Captain Vittorio, swimming in the Blue Grotto, and late nights watching everyone who’s anyone on the island stroll by on the Piazzetta. Bergdorf Goodman's Linda Fargo Goes to the Idyllic Isle of Capri | Racked National
11152011 People began warning us about our plans weeks before we left. Then it came to us, late one night in front of the TV: Brigitte Bardot, hair fluttering as she sailed across sapphire waters to a villa perched on the sparkling cliffs of Capri. "Fabulous," I murmured, delighted by Bardot’s glamour and style, the whole dolce vita thing. Scott was focused on the sun in the waves and the curve of the boat. Did it matter that we were looking in different directions? Or that this particular scene was from a Jean-Luc Godard classic titled Contempt? All I knew was that finally, here was a place we both wanted to be. Off-Season Capri: Paradise Regained | More
11162011 Walking along the via Nuova del Faro, visitors reach the westernmost part of Anacapri, known as "Limmo" from the latin limen or boundary. Almost at the end of this road, the descent to the Fortino di Pino block house commences, next to which, on the left, there is the Fortino di Tombosiello, situated beneath the imposing lighthouse. After Cala di Mezzo, the route continues across the stone periplus and down a flight of steps carved in to the cliff face which links the Passo della Capra with the Fortino di Mesola. The last of the blockhouses on the route, the Fortino d'Orrico, is positioned above the promontory of the Grotta Azzurra. Here, the vegetation becomes thicker, contrasting with the crystal clear waters lapping the bay of Cala del Rio below. I Fortini coastal walk | italyTraveller
11172011 In the evening we went to the Grotta di Posillipo and reached it just at the moment when the rays of the setting sun were shining directly into the entrance. Now I can forgive anyone for going off his head about Naples .... Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. The grotto at Posillipo – also known as the Crypta Napolitana – runs through part of Monte Posillipo. It is actually a narrow, 711-metre tunnel cut from the rock in the reign of Augustus to create a new coastal road to shorten the route between Naples and the Campi Flegrei. Nerly’s virtuosity in the handling of the compositional structure of the scene and his rendering of the effects of light in the tunnel are remarkable. The Grotto at Posillipo, near Naples by Friedrich Nerly | artnet
11182011 In a secret ceremony on Italy's Amalfi coast, Australia's queen of fashion married her prince. Avoiding the glare of Sydney's social scene, the 45-year-old designer and boyfriend Bradley Cocks, 34, slipped away to marry in the seaside village of Positano, with only Dinnigan's daughter Estella, 6, and a celebrant present at the super private ceremony. Married under a rotunda covered in bougainvillea - the bride's favourite flowers - they later celebrated at their favourite seaside restaurant. Collette Dinnigan marries Bradley Cocks in secret wedding in Italy | Daily Telegraph
11192011 The area is reached by only two routes – via boat or by the famed Blue Highway. South of Sorrento, the barely two-lane wide road winds its way along the cliff-side Amalfi Coast exposing incessant hairpin turns and dizzying precipices dropping straight into the sea. With vertigo inducing panoramas unfolding at every turn, The Blue Highway reminds us of the precariousness of life on the edge. Each curve, rounding each corner, you find the light, then lose it, then find it again. For a moment you’ll be bathed in blinding sunshine, then dark shadows. This coastline, you’ll discover, is all about finding the perfect vista and, hence, chasing the light. The light represents all things good – beauty, hope, inspiration, love. In fact, the scenery here is so inspiring that Italians decided to add three of its most picturesque towns – Positano, Ravello and Amalfi. The Bluest View | Getaway
11202011 Monocle continues their collaborative work with some Salvatore Piccolo (Napoli) button-up shirts. Two shirts were available but it would seem that only the light blue striped remains. Piccolo is garnering more love across the Atlantic as we set our sights on Italian tailoring for our next focus. Find them in the Monocle Shop. Monocle x Salvatore Piccolo Shirts | Selectism.com
11212011 The cavity of The Dog From Pompei was discovered November 20, 1874, in the house of Marcus Vesonius Primus, in the “Fauce,” the corridor at the entrance of the house. The house was located in Region VI, Insula 14, Nr. 20. During the eruption, the unfortunate dog, wearing his bronze-studded collar, was left chained up at his assigned place to watch the house, and he suffocated beneath the ash and cinders. Allan McCollum’s casts were taken directly from a mold made especially for the artist from the original second-generation cast presently on display at the Museo Vesuviano, in present-day Pompei. The Dogs From Pompei | Genetologic Research
11222011 Capri’s cuisine relies on simple, seasonal ingredients and outstanding seafood. Here are five of the island’s hottest restaurants, each with its own distinct flavor. Note: Reservations are highly recommended. La Fontelina. On the rocky beach of the same name is a sexy daytime spot that’s known as much for its voyeuristic scene as the simple, rustic food, like grilled langoustines and seafood stew. Capri: The best tables | The Daily
11232011 Da Luigi, the restaurant in this photo, is not far from the Blue Grotto on Capri. If I had only one afternoon to live, I think I would like to spend it here. Drift on in to the little cove in the boat you've hired for the day, drop anchor, and await the restaurant's launch that will bring you in to the sunbathing area. This is where I like to look around to see if my future wife is in attendance. From there, a chatty Italian waiter will escort you to your table, where you are encouraged to while away the afternoon over delicious food, wine, and plates of olives, prosciutto, and parmigiano. Ristorante Da Luigi: My Favorite Place on Earth | The Blue Grotto
11242011 Approximately two hundred people attended, last night, the gala evening organized by Sorrento's Town Hall at the City of Taste (cittá del gusto) in Rome, for the presentation of the City of Sorrento international journalism award. Promoted in collaboration with the association of foreign press within Italy, presided by Tobia Piller, the award shall be assigned for the first time next year and shall be awarded to those journalist who will have helped promote the Sorrento Coast and Campania Region on a world wide basis via services and articles. Foreign press promotes Sorrento as one of the 'Italian wonders'. Foreign press promotes Sorrento as one of the 'Italian wonders | Sorrento Coast
11252011 I had an extensive list of places to see on this trip and Sorrento wasn't on it. However, while here, I got a message from an acquaintance assuring me that it had to be experienced. I could not be more pleased to have listened to her opinion. It is truly too beautiful to ignore. It is difficult to find the water while wandering through the city, but when you happen upon it, the views are stunning. I'll let you scroll through some coastal photographs. Be sure to click on them for bigger views so you can get a feel of the serenity that surrounds this place. Sorrento's Coastline | My Real Rome
11262011 I love absolutely everything about Capri—it is the chicest place on Earth and hasn’t changed a bit since the Jet Set ‘60s when Jackie O walked the cobblestone streets arm-and-arm with Valentino. That’s me at the very top of this column posing in front of the island’s famous Faraglioni (you probably recognize it from David Gandy’s ad for Dolce & Gabbana’s Light Blue fragrance). A few (there are way too many to mention all of them) of my other favorite spots include: the Hotel La Scalinatella, da Paolino restaurant, lunching/bathing at La Fontelina, and people-watching at a front-row table at Bar Tiberio in La Piazzetta (but only after the last boat of daytrippers has left the island). If you’ve never been, you must go! The Style Guyde’s “Favorite Things” | instinct
11272011 Immediately greeted by the sweet aroma of jasmine at the Marina Grande dock, my memory of this fantastic vacation is now forever cemented with this idyllic scent. With our ultimate destination, atop the limestone mountain, we boarded our next mode of transportation - The funicular - which charged up the 45-degree sloping silhouette at sunset. In search of our lodging, the gals and I exited the train and were immediately captivated by the scene onto which we stumbled at the path's first bend. It was like a Vogue photo shoot for a luxury, lifestyle brand. The warm glow, clinking glasses and company decked to the 9s required the girls to pinch me - bringing me back to reality. A scene perfectly described as 'Magic Hour'! The Capri Sun's Lemony Gift | the painted memory
11282011 Yes, the annual festival, which celebrates San Gennaro (the patron saint of Naples) and which is normally steeped in tradition (it’s fetched up on Manhattan’s Mulberry Street since the 1920s), has a very non-traditional addition this year: a 25-foot-wide-by-25-foot-long floating canopy that looks like a circus tent wandered into another dimension. “The brief for the project was to create a signature piece to act as a gateway to the north corridor entrance of San Gennaro,” architect Michael Szivos, principal of New York-based SOFTlab, tells Co.Design. A Huge Laser-Cut Wormhole Descends On NYC's Little Italy | Co. Design
11292011 Antonio Longo started Santomiele years ago, working with local women from his village. He sun-dries the figs on the roof of his house on large flat baskets, then works them in a variety of delicious ways and following old Cilento recipes, in his own words: “Our Cilento figs are unique: they are very sweet and more tender and fine-seeded, the best come from the comuni of Agropoli, Prignano and Ogliastro Cilento”. If you stop into his deliciously perfumed “laboratorio”, you will find ladies stuffing the figs with cinnamon, almond, lemon zest, walnuts, pistachios and bitter chocolate: all irresistible. Italian Dried White Figs | YUM!
11302011 Chefs Antonio Carluccio and Gennaro Contaldo visit the region of Campania. Gennaro takes Antonio to his home town Minori on the Amalfi coast where he has an emotional reunion with his many friends and family members and, after receiving a lesson from his Great Aunt on pasta making with an umbrella spoke, reminisces on the food of his childhood. In Naples, they discover how pizza was originally considered inedible by anyone but the starving until it was endorsed by a queen. And in Gragnano, a pasta millionaire explains how this cuisine then took over the world. Poor Man's Food | BBC

Monday, October 31, 2011

OCTOBER 2011


VACANCES A' RAVELLO



















10012011 Ravello is a town of name-droppers. The bigger the names and the louder they're dropped the better. It's practically a civic duty. In the Viale Richard Wagner (clang!) aside from the street sign itself, there are two plaques. One commemorates a film that was shot here in 1953, John Huston (ding!), Humphrey Bogart (dong!), Gina Lollobrigida (plink!), Peter Lorre (plonk!), Truman Capote (tinkle!) and Robert Capa (crash!) woz all here. Joining in, on the opposite side of the street, another plaque confirms the Dutch optical illusion artist MC Escher (boing!) woz also here. Celebrity validates Ravello. Didn't you know? Bogey, Loren, Sinatra – they all came here | The Indipendent
10022011 A painting of volcanic catastrophe which was almost destroyed in a Thames flood more than 80 years ago is going on display. British artist John Martin's vast 1821 painting The Destruction of Pompeii and Herculaneum nearly met its own end while stored at the Tate when the River Thames flooded in 1928. The gallery has also replaced a destroyed section of the painting, where Martin depicted the volcano erupting, with a new piece of canvas showing their own experts' impression of the same scene. The reconstruction has been made possible by pioneering eye-tracking technology. The apocalypse restored | Daily Mail
10032011 What Pompeii presents is thus the ruin of a reconstruction of a ruin, an intellectual nonsense. Up the coast at Herculaneum is a contrast. Under the generosity of the Packard Institute, its smaller scale, tightly packed streets are emerging from beneath its urban surroundings in a vivid evocation of a seaside Roman town. Seen from above, a carpet of 21st-century replica roofs are enabling houses, courtyards, baths and shops to take on their old form, not like the gaping, degenerating shells of Pompeii. The ghosts of ancient Rome walk the streets of Herculaneum more vividly than they do Pompeii. If we'll restore a painting of Pompeii, why won't we restore Pompeii itself? | The Guardian
10042011 Just one of the questions flying around as I took two teenage grandsons – both keen on classical history – around the ruins of Pompeii, Herculaneum and Oplontis. It turns out they know lots more than I do, regaling me with intrigues of Nero and Poppea and the naughty behaviour of innumerable gods. It’s a wonderful moment for a grandparent when you start to learn from your grandchildren. I can even pretend it all started when I bought them Greek Myths and Legends when they were small. Yes, I know Pompeii is in Italy… but it all connects. Joan Bakewell prepares to solve the world's problems | Telegraph
10052011 I wandered through the large orchard and gardens of the villa, ending at a bluff with a spectacular view of Procida's concave coast as well as Capri and the Amalfi Peninsula 20 miles away. The garden's fruit trees, immature vegetable plants and vines undoubtedly supplied the restaurant in season, but it was too early for most to be ripe. After the tour of the villa, I started to explore, walking east along cliffs hundreds of feet above the sea. Soon, I was looking down on Corricella, a minute fishing port guarded by a fort on the citadel of Terra Murata high above. Procida, Where Il Postino Delivered Mail to Pablo Neruda | Travel Tastes
10062011 Elena de Angelis decided to turn heads on her big day by adding the world record accessory to her ceremonial outfit. Some 600 people were required to carry the white silk garment as it stretched down the road behind the bride, who was marrying Ferdinand Pucci. The extraordinary design certainly caught the imagination of the residents of Casal di Principe in Naples, as large crowds gathered to get a glimpse of it. Designed by Gianni Molaro Campania, the veil was made from 3.7 miles of material and measures two metres in width. It has now entered the Guiness Book of World Records. Bride breaks world record on big day by wearing 1.8-mile veil | Metro UK
10072011 If you are dreaming of having a Catholic wedding, Positano has two beautiful churches. The chapel located in the hills overlooking the sea, is one of the most perfect churches on the Amalfi Coast, is ideal for small intimate weddings. While the Duomo, located in the very heart of the town, can accommodate larger wedding parties.The local Priest allow Protestant wedding to be celebrated in both these churches upon request. Alternatively there are many beautiful terraces where you could celebrate your wedding ceremony. If you are looking for an outdoor Civil wedding, then the town hall of Positano offers the most perfect terrace for an outdoor coastal wedding! Positano: The Jewel of the Amalfi Coast | Viva la sposa!
10082011 Add'o Riccio. Located high up in Anacapri, above the Blue Grotto, it was a happy hangout in the 1960s for people like Jackie Kennedy and other cognoscenti. Enter Tonino Cacace, who wanted, he says, "to create a restaurant that would interpret the traditional Mediterranean ambience of the '50s and '60s." Hence, the use of wood painted what Cacace calls "Mykonos blue" for the tables and chairs, the rustic roof and the mosaic tiles so emblematic of Capri. The decor of the kitchen and the dessert room, both visible to diners, gives them the sensation of entering a Neapolitan house of the 19th century, "where one's grandparents might have lived." Best Waterfront Makeover: Capri's Il Riccio | Town & Country
10092011 ‎"ONE of my passions is pasta al pomodoro pasta with a simple sauce of tomatoes, garlic and a little fresh basil," says Tony Percuoco (Tartufo, Brisbane), who hails from Naples. Prefer white wine? Tony suggests matching your next pomodoro to a Lachryma Christi, a celebrated Neapolitan wine. Top drops: Pairing food and wine | Herald Sun
10102011 I had something called picotage. I also had a facial with mud which, I discovered, is called “fango” in Italian. Fango? Can there be a more inelegant word? It didn’t help that, later, when I had my body treatment, my mud lady kept saying “Fango! Fango!” (which I kept hearing as “fandango!”). Much to my amazement, the mud was not bubbling in a pool but arrived via a giant tap in the wall. I had come to the island of Ischia for the mud. volcanic and healing mud, which, crucially, can be found only at a luxury hotel spa called Regina Isabella. My Italian fandango | The Sunday Times
10112011 The ash, which destroyed so many lives, perfectly preserved the two towns for 1700 years. While we often think of the ancient Romans as inhabiting a flawless world of white marble, Pompeii reveals a real town with many features we would recognize today. Political slogans are daubed on walls; “Vote for Lucius Popidius Sabinus!” There is also fruitier graffiti on toilet walls. A mural shows a riot that occurred around the cities amphitheater. The city has been a gold mine for archeologists and is a major tourist site. Unlike the other cities here you can still see some of the inhabitants. Dotted throughout the ruins are the ghostly, and in many cases ghastly, plaster casts of the dead whose bodies left hollows in the ash. Top 10 Lost Cities | Listverse
10122011 Harris said Pompeii was forgotten for 16 centuries — “no identifiable trace” — until the mid-18th century when a farmer digging a well struck the ruin. The volcano’s intense heat proved to be a great preservative. Archaeologists found the remains of 1,100 people. Eighty-one carbonized loaves of bread were found in the ruins of a single baker’s oven. A plaster copy of a carbonized original is on display in the show. Pompeii exhibit in NYC shines light on buried city | DailyTimes
10132011 Wherever Gilbert had her gelato epiphany, "we are happy we were cited in the book and especially that she liked our gelato," Pasquale Alongi, one of the brothers, modestly said as lemons were squeezed for San Crispino's "limone" gelato in the "laboratory" on Via Acaia. "When we make lemon flavor, we use only good Amalfi lemons," said Pasquale. "If we don't find them, we do not make the lemon flavor." 'Eat Pray Love' inspires multitudes....to find the perfect gelato | NYDailyNews.com
10142011 The Mediterranean diet originated from the Seven Countries Study in the 1950s. Ancell Keys, a nutritionist in Salerno near Naples. They suggest strong links between the Mediterranean diet and Christianity. Finally, presenting the Romans as “frugal farmers”, and the invading Vikings as gigantic and savage is no more than a poor caricature. Gladiators were certainly not frugal people. And to say that “Bread is symbolic of agriculture and human civilisation” is rather insulting to cultures that do not use bread as their staple source of carbohydrate. The Mediterranean diet: a cultural journey | The Lancet
10152011 John Frusciante is back. Obviously we are refferring to the second stay on the Amalfi Coast of the Red Hot Chili Peppers's legendary guitarist. This time Frusciante choose the Hotel Convento in Amalfi where he spent four days of total relax with his partner. Personaggi | Il Vescovado
10162011 Arturo Ianniello was born in Salerno in 1982. He approaches the world of art since his teenage years, despite not having attended istitutions of art or art schools in his higher studies. After high school, he enrolled at the Academy of Art in Naples, near the chair of professor Ciriaco Campus, where he continues his personal journey already undertaken before his enrollment in the Academy. He usually lives and work in Teggiano where he has his studio, except for some periods of the year in which he lives in Naples. The visible and invisible | musetouch
10172011 Emiliano Perino was born in New York in 1973; his parents returned the family to Italy when he was nine years old. Luca Vele was born in Rotondi, a small southern Italian village about 52 kilometers inland from Naples, in 1975. They met in 1990 at art school in Benevento, an important ancient town with pre-Roman ruins, and their artistic research has developed in parallel and together ever since. They are an unusual artistic pairing in that they do not have individual roles or specializations; instead, they share and discuss every idea at each step of their very peculiar way of making art. Perino & Vele are sculptors, but they do not sculpt or model a material. Their work begins with making the material itself—papier-mâché, made from old newspapers of different colors that they have learned to mix in combinations that create inventive shades. Recycling Information | Sculpture
10182011 Three floors of exhibition of 20 paintings and prints by the international artist Jose Ortega, a member of pictorial realism but also an opponent of the government of Franco. This is Casa Ortega, the museum in the village of San Giovanni a Piro Bosco: Ortega was curious about the craft and technique of papier had "stolen" in order to achieve the medium on which to paint, he shaped with raised areas to give shape thickness and colors. Ortega really loved this place so as to remain after years of exile until his death in 1990. Casa Ortega | Cilento Travel
10192011 Michael had a very interesting life indeed his donkey named Chooch, and a black station wagon that he prided himself in owning — and even transported to Italy during a family vacation so he could travel abroad in the comforts of those from his home in America. And it is this black station wagon that many in the area so fondly recall, and connect with the man from Italy that would bake bread and deliver it, from door to door. Born in the town of Sassinoro, Province of Benevento, Italy in 1919, Michael was soon to give birth to an American dream of his own. In 1952 the purchase of an oven was the entryway into his new venture of baking breads. Michael soon had the oven set up in his four-car garage, had it lined with bricks, and was making bread and rolls for his own family. By 1959 he expanded this service, and opened the doors to Mastracchio’s Bakery. Living the American Dream | The Daily Review
10202011 When blind sculptor Felice Tagliaferri was forbidden to touch one of Italy's most famous statues, he decided revenge was best served not just cold but stone cold. Tagliaferri, 41, spent much of two years creating his Carrara marble interpretation of "Cristo Velato," or "Veiled Christ," a 1753 masterpiece that he has neither seen nor could touch. The recreation was of Giuseppe Sanmartino's, 1753 exquisitely detailed marble sculpture of the body of Christ lying wrapped in a fine shroud is one of the prime tourist attractions in Naples. The result is shockingly realistic. He eagerly runs a visitor's hands over the eerily lifelike marble kneecaps, feet and spiky thorns. His Christ is more athletic than the original, the veil smooth instead of textured to convey a sense of transparency to the blind. "It's forbidden not to touch my work," Tagliaferri said. Blind Sculptor’s Masterpiece On Tour In Italy | Art Knowledge News
10212011 Azienda Agricola Montevetrano Colli di Salerno IGT 2004, Campania. Clearly deserving of its status as one of the finest wine estates in the world, Silvia Imparato is passionate not only about producing a stellar wine but sharing it with wine lovers around the world. A rich, vigorous and complex blend of Cabernet, Merlot and Aglianico. Decant for twenty-four hours before indulging. Wines You’d Be Crazy Not To Try | Tidings
10222011 Amalfi Coast is an area of extreme viticulture, where vintners fashion some of the most unique wines anywhere in the world from remarkable hillside plots that are often buffeted by high winds. The work is difficult, but the results are always notable and often spectacular; it is in this zone where Marisa Cuomo and her winemaker/husband Andrea Ferraioli are producing some of the most singular wines in all of Italy. The most complete wine made at the estate is a Furore Bianco named Fior’duva, a blend of Fenile, Ginestra and Ripoli. Ferraioli ferments part of the must in barrique and then ages the wine in similar barrels; the result is a superb white of deep concentration. There are the usual tropical and citrus flavors as well as notes of lemon custard, giving this wine a uniqueness among Amalfi whites. This is a white that is impressive upon release, but displays greater complexities over five to seven years. Cantine Marisa Cuomo – Top 100 | learningitalianwines
10232011 Found in the area of Caserta some 30 miles from Naples, Pallagrello is named after the round shape of its fruits (palla is “ball” in Italian) and is one of the few grape varieties in the world that delivers both a red and white wine. In the 18th century, King Ferdinando IV planted the grape in his famous Vigna del Ventaglio (a fan-shaped vineyard in which each row was dedicated to a different grape variety). After this brief appreciation by the royal family, the grape fell from the limelight to near obscurity. About 60 years ago, the grape was rediscovered and appreciated for its extraordinary features. White Pallagrello can withstand oak aging and boasts a wide variety of aromas. Red Pallagrello offers structure and longevity and can age for decades in the cellar. The white wine makes a perfect match to creamy mozzarella di bufala and the red version pairs with slow cooked meats. Touring the Amalfi Coast | Wine Enthusiast
10242011 In 1880 with the construction of access routes to the nearby Castellammare di Stabia, Agerola has become one of the most attractive towns of the province of Naples, both in terms of tourism to the economy for its various activities in their area. Rediscovering some peculiarities of Agerola, rich green, clean air, is at relaxing, but also of authentic contact with nature that is increasingly popular and more respected. This place is the ideal spot to admire, from its balconies natural beauties of the Amalfi Coast. Beautiful balconies: Castle Lauritano, Punta San Lazzaro, Punta Belvedere Park Corona, Paipo! Agriturismo Costiera Amalfitana | Nonno Tobia
10252011 A pizza I made while tucked away at a hostel in Agerola San Lazzaro, an Italian village in the mountains overlooking the Amalfi Coast. I was pretty desperate for pizza and wasn’t sure the local pizzerias understood me and my “senza” dietary requests. I didn’t want to risk strutto (pork lard) being in the ingredients, so I looked up a vegan pizza recipe and gave it a go in the hostel kitchen. The middle with all the toppings was yummy and included garlic, basil, tomatoes, rosemary and oregano. Pizza Memmmmreeeees! | Vegan Around the World
10262011 Gore Vidal's extraordinary scrapbook features snapshots of life with Jagger, Warhol and the Newmans. - Capri, at Mona Bismarck’s villa, built upon the ruins of a villa that once belonged to the emperor Augustus. Gore Vidal's scrapbook: a not very social life | The Telegraph
10272011 Ileana Sonnabend: An Italian Portrait celebrates her acumen for art and her connections to Italy. Co-organized by Antonio Homem, her adopted son and director of the Sonnabend Gallery in New York, it features more than 60 pieces that relate to Sonnabend or Italy. Candida Höfer happens to cover both. A favorite artist of Sonnabend’s who has long been associated with her gallery, Höfer is represented by the 2009 image Biblioteca dei Girolamini Napoli I, shown. Sonnabend’s Italian Connection | Robb Report
10282011 A young breed of Campanian winemakers have rescued the region from mediocrity. Here are six of the best: San Salvatore Paestum Fiano 2009 ($19.99); Marisa Cuomo Costa d’Amalfi Fiorduva 2008 ($62.99); Marisa Cuomo Furore Blanco 2009 ($22.99); Luigi Maffini Kratos 2010 ($21.99); Villa Matilde Falanghina 2010 ($14.99); Campi Flegrei Piedrosso 2008 ($17.99). Campanian Wines Come of Age | Bloomberg Businessweek
10292011 The starting point is the archaeological area of Vesuvius, the guardian of a unique testimony to the ancient wine-growing: the 'eruption of Vesuvius in 79.
C. Indeed sealed over the city and its inhabitants also the natural environment along with traces of a unique culture which was so important in ancient history. replanting the vineyards and the exploitation of ancient Pompeii are now a model for scientists worldwide. The Campania Felix of the ancients was well known for its wines: the classical authors mention in particular Falerno, the Pompeian, the Coast o. Viticulture bell has persisted over the centuries – Santa Lancerio, for example, in 1536 lists fourteen high quality wines much loved by Paul III Farnese, which was "bottles" – and still today the region produces very fine wines. Travelling in a culture of wine | DaringToDo.com
10302011 Excelsior Vittoria, Sorrento Situated in the centre of Sorrento, the Excelsior is ideally located for the town, yet maintains a peaceful atmosphere. This is due to its location: perched on a 300ft cliff, it offers a show-stopping view of the Bay of Naples. The hotel has been owned by the same family since 1834 and comes with a rich history – there are pre-Roman tombs by the entrance and the ruins of a Roman pool in the grounds. Thanks to its luxurious sophistication, the Excelsior has counted Sophia Loren, Pavarotti and British royalty among its guests. Where to stay in the Bay of Naples | MoneyWeek
10312011 The property market is buoyant; prices more than doubled in the region as a whole between 1998 and 2003 and in some areas rose by more than 70 per cent. Property on the islands in the archipelago of Capri, Ischia and Procida is prohibitively expensive and little is available. On the Amalfi coast, prices start at Euro 2,000 per sq meters, while inland prices fall dramatically to as little as Euro 600 per sq meters In stark contrast to the immaculately painted villas and palazzi in the wealthier resort areas, there are numerous half-abandoned villages in the interior which offer exciting investment opportunities. The ever-growing popularity of the region continues to provide excellent opportunities for rental income. Why choose Campania? | RealPoint Property

Friday, September 30, 2011

SEPTEMBER 2011


ROMEO AND JULIET CHALET


























09012011 The reality starlet, 30, and NBA star, 26, mostly kept to themselves at a $3,300-per-night Romeo and Juliet chalet at the five-star Hotel Santa Caterina on Italy's Amalfi Coast -- emerging for al fresco meals and PDA-packed time by the pool and in the Mediterranean Sea. Adds a source of their uber-affectionate time: "Kim is the kind of bride who'd be thrilled if she had gotten pregnant on her honeymoon." Inside Kim Kardashian, Kris Humphries' Sexy Honeymoon | Us Weekly
09022011 Weiner and Abedin are spending a holiday -- or “babymoon” -- in Positano at the historic Le Sirenuse resort overlooking the breathtaking Amalfi Coast. Perfect for a shamed politician seeking a private hideaway with his forgiving wife. According to the resort’s Web site, Le Sirenuse is “furnished with all the comforts of a luxury hotel, while maintaining the atmosphere of a private home.” Weiner's Italian babymoon | New York Post
09032011 The wooded slopes of the Cilento form the breathtaking backdrop for this old-meets-new inn. Set across two lovingly restored houses, the exposed stone exterior belies little of the minimal modernism inside. Dinner, using produce from the adjoining farm, is served on the terrace with its stunning views towards the island of Capri. Guests also have use of the owner's beach near the ancient site of Paestum. Il Cannito, Campania | The Indipendent
09042011 Agropoli harbor is one of the most important in Campania and South Italy, thanks to its facilities and its approximately 1200 mooring places for pleasure and tourist boats. A wide range of craft, from sailboats to the typically Mediterranean gozzo, are available for cruising along the Cilento and Amalfi Coasts. Agropoli: Gateway to Cilento | restacumme.com
09052011 ‎'Don't think of this as a hotel. Think of it as your own home.' The Prince Belmonte still has his own residence, originally built as a hunting lodge for the King of Naples. Lying beside a sandy beach of Santa Maria di Castellabate, it is surrounded by high walls ensuring complete privacy. Secluded gardens lead up the steep hillside where cascades of blue plumbago run rampant among exotic palms and lemon trees. How Nessun Dorma woke me up at Palazzo Belmonte | Daily Mail
09062011 The Amalfi coast is on the Southern coast of Italy and is known for its scenic beauty and picturesque villages. Visit if you love the sun, want to go to fabulous parties in Positano, or explore the hilltop gardens of Ravello. Amalfi Coast | life-in-travel.blogspot.com
09072011 The walks in and around Positano and Amalfi are very special. Depending on your time frame we can arrange walks from 2 hours to 6 hours in duration amidst some of the most enchanting scenery in Italy. Positano walks, hiking, trainings, excursion nature Walks | positanoadventurewalks.com
09082011 How would you describe the Neapolitan techno sound? The soul of our city is the funkiness! I think we have created over the years, a special mix of old Detroit and German techno, which we've fused together with our Latin and "Partenopean" classic sounds. We have it in our souls, so what we did came very naturally I think. How would you describe the Neapolitan techno sound? Napoli is the capital city of techno in Italy, I think. | blog.drumcode.se
09092011 ‎"The sky is the limit for Napoli. Serie A, Champions League and Coppa Italia: we will do our utmost in all competitions," Cavani said to Il Corriere dello Sport. "We have everything it takes to have a successful season. It's impossible not to do well with such fantastic fans. We are very optimistic." 'Sky's the limit for Napoli' - Edinson Cavani | Goal.com
09102011 Why you want in The bustling city of Naples sits on top of an enormous, nearly 3,000-year-old network of caves. This particular entrance to the underground city leads to 17th-century aqueducts that were once the property of Ferdinand II, king of the Two Sicilies. How to get in Make your way sotterraneo by heading through the unmarked doors and down the rickety WWII-era spiral staircase built by Mussolini’s civil defense program. Unassuming Entrances Hide the Planet's Hippest Hangouts | Wired
09112011 Cava de’ Tirreni has been renowned as a tourist resort since the 18th century. Eighteenth-century Neapolitan painters preferred it for its pleasant views, green panoramas and marine background. Many painters of the Landscape Painting School of Naples, Gigante, Morelli, Palizzi, Van Pitloo and Poussin painted perspectives of the Metellian Valley on canvas. Cava de Tirreni, Salerno - Italy | CLM Assembly
09122011 In a secret corner in the heart of Cuma, just a few steps away from the sea immersed in stunning scenery, amongst the green hills of the Phlegraean Fields and Lake Averno, you will find Villa Giulia. A beautiful old tufa stone farmhouse. The Villa's hillside atmosphere with an amazing sea view covers an area of 6500 square meters of flowering garden and a large swimming pool. Welcome! | villagiulia.info
09132011 This place is my capriccio, my self-indulgent whim,” says Giovanni Russo from the cliffside terrace. Four years ago, Russo, who also owns the nearby islands of Li Galli, bought the estate from legendary film and opera director Franco Zeffirelli and restored it from top to toe. Designer Fausta Gaetani elected to leave much of decor virtually untouched. “How could one possibly change the white-tiled room designed by Mongiardino?” she asks. Villa Tre Ville Hotel Opens | Architectural Digest
09142011 There is nothing more memorable for me then attending the feast of Obelisco in Mirabella Eclano "the feast of Saint Mary". the third Saturday in September. I recall the statue of the Virgin Mary carried in a church vessel made up of straw being pulled by ox in the middle of the piazza. There is music, spirits and and more importantly the streets are littered with street vendors. Street vending | Bostonfood Design
09152011 The new Fiat Panda is on display during the Frankfurt Auto Show IAA in Frankfurt, Germany, Tuesday, Sept. 13, 2011. Production of the Panda will begin in November at the Pomigliano plant near Naples. Fiat, Chrysler CEO affirms goal of 6M cars a year | Fiat, Chrysler CEO affirms goal of 6M cars a year | Forbes
09152011 Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis is eagerly anticipating his clubs first Champions League match in 20 years. "It is a fascinating challenge," the Napoli chief told Radio Marte. "We will enjoy a really great experience. Napoli chief De Laurentiis excited ahead of Man City meeting | tribalfootball.com
09162011 While very few people rate Napoli against Manchester City in their first Champions League tie, almost everyone can agree that the Italian side are one of the craziest clubs in football. Owner Aurelio de Laurentiis has a penchant for dramatic exits on commandeered scooters, coach Walter Mazzarri enjoys mowing the pitch by hand, and the team calendar re-creates a scene from Harry Potter. Who Needs A Champions League Win When Napoli Have Their Own Pasta? | SB Nation
09172011 During a recent trip to Ischia I had the opportunity to visit a lemon ranch and taste the genuine article in its natural setting. At first glance, the liquid appears thicker. A taste reveals we're worlds away from the exported brands, as the elixir slowly warms in your mouth and releases the flavor of fresh lemons like a flower coming into bloom, all the while retaining its silken texture. Limoncello – The Classic Italian Cocktail | Chilled
09182011 Lance Walheim of California Citrus Specialties became so intrigued that he visited the Sorrento lemon district, where he found that it was hard to unravel the influence of the varieties, climate, ripeness and growing practices on fruit quality. "On the Sorrento coast they say the climate and rich, deep volcanic soil contribute to the flavor of the lemons," he said. "Also, the aromatic oils are strongest when the lemons are turning from green to yellow, and that's when they make limoncello." The renaissance of the Italian lemon | Los Angeles Times
09192011 Step into Via Napoli and you could be stepping one of a whole bunch of similar restaurants in Southern Italy. This restaurant is operated by the Patina Group. The same group that also operates Tutto Italia and Naples Ristorante and Pizzeria at Disneyland. Pizza is the star. It's made with flour imported from Naples, San Marzano tomatoes, handmade mozzarella, water (yes water) brought over from wells in Naples. Via Napoli | Dad's Walt Disney World
09202011 By the time they meandered down to Sorrento. It was the bit when they were on that vine-shaded balcony overlooking the Bay of Naples that really did it. Gennaro Contaldo made a melting Ragù alla Napoletana, with sausage, pork ribs, stewing beef and loads of tomatoes and basil. Antonio Carluccio whisked up a ricotta and lemon tart, plucking perfumed, zesty Amalfi lemons off an overhanging tree branch. In between times, they grazed on peaches so ripe you could almost drink them. Does food get much better than that? Little Italy | The Herald
09212011 Ask residents from Benevento to name the town’s most iconic trait, and many will point you to L’Arco di Traiano, one of the best-preserved and ornate of the Trajan arches in Italy. Another of Benevento’s signature structures is the church of Santa Sofia, built by the Lombards in 760 and modeled after a mosque in Constantinople. It is a circular structure, with an interesting interior design based on a hexagon. The interior was once covered with frescoes, bits of which remain. Benevento: Beautiful and posh | Stars and Stripes
09222011 The region’s volcanic soil, ideal for grape growing, also produces black truffles. Taste them in local dishes like the homemade pasta from neighboring Monti Picentini at Feudi di San Gregorio’s Michelin-starred restaurant Marennà. Pair it with Feudi’s mineral-rich Pietracalda, or “Hot Stone” Fiano, for a full-circle wine and food experience. The grape harvest is over, but the heady bouquet of fermenting Greco di Tufo and Aglianico perfumes the cool evening air. Go to the source by touring local wineries, including Cantine di Marzo, with its bedrock cellars, or grab a glass at Winebar, dramatically located in a volcanic crater. The lowdown on an outstanding wine experience in Italy's beautiful Irpinia. | Wine Enthusiast Magazine
09232011 I spent many hours at MADRE Museo d’Arte Contemporanea Donna Regina, it covers a lot of (recent) art historical ground in a small space. Like the Peggy Guggenheim in Venice or the Hallen für Neue Kunst in Schaffhausen, Switzerland, it's the kind of museum that can be done in an hour or less—but gets more interesting on your 2nd and 3rd visits. Contemporary Art in Naples | Hannah Wallace
09242011 Graham Greene bought a small house on Capri in 1948 and kept it for more than 40 years, returning for short visits, mostly in the spring and fall. The house, Il Rosaio, was a rare constant in Greene's restless existence (“one of nature's displaced persons,” Malcolm Muggeridge called him). On Capri, he said, “in four weeks I do the work of six months elsewhere.” In Search of Graham Greene’s Capri | The New York Times
09252011 Hikers go for the Amalfi because it offers some of the most rugged coastal terain in the world: The peaks may be only 3,000 to 4,500 feet high, but they're unrelentingly vertical. You ascend through well-tended lemon groves and fragrant fields of wild roses and rosemary. Wandering through chestnut groves, you tread on dirt tracks and foot trails that once formed the only connection between the region's still-remote villages. Up the rocky flanks of Monti Lattari or through the Valle delle Ferriere, your rewards are the most stunning views in all of coastal Italy. Hiking the Amalfi Coast | Outside
09262011 ‎"Pompeii The Exhibit: Life and Death in the Shadow of Vesuvius" also chronicles life in the vibrant mercantile city before and after Vesuvius erupted. Colorful room and garden frescoes, mosaic floors, pottery and gold jewelry are among the artifacts featured. The ancient Romans also loved to display erotic artifacts, with everything from lamps to garden statuary. Pompeii housed 41 places of prostitution and a public brothel in the middle of town, a two-story structure with five cubicles — sparse tiny, narrow rooms — on each floor containing erotic frescos. Pompeii Exhibit at New York City | artdaily.org
09272011 I chose a route to the village of Pontone. There I had an espresso in a cafe and got directions, which took me down an endless flight of steps to the back side of Amalfi. Thus, I limped, hungry and exhausted, into the capital of chic on the coast, as the sun fell into the sea at passeggiata time. Fortunately there was enough time before the bus left to visit the Amalfi Cathedral, with its checkerboard brick facade, steep steps and asymmetrical tower. The best thing about it is its 13th century Paradise Cloister, decorated in a southern Italian hash of Byzantine mosaics, Roman sarcophagi and twisting Arab columns. Among the gods on the Amalfi Coast | Los Angeles Times
09282011 The ferries that make regular runs to Amalfi from Sorrento, Salerno or Naples give a superb look at the rugged cliffs and the small towns that sit in the hollows of the green hills. The alternative is the coastal road, infamous for its hairpin turns, so narrow that traffic crawls and buses seem about to fall into the sea. Not for the faint of heart (in 1953 the author John Steinbeck wrote in "Harper's Bazaar" that he clung to his wife during the entire journey), the road is a good way to see the various villages without visiting all of them. By Land or by Sea | Smithsonian Magazine
09292011 If you looking for a book that chronicles those who used to be en vogue, I highly suggest Cafe Society: Socialites, Patrons, and Artists 1920-1960. The book includes a myriad of chapters that include aristocrats, wealthy Americans, socialites, chic places, interior designers, courtiers and jewelers, fashion editors and models, photographers, artists, ballet dancers, musicians, and writers. The best part has to be the pages reproduced from the scrapbooks of Baron de Cabrol that illustrate much of the book. Like the collage made up of artwork and photographs titled: Cabrols on holiday at Mona Bismarck's Villa Il Fortino, Capri. Chic Reads: Cafe Society | Home Interior Designs
09302011 It’s been a long time since kings and cardinals went shopping for paintings in Naples, but even so the city authorities can still flatter their artists, whether they’re natives or not. An American, Ryan Mendoza has been in Naples for seven years and has been painting for little more than that, yet the city happily granted him two rooms in the 13th-century Castel Nuovo, overlooking the bay. When I visited, there was an unseasonably hot sirocco blowing in from Northern Africa, tourists were shielding their eyes from the dust and a beggar with one leg was playing the violin: it was very much the Naples of the imagination. Ryan Mendoza | Frieze Magazine

Wednesday, August 31, 2011

AUGUST 2011


SIMPLY HEAVENLY





















08012011 Capresians have a knack for engineering gorgeous cliffside villas, and this 20-room jewel is no exception. Built as ten floors on a narrow lot that overlooks the bay, Villa Brunella requires a Stairmaster-like effort to reach guest rooms and the pool. But the hospitality of the Ruggiero family, who've run this charming inn since 1963 with great flair and friendliness, makes it worth the sweat. Villa Brunella in Capri Hotels | Concierge.com
08022011 What are you supposed to eat in Italy besides gelato? Pizza, of course. What’s the best way to spot the best pizzeria in town? Make sure its swarming with Italians. Brilliant. Dismayed, we went to the train station to head to our last destination, Naples. rome&pompeii | {musings}
08032011 The Joanot Martorell year, commemorating the 600 anniversary of the birth of the author and Valencian knight "Tirant lo Blanch" - ends with an outstanding show that evokes the atmosphere of chivalry. Through more than a hundred works of art and objects, the exhibition starts in the court of Alfonso the Magnanimous in Valencia and Naples and then moves on to the English court of Westminster. The 600th Anniversary of Knight Joanot Martorell | artdaily.org
08042011 The exhibition, curated by Massimo Bignardi, presents eighteen paintings Ruta completed in Positano, Rome, Naples and Venice between 1949 and 1962, along with drawings and gouaches the artist, now ninety-one years of age, completed during several recent trips to the Amalfi Coast. Peter Ruta: Positano and Other Italian Paintings | artdaily.org
08052011 Your TOP 3 hotel experiences: One&Only, Royal Mirage, Dubai, UAE; Huis ter Duin, Noordwijk, NL; Punta Tragara, Capri, I. Interview with Darjono Husodo (GM Antiq Hotel) | The Ring Hotel Blog
08062011 Swimming in Laurito’s crystal waters or just floating on an inflatable raft can build quite an appetite. So, tucked away just above the beach is Adolfo’s restaurant terrace. You don’t even need to dry off–eating in your bathing suit is a given here. With your back to the water, Adolfo is the place on the right: flames shooting out of the grill on the cliff side, and serves the few informal tables barefoot. Secret and Secluded Amalfi Coast Beach | The Travel Belles
08072011 We had another unbelievable lunch, this time at Add’o Riccio, a beautiful seafood restaurant overlooking the water right near the Blue Grotto. The food has been so outstanding here whether it be pasta, seafood, vegetables or fruit, that I am totally reevaluating my bar height for delicious. I feel like crying with joy every meal. Their desserts aren’t so hot, but I don’t eat or need them anyway. Isle of Capri | JetSetWay
08082011 A Luxury Spa fragrance! Wisk away to Capri Island, a breath-taking paradise overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. Your mind will embrace this cultural encounter, while your soul attains pure harmony. Capri is a culturally complex aorma of tart Japanese grapefruit, fresh Osmanthus (sweet olive) and dew covered watercress followed by middle notes of rose, jasmine and cassis. To create subtle ecstasy, Capri sits on a dry down of fresh amber and myrrh. Capri Scented Soy Candle ! Scents of St. Augustine
08092011 The fresco was found during restoration work at the Catacombs of San Gennaro (Saint Januarius) in the southern port city of Naples by experts from the Pontifical Commission. "The image of St Paul has an intense expression, philosophical." The figure is dressed in white and beige robes and with the letter 'I' on the hem, which may stand for 'Iesus' (Latin for Jesus) and it shows him approaching a dead person. 1,400-year-old St Paul fresco discovered in ancient Roman catacomb | The Telegraph
08102011 Isaia, a family-owned fashion house that began in Naples in the 1950s, specializes in custom suits for “confident men who like what they are wearing,” says Jim Shay, the company’s vice president. “They have roots in classic style but want to look current and cool. They have the ability to play with color and pattern in their attire and find Isaia’s attention to detail results in an elegant garment.” Treat Him Right | CBS Watch
08112011 Laino, a native Briton, but whose family is Italian, began his career in hotels when he was 17. He followed a girlfriend to Italy, where he got a job in Positano at the Hotel San Pietro. (His uncle was the head chef there; Laino still calls it his favorite hotel in the world.) It landed at The Stafford, which, unlike The Dorchester or The Ritz, is not as well known. Frank Laino, head concierge, The Stafford Hotel | Luxury Travel Advisor
08122011 Santa Monica Seafood is owned by the Cigliano’s, a family tracing its California roots back to the end of the 19th century. John Deluca, arrived from Naples, Italy in 1898. The families first location was on the Santa Monica Pier, where they sold shark, halibut, tuna, white sea bass, sardines, anchovies, live lobsters and the "catch of the day" to the hungry tourists visiting the pier. Come Sea It | Beach House Finds
08132011 We used to think of Naples merely as a place to pass through on the way to somewhere else—Capri, Sorrento or the Amalfi Coast to name a few. Recently we discovered what the Italians have always known: Naples is essential to experiencing the true Italy. Naples, Italy Boutique Hotels | Luxury Travel Advisor
08142011Where is your favourite place to eat breakfast and what do you have? I’m really in to solitary breakfasts sat on my roof reading a travel guide with a strong, strong caffetiere. The best breakfast I ever ate though was at the Casa Privata in Amalfi, Italy, they had about 20 different types of jam, including kiwi. Faye Dunaway's post-Oscar Breakfast | AnOther
08152011 On Saturday, we headed out to take in the smelly air of Volcano Solfatara. Volcano Solfatara is located in Pozzuoli and is less than 5 miles from our home. It is a dormant volcano, which admits jets of sulphurous fumes from vents throughout the crater. It last erupted in 1198. We've been talking about visiting the Solfatara for a while, so Saturday was the day we decided to have a close encounter with some gas. Close Encounter | Gibsonchop
08162011 Almost 150 years after Fiorelli made his first cast, artist Gary Staab was commissioned to make models of four original Pompeian casts for a special exhibition on Pompeii in New York (“Vesuvius Strikes Again,” May/June, 2011). In doing so, Staab created a new type of evidence. His models record not only these individuals’ deaths, but also the context in which the original casts were fashioned. Pompeii's Dead Reimagined | Archaeology.org
08172011 The outward appearance of the city of Naples is not welcoming. Yet the physical setting is incomparable. Nineteenth-century travelers considered the city, its bay, and its islands—chiefly Capri and Ischia—among the most beautiful spots in Europe. Naples’s vaguely Third World exterior conceals a delightfully Old World interior. Apart from the ubiquitous scooters and cell phones, modernity seems to have had little effect. There are no chain stores, no fast food, no tourist restaurants—and virtually no tourists. Gritty Grandeur | City Journal
08182011 Some call it "Italy's Mozzarella Paradise." About an hour south of Rome, drive along a country road and find numerous mozzarella dairies, or "caseificios," and watch firsthand how this Italian delicacy is made. Afterwards visit the nearby ruins of Paestum, a Greek colony founded around 600 B.C. featuring three majestic Doric-columned temples. Vacation Hidden Gems | The Huffington Post
08192011 Fifty miles south of Naples, on the western Italian coast, lie the ruins of the ancient Greek colony of Poseidonia, now known by its Roman name, Paestum. They "constitute the best-preserved 'population' of temples of any Greek city, save possibly Athens," says Brown University archaeologist R. Ross Holloway. Rediscovering Paestum | Archaeology.org
08202011 Capri, like many islands, has always colluded in its own secretiveness. The Villa Jovis of Tiberius still stands at its eastern tip, and all over its cliffs of ilex stand the empty villas of the Belle Époque, when Capri was not only the gay capital of Europe but a sanctuary from an increasingly violent and industrialized continent. It was a place where eccentrics and wealthy fantasists could exorcize their demons. The Island of Love | The Daily Beast
08212011 In the Grand Hotel Excelsior Vittoria in Sorrento, chef Vincenzo Galano is also using ingredients normally found on the starter and main course pages of the menu. Fennel seeds are steeped in hot cream to make a silky, aniseed concoction. In another, buffalo mozzarella is mixed with yogurt, lemons and squeezed olives to produce a creamy, fresh gelato. We All Scream for Gelato | The Wall Street Journal
08222011 There are only two real anchorages on the island, the first being just off Marina Grande (Big Marina), where gazillions of day-trippers are on and off-loaded everyday. The second is Marina Piccolo (Little Marina) on the other side of the island. The shot of Marina Grande indicates just how sheer some of the island's cliffs are. Photos of the Day July 5 - Capri, Italy | Latitude 38
08232011 Tod’s launched an exhibition showcasing Jackie Kennedy pictures taken by the photographer Settimio Garritano during her holidays in Capri in the early seventies. The exhibition is a celebration of the unique style of Jackie Kennedy which Tod’s have aimed to capture in a line of limited-edition products inspired by the island of Capri. Tod’s Jackie’s Capri exhibition | livin cool
08242011 The exhibition, Return to Baroque - The Golden Age of Neapolitan Art, that runs at the Beijing World Art Museum until Sept 15, features 40 oil paintings from Italy's National Museum of Capodimonte in Naples, previously a Bourbon palace and now one of the best museums in Italy with a rich collection of paintings of the Neapolitan School, from the 13th to the 18th century. Humanity and desire focus of Baroque period art on show | China Daily
08252011 Bruegel's political convictions remain unknown. Modern scholars are also unable to determine his religious beliefs. Bruegel probably viewed organized religion as an obstacle between man and God; his “Parable of the Blind”, also known as “The Blind Leading the Blind” (1568; Museo Nazionale di Capodimonte, Naples) may be interpreted as illustrating this idea. Pieter Bruegel the Elder | famousbelgians.net
08262011 These agile, oddly nimble sculptures are the work of Pasquale Pennacchio and Marisa Argentato, two Naples–based artists operating here, in their U.S. debut, as Pennacchio Argentato. On the wall next to every arc, the pair has hung a photograph of Arnold Schwarzenegger, scantily clad, with muscles bulging, shot decades before his move into politics. Pennacchio Argentato | ARTINFO.com
08272011 Naples, Italy: “The documentary driven workshop will be a week long groundbreaking radical event in its 24 hour intense focus as Donna with her students set out to discover together what makes the Naples one of the most awesomely terrifying cities in Europe. Be prepared. Doors will open for you and you will enter with your camera. Donna Ferrato’s Diva Documentary Tour | MediaStorm
08282011 Many Neapolitans still make the sign of the cross as they pass this deliciously creepy little museum, where in the 18th century, the inventor and Prince Raimondo di Sangro carried out his weird experiments. How he managed to embalm two figures – one male and one female – in such a way that the flesh fell off to reveal the petrified bones, veins and arteries, has never been ascertained, though ghoulish stories abound. Italy's best small museums | The Telegraph
08292011 You walk slowly on the Path of the Gods high above Positano for fear of cutting a switchback short and falling over a cliff. Your imagination starts playing tricks, keeping you on the lookout for brigands and satyrs. The Lattari Mountains come to a screeching halt, in one of the great meetings of land and sea. Like Big Sur, the Amalfi Coast is a place of savage beauty, all truculence and temerity. Among the gods on the Amalfi Coast | Los Angeles Times
08302011 The cream of Pompeii's relics are preserved in Naples's Museo Archeologico Nazionale. The most interesting room at the museum is the Secret Room. It contains some of the best-preserved ruins from Pompeii, which coincidently happens to be all the naughty stuff (phallic lamps, wicked pictures and headless Roman statue with a banana under its robes) from its brothels and taverns. Diamond in the dirt | The Sydney Morning Herald
08312011 Mayer Amschel Rothschild developed a small fortune lending money and handling the shipment of bullion during the Napoleonic Wars (1799-1815). As his wealth grew, he dispatched his five sons to different cities throughout Europe (London, Paris, Frankfurt, Naples and Vienna) and set up a pan-European network of messengers and carrier pigeons so they could quickly gather information that might affect their investments. Five Keys to Creating an Information Advantage | Harvard Business Review

