When we say “splendors”, we’re not kidding – here are some splendiferous moments from our Splendors of Sicily walking tour:

The protected coastal park of Vendicari is a magical place for walking and birdwatching - here are flamingoes and cormorants from our walking tour in Sicily.

The Mt Etna volcano serves as a backdrop to the ancient Greek theatre in Taormina. Photo by fellow walker Marc Destito

Picking fresh oranges in Sicily

The olive harvest takes place in Sicily in October and November, when you can taste freshly pressed extra virgin olive oil.

The Baroque cathedral in Noto built of golden stone is a delightful stop on our Splendors of Sicily walking tour

The coastal park of Vendicari on our walking route in Sicily includes a tour of the old tuna fishing port and Roman ruins.

The beautiful wild canyons of Ragusa are the perfect venue for a walk near the home of Anita, Italian Connection's founder.

Fellow walker Shirley enjoys spring wildflowers at the Greek ruins of Castello Eurialo near Syracuse

A visit to the Valley of the Temples at Agrigento on our Splendors of Sicily walking tour

A detail from the Roman mosaics at the Villa del Tellaro in Sicily

Taste genuine fresh ricotta made in a traditional cavagna near Ragusa.

Want to know more about Sicily? Read:

The History of a Biscuit

 

Favorite Hotel Breakfasts

 

Stolen Goddess of Morgantina

I am not generally a morning person.

But one thing that will get me out of bed in a flash is the prospect of a great breakfast.

For the best hotel breakfast with a view in Italy, my vote goes to the Grand Hotel Timeo in Taormina, Sicily. Sitting out on the expansive terrace, below is the sea and the lush gardens of citrus trees and bougainvilla, while the backdrop against the sky is the magnificent Mt Etna volcano, puffing like a steam train.  This is the same magnificent view the ancient Greeks enjoyed from their theatre (which is just behind the hotel).  The breakfast buffet features Sicilian specialties such as granita and brioche - a typical summer breakfast in Sicily – or refreshing almond milk, all fit for a Greek god.  It personally like to start with a plateful of tiny flaky pastries, and sip a cappuccino in the  captivating presence of Mt. Etna.  Join us here on our Splendors of Sicily walking tour.

In northern Italy, the Hotel Rosa Alpina in the town of San Cassiano in the Dolomites is my favorite place for the best classic hotel breakfast in Italy.  The moment you walk into the airy room overlooking the mountains you are enveloped in the yeasty buttery scents that are the essence of breakfast.  The first thing you physically encounter is a table laden with huge variety of homemade bread warm from the oven – I’m always tempted to just pull up a chair right there and do a high carb feast. 

But then I spy a fellow in a chef’s hat  ready to cook eggs to order, and I watch as he drops a big lump of butter into a sizzling copper pan.  The eggs have dark orange yolks and wow, they really taste of eggs.

All the Rosa Alpina’s breakfast ingredients are top notch and much is locally sourced – sweet butter from high alpine farms, jams thick with tart berries, huge bowls of creamy yogurt, fresh squeezed juices, perfectly ripe fruit, paper-thin slices of smoky speck, and hunks of local cheeses.  There’s a selection of cereal for the fiber-fiends, hot chocolate for the decadent, and good coffee made just the way you want.

The serving staff is friendly without being intrusive, and after your first breakfast, will remember your preferences the next day.  “Will you be having your regular cappuccino (or herb tea or espresso doppio?)”  the waitress will ask, as if you’ve been having breakfast there for years.  Tablecloths are pristine linen and seats have comfy cushions, inviting a long leisurely breakfast.    It’s a great way to start the day before a beautiful hike on our Wildflowers in the Dolomites walking tour.

We’ll be meeting at the Bari airport on our Pleasures of Puglia tour, and immediately heading off to explore lovely whitewashed towns.  The culinary fun will start with a stop for some of the best gelato in Italy, and includes tastings of traditional food products such as burrata, a hands-on cooking lesson, carousing with the locals at a raucous fish market and enjoying  a country-style breakfast at a welcoming farm.   

Locorotondo, one of the "città bianche" - white towns -in Puglia

Beach below the town of Polignano al Mare

Emanuele at the beautiful port of Otranto in Puglia

View of Matera, a town of cave dwellings known as "i sassi"

Top of a trullo, the curious cone-shaped building of Puglia

A country breakfast under an enormous oak tree at our welcoming inn.

 

Rooftop setting in Lecce for our final aperitivo and festive dinner

 Get in the mood in advance of our tour:

Make Taralli from Puglia

All about Lampascioni

Day-by-day Itinerary

When traveling through Puglia, the “heel of the boot” of Italy, food is everywhere.  Beneath majestic olive trees, there are fields of red earth planted with vegetables, and the night air smells like celery.  Long expanses of wheat fields produce the local flour used in excellent crusty bread, and then there are the raucous fish markets, teeming with wriggling sea creatures.  And we haven’t begun to get to the exquisitely creamy burrata cheese, the oh-so-sweet tomatoes, or the heady Primitivo wine, thus named because it describes your ability to make a sentence after a few glasses. 

