A tour through CampaniaBy Emmanuel TresmontantIf you're going to Naples and Capri this summer, take advantage of your trip to visit Campania! This large fertile and mountainous region along the Tyrrhenian Sea indeed boasts many little known gems such as the Amalfi Coast (a Unesco world heritage site), the little town of Ravello perched on a cliff, or the Carthusian monastery of Padula tucked away in the immense Cilento Nature Park... And then there are the wines, and the 100% authentic local food produce and seafood cuisine. 3 day tour  © DR An exceptional guide: Mauro Scarlato For a person landing at Capodichino airport to the north of Naples it's a relief to be met by a local who quickly whisks you out of the hazy and sprawling suburbs of the city dominated by Vesuvius. Above all, to explore Campania, I couldn't have found a better guide than Mauro Scarlato! This former deputy mayor of Salerno is today one of the most renowned wine waiters and gourmets in Italy. A member of Slow Food and of the Italian Cuisine Academy, he has spent 20 years assembling in the centre of Salerno an extraordinary library housing over two floors more than 6,000 books in English, Italian and French, devoted to wine and gastronomy and accessible free of charge. Campania comprises several separate provinces (Avellino, Benevento, Caserta, Naples and Salerono), and presents highly differing scenery from the coastal plains around Vesuvius to the wild mountains of the hinterland. There is far more to it than just the archeological sites of Pompei and Herculanum or the Islands of Capri and Ischia! Colonised in the beginning by the Greeks and Etruscans in the 8th century BC, Campania developed over the centuries a particularly refined lifestyle of which Pompei was the blazing and ephemeral symbol. However, after ancient Greek and Roman times this lifestyle has continued down to our days, especially with regard to cuisine and the growth of vines.  Park from the Caserta Royal Palace © Fototeca ENIT / Paola Ghirotti The renaissance of the wines of the King of Naples On leaving the airport we took the road to Caserta, 18 miles to the north-west of Naples. Apart from its Medieval town dominated by the remains of a 9th century castle, Caserta is above all known for its gigantic Royal Palace (dubbed the 'Italian Versailles') built in 1751 by the architect, Luigi Vanvitelli, for the King off Naples, Charles III of Bourbon. A Unesco world heritage site, it comprises the palace, theatre, a splendid park, a pharaonic aqueduct crossing 5 mountains and 3 valleys over 25 miles, and also hunting pavilions and an industrial complex for the production of silk. 'Caserta Royal Palace, Mauro Scarlato tells me, was in the 18th century an embryo of a small republic where plebeians and nobles lived together in perfect harmony.' Yet my guide had not brought me here to visit this historic site (several hours are necessary!) but to discover an extraordinary couple of vine growers in the very close hills at Castel Campagnano.  © Azienda vitivinicola Terre del Principe Europeans have very poor knowledge of Italian wines of which the best ones moreover are very little exported. Yet, for 5 to 30 ¤, you can find in Campania wines of fantastic quality. Hidden away in the midst of green countryside quite similar to that of Tuscany, the Azienda vitivinicola Terre del Principe produces for instance marvelously aromatic wines. At its helm, a couple of 'new vine growers': the journalist Manuela Piancastelli, author of several reference books on Italian wines, and the lawyer Giuseppe Mancini. At the end of the 1980s, both of them decided to resuscitate the old local vine varieties that had almost disappeared from the region: white and black Pallagrello and Casavecchia. In the 18th century they nevertheless formed the backbone of the vineyard of the King of Naples who appreciated their spicy taste. By dint of obstinate persistence, Manuela and Giuseppe have managed to extract from their 11 hectares of vineyards rare and highly individual nectars that command respect throughout Italy. The white, matured in vats, appeals by its nose of bitter orange and honey and its very fresh body that is slightly mentholated. The blend of black Pallagrello and Casavecchia has, for its part, an impressive balance, these two vine varieties combining to produce the structure of a wine that will age well and the exuberance of a concentrate of red fruits (from 7 ¤ a bottle)  © E. Tresmontant/ViaMichelin A good old family-run pizzeria Sorry, Mauro Scarlato tells me to excuse him but he absolutely must get back to Salerno by 5 pm to watch the Naples-Treviso match that will be decisive for his team to enter the first division... Never mind, I take advantage of the fact to visit his wine cellar (obviously sumptuous), and his famous library located in a building in the Medieval town centre, close to the cathedral. The evening having arrived, and Naples having crushed Treviso 3 : 0, Mauro took me out for dinner to the oldest restaurant in town, the Pizzeria Vicolo delle Neve. Here, no menu, the dishes are the same every day and are prepared in the same wood oven: dried cod, stuffed aubergines, pasta with beans, sausage with broccoli... Simple, homely cuisine that delights the clientele of regulars. 'The first fast food, pizzas were invented in Naples in the 18th century and it is there that you'll still find the world's best, Mauro tells me. But the pizzas made here are also delicious, like the calzone stuffed with mozzarella and ricotta , a speciality of Salerno.' Approximately 20 ¤ a meal. Where to spend the night?Located in Cetara, 5 miles to the west of Salerno, Hotel Cetus directly overlooks the sea. Its splendid position will let you easily discover the beauties of the Amalfi Coast.  