Sunday, July 31, 2011

JULY 2011


PIZZA'S BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION

















07012011 It was only later that we discovered that we should have gone to Antica Pizzeria Brandi, the birthplace of Pizza Margherita in 1889, which was named in honor of the queen of Italy at the time. We spent the afternoon meandering through the colorful streets and piazzas, soaking in the ambience and hunting down restaurants for dinner tonight. Along the way we picked up some vino and some goodies for an aperitivo on the balcony of our hotel room, where we relaxed and watched the sun slowly disappear for the evening. Cruising into Napoli | Pétanque & Pastis
07022011 From Kid Dandy, O'MAST is a documentary film based in the Naples focused on the Neapolitan tailoring traditions. In those traditions the film highlights the Neapolitan's perspective on culture, the concept of time with a subtle hint of the architecture, that can all intrinsically be found in the structure, design and stitch of a suit. Gorgeous History Of Italian Tailoring In Naples, Scored with Jazz And Italian Accents | TheHuffingtonPost.com
07032011 The glory days of Maradona's scudetto-winning sides may be gone, but a visit to Napoli's huge bowl-like Stadio San Paolo is still one of Italian football's more rewarding experiences. Napoli represents an entire city against the world, the club carrying the hopes of the people of this much-maligned southern madhouse. SSC Napoli | FourFourTwo
07042011 There is an old Italian saying dating back to the 19th century that translates roughly as ‘see Naples and die’. Far from being a blunt threat, this was a reference to the breath-taking beauty of the city. Perhaps the phrase needs to be updated for 2011. ‘ See Naples and die, but not before you get the chance to see Napoli at the San Paolo’. See Naples and die! Brilliant Cavani treble kills off Old Lady | Serie Aaaaargh!…
07052011 This delightful hotel is nestled amid the fragrant pinewoods of Ischia, the largest island in the Gulf of Naples, renowned for its natural hot springs and healing thermal waters. The Moorish architecture of ‘Il Moresco’ complements the natural surroundings, with the white tower of the main building peeking through a mantle of trees offering glimpses of the Mediterranean in the distance. Hotel 5 stelle ad Ischia Porto - Hotel Il Moresco Terme | luxmag.com
07062011 A host of pasta sauces include anchovies to produce sensational comfort food. Top of the list for me is spaghettini alla puttanesca. It is alleged to have sustained Neapolitan ladies of the night (puttana means prostitute), though it has also been asserted that the name came from a late-night request made to an Ischia restaurateur in the Fifties: "Make any kind of rubbish" (puttanata). Anchovies: Small fish, big impact | The Indipendent
07072011 Thoroughly out-glitzed by neighbouring Capri and Ischia and all the nicer for it.... It is just four sq km and the main harbour town of Marina Grande is everything you'd want from an Italian harbour port; coloured houses, washing lines and rocky inlets. An especially enticing part of the Gulf of Naples, Procida's film-set quality has been been immortalised in The Talented Mr Ripley and Il Postino. Another island, Vivara, linked to Procida by a walkway, is a nature reserve. 20 undiscovered island gems | The Observer
07082011 The Amalfi coastal paths are renowned as some of the most beautiful and dramatic in Europe. Mountains rise steeply out of the Mediterranean, while picturesque towns nestle in isolated coves. Mule tracks and old paths winding through little hillside villages, plus lemon groves and deep gorges make it a walker's paradise. You can even add in a walk up Vesuvius, the volcano which erupted and buried ancient Pompeii. TV star has us all taking in the fresh air | News of the World
07092011 More great value here, this time for a really elegant and distinctive white wine from the southern Italian region of Campania. Made from the falanghina grape variety, what's particularly appealing here is the balance between the kind of mineral freshness and acidity you get in a decent Muscadet with some rich candied fruit. Wines of the week | The Observer
07102011Wow... there are some absolutely gorgeous photographs of Italy floating around Pinterest at the moment, all of which take me back to a beautiful honeymoon the hubby and I spent in Sorrento back in 2007, amazing... We managed to squeeze in visits to Amalfi, Ravello, Capri, Pompeii and many more. Here's a little sneak peek... Sorrento, Italy... Sorrento, Italy... | loveprintstudio
07112011 I've been shooting an editorial in Sorrento over the last couple of days. The Amalfi coast of Italy is truly a special place, with a huge romantic quality to the whole region. If you have never been, GO! Take the coastline drive to Positano and Ravello and if you have been…then go again! Brohen Heart | Vogue.com UK
07122011 A couple of weeks ago, Aaron and I decided to hop on a train from Naples (parking at the Joint Forces Command JFC – base near a train stop) and head on over to Ercolano/Herculaneum to check out another city that was buried during the 79 A.D. eruption of Monte Vesuvio in Naples. This particular city is much smaller than Pompeii, but is better preserved due to the method of how the ash/mud/etc. fell on both cities. Ercolano! | Carpe Vinum!
07132011 Seven groups of historic buildings in five Italian regions join the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites: from the Episcopal complex of Cividale del Friuli to the church of Santa Sofia in Benevento. Italy’s Longobard heritage added to the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites | CulturaItalia
07142011 The town that we are moving to next week is called Pozzuoli, also known to be Sophia Loren's hometown. You might also remember a guy named Apostle Paul, from the bible, Shay informed me last night that he stopped in this town on his missionary journey, on the way to Rome, he was here for a week! FYI | Gibsonchop
07152011 Perhaps eternal happiness doesn’t exist. But spending a couple of days in the Relais and restaurant Don Alfonso 1890 will definitely give you a taste of what it might feel like. It’s not only the beauty of the surroundings, or the extraordinary cuisine, or the sweetness of the air. The secret to what makes this place so special lies in the family that owns it. Meet the Iaccarino family | Fine Dining Lovers
07162011 Few restaurants have gone further in the eternal pursuit of the ultimate ingredients as Don Alfonso 1890. In 1990 the family bought a farm called Le Peracciole nearby Punta Campanella so that the restaurant could get its own produce of ingredients. Today do Don Alfonso 1890 serve most of their ingredients from their organic farm. Very few had any sort of organic thinking compared to what it is today. The flavours of the vegetables and the natural herbs is something all food lovers must tryout at least once in a lifetime. Don Alfonso 1890 – the essential ingredients | wbpstars.com
07172011 In Naples, the best tomatoes are grown especially for bottling or tinning. The elongated San Marzano tomato is the most famous; grown in the volcanic soil of Mount Vesuvius, these cook down to a lovely sweetness. They are on Slow Food’s “Ark of Taste” along with other “heritage” ingredients from around the world. San Marzanos are rare; those from the Sarno valley south-east of Vesuvius have DOP. Passata makes the difference for pasta | The Telegraph
07182011 And if you are itching to relax on a beach, Maiori is the place for you. A ferry service will take you there. Hotel Santa Lucia in Minori: if you are traveling with the kids and looking for somewhere more budget-friendly; also located close to the beach. Planning your trip to the Bel Paese | Panoram Italia
07192011 Armitage Gone! Dance performs selections from Made in Naples, a new work by acclaimed choreographer Karole Armitage, inspired by the Neapolitan character of Pulcinella. Pulcinella is known for his ever shifting nature—from bawdy to aristocratic, romantic to rebellious. Made in Naples | flavorpill
07202011 The Festival, now in its fourth year, is evolving, with a new fall session to be added to the summer schedule. A total of 33 performances and 135 replicas will be staged, and the Festival will once again have a strong international component. Once again, the city of Naples becomes a huge international stage for some of the most renowned figures from the world of the performing arts. A new season for the Napoli Theatre Festival | CulturaItalia
07212011 At the Museo Archeologico in Naples there’s an incredible mosaic of a big battle with Alexander. I was stunned by one fallen soldier staring at his metal shield next to him, his face reflected in the shield, watching himself die. It was the most amazing moment of stillness and observation that humanized this grand thing of bodies and horses, pageantry and desperation, schematically worked out. A moment of witnessing your own death. I’m sure that’s the first time reflecting on a reflection in a work of art was done. Eric Fischl: Soldiers on a break. | db artmag
07222011 Slim, slim, slim Aarons. Capturing the late 60's and 70's jet set and doyennes in their natural habitats, he might just be one of the original paparazzi's without actually being a paparazzi. And yes, that's Capri in that first print. Object of my affection: Not by the hair of my Slimmy Slim Slim... | The New Diplomat's Wife
07232011 The Swiss label Akris, whose collection was one of my favorites for Resort 2011, combined simple aesthetics with vivid shades of orange, blue and green. Designer Albert Kriemler also incorporated prints into a few looks and one dress even has the paysage of Capri printed onto it. In the Spirit of Capri, I present you with my favorite looks from the collection. Akris Resort 2011 Collection | The Fashion Observateur
07242011 Akris hosted a fashionable cocktail fete in honor of Pamela Fiori's new book, In the Spirit of Capri. The book features a collection of classic shots of the island by renown photographers like Slim Aarons. In it you'll see images of international jetsetters including Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Valentino, Marisa Berenson, Brigitte Bardot and Babe Paley, as well as pictures of the gorgeous landscape and scenery. Capri Chic | WellAppointedHouse.com
07252011 This is where it all started. The ugly Isle of Capri. If you rotate the image vertically, it looks very much like a Capri-panted Cankle. If only it had gone the way of another Mediterranean isle. Island of Evil | ihatecapripants
07262011 Hotel Capo La Gala is situated in the enchanting Sorrento coast, beautifully immersed in a mountain descending right to the sea, perfectly in harmony with the Mediterranean scenery. Bar Capri takes its name from the naïve artist Carmelina di Capri; her paintings cover the walls of the bar making the atmosphere very charming and rétro. Capo La Gala Hotel - Vico Equense | TheRealHotels
07272011 Carmelina di Capri, Italian, b. 1920, Town in Capri, Signed Carmelina A. and inscribed Capri (ll), Oil on canvas 31 3/8 x 38 7/8 inches, The Estate of Beverly Sills Carmelina di Capri - Past Auction Results | artnet
07282011 On the island of Capri, in 1903, the first ballerina of the Tarantella was Carmelina, a stunningly beautiful 14 year old, originating from a farming family. Such was her charm and talent that she never failed to entrance the tourists with her dancing and drum playing, called the Tarascone.The Neapolitan Tarantella | Scialapopolo Capri
07292011 The inhabitants of Tiberio, in the top part of the Municipality of Capri, are such proud depositaries of authentic life in Capri. Neither can Villa Jovis be forgotton, the most pompous among the imperial Villas, or the legend of the “Beautiful Carmelina”, the extraordinary “landlady”, who attracted whole generations of romantic travellers to the Villa. Piedigrotta Tiberiana | Capri Tourism
07302011 Gorgonia corals as trees, a red star, sea urchins cracked open, and other gifts of Poseidon and bring it on board for the lucky convivium. The urchins’ eggs were sweet, briny, rugged, creamy, delicate, ever-so-slightly pungent, umame, sensual on your tongue… They must have been the food of the sirens (not surprisingly legends says that the sirens Ulysses heard lived right on the coast of Sorrento where I grew up). Savoring Summer- Guest Post from Z Tasty Life | Sippity Sup
07312011 Neapolitan drivers are notoriously allergic to traffic and parking rules and regulations. The Mayor intends to use municipal police to increase the sense of security in the city on the part of citizens and tourists by increasing the number of policemen on patrols. Mayor de Magistris gets tough on security | Naples Politics