On one occasion, while traveling through Puglia with friends, we stopped in a bar in Martina Franca to have an aperitivo, and the waiter asked if we wanted stuzzichini - appetizer snacks – with our drinks.  When we said yes, out came bowls of soft bocconcini of mozzarella, plump green olives, oven-baked black olives flecked with hot pepper, bits of salami, tiny one-bite pizzette, pickled lampascioni, sun-dried tomatoes, and crunchy taralli, spiced with fennel seeds and black pepper. 

In other words, a meal for most people. When we commented to the waiter about how this could suffice as dinner, he laughed and said, “Only if you aren’t pugliese.”  And so, wanting to fit in with the locals, we headed off to dinner.  We found more taralli in the breadbasket at dinner, and they became our addiction during the trip. 

Learning to make taralli will just be one of the many things we’ll be doing on our Pleasures of Puglia culinary tour, but since that is months away, I decided to make a batch at home.  You’ll find my complete taralli recipe at the end of this post, but here are the basics:

Taralli are quite simple to make, with an unleavened dough of flour, salt, extra-virgin olive oil, and white wine.  You can leave the dough plain or spice it with fennel seeds or cracked black pepper.

Take walnut-sized pieces of dough and shape into thin ropes about 5 inches (10 cm) long, then bring the ends together to form a ring.  It’s okay if they look like a teardrop.

Next, the rings are briefly cooked in a pot of boiling water until they float to the surface, then removed with a slotted spoon and left to cool and dry on a clean cloth. 

Place the taralli on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper and bake until the taralli are golden brown.  Cool on a rack and serve with an aperitivo – drink the rest of that white wine you used to make the dough – or fill a breadbasket and serve at dinner.

Read more about what we’ll be doing on our Pleasures of Puglia tour.

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The Mysteries of Lampascioni

Wild Asparagus Walk in Sicily

In a country known for its cultural treasures, the medieval town of Pietrasanta – known as the “City of Artists” —has deep roots in Italy’s legacy of art and sculpture.

Located near the Italian Riviera in northern Tuscany, this little town has been a hot spot for artists and sculptors since the 15th century, when Pope Leo X ordered Michelangelo to construct a road from the coast below Pietrasanta to Monte Altissima, an otherwise inaccessible peak known to contain rich deposits of pure white statuary marble.  Cutting and then transporting the stone from the wilderness back to the coast proved too difficult a task to perform very often, so only the Michelangelo’s Moses and the unfinished Slaves were carved from  this marble. 

But from here, Pietrasanta’s reputation as an international center for art and sculpture was set in stone, and today artists from around the world come to use the local marble studios and bronze foundries, and to benefit from the knowledge of master artisans.  And not only are these artisans highly skilled at carving stone, they also sport nifty paper hats handmade out of newspaper. 

Staying in Pietrasanta is an interesting experience, where you may run into Colombian artist and sculptor Fernando Botero, who has made Pietrasanta his home for part of the year; one of his bronze scuptures graces the entranceway to the town.  Quirky restaurants, unusual shops, and art galleries abound, so there is always something to do.   

Worth a visit is the Museo dei Bozzetti which has hundreds of sculpture models by over 300 Italian and foreign artists.  It also offers guided tours explaining the many “meanings” of the museum—that is, the history of local sculpture, what a model is, the contemporary artistic background and the work of the craftsmen, who are the real force behind today’s artists.  You might be surprised to learn that few contemporary artists produce their own designs in stone—visit a sculpture studio and you’ll find hardworking artisans working on stone sculptures that are destined for public gardens or private villas around the world. 

On our walking tours in Italy that touch upon Pietrasanta, I always include a visit to a sculpture studio or a bronze foundry to see the fascinating process firsthand.   I love staying at the luxurious Albergo Pietrasanta, a boutique hotel housed in a palazzo in the center of town,  with a stunning modern art collection that seamlessly blends with the historic building and fine antique furniture.  This is where we stay on our Cinque Terre & Beyond walking tour, which touches upon some of the more well-known hiking trails in Liguria as well as the quiet undiscovered trails that bring you to Tuscan marble quarries or tiny seaside villages.

Intrigued with sculpture?  You might like:

The Looted Goddess of Morgantina

The 5th century BC Greek statue known as the goddess of Morgantina, was unearthed in illegal excavations in Sicily, and after being smuggled into Switzerland and eventually given “legal” status, it was purchased in 1988 by the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles for $18 million.  Recognized by archeologists as having come from the ancient site of Morgantina, after a thorough investigation and long negotiations the Getty museum eventually agreed to return the disputed statue to Italy in May of 2011.  Amongst much rejoicing and fanfare, the looted goddess is now housed in the archeology museum in Aidone, a small town set on a lofty hilltop near the ancient city of Morgantina.

Sicily’s hilly terrain coupled with an antiquated road system means getting to Aidone and Morