Napoli, contorni e dintorni

What is the first thing you do in Napoli? Order a caffè in the first bar down the street from your hotel, of course. The ritual is simple, yet feels like a rite de passage that allows you to become part of the city.

I had entertained the idea of visiting Sicily via Napoli for a couple of years. Pietro Nullamento, my neighbour in Amsterdam, was born in Napoli and migrated to the Netherlands in the 1970s. I helped him deal with Dutch authorities and utility companies because he never became fluent in Dutch. I liked his Neapolitan temper and hospitality. Sometimes he would open the door with a Caesar-style salute, stretching his arm out. Politically, he had sympathy for the communists.

His son Marco was always absent. One day he visited Pietro, borrowed his credit card, and then disappeared again, leaving Pietro with a huge debt. Pietro had to take out a bank loan at a lower interest rate, and for several years I had to schedule his monthly payments in the online banking system. I remember Pietro’s relief when he finally became debt-free. I even vowed I would hit Marco in the face if I ever met him.
An article in NRC explained that Marco had been homeless since the age of 27 and had struggled with a gambling addiction his entire adult life. Shortly after Pietro passed away, Marco took his own life in 2024 at the age of 43.

Visiting Napoli was a small hommage to Pietro who, despite being working class, was always proud of Italy’s great thinkers and writers — from Niccolò Machiavelli to Dante Alighieri.

“Napule è nu sole amaro - Naples is a bitter sun
Napule è addore ’e mare - Naples is the smell of the sea
Napule è ’na carta sporca - Naples is a dirty piece of paper
E nisciuno se n’importa - And no one cares
E ognuno aspetta ’a ciorta - And everyone waits for fate”

— Napule È, a 1977 song by Pino Daniele

Aperitivo

Certainly a moment I had anticipated for months: my first aperitivo in Napoli, another cultural ritual, the transition from day to evening. I found a place on Via Vergini in the neighborhood of Rione Sanità, once filled with noble palaces and baroque churches, now a working-class district. I watched the scooters drive by. Some children must have been born on a scooter; otherwise I cannot explain how well they balanced on the backseat or stood between the driver’s legs.

Antica Cantina Sepe
Via Vergini, 55, 80137 Napoli

Negroni sbagliato

In the 1950s, a large number of Italian guest workers came to the Netherlands—especially to Amsterdam and the working-class neighborhood of the Jordaan. The music inspired many artists from the Jordaan. When I hear this Neapolitan singer, I immediately think of singer André Hazes.

50 meters below ground

The city put a lot of effort into the metro stations. Some are quite magical. Toledo station opened in 2012. It was designed by the Spanish architect Óscar Tusquets Blanca in collaboration with artist William Kentridge. The water hall is covered in blue mosaics that create the sensation of being under the sea. Toledo lies 50 meters below Naples, making it one of the city’s deepest metro stations — though not as deep as Arsenalna on the Kyiv Metro in Ukraine, which is about 105 meters underground.

Pizzeria Pellone

Via Nazionale, 93, 80143 Napoli

In Napoli you don’t drink wine with pizza — Napoletani order beer. Pizzeria Pellone reminded me most of a German beer hall, with the same utilitarian atmosphere. This is not fine dining. Coincidentally, the draft beer served at Pizzeria Pellone is Helles from the Auerbräu Brauerei.

The classic: Margherita. Ingredients: pomodoro, fior di latte, formaggio, olio d’oliva e basilico. The cheese is fior di latte, which is made of cow’s milk and melts with less moisture compared to mozzarella di buffala.

Domenica 14 settembre

Having worked during the summer months an average of almost ten hours a day I couldn’t wake up early on the first day in Napoli. I had breakfast at 10:30 am, the classic: cappuccino and a pistachio cream filled cornetto. Simple, satisfying.

The metro station Chiaia is layered according to Roman mythological gods. When you get off the train hundreds of eyes stare at you from the ceiling: the red eyes of Pluto, god of the dead and the king of the underworld. When moving up the stairs of escalators you move through the layer of Proserpina, Queen of the Underworld, then the green of Ceres, next Il blu profound del mare of Neptunes, and finally the sky white and blue of Jupiter, just below the exit.

Leaving the metro station Chiaia you are indeed quite close to the seafront. I love how Italians make most of any tiny piece of access to the sea. I’d left my Speedo in my bag, so I had to wait until Sicily to submerge myself in the warm water.

Il blu profound del mare

Castel dell'Ovo

The Castel dell’Ovo was closed for renovation, but the small peninsula was still accessible, with a little marina and a few spots for aperitivo. The castle was named “Castel dell’Ovo” (“Castle of the Egg”) in medieval times, though it is much older. The Romans built a villa on the island in the 1st century BCE. During the Byzantine Empire, the site became a fortress, and in the 12th century the Normans turned it into a royal palace for the kings of Sicily.

I ordered a Campari Spritz just a stone’s throw from the yachts. I love its amaro taste and find an Aperol Spritz a bit too sweet for my liking.

Quartieri Spagnuoli

My ferry to Palermo was leaving at 8 p.m., so I didn’t have much time to explore the different neighborhoods of the city. I chose to visit the Quartieri Spagnoli (Spanish Barracks), which feels very much like a working-class district. A famous mural of Diego Maradona has turned into a full-blown place of pilgrimage.

Naples felt distinctly like a working-class city. Social mobility remains very low in southern Italy — in the more affluent northern provinces (like Milan), the probability of moving from the bottom 20% to the top 20% is estimated at 22%, while in some southern areas (such as Palermo), it drops below 6%.

Ristorante Amici Miei

Via Monte di Dio, 77/78, 80132 Napoli

I was almost too late for lunch at a typical Italian restaurant. It was supposed to close at 3 p.m. and reopen at 7:30 p.m., but they let me in just before closing. I settled for il piatto del giorno — pasta with slow-simmered onions and meat. It was a simple dish; the piece of meat was no more than 50 grams, but the flavor of the onions was amazing, especially paired with a glass of red wine.

The GNV ferry to Palermo takes about 11 hours. The 214-meter-long GNV Sirio, built in 2004, joined the GNV fleet in 2024. Deck 5 has 258 cabins, and I stayed in a four-berth cabin. On Deck 7 are the second-class seats.
When the Sirio left Napoli it was already dark, so I spent some time in the bar on Deck 6 before heading to bed. I had a small argument in the restaurant when they charged me twice for the same bottle of wine I’d bought earlier at the bar, but the manager resolved it by giving me another bottle instead of a refund.
Before going to sleep, I memorized the escape route to the upper decks in case of an emergency.

Palermo

The ferry arrived at 6:30 a.m. in the harbor of Palermo, just before sunrise. The check-in time at my hotel had changed from 2 p.m. to any time in the morning—except between 8:30 and 10 a.m., when the owner had to take her children to school. After a cappuccino and a cornetto, I hurried to the hotel.

“Plans should be ephemeral, so be prepared to move away from them.”

