Sapori e Dissapori – Capaccio/Paestum
This unassuming eatery is well-hidden in a residential street of Capaccio, near Paestum. It’s so concealed, in fact, that you have to know it’s there or you’ll never think to look for it in this narrow street of modern apartment buildings in a country hamlet. Read more
It all starts innocuously, solemnly. A pious procession emerges from the church and parades through the streets, following after the town’s patron saint, the Madonna of San Giovanni, who is perched on the shoulders of four strong and worthy men. They stop periodically to recite a prayer then continue along their somber way, returning to the church. A Mass ensues then the congregants file out while the bells toll loud and long. Read more
Fermignano, Le Marche
This place is as near to idyllic as you’re likely to find: a farm stay with all the amenities you could want, in the hilly countryside of Le Marche with welcoming hosts and silent nights for perfect sleeping. Oh, and home-cooked meals by mamma, fresh jam and juice from their orchards, and every imaginable amenity in the apartment. This is what an agriturismo is supposed to be! Read more
The compact, picturesque stone and stucco town of Amatrice rests just off the ancient via Salaria, in western Lazio where it nearly kisses Abruzzo. Here the mountains loom larger and the landscape grows more intensely rugged. Driving along the lovely valley you skirt a small lake. The setting alone is worth the trip to Amatrice, its pastoral position seems to sit just below the clouds. Read more
Rome is a city bristling with churches that are loaded with precious artwork and architectural beauty, many of which are tourist attractions in their own right, where pilgrims from the world over line up to gaze upon a particular painting or see a specific sculpture. So it is a surprise that just steps from Piazza Navona, one of Rome’s most famous spots, is a relatively unknown and overlooked church, despite some heavy-hitting, headliner artwork within. Read more
A secluded masseria farmhouse in Puglia’s Salento area, this is a place that looks and feels upscale but without an uptight price. Set in a restored house among olive groves, its tucked-away location seems like the type of place celebrities would seek out to have some privacy. It is near Otranto and the a few minutes from the lovely beaches of Baia dei Turchi, an undeveloped coastal landscape of low cliffs and sandy coves with natural brush and pines. Close by are the Laghi di Alimini, a nature preserve with two lakes, one is salt water and the other is fresh spring-fed water, surrounded by interesting rock formations and flora. Read more