SEPTEMBER 2012

PARADISE ON EARTH

09012012 Time seems to stand still in Capri. I have been visiting the island for many years and aside from the new storefronts, the newer style, cute open-air taxi cabs and some extra-large mega yachts, the island looks the same as it did in the photos from the 1950′s with Jackie O and Brigitte Bardot strolling the slippery stone streets. Capri’s Dolce Vita | The Leading Hotels of the World
09022012 Our tour of the Roccamonfina Regional Park starts at the Sanctuary of St. Mary of the Lattani which houses a 15th century church, a Franciscan monastery, magnificent cloisters and a hermitage overlooking the vast and luscious Campanian landscape and poised on the edge of the Roccamonfina volcano. The religious complex was founded in 1430 when a statue of the Virgin Mary was miraculously discovered in a nearby grotto where a shepherd kept his sheep. The news spread and pilgrims soon began to appear. Il Convento dei Lattani | Savour The Sannio
09032012 The traditional ceramics, merit and boast of the city, can be admired in the Museum of Cerretese Ceramics and in the artisan shops with the traditional methods, the production of good quality artistic ceramics goes on: it is the value added of a handicraft tradition that includes the art of stone, of wood and of wrought iron. Cerreto Sannita |  Seguendo Ulisse
09042012 The river Bussento, after having crossed 6 kms in the bowels of the earth, resurges under the medieval suburb of Morigerati. Here the WWF manages one of the most important oasis’ of Southern Italy. The whole zone offers one of the most beautiful spectacles and is one of the greatest naturalistic attraction of the National Park of Cilento and Diano’s End. From Morigerati or from its fraction Sicilì you go down a beautiful muletrack paved in stone passing through the evergreen bush, that leads you to an ancient watermill on one side and to the entry of the resurgence cave from the other. From here you can go beyond the deep and spectacular canyon dugged by the river. Outside, then, the river offers suggestive views along the gorge, where clear and fresh waters form, flowing among deep puddles, rapids and falls. The WWF oasis, Bussento's caves | Seguendo Ulisse
09052012 Salerno is a wonderful port city and the second largest in Campania after Napoli, and like it’s big sister it has a wonderful ancient area full of crazy little shops that sell everything from horse harnesses to coffee grinders, you can also pick up a fabulous panama hat at a very decent price and a plated leather belt for 3 euro! Take a stroll down Corso Vittorio Emanuele, the  exciting modern promenade close to the sea front also full of fashionable shops, you can find some great bargains. There is a great café on every corner and a lot of hot suntans decked out in chic linen shirts and very brightly coloured cotton trousers! Not to mention the numerous benches along the way for a rest seated next to a newpaper clad Italian! Cetara & Salerno | Amanda Tabberer On The Amalfi Coast...
09062012 Massa Lubrense – the sunsets along the Amalfi Coast are absolutely breathtaking but rent a motorcycle or moto and head to the cliffs of Massa Lubrense.  Just before sunset, stop at the top of the hill and watch as magic happens with the island of Ischia silhouetted in the distance. Top 5 Romantic Things on Amalfi Coast | blog.davidsbeenhere
09072012 The "Enzo Avitabile Music Life", shot entirely in Naples, centers around jam sessions with a dozen world musicians at a Baroque church along with scenes from Avitabile's life, his middle class Naples apartment and the nitty gritty of his hometown of Marianella on the outskirts of Naples. "I did have a lot of confidence in the visual power that lives in Naples," Demme said. "I was capturing Enzo's Naples," which he called "a tremendous melting pot." Jonathan Demme returns to live music film | finance.yahoo.com
09082012 The Castel dell’Ovo, or Egg Castle, juts out from Naples into the bay. A friend took a helicopter ride over the city and when looking through her photographs I realised I wanted to paint the castle from this unusual angle. Buildings are stylised, reduced to a few simple forms, but can still be recognised. As with every painting, I want the result to be principally about the impact of colour. Painting by Penny Ewles-Bergeron | Gerard O'Keeffe
09092012 The Greeks had a point when they lowered anchor in the bay of Naples and claimed it for their own almost 3000 years ago. One of the most naturally beautiful areas of Italy with Vesuvius rising above the bay and so much glory nearby. I love a visit to Naples but hey if you have a come all the way to Naples why not go a couple more miles and see some of the most incredible history, coastline and islands in the world. What To See Around Naples | Carla Loves Photography
09102012 Settembrata! Settembrata on Anacapri means Italian musicians singing in the street, pacchiane-local women dressed in Neapolitan garb carrying baskets of grapes on their heads, and contadini-farmers pushing wooden wagons piled high with the first seasons grapes. This is la festa dell’uva e alla vendemmia, the festival of the grape and wine harvest. The festa takes its name from the month September, and starts on the last Sunday of August. It blesses the coming vendemmia-grape harvest and kisses summer good bye. Settembratta was first started in 1923 by Filippo Tommaso Marinetti,  Edwin Cerio, and Lino Lipinsky. Fresh Recipes, Kitchen Ideas, Food News & Fun Things To Do In Sunny Italy | Cooking Vacations
09112012 I have been on the Amalfi Coast for five months. I spent five months locked in an Italian summer in an Italian world; my days consisting of sun, sea and lemons. Now I am stuffing my carry-on bag into the overhead compartment on a cold airplane that will take me back to my other life in my other world; the life and the family that waits for me across the Atlantic in New York. Throughout the past five months I explored a new part of the coast every day. I met new people every day until they eventually turned into familiar faces. I was able to spend more time with my Italian family and to get to know them better. I learned how to understand the local dialect. I ate (way too much) pasta. I fell in love (or lust?) with an Italian man. Most importantly, I found myself. Tasting the Bitter and Savoring the Sweet | Italia Living
09122012 In Spring 2013 the British Museum will present a major exhibition on the Roman cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum, sponsored by Goldman Sachs. This exhibition will be the first ever held on these important cities at the British Museum, and the first such major exhibition in London for almost 40 years. It is the result of close collaboration with the Archaeological Superintendency of Naples and Pompeii, will bring together over 250 fascinating objects, both recent discoveries and celebrated finds from earlier excavations. Many of these objects have never before been seen outside Italy. The exhibition will have a unique focus, looking at the Roman home and the people who lived in these ill-fated cities. Life and death in Pompeii and Herculaneum | artdaily.org
09132012 There’s a reason Shakespeare cast Romeo as an Italian, and when it comes to the language of love no nation is better versed. Whether they’re showering women with compliments or singing sweet nothings below a vine-covered balcony, Latin men have seduction down to a fine art. Humble Englishmen wishing to learn a trick or two should enrol in Hotel Caruso’s Dolce Vita Serenade and Seduction classes. After learning a few important phrases in Italian, lacklustre lovers can practise singing ‘amore’ in a myriad of different tones and pitches. (It’s the way you sing, not what you sing that really counts here.) Hobby holidays | Yorkshire Evening Post
09142012 In “Love Is All You Need,” two very different families meet in a beautiful, old Italian villa, in the middle of a lemon grove. The occasion is a romantic wedding, meticulously planned to the smallest detail. Of course, nothing goes according to plan and yet everything works out in the end. The plot is mainly acclimated in a village of the Italian peninsula of Sorrento, perfect setting for Philip and Ida. To give an even greater atmosphere of romance, the soundtrack features popular Italian songs, perfect for legitimizing this love Mediterranean. Love Is All You Need | Zimbio
09152012 The beach, like many on the Sorrento peninsula and environs, has no sand. Rather there are rocks the size of mangoes, pears, plums, and kumquats that crackle like breaking glass when the waves go out. There are sunbeds and umbrellas for rent, but don’t expect a high end stabilmento (Italian beach front with services). You can sit a yard from the water with a view of the peak where Emperor Tiberius forced his young victims to jump to their deaths. The Mediterranean is cristalline, drawing you in until you leave your sunbed and go for a swim. The local Capri Beach | ItalianNotebook
09162012 The Hotel Caesar Augustus on Italy’s isle of Capri is cooking up a fantastic summer season with a new Executive Chef at the helm of the restaurant. Eduardo Vuolo is developing daily menus based on the ripest vegetables he finds in the on-site organic garden every day. Here are some sample dishes: Buffalo mozzarella with tomato & basil sauce; I Ravioli alla Caprese (ravioli filled with fresh caciotta cheese) and Le polpette di melanzane con salsa "sciuè sciuè" (eggplant balls served with fresh tomato sauce). The best part of all? While the chef experiments with recipes in the kitchen, he sends out samples to hotel guests lounging by the pool. Perched on a sheer cliff high above the Bay of Naples, the Hotel Caesar Augustus has one of the prettiest infinity pools in the world-- surrounded by turquoise sea and sky. New Chef Eduardo Vuolo for Capri’s Hotel Caesar Augustus | Luxury Travel Advisor
09172012 I’ve fallen in love with Ravello’s secret gardens and twisty cobblestone streets spilling with limoncello stands and colorful handmade pottery. And I‘ve fallen in love with the Palazzo’s warm staff, ancient walls, stunning sea views and soul. Be it Palazzo Sasso or Palazzo Avino, for me, this hotel – and Ravello – is one of my favorite places in the world to be. From Italy – With Love | jajoftravel.com
09182012 The architecture of Positano is distinctive for its simplicity and beauty: the houses are shaped like cubes, with low circular arched roofs, and often have their small porticoes open to the sea. For years the village, once famed for its skilled sailors, has been an elegant and exclusive tourist town: there are dozens of small meeting places in its narrow terraced lanes, and the craft shops sell brightly-coloured clothes in lots of patterns and colours. From Salerno to Positano and Sorrento | Italia.it