— Bourdain

Before each journey, I carry a motto in the back of my mind. This time it was the one above, by Anthony Bourdain. Never met the guy, but he feels like a kindred spirit. Because I wanted a hotel very close to the sea, in a spot not accessible by public transport, I had to plan each day and night in advance—something I normally don’t do. When there’s even a small change of plan, the whole house of cards can collapse. But so far, everything had gone according to plan.

Another fear I have before every trip is that my 91-year-old father might have a medical emergency the day before I leave or while I’m away. I’m always thinking about which flight I could take home if I needed to.

Mercato Ballarò

With just one night in Palermo and a morning train to catch, there was no time to lose. Lately, I hardly take the time to read up before my travels, so Palermo was a bit of a blank slate for me—except that I knew the markets were famous for their street food. It was still early when I wandered through the first market, Ballarò—one of Palermo’s oldest, with roots tracing back to the Arab domination of Sicily.

Any food market is a feast for my eyes. I can never actually shop for food, since my kitchen is in Amsterdam, but I always love looking at the market stalls. In the middle of the photo below is puntarelle—also called cicoria catalogna or catalogna chicory—and on the right, cicoria (wild chicory). I love leafy green vegetables and wish I could find more variety in Amsterdam. But they perish quickly, so it’s difficult to fly them in from far away.

Palermo Cathedral

I saw quite a lot of graffiti critical of tourism, and I can relate. I live in the centre of Amsterdam and see more tourists—including domestic tourists—than local residents when I step out my door. Because of this, I spend practically no time in local bars and have little sense of belonging in my neighbourhood.

Palermo’s port is projected to handle about 1.1 million cruise passengers in 2025, which is more than the city’s 625,000 residents. Then again, tourists spend money and are part of the economy.

Before eating anything, I came across a pomegranate juice stall. It’s hard to extract juice from a pomegranate, so a large glass set me back six euros. I’d never had pomegranate juice before—and it was incredible.

Mercato del Capo

Capo developed as one of the four historic markets of Palermo (the others being Ballarò, Vucciria, and Borgo Vecchio). It is located in the Seralcadio quarter of Palermo, which dates back to Arab rule.

A woman was frying fish. The fish are lightly coated in either Farina 00, Semolina flour or a half-half mix. Sicilian fried fish is never battered.

Citrus Gold Rush

When I saw the Teatro Massimo, built in 1897, and realized how enormous it is—the largest theater in Italy and one of the biggest in Europe—I understood that my preconception of Sicily as a poor country was only part of the picture.

The theater was constructed during the height of Sicilian emigration to the United States, between 1880 and 1924. Rural Sicilians were leaving their homeland because of land inequality, poverty, and widespread unemployment. In the decades before, lemons had become one of Sicily’s most profitable exports, making many families wealthy—wealthy enough to build a theater with a capacity of 3,000 (today reduced to 1,381 seats). But by the time it was completed, the lemon trade was already in decline.

There is evidence linking Mafia’s emergence to the 19th century lemon trade around Palermo. Wealthy landowners hired private guards (campieri) to protect their groves, oversee workers, and enforce deals — often through intimidation. These groups evolved into organized protection networks — the early mafia.

• Economist Diego Gambetta (in The Sicilian Mafia: The Business of Private Protection, 1993).

• Historian John Dickie (in Cosa Nostra, 2004).

Chiesa e Monastero di Santa Caterina d'Alessandria

The cannoli made by the monastery are famous, and you have to queue to enter the small shop and workshop where they’re assembled. The cannoli are enormous. I also bought a ticket to walk around the monastery, but I found it hard to reconcile the severed head of Jesus—and the many statues and paintings of his suffering—with the glorious sunshine outside.

For my peace of mind, I deliberately left out my fellow tourists. This journey wasn’t about people, but about finding both solace and solitude. The summer had been too chaotic at work; the weekends too short. I had spent too much time tending a garden that isn’t even mine. I wanted to have nothing on my mind except aperitivo and the blue sea.

La Vucciria

Another small Palermo market once included a slaughterhouse, which explains its name—likely derived from the French word boucherie. In recent decades, the market has transformed into a nightlife center, and I noticed plenty of small bars.

I also had my biggest food disappointment there: stigghiola. I had really looked forward to trying these barbecued meat skewers. The smell and flavor were good, but I simply couldn’t eat them—they were unbelievably chewy. I spent ten minutes chewing a single piece and calculated it would take me an hour and a half to finish the plate.

When ordering, I had asked which animal it came from—it was veal. But when I later checked the recipe, the skewers should have been quite tender: intestines filled with liver, onions, parsley—ingredients that shouldn’t be tough at all. Mine must have been made from meat with far too much connective tissue. Luckily, I’d ordered a cold beer on the side, so I just finished that instead.

Orto botanico di Palermo

Feeling not at all hungry in the afternoon and wanting to escape the tourists, I ended up in the botanical gardens. I asked ChatGPT to recommend a green, shady place, and it suggested the Palermo Botanical Gardens. Covering ten hectares, the gardens are quite large and were opened on their current site in 1795. The plant species are arranged according to Carl Linnaeus’s system of classification, divided into four quadrangles.

Quite special is the Ficus macrophylla, imported from Norfolk Island (Australia) in 1845. The photo doesn’t do its size justice—it’s far more impressive in real life. No other tree in Europe has foliage as large as this one.

La Cala

Even though I don’t lust after owning a yacht—or even a boat—I love spending time in marinas. This one has some very luxurious restaurants, but also a bar with a more relaxed vibe. Perfect for a cochineal-red Campari Spritz as an aperitif. Well, not really—Campari stopped using cochineal around 2006, so I suppose a Campari Spritz is now vegan.

Trattoria Trapani

P.za Giulio Cesare, 16, 90127 Palermo

Night falls quickly in Sicily in September. I found a simple trattoria; since I didn’t have a reservation, I had to share a table with a couple. I decided to go for the full three courses: antipasto, primo, secondo, and insalata.

But first they served me an unexpected amuse: Panelle (Sicilian chickpea fritters).

After the antipasto, I had a pasta alla Norma. By the time my secondo arrived—a thin slice of meat with a simple salad—I was already very full. To my shame, I could finish only a third of it. A wise lesson: never order antipasto, primo, and secondo in Italy—just go for two out of three.

After dinner, I lingered at a late-night gelateria near my hotel, but I was too full even for ice cream. The place was lively and crowded.

The next day, the intercity train to Roma Termini left at 10:15 a.m. I had to change trains in Messina to reach Catania. The carriages would be loaded onto a ferry to the Italian mainland. My train was scheduled to depart from platform 5.

Lido di Noto

This is not just a story about Lido di Noto, but also about Baroque Noto and the hilltop city of Antica Noto, founded by the Sicels—one of the pre-Greek peoples of Sicily. During the Arab domination of the island, it became an important fortified town until a catastrophic earthquake destroyed it in 1693.

A new Baroque city of Noto was rebuilt about eight kilometres downhill from the ancient hilltop site. I had booked a bed and breakfast in Lido di Noto, which Google Maps said was eight minutes from the beach on foot. I picked up my rental car in Catania and headed for the highway. When I arrived in Lido di Noto, it was clear Google Maps had made a mistake—the bed and breakfast Villa Tania was actually just one minute’s walk from the beach. The garden in front of the villa was a dream. I had to start keeping track of the dates; otherwise, I wouldn’t know which day to leave.

17 settembre

Spiaggia della Pizzuta

Exactly fifteen minutes on foot from Villa Tania was a small, secluded beach called Spiaggia della Pizzuta (Pizzuta Beach). It wasn’t deserted, but there were just few enough people to feel as if no one else was there. One morning, Pizzuta Beach really was deserted—I was the only one there.

Noto

It was a short drive to Noto, a beautiful Baroque city rebuilt from scratch after the earthquake. I arrived at that particular time in Italy when most shops close for a long lunch break. Fortunately, Noto attracts enough tourists for many restaurants to stay open. But first, it was time for caffè.

I’ve never owned one, but I’m a little obsessed with the first-generation Fiat Panda from 1980—though most of the Pandas still on the road today are from after the second facelift in 1991. I love the Panda because it’s so well suited to Italy’s narrow streets. It’s a case study in functional minimalism.

The Panda was designed at Italdesign by Giorgetto Giugiaro, based on the idea of an “honest design” — minimal ornamentation, clear geometry, and no wasted surfaces.

Your Sicily menswear starter pack: white shorts—ideally chinos without cargo pockets—and a blue-and-white vertically striped shirt. The first thing I did after returning from my trip was buy that same outfit: a shirt made mostly of linen with a touch of cotton, and a pair of white deck shorts.

A sandwich with a classic filling: fresh octopus, potatoes, and green olives. Sparkling water for me, since I was driving. After Noto, I headed straight back to the beach for an early evening swim. Most people carried an umbrella and a beach chair; I just had my Tunisian fouta.

Pasta con le sarde

It’s recognized as a traditional Italian food product under the Prodotto Agroalimentare Tradizionale (PAT) scheme of the Italian government. I ordered pasta con le sarde at the beach restaurant El Pampero in Lido di Noto. The flavor was far more complex than I had anticipated.

At home, I sometimes mix a can of sardines with pasta when I don’t have time to cook—but this was something else entirely. The dish combined sardines and anchovies with wild fennel, saffron, pine nuts, and raisins, and was finished with a topping of toasted breadcrumbs.

When people couldn’t afford sardines, they made pasta con le sarde a mare—literally, “pasta with sardines that are in the sea”—using only pine nuts and raisins instead.

18 settembre

Beachfront bars always look as if they belong in a movie scene. I had no fixed plans for the day, but I quickly knew I didn’t want to be anywhere but the beach.

Below the patio of Villa Tania. Today I didn’t touch the car, so I could enjoy red wine with a late breakfast—or an early lunch. I’d bought bread, cheese, and sausage at a local market. Around 3 p.m., I went back to the beach.

That day, there were waves and a strong current. There wasn’t much wind, so these were swells rather than wind waves. I couldn’t float peacefully in the water like on the first day, but the breaking waves reminded me of the North Sea. I dove into each one until a particularly hard breaker hit my ribs so forcefully that I had to retreat to my towel.

Un giorno mi comprerò una piccola sedia da spiaggia.

In the afternoon, it was time for a Negroni, which they made for me for seven euros. It tasted great—“the perfect drink,” as Bourdain once called the Negroni.

The best food spot near Villa Tania was a small stall run by an older couple. The wife grilled vegetables right outside on the street. They sold fruit, bread, drinks, olives, and their own freshly grilled vegetables.

Onions are very popular in Sicily and widely used in local cooking. For Cipuddata Siciliana (Sicilian Onion Stew), you’ll need sliced white or yellow onions, olive oil, a few ripe tomatoes, capers, green olives, sugar, and white wine vinegar.

First, cook the onions for about 20 minutes. Then stir in the tomatoes, capers, and olives, and cook for another 10 minutes. Finally, add the vinegar and sugar—or just vinegar—and let it simmer for another 5 to 10 minutes.

There were so many beachfront bars and restaurants to choose from. I finally had a granita al limone. Real Sicilian granita is slowly stirred as it freezes. The technique dates back to Arab rule in Sicily, when ice from Mount Etna was stored in stone cellars (neviere) and flavored with fruit juices.

Granita al limone

19 settembre

I finally managed to wake up before sunrise. I also wanted an early start so I could take a morning swim and still have time to visit Noto Antica on the hilltop. The sea was still rough, with long, rolling swells.

After my morning swim, it was time for a cappuccino at a small bar. The poor man had an average of one star on Google Reviews because he refused electronic payments. I gave him a five-star review for his excellent cappuccino, which brought his average up to 1.7 stars. I doubt he’s ever read his Google reviews.

Noto Antica

It was only 14 kilometres from Lido di Noto, but the road was winding and at times barely wide enough for one car. Luckily, there was no oncoming traffic—I had no idea who would have had to reverse for a kilometre on a curvy mountain road. At one roundabout, my navigation reacted too slowly, and I took the wrong turn. After a few kilometres, it wanted me to drive up a walking path—that’s when I knew I had to turn around.

The fortified castle of Noto Antica was under renovation, but the rest of the site feels like an open-air museum. There’s no entrance fee—you can walk the entire distance of the ancient city, or what remains of it. Hidden among the bushes, and sometimes in plain sight, are the ruins of buildings destroyed more than 300 years ago.

All the way down the hill was the old tannery (concerie in Italian). Water was essential for the tanning process, so the path led from the ancient city down to a creek below. There wasn’t much to see, so I walked back up. I drove back to Noto to visit the city for the second time.

My trusty rental car. It came with plenty of dents, the foam padding of the driver’s seat was showing, and it had well over 230,000 kilometres on the clock. I don’t like the design of the Ford Ka, but with so many dents already, I wasn’t too worried about adding another.

In fifth gear, a little upward arrow kept reminding me to shift into a higher gear—but there wasn’t a sixth gear. Very puzzling. Then an orange warning light came on, but I couldn’t be bothered to look up what it meant. It showed a light bulb and didn’t look particularly menacing.

Planned Baroque city grid

From the Noto city map dated at the start of the 18th century it is clear to see its street grid, axes, and piazzas, churches, palazzi were carefully pre-planned — not grown incrementally. The city’s plan embodies the Enlightenment ideal of order and rationality. Interestingly the city has some elements of plot-based principles because plots were subdivided, sold, or built on according to local needs and finances. Noto is a planned urban fabric with plot-based infill and adaptation over time.

The granita al caffè is often served for breakfast and accompanied by a brioche bun making a classic colazione siciliana. I had mine like a German Eiskaffee in the afternoon.

A Country for Old Men

The last afternoon at the beach. The waves were still breaking hard, and the shore remained empty, with no children in sight. In September, Sicily feels like a country for old men—and I was content with the solitude.

I took great pleasure in walking along the dusty, rocky single tracks by the coast in just my Speedo and flip-flops, with my towel, shirt, and shorts tucked away in a small backpack.

Tania, the owner of Villa Tania.

It took a while before I had my first arancino, the local rice cone. They’re filled with ragù and are surprisingly tasty and complex. This one was sold—and perhaps made—by the couple with the food stall near the villa.

Lido di Noto under Fascist Italy

Mussolini’s government was eager to showcase Italy as a modern, disciplined, and powerful nation. Urban planning, new towns (città di fondazione), and the development of seaside resorts were part of this effort. Beaches and coastal leisure areas were framed as spaces for both health and social order. Sicily, often regarded as peripheral and underdeveloped, was targeted by Fascist initiatives to "modernize" and integrate it more fully into the national identity. Establishing organized seaside resorts such as Lido di Noto fit into this broader agenda of modernization and control. The establishment of Lido di Noto in the 1930s wasn’t just a local development. It fit into Fascist Italy’s broader political project: to reshape Italian life through modernization, mass leisure, and a controlled but appealing public culturethat could strengthen national unity and the image of the regime.

The same location in 2025 compared to 1935.

Catánia

20 settembre

I can’t really explain why, but I preferred Catania over Palermo. Catania was founded in the 8th century BC by Chalcidian Greeks and has endured so many natural disasters that it’s a miracle the city still exists. It shares the same late Baroque architecture as Noto, having also been heavily damaged in the 1693 earthquake. Later, during the Second World War, it was bombed in eighty-seven air raids by the Allied forces. Its proximity to the active volcano Etna doesn’t help either.

I had to drop off my rental car at the rental office, which was located in the ancient city center. Quite an inconvenient spot for a rental company—but also fun, because you get to drive with the windows down so you can gesture easily when things go wrong. Of course, my navigation lagged once again, and I ended up driving uncomfortably close to terraces packed with chairs and tables.

Pentolaccia Trattoria

Via Coppola, 30, 95131 Catania

This trattoria was a gem. The antipasto piccolo—with grilled and stewed vegetables, fresh cheese, and olives—was the best thing I tasted on my journey. I don’t know how they did it. The green leaves were local wild chicory.

The Fritto Misto was also perfect.

Tiramisu

I’d planned to get a haircut on this trip, but a Negroni got in the way.

The culprit: “l’Americano alla maniera del conte Negroni”.

The Negroni was invented in Florence around 1919 or 1920 at Caffè Casoni by Count Camillo Negroni. He used to drink an Americano—made with Campari, sweet vermouth, and soda water—but one day he asked the bartender to make it stronger by replacing the soda with gin.

In Catania, I had even less time than in Palermo or Naples. My room near the airport wasn’t available before 2 p.m., and my gate closed at 6:15 a.m. the next morning, so I had to wake up very early to catch my KLM flight to Milan and then on to Amsterdam. Between the Negroni and a G&T, I wandered around, eating gelato and exploring as many streets as I could.

After the Negroni, I hadn’t planned on ordering a second drink, so there was still hope for a haircut. But when I sat down for a simple glass of white wine, I noticed the drink of an English lady nearby. She convinced me it was a very special local gin and that I had to try it. So I told the waitress, “I’ll have what she’s having.”

The red military jet trainer, an Aermacchi MB-326, stands near Catania Airport—close to my room for the night. In the background was Caffè Parisi. I couldn’t believe it when I walked to the airport in the very early hours: the bar was already open, serving coffee and bread. According to Google, they’re open seven days a week, from 3:45 a.m. to 11:15 p.m.

Porto Maurizio

Start here

I found a small and cheap camping just a few hundred meters from the beach in Porto Maurizio, which is part of the city Imperia. The city was created by Benito Mussolini on 21 October 1923 by combining Porto Maurizio and Oneglia and the surrounding village communes. Porto Maurizio can be reached by the Autostrada dei Fiori (A10) which is elevated high above the coastline.

Eating out when alone is always a bit of a challenge. In Sanremo I was flatly refused a table because I was alone. In Porto Maurizio the waiter of the first place I tried looked at me, our eyes met, I looked at quite a few empty tables, then he said everything was reserved. I had doubts. Another place named La Mirage, didn’t seem to mind a solitary guest. It turned out in all its simplicity this was an excellent choice.

I had noticed mussels were on the menu everywhere in Liguria, and I went for the impepata di cozze and a salad consisting of just one big sliced tomato. I had to try the trenette con pesto, fagiolini e patate because I had made this recipe at home a few years ago.

Impepata di cozze. Black peppered mussels.

Trenette con pesto, fagiolini e patate.

“O my soul, do not aspire to immortal life, but exhaust the limits of the possible.”

— Pindar, Pythian iii

The first problem in philosophy is suicide, Albert Camus argues in the Myth of Sisyphus. The question whether life is worth living must be answered first. “All the rest— whether or not the world has three dimensions, whether the mind has nine or twelve categories—comes afterwards.”

I've often wondered why Anthony Bourdain answered that important question with ‘no’ one day. Camus: “It is always easy to be logical. It is almost impossible to be logical to the bitter end.”

Bourdain in Monopoli, Apulia. 'Parts Unknown', Southern Italy. Season 10, episode 9 (2017).

Piazza Chiesa Vecchia

The hottest time of day is best spent on the old church square. The trees give some shade and its high elevation provides a cooling breeze. The people really love their plants. Potted plants are everywhere.

Few things are better than taking a swim just before aperitivo. Writing on a September morning in Amsterdam it is hard to reimagine the 30 degrees temperature when looking at the photo’s.

Camping De Wijnstok. Strada Comunale Poggi, 2, 18100 Imperia IM. Despite the Dutch name nobody spoke Dutch and my neighbours were Italian. For 13 euro a night quite cheap considering the close proximity to the beach.

On the last morning I walked to the beach for a final swim in the Ligurian Sea just after sunrise. I didn’t want to go home. Posso stare in paradiso?

Liguria

Arriving in Liguria from France everything seemed much lighter. The Ligurian Sea was quite calm. Possibly due to the coronavirus it seemed not too busy with tourists despite the month of August. I had planned to hike the Ligurian Alps but that plan was cancelled quickly, both for a practical reason - there was no suitable camping near the mountains - but the moment I saw the sea, I felt no need to do anything apart from just being.

Beach in Sanremo.

Brioche and cappuccino

Spaghetti alle vongole. Originallly this dish is made with vongole veraci (Venerupis decussata) which is found in the North Sea and Mediterranean Sea.

Claude Monet. Les Villas à Bordighera, En 1884. Musée d'Orsay

I spent my first nights away from the sea by driving to Pigna along the SP64. There are two villages you will pass: Isolabona and Dolceacqua. The last village is famous because of the nature of the architecture and a visit by Claude Monet in 1884.

Isolabona

Isolabona

Le Château de Dolceacqua, 1884 (oil on canvas) by Claude Monet (1840-1926). Musée Marmottan Monet, Paris, France.

Claude Monet Vallée de Sasso, effet de soleil, 1884.

Next stop: Porto Maurizio

Road trip Liguria

Autoroute du Soleil - Antibes - Saint-Martin-Vésubie (Alpes-Maritimes) - Monaco - Imperia (Liguaria) - Piemonte - Switzerland - Deutsche Weinstraße

A few days before I was bound to leave for Austria the weather prediction was not good: a fair chance of rain and the temperatures dropped from 30 degrees Celsius to just 20 in Salzburg. I quickly changed gears and took the Autoroute du Soleil to the Côte d'Azur or whatever.

First stop: Alpes-Maritimes

Alpi Orobie, Lombardia

The Bergamo Alps (Italian: Alpi Orobie) are located about 30 kilometers above the city of Bergamo. I made a short stop in Peschiera del Garda on the shores of Lago di Garda but I found the place a bit too busy for my mood. I loved the oleander flowers though. There is a holiday photograph of my mother posing in front of oleanders somewhere in Italy in the 1960s. I have known this photo for many years, but recently I often dream of oleander flowers as a symbol of summer.

Lago di Garda.

I drove on and found a beautiful camping on the shores of Lago d’Iseo. Camping Cave (address: via Cave 13, Iseo, Italy 25049) is located right on the lake. After pitching my tent it was no more than 100 metres to the lake and the (open air) restaurant and bar. Before doing anything else I jumped into the lake.

One of the things I love about Italy is the culture of aperitivo, the drink before dinner, and cicchetti. I prefer Campari Spritz (prosecco, Campari and soda water). It’s bitter and has a beautiful red color. Being camped on the shores of a lake with plenty of cold drinks, meant that each hike would end in a luxury I don’t always experience.

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Valgoglio

27 July 2020

A green wall of trees.

For the first hike I drove to Valgoglio, which was quite a long ride from the camping through dozens of tunnels. The mountain roads were very busy with morning commuters. I didn’t have a map of this area since I only brought maps of Südtirol. I hiked along the river Goglio but when I was deciphering the sparse signs it was clear that the nearest mountain hut above the tree line was too far for a day hike. The Bergamo Alps are something else. The area feels very remote and I encountered few other hikers. Large parts of my hike I didn’t have a cell phone reception.

When you spent so many holidays alone, you tend to get some compulsive thoughts while hiking, especially walking uphill. I contemplated a lot on the archetypal Uomo senza nome. ‘The Man With No Name’ was a marketing ploy to promote the spaghetti westerns A Fistful of Dollars (1964), For a Few Dollars More (1965), and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966) with Clint Eastwood. But the original man with no name was Toshiro Mifune’s character in Yojimbo. (the bodyguard) on which Sergio Leone based his 1964 movie. In the opening scenes the rōnin (浪人) arrives at a junction in the road, he shrugs his shoulders, picks up a stick and throws it high into the air. He lets fate decide which path to take; he follows the direction of the fallen stick and walks into a village. And so the story begins. I like the idea of not having a full plan when starting a hike. But even without a plan there is always a plan B.

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Rifugio Magnolini

28 July 2020

The second day I started my hike in Bossico after an other exhilarating car ride with many hairpin turns. From there is was a very hot but easy hike to Ceratello. During the hike there were some good views of the lake. The narrow road during the ascent to Rifugio Magnolini (1610 m.) was very steep. On the way down I took the foot path back to Bossico and my car, through pine forests and long rocky single tracks. This was one of the more beautiful hikes. Below the route I walked.

Day hike: Bossico - Rifugio Magnolini - Bossico.

Lago d’Iseo.

On the way down I walked past a little stone hut marked as ‘ll cadi de la pest’ where the only Bossichesi who escaped the scourge of epidemic in 1630, sought refuge to escape the plague.

The region of Lombardy saw the most cases of COVID-19 by far in Italy. Notably Bergamo province was hard hit by the 2020 pandemic in March. On 8 March a quarantine lockdown was imposed for the whole region of Lombardy and 14 other northern provinces placing 16 million people under quarantine.

By the end of July 2020 quarantine was lifted but many measures were still in place. At the reception of Camping Cave my temperature was measured and face masks were mandatory in the camping toilet facilities. In general a face mask had to be worn in shops and in restaurants and mountain huts when ordering.

ll cadi de la pest.

By Giovanni Guida - Own work.

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Europa endlos

Das Leben ist zeitlos
Europa endlos
Wirklichkeit und Postkartenbilder
Europa endlos
Eleganz und Dekadenz.

Kraftwerk, 1977.

Last view of Lago d’Iseo before driving to Switzerland.

Next destination: Swiss Alps.

Corvara, Dolomiti

The car journey from Trafoi to Corvara in the Dolomites took a good part of the day. I stayed at Camping Colfosco, which was less intimate than the camping in Trafoi but still had the right vibe. I arrived in seemingly stable weather, but this was soon to change.

24 July 2020

The first day in Corvara the Alps were covered in a big cloud of heavy rain, reaching all the way from München to Venezia. There was no escaping the rain. I mentally prepared myself to lay in my tent all day. Luckily in the afternoon the rain largely stopped and I walked into the forest to prepare some Dan Cong oolong tea just keep myself busy.

Camping Colfosco in Corvara has some beautiful views of the mountains.

There was no escaping this rain front. The temperatures in Corvara dropped to below 15 degrees Celsius.

Making some spring 2020 Ya Shi Xiang Dan Cong (“Duck Shit Aroma”) in the forest with natural mountain spring water.

Parco naturale Puez Odle

25 July 2020

The second day in Corvara the sun was shining as if the day before never happened. I walked a stunning round trip from Passo Gardena (2,136 m) through Puez-Geisler Nature Park to mountain hut Utia de Puez at 2475 m. and back through Val Longia and Wolkenstein before climbing back to Passo Gardena where I left my car.

Ascent from Passo Gardena.

Mountain hut Utia de Puez (2.475 m).

Pasta with Hirschragout and some flowers in Utia de Puez.

The valley Val Longia below, and the village Wolkenstein in the far distance.

Certainly one of the more beautiful roundtrips I walked.

Next destination: Bergamo Alps and Lake Iseo.

Trentino-Alto Adige

‘There is always Italy.’

With all my original travel plans cancelled due to COVID-19 I took the opportunity to go on a hiking trip to the Alps. I drove to the Reschenpass/Passo di Resia between Austria and Italy in the province of Trentino-Alto Adige or Trentino-South Tyrol. Beyond that I didn’t really have a plan. The pass was a bit underwhelming so I drove onwards to a small camping place in Trafoi, just below the mighty Passo Stelvio. Camping Trafoi. Via Tre Fontane, 1, 39029 Trafoi BZ, Italy.

The camping is a cosy hikers’ place. It also attracts bikers who are drawn to Trafoi for the 48 needle curves of the Passo Stelvio on the eastern side. Camping Trafoi also is close enough to the mountains to venture into the mountains directly from the camping.

20 July 2020

The first day I hiked up to Goldsee, about 1,2 vertical kilometres. From Goldsee you can follow the Goldseeweg with magnificent views leading to Forcola refuge, which is located about 700 metres above Trafoi. The whole round trip takes about 9 hours if you are in no hurry.

In the left of the photo the Stelvio pass from a walker’s perspective,

Goldseeweg between Goldsee and Forcola refuge.

21 July 2020

The second day in Trafoi the weather was less than ideal. I walked to Berglhütte/Refugio Borletti (2188 m.) for coffee and cake but the afternoon passed by while hiding from the rain in the village.

I learned that Sigmund Freud received a message of the suicide of one of his patients, struggling with sexual problems, while staying in Trafoi, which lead him to his analysis of the Signorelli parapraxis by linking Signorelli to Botticelli and Boltraffio. Freud’s analysis seems like an outdated word game to me. Somehow the bottom line is always Tod und Sexualität.

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Ötztaler Alpen

22 July 2020

The last day in Trafoi I drove to the small resort village Kurzas, 39020 Maso Corto, Bolzano, Bozen (2.011 m), just past Lago di Vernago, almost 1,5 hours by car from camping Trafoi. I walked from Kurzras to the Schutzhaus Schöne Aussicht - Rifugio Bella Vista (2842 m), a hike of about 800 vertical metres.

In 1991, just on the other side of the mountains, a body was discovered in the melting ice. Amazingly the person had died around 3300 BC. The body was well preserved and contained a treasure trove of information about the living conditions of this dead person who lived more than 5300 years ago. Even his full genome has been sequenced. Kurzas is not the correct starting point if you want to visit the actual Ötzti Fundstelle. The mountain ridge between Bella Vista and the Ötzti Fundstelle cannot be hiked.

Rifugio Bella Vista.

Fried potatoes and egg at the rifugio.

Above is the mountain ridge behind which Ötzi was discovered. It seems like a very remote place but from the valley it’s only half a day’s scramble. The photo below shows the foot path, which connects modern Italy with the Ötztaler Alpen in Austria over a mountain pass. Only a small stone hut marks the border.

Ötzi lived in the chalcolithic when in Europe the first metal tools were crafted from copper. Later it was discovered that by adding tin you can make bronze, which is harder than both copper and tin. A 99,7% pure copper axe was found near Ötzi. This must have been a very valuable tool. The copper mould was made from ore mined in South Tuscany.

The mummy is now on display at the South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology in Bolzano, Italy.

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Passo dello Stelvio (2.758 m.)

The Passo dello Stelvio is somewhat famous. The pass was originally built by the Austrian Empire (1804 to 1867) in the 1820s to connect the Austrian province of Lombardy (currently Italy) with the rest of Austria. After 1867 the Austrian Empire was succeeded by Austria-Hungary and in World War I the pass saw some heavy fighting due to its strategic importance. Italy entered the war aiming to annex the territories of present-day Trentino and South Tyrol. After the war the pass lost its strategic importance.

23 July 2020

Today the pass on Route SS38 is famous with cyclists and motorcyclists. Since my next destination were the Dolomites I didn't need to cross the pass but decided to drive my car up the pass nonetheless just for the adrenaline kick. How could I not? In 2008 the TV show Top Gear declared the Stelvio Pass in Italy one of the best driving roads in Europe. I am macho enough to not let that opportunity pass.

It was a thrilling experience indeed, especially because the road was quite busy with countless motor bikes, cyclists, other cars, campers and even the occasional line bus. Driving uphill each corner is a blind corner, because only at the last moment you’ll see oncoming traffic. The only two gears you will need are first and second gear. It takes about half an hour to reach the top.

The pass itself has several tacky tourist shops. I thought my car deserved a “Passo Stelvio” sticker for the rear window, but only eleven days after my holiday somebody crashed into the rear of my car when I was standing still in a traffic jam on the motorway near Amsterdam. My Renault Clio IV Estate was a total loss. I thought it was a bit ironic, having completed the 48 switchbacks (and many more mountain passes in Italy and Switzerland) without a scratch and then my car being totalled by just being stationary.

My focus on this trip was not on food but this clear broth with Speckknödel in a restaurant on Stelvio pass was just perfect. With all the corona measures still in place I didn’t want to visit restaurants indoors. I mostly cooked in front of my tent and had lunches at mountain huts if I could sit outside.

Next destination: Dolomites.

Cagliari

Cagliari

The history of Cagliari goes back more than 5000 years. Much later the city became the capital of the Kingdom of Sardinia. In 1720 the kingdom was composed of several states including Savoy, Piedmont, Aosta Valley, Nice, Oneglia and Sardinia. By mid 19th century the Kingdom of Sardinia became an important force in Italian unification. In 1860, Piacenza, Parma, Tuscany, Modena, and Romagna voted in referenda to join the Kingdom of Sardinia. On 17 March 1861, law no. 4671 of the Sardinian Parliament proclaimed the Kingdom of Italy.

A landmark of Cagliari is the Bastion of Saint Remy built between 1896 and 1902. It was developed from an idea developed by Sardinian architect Gaetano Cima. The structure was damaged in the Second World War but rebuilt from 1946. Only after climbing the stairs it becomes clear part of Cagliari is built on a hill.

Modern Cagliari is a pleasant city of less than half a million if you count the Metropolitan City. Cruise ships dock in the harbour and I wouldn’t want to be there in summertime. In the quiet November month the atmosphere was relaxed.

Mercato Di Sanbenedetto

Address: Via Francesco Cocco Ortu, 46, 09128 Cagliari.

This food market was frustrating for me. All those beautiful fresh fishes and I couldn’t buy any! In the end I bought some chestnuts and fregula. The most popular fish were orate (gilt-head bream) and muggine (flathead grey mullet). The roe of the latter is used to make bottarga. But there were plenty of other fish. I saw red mullet, striped red mullet, sardines, tuna, swordfish, octopus, squid, skate and plenty of shrimp and crabs.

‘Trigliole’ are baby red mullet (‘triglie’). At the time I didn't think much of it, but Mohammed Benzakour, my fishing friend, became angry when he saw this photo. Fishing baby fish before they can produce offspring is not sustainable.

Aperitivo

Originally a northern Italian habit, but very much alive in Cagliari: aperitivo. For 5 euro they serve you a good glass of red wine including bread, cheeses and a selection of assorted dried meat, or an Aperol Spritz with plenty of small bites. I had drank Aperol Spritz before but strangely never a Campari Spritz. Campari is much more bitter than Aperol and has an alcohol content of up to 28% as opposed to 11% for Aperol. The alcohol percentage depends on which country both drinks are sold. I have to say I prefer Campari Spritz. Both cocktails are nowadays served in a big ballon glass instead of the more traditional Old Fashioned glass. But any old wine glass will do.

Supramonte Mountain Range

I had planned to spent time hiking in the Sardinian mountains but due to some very rainy days I just had one day. The Supramonte Mountain Range has the second highest peak of the island. Monte Corrasi is the Supramonte highpoint. The mountain is made of limerock, which is quite similar to that of the Dolomites but much older and therefor more eroded. I choose Nuoro as base camp and the town to spent a few nights. Traffic wise Nuoro is an extremely confusing city. I was amazed I only got one parking ticket. Part of the city center is off limits without a special permit during some hours of the day. Camera’s enforce this rule. Several times my navigation led me through a maze of narrow streets on a hill. The proximity alarm was beeping and the dashboard lit up with red warning lights. But not a scratch.

Before I arrived in Nuoro I visited the Roman Aquae Ypsitanae thermal baths of Fordongianus on the left bank of the river Tirso. The sulphurous waters are pretty hot and flow into the icy cold river. In the river somebody made an artificial bath with a ring of stones. A group of Germans traveling by camper van were bathing in the river. I joined them after burning my feet directly in the thermal water. The ancient thermal bath itself was closed. Apparently prayers are carved in the stones in honour of the Nymphs, Greek water divinities protecting Aquae Ypsitanae, and of Aesculapius, Greek god of the medicine.

Aquae Ypsitanae in Fordongianus.

Locanda Del Muggianeddu

Between Fordongianus and Nuoro I stopped for lunch in a local restaurant called Locanda Del Muggianeddu in Tonara. No website. The address is as follows: Via Monsignor Tore, 26, 08039 Tonara Nuoro, Italy. I arrived too early for lunch, wasn't allowed to sit down, so I walked around for half an hour. A few minutes after opening time the place was already half full with locals. In the fireplace a log was slowly burning.

I ordered antipasto della casa, which was a rich plate filled with: smoked cheese, melted cheese, pickled vegetables, fried vegetables and meats, all perfect quality. The truffles ravioli was not available so I choose something which seems people would eat at home: flat bread doused with tomato sauce and a fried egg on top. For desert I had to go for torrone. Torrone di Tonara is famous and there is no better place to eat it than in Tonara. All in all another excellent lunch, with a little help in German from a villager who had lived in Zwitserland as a migrant worker.

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Mountain hike

Days are short in November so I knew it wasn’t going to be a very long hike. I tried to drive up to what seemed to be a parking place on Google Maps. In reality the road leading to the spot was a goat’s path and I had to turn around with all the proximity warning sounds of my Volkswagen Golf beeping like crazy. I parked somewhere much lower and hiked up to the place, which wasn’t a parking place at all. From there on the paths were pretty much at the same elevation. It took a few hours to get to the highest peak. The next day more rain was predicted so I stayed on the mountain as long as possible, just sitting there watching the sea in the distance.

Nuoro is the town on the far left side of the frame.

Punta Corrasi (1463 m.)

View from the highest peak of Supramonte Mountain Range and the second highest peak of Sardinia.

Strada Statale 125 Orientale Sarda

I had to make it back to Cagliari for my flight. The SS 125 is a somewhat famous road in Sardinia. Total length of this coastal road on the eastern part the island is 354 kilometers. The section until Santa Maria Navarrese takes you over a high mountain pass, which was supposed to be spectacular. After the Swiss Alps I wasn’t particularly impressed and driving across the pass was not a Top Gear worthy challenge. But you do pass cheesemaker Gruthas who sells pecorino cheese directly from the farm. Of course I bought a big chunk of pecorino. They sell both sheep and goat pecorino. But now I can’t remember whether I bought sheep or goat pecorino. Probably goat, since I had to fend off a flock of goats who were trying to steal my lunch an hour earlier.

Sardegna - Oristano

November is really one of the least appealing months to travel in Europe but I had to take my last five official holiday days of this year. Destination Sardinia was pretty much coincidental. In the summer I listened to an episode on the Sardinian kitchen (guests: gardener Luigi Pitzalis, his son Samuele Pitzalis and Leonardo Pacenti, chef restaurant Toscanini) on my favourite radio programma Mangiare! and the words ‘Sardijnse keuken’ stuck in my mind.

The airplane touched down at Cagliari Elmas Airport at three o’ clock in the afternoon. The next day it was raining. I drove from the capital Cagliari to the province of Oristano on the west coast. On the way to my bed and breakfast in Oristano I took a long detour into the hills of Montiferru to have lunch in Agriturismo Montiferru.

The province of Oristano is home to Tharros, a very ancient city. Once said to be founded by the Phoenicians, but recent findings direct the origins to a much older nuragic settlement. Not much is known about this Bronze Age culture. All there is left are roughly seven thousand of Nuraghe, tower like structures. After the Phoenicians, the Punics and the Romans settled in Tharros. In 1070 the city was relocated to modern Oristano under the pressure of Saracen raiders. Many stones from Tharros were re-used in the city of Oristano.

When standing on the ruins of Tharros it is easy to see the appeal of the location, but also its vulnerability. Many of the artefacts can be found in the Archaeological Museum at Cagliari, in the Antiquarium Arborense in Cabras and in the British Museum, London. The two columns were rebuilt in modern times. The temple area has both Punic and Roman ruins and the original position of the columns is not clear. The most visible symbol of Tharros is a modern interpretation. The capital on top of one of the columns is original though.

On that November Monday morning I was the only vistor of Tharros. This was both a blessing and - somewhat - lonely. What else was there to do but look past the ruins and stare at the golfu de Aristanis? Tharros felt like paradise but like all prosperous cities of the past, the streets were eventually soaked in blood before being abandoned.

A better view of the temple area of Tharros.

Roman road in Tharros.

Wave surfers just south of S'Archittu.

Cabras

Less that 15 minutes from Oristano is the coastal town Cabras on the Stagno di Cabras, a lake connected to the sea. Cabras was also founded by people fleeing from Tharros in the 11th century and resettling on the shore of the lake.

Bottarga di muggine

Cabras is famous for bottarga, dried and cured fish roe from grey mullet (muggine). If the bottarga is of lighter hue, you can slice it and eat it on bread, if the bottarga is dark and dried for a longer time, you can grate is over a pasta dish, like spaghetti con vongole e bottarga.

Due to the season all trattoria in Cabras were closed. I found a small restaurant open, hardly a trattoria. They did offer fresh fish off the menu. Orate is the Italian name for gilt-head (sea) bream (Sparus aurata), or goudbrasem in Dutch. The fish was poached for me in white wine with olives and tomatoes.

Agriturismo Montiferru

Address: Str. del Monte di Sant'Antonio, 09078 Scano di Montiferro, Oristano, Italy.

It was thanks to a small entry in the Lonely Planet I visited Agriturismo Montiferru, hidden in the hills of Montiferru. This restaurant opens only once a week for a Sunday lunch. Reservations are essential, which posed a serious problem. Nobody on the phone spoke English. The place has no website or even an e-mail address. When I drove into the rainy hills I didn’t know if I had a reservation or not. I assumed not. The restaurant was fully booked and I was about to turn around and walk back to the car when I was greeted and led to a table with one chair. Somehow my reservation got trough.