The establishment is modern and its 40 spacious rooms all have a terrace overlooking the sea, opposite the Gulf of Salerno. From 70 ¤ la night. Strada Statale 163 84010 Cetara - Salerno Tel: +39 089 261388 Second day: the Amalfi Coast After two or three ristretti (very strong)coffees, I meet Mauro Scarlato again who tells me the day will be busy! He lets me know there's no question of travelling along the 49 miles of cliff road connecting Salerno to Sorrento: it would take a full day to admire all the scenery of cliffs, gorges, and suspension bridges that earned the Amalfi Coast its inclusion on the list of Unesco world heritage sites in 1997. The selection of sites he proposes to me on the other hand will allow us to have a glimpse of Italy's most beautiful coast both visually and tastewise...  © E. Tresmontant/ViaMichelin Limoncello, a must-buy speciality Thanks to its proximity to the sea and the quality of its soil and climate, Campania offers all year round the splendid sight of gardens and terraces dotted with lemon trees whose fruits reach here the size of a melon!. While 90 % of Italian lemons come from Sicily, the local variety, Nostrano, is considered the best. It is with these untreated lemons with powerful aromas that small family companies, like Shaker located in the village of Vietri sul Mare (2 miles from Salerno), produce the very typical limoncello: a liqueur based on lemon peel that has macerated for 3 days in alcohol. Limoncello is drunk ice-cold in small glasses as an after-meal liqueur, like grappa or aniseed or fennel alcohol.  © E. Tresmontant/ViaMichelin One of Italy's greatest white wines Mauro then takes me 20 miles west of Salerno to the village of Furore built on the side of a cliff. On the way, the road crosses several fishermen's villages (like San Cosma, Castiglione, Pastenalone) and, above all, the very beautiful town of Amalfi where we return for lunch. In Furore lives an exceptional lady vine grower, Marisa Cuomo, 'whose white wine, Mauro Scarlato tells me, has for two successive years been elected the best in Italy: a feat for a wine from the south, as the most acclaimed white wines normally come from Piedmont or Venezia!' Marisa's oldest vines are a century old and are special in that their roots cross under the village road and their trunks come out horizontally through a wall built under the road. All her vines are grown on terraces 450 to 600 metres above sea level: the grapes benefit from the wind and fresh air. Produced from a blend of two traditional vine varieties, Falanghina and Biancolella, Marisa Cuomo's wines are fresh, sensual and aromatically complex in a manner that is entirely exceptional for Mediterranean whites! Unfortunately, they are not exported, so you'll have to come to Campania to taste them!  © E. Tresmontant/ViaMichelin A memorable lunch in Amalfi From Furore, we returned to Amalfi. This little town whose high white houses perch on the slopes of a small valley faces a deep blue sea. Its admirable site is highly appreciated by holiday-makers and cruise lines which, in summer, cast anchor close by. You should go for a stroll in the historic, commercial centre close to Piazza Duomo and take the little streets and vaulted passages which, leading to little squares adorned with fountains, recall that the town plan draws inspiration from the Arab model. The Duomo di S. Andrea itself, founded in the 9th century, has an obvious Oriental influence. Amalfi boasts one of southern Italy's first restaurants to have been awarded a Michelin star: La Caravella. Founded in 1959, this establishment located in the former residence of the Duke of Amalfi is internationally renowned for its fabulous seafood cuisine. The chef, Antonio Dipino, makes it a point of honour to use only authentic Campanian produce: the fish and shellfish of course, but also the cheeses, olive oil, and fruits and vegetables (which an 86 year old market gardener delivers every day!).  © E. Tresmontant/ViaMichelin Antonio Dipino's cuisine is a stirring hymn to the Mediterranean. The purity and apparent simplicity of his style contrast so much with the sophisticated cuisines occupying the forefront of today's global gastronomic scene! Above all, Dipino's cuisine has roots. Where else than here can you eat for instance swordfish with wild fennel wrapped in a lemon tree leaf? Where else could you enjoy the Amalfi Coast fishermen's speciality: soaked bread with raw fish and shrimps? The anchovies stuffed with smoked cheese are, for their part, seasoned with a 'garum' sauce whose recipe goes back to ancient Roman times and is made of fermented anchovies... Lastly, you should try this definitely modern dish: ricotta accompanied with a pear and served in a red wine sauce with raw shrimps - it is so delicate and mild that it makes an admirable dessert! Tasting menu from 58 ¤.  © E. Tresmontant/ViaMichelin After such gustative emotion, we traveled uphill for 4 miles to Ravello, a sublime destination. This small Medieval town of 2,544 inhabitants, which seems to be floating between sky and sea, is an absolutely extraordinary site. The road from Amalfi begins by winding steeply upwards along the narrow Valle del Dragone planted with vineyards and olive trees. On arriving, Ravello gives you a feeling of how paradise may be, as does the Gothic Villa Rufolo (13th century) which Boccaccio quotes in The Decameron. Aristocrats from all over Italy and several popes stayed here as well as Wagner who, in 1880, found the inspiration here to finish Parsifal. Its flower gardens and Baroque terraces present a sweeping panorama over all the coast and the Gulf of Salerno. Each summer, Villa Rufolo also hosts a classical music festival, highly renowned in Italy, during which musicians play in the open air in the evening. Villa Cimbrone, built in the 19th century, is the other gem in Ravello, with its gardens and terraces adorned with marble busts. With a bit of luck, you'll find a vacancy in one of the two hotels in the town: the Best Western Hotel Marmorata or Hotel Graal. Third day: direction the hinterland! 'It's impossible to explore Campania in only 3 days insists Mauro Scarlato, but today I absolutely want to show you 3 other addresses worth a detour.'  © E. Tresmontant/ViaMichelin Beautiful and delicious cheeses The first address is in Eboli, 21 miles to the south-east of Salerno. The name of this town has become famous because of Francesco Rosi's great film based on the book by Carlo Levi, Christ stopped inEboli, which denounced the living conditions of peasants and workers in the first half of the 20th century. Far from being a desert, as could be supposed, this part of southern Italy is on the contrary fertile and verdant. It is here, in the suburbs of the town, that Angelo Madaio and his father Antonio work. Casa Madaio, their small company, is a genuine institution in Italy for cheese aficionados! At the outset, Antonio was content with just producing a very good Mozzarelladi bufala which remains one of the local specialities.* Then he and his son started to mature in their cellars the best cheeses of southern Italy, like Caciocavallo, a cheese made from the milk of a given type of cow (so-called 'red' cows) to be found in the south of Campania. This dark colour cheese, resembling a big pear, is matured for 12 to 48 months at an altitude of 1,700 metres. Another marvel, Canestrato, is a goat cheese of the Pecorino family that is pressed in a basket, of which it keeps the imprint, before being refined for 12 months at a high altitude.  © E. Tresmontant/ViaMichelin The Carthusian monastery of Padula Fifty miles to the south-east of Eboli, the Carthusian monastery of Padula is the largest architectural ensemble of southern Italy. To reach it, we crossed the immense Cilento Nature Park, a mountainous area almost deserted (except for a few highly perched villages, such as Castel Civita where the Madaio family have their maturing cellar) that became in 1997 a Unesco biosphere reserve. Originally this park was the King of Naples favourite hunting ground. As road signposting is almost non-existent here, a navigation system is a must! Founded in 1306, the Carthusian monastery of Padula, is one of the 19 Carthusian houses that still exist worldwide. This colossal building hidden away in a valley in fact required several centuries of construction. Apart from its magnificent 14th century cedar portal which leads to the church, its architecture is mainly pure Baroque. The large cloister, the large 18th century staircase designed by Vanvitelli, the gigantic kitchens, and the French-style gardens. all the site inspires a feeling of great plenitude.  © Azienda agricola Montevetrano A great lady of Italian vine growing To finish beautifully this little tour around the heart of Campania, I absolutely had to visit Silvia Imparato whose Azienda agricola Montevetrano, located 4 miles from Salerno, is a place of fascinating poetry. Silvia was initially a photographer. At the beginning of the 1990s she decided to resuscitate her grandfather's vineyard, which was then mainly composed of rustic vine varieties producing a 'peasant' wine just about good enough to swill down pasta. An aficionado of great Bordeaux wines, Sylvia decided, against the opinion of the most renowned oenologists, to plant Cabernet sauvignon, Merlot (Bordeaux vine varieties par excellence) and a few plots with Agliano, a typical regional vine variety which gives Campanian wines their character and their 'accent' that is so special. By 1993, Montevetrano wine, produced in very low quantities, had become a sublime nectar! Today everyone wants it and you have to step carefully to obtain a bottle or two... The site, planted with hazel trees, cherry trees and wild olive trees has kept all its Mediterranean charm. You can even stay here at the bed and breakfast run by Silvia's sister. * Genuine Campanian Mozzarella is made with buffalo milk in the fertile Volturno Valley between Salerno, Eboli and Paestum. Since 1993, the name Mozzarella di bufala campana is a protected trademark. Address bookTerre del Principe (visits and tasting by appointment) Via S.P. SS Giovanni e Paolo, 30 Tel. / fax: +39 0823 867126 Antica Pizzeria Vicolo Delle Neve
Limoncello by Shaker Via del Travertino, 17 84019 Vietri sul mare (SA) Tel.: +39 089 761717 Fax: +39 089 763719 E-mail: info@shaker.it Marisa Cuomo Cantine Gran Furor Divina Costiera di Marisa Cuomo 84010 Furore (SA) Tel.:+39 089 830348 Fax: +39 089 8304014 La Caravella 84011 Amalfi (SA) Tel. / fax: +39 089 871029 Casa Madaio Via Roma, 23 84020 Castelcivita (SA) Via Serracapilli 84025 Eboli (SA) Tel.: +39 0828 364 815 Fax: +39 0828 333 096 Azienda Agricola Montevetrano Tel.: +39 089 882285 Fax: +39 089 882010 To consult Mauro Scarlato's library |
Tourism and Gastronomy
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