09202012 The organic methods used at Monte di Grazia in Tramonti also further limit the yields. The vines were planted in the tendone method. This is the traditional method for planting vines in Southern Italy. The leaves are trained to form a canopy that protects the grapes from the sun. It is like a pergola with an overhead trellis from which the grapes hang down. In one of the vineyards an old vine looked like it was holding up the whole tendone. The poles that hold up the tendone are made of chestnut wood from trees in the nearby hills and the vine “branches” are attached to the tendone by willow shoots. All the grapes are picked by hand. Azienda Agricola Biologica Monte di Grazia Winery | Charles Scicolone on Wine
09212012 What makes the Pasta di Gragnano – European IGP label – so special? On the one hand, the IGP label has been recognized because of the 2000 years of historical pasta production in the town of Gragnano. On the other hand, because of the manufacturing process, based on bronze drawing technique (using 100% Italian grain) and low temperature drying technique, allowing the transfer of flavours to obtain a unique pasta. Pastificio Di Martino celebrates 100 years of success | connect.it
09222012 For those coming from the North Coast, Campania begins where the Appian Way branches off into a variety of minor roads. Everything about this area speaks of ancient times. We leave Minturno, this side of Garigliano, cross the river and get to the land of Falerno, with its vineyards sloping down Monte Massico almost to the coastline. We are in the homeland of one of the most delicious cheeses: Mozzarella di Bufala. Campania | sipItaly
09232012 During a few mozzarella tastings arranged by SipItaly, that Patrizia La Trecchia. attended over the past month, she and Vincenzo D’Antonio provided some entertaining remarks for the guests, explaining everything they needed to know about the mozzarella di bufala Campana. The real thing comes from Campania in Southern Italy. “Italians all over the country consume mozzarella di bufala campana only when it is fresh or within a couple of days of its preparation. After two days, they only use it as an ingredient for the preparation of other dishes such as lasagna. When it arrives frozen, the authentic taste is altered,” she said. Italian Food for Thought | University of South Florida
09242012 We enjoyed this heavenly reward on the Path of the Gods, named for the Roman temples that once stood here. It's a 10km section – between Praiano and famous Positano – of one of Italy's most picturesque hiking routes, along the Amalfi coast. For more than an hour we had climbed steps that zig-zagged up the mountain. Lizards lazed on rocks and butterflies fluttered among the trees. The views became more dramatic with every step: the sea fizzing over the craggy coast and, further ahead, Positano's landslide of matchbox houses tumbling down the cliffs. Far below, Praiano's traffic hummed. Walking the Amalfi coast | The Guardian
09252012 You'll either love it or hate it, but one thing's certain: Curzio Malaparte's "house like me" is the most striking work of modern architecture on the island of Capri. Pizzolungo | italyTraveller
09262012 Vertiginous terrace of Baron de Fersen bedroom, French dandy, poet and writer, in love with Capri. He made built this house (also named "Villa Lysis") in top of a cliff around 1905 and lived there till his death in 1923. His story is told in Roger Peyrefitte's novel "L'exilé de Capri".
09272012 For my first vendemmia of 2012, I chose a small vineyard with a big story. The Asprinio di Aversa vineyard belonging to Az. Agrituristico Arbustum in the town of Casel Di Principe in Caserta... about 30 minutes from Naples. Asprinio di Aversa a white grape found in this part of the country has been around a long time, some believe as far back as the Etruscan period. And that explains the training system that many vineyards that produce this grape still use today. Vineyard Hopping | andiamotrips
09282012 Amalfi Coast in Capri, Cliffs overlooking Bay of Naples in Sorrento, Limoncello. Pompei: Mt. Vesuvius erupted in 79AD and buried the city of Pompei. We visited the fascinating ruins in the once thriving city. And Naples home of the pizza... oh and Gelato. At every stop. Capri, Sorrento, Pompei and Naples: Highlights | Food to Run For
09292012 The Amalfi Coast of Italy is known for its lemons which are hand picked between February and October.  In Sorrento, you'll be hard pressed to find anything that doesn't have to do with that aromatic yellow citrus fruit.  From art work, to beauty products, to food and drink, everywhere you look is evidence that their world revolves around the lemon. Italians are proud of their limoncello and many restaurants bring a frosted cordial glass of the liqueur after the meal, compliments of the house.  Some restaurants leave the entire bottle at the table for refills at your discretion.  A taste of Italy | Examiner
09302012 My personal favourite brand, il Gusto della Costa (the flavour of the coast) is made by a true “limoncello-master”, Valentino Esposito, whose “factory” is a street-front store in Praiano. While the glass frontage affords the passerby the opportunity to see the master at work, Valentino is more than happy to stop the process to explain just why his Limoncello is so special. The fragrance of the lemons being peeled in preparation is heady enough but it’s the readily offered tasting session that makes for a particularly happy visit. Il Gusto use a particular lemon grown on the farms in the area called “Sfusato Amalfitano” and the oily “juice” of the lemon peel is like perfume when he squeezes a slither of the peel on to your skin. Passion secret ingredient for great Limoncello | Independent Online