What followed was nothing short of amazing. For three hours they filled my table with antipasti, two (!) courses of primi piatti, two (!) courses of secondi piatti, desert and three cookies of which I could only eat one, I was completely stuffed. This was quintessential Sardinian farmer’s cuisine: soft cheeses, pork, wild boar, garden beans, purple potatoes, forest mushrooms, Sardinian pasta, the list goes on. Every single dish was perfect and stayed true to tradition. There was not one single false note.

Antipasti

Primi piatti

Fregula with stewed mushrooms. Fregula (also spelled fregola) is typically Sardinian and consists of semolina dough that has been rolled into tiny balls and toasted in an oven. Because it is semolina based you have to cook it between 10 and 15 minutes.

Secondi piatti & contorni

Dolci

Below: Sebadas (o Seadas)

Parco nazionale del Gran Paradiso

The second park I visited was Parco nazionale del Gran Paradiso in Italy. The trip from Écrin to Gran Paradiso took just three hours but I arrived at the camping after noon. In the valley of Aosta I had to buy some bread and wine. The camping Gran Paradiso Dr. Franco Caviglia is located quite high in the mountains and offers the best starting point for many day hikes. It is a real mountain camping offering spots in between trees and offering little luxury.

Camping Gran Paradiso Dr. Franco Caviglia

I spent the afternoon with a fruity local red wine and antipasto Piemontese consisting of cauliflower, carrot, paprika, olives, green beans, artichokes hearts, capers, onion and tomatoes. There is no fixed recipe for antipasto Piemontese. You basically boil tomatoes put through a food mill together with vinegar and olive oil and add a selection of vegetables cut to bite size. Boil until the vegetables are tender, put the mixture in sterilised jars and let it sit for at least a month. This type of antipasto was just a way to preserve vegetables for the winter.

Hike 4: Refugio Chabod and Victor-Emmanuel II

This was just a stunning long day hike. You can tell Gran Paradiso is a protected nature area. The landscape was pristine. Total time for this walk was about 10 hours.

Refuge Frédéric Chabod

I didn’t quite expect to find a caffè and blueberry pie in a mountain hut but there it was.

Rifugio Vittorio Emanuele II

The second mountain hut on my hike was Rifugio Vittorio Emanuele II. This is the place where you sleep when you attempt to climb the Gran Paradiso (4061 meter) summit.

Hike 5: Rifugio Città di Chivasso

On the last day I hiked from Pont to Rifugio Città di Chivasso on Colle del Nivolet. After a steep climb the route led mostly through green pastures. I found the whole park just stunningly beautiful. The routes I hiked where of the E category (E = escursionistico), which is a category higher than T (turistico) and below EE (escursionistico esperti). For EE you might need light mountaineering equipment to cross small exposed sections.

Once ruled by the House of Medici

Just below the Campo Imperatore there are several beautiful medieval hill towns: Santo Stefano di Sessanio, Castel del Monte, Calascio and the mountaintop fortress Rocca Calascio are the most interesting.

I spent time just hanging out in these villages, drinking coffee, speaking to cats and reading news on my iPhone.

The area was shaped by transhumance. Local animal products were sought after during the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. Carfagna sheep wool was transported to Florence and mainly used to produce military uniforms and monks' cowls. The villages lost importance during the 19th century. Once ruled by the House of Medici, Santo Stefano di Sessanio counted 3.000 people in 1870. In 2005 there were only 80. 

Porta Medicea, branded with the coat of arms of the House of Medici.

Favola di Venezia (Hugo Pratt, 1976). Corto Maltese speaks to the street cats.

The small pleasures of life in Italy: un caffè in the town square.

Rocca Calascio. The fortress was destroyed by an earthquake in 1461 and never rebuilt.

There is no denying the villages are in bad shape due to earthquakes and neglect.

The distance between the hill towns can be easily cycled, with lots of climbing and fast downhills.

Mosaic on a wall in Castel del Monte. It is hard not to imagine this mosaic was inspired by te earthquake of 2009. Castel del Monte is the principal location of The American directed by Anton Corbijn. The film's central character played by George Clooney, takes refuge in Castel Del Monte hoping to escape from his past.

Movie still from The American (2010), Anton Corbijn.

Campo Imperatore

On the second day of my stay in Abruzzo I more or less stumbled upon Campo Imperatore. It was just a name on the map, but the location intrigued me: right above the middle of the 10 kilometer long Traforo del Gran Sasso I drove through to reach my destination. When I reached the mountain grassland my mouth fell open by the sheer beauty. I had not expected this. 

In the distance you can see the mountains of Gran Sasso d'Italia towering over the grasslands with the highest peak being the Corno Grande (2912 m). The northern face holds Europe's southernmost glacier: Ghiacciaio del Calderone. In 2017 the glacier disappeared for the first time mid-August.

I spent a day cycling and a day hiking in Campo Imperatore and the mountains of Gran Sasso d'Italia

Campo Imperatore was also the backdrop of quite a few movies, like the Spaghetti Western Lo chiamavano Trinità... (1970) starring Bud Spencer and Terence Hill.

Red Sonja (1985), with Brigitte Nielsen and Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Gran Sasso d'Italia mountain massif

Polenta with meat stewed in red wine in Rifugio Duca degli Abruzzi (2.400 m.).

Parts Unknown - Abruzzo

On my way to Abruzzo the words "Parts Unknown" were ringing through my head. I really didn't want to do this trip alone. I was reasonably sick of spending all my travels alone and this time I was even more apprehensive than normal for personal reasons. My previous long road trip didn't end well. At the same time I realised how lucky I am to own a car and have plenty of money for diesel and all the food I want to order at any restaurant along the way. Anthony Bourdain was even more fortunate, yet five days after photos of his love of his life hugging another man in the streets of Rome were published, he committed suicide. Bourdain was the presenter of the long running (11 seasons) travel and food series Parts Unknown. I kinda get the loneliness he must have felt. Just kinda. I do not want to pretend to understand the depressions he was suffering. My journey to Italy was marred by an intense feeling of loneliness.

Empty glass, yet "un quarto di litro di vino rosso".

I planned to cycle a 388 kilometer loop through Gran Sasso National Park, Abruzzo National Park and Sirente Velino Regional Park. The loop was envisioned by Giorgio Frattale and Francesco D’Alessio who cycled this trip in 5 days. On day one I loaded my bike with my tent and plenty of food and water. The sky was partially cloudy and my bike felt heavy. After half a day I calculated my progress in distance and it became quickly clear I would never finish the loop in 5 days. My plan had quickly crumbled to pieces. Time for plan B. There's always a plan B.

Turning point.

I decided to spent the first night camping in the mountains. I choose a spot between Santo Stefano di Sessanio and Calascio with a beautiful valley view. I pitched my Tarptent Double Rainbow at dusk and waited for the night to fall. Soon I could hear animals trampling the grass around my tent. I assume the Apennine wolf keeps his distance from the lower valleys, so it must have been - well, god knows what.

Serene early morning in the mountains. Absolute silence.

La vita è bella

A much lighter bike for day trips. Plan B wasn't so bad after all.

Final few kilometres of my holiday, just before the brake pads of my disc brakes were completely worn out and my braking power was reduced to almost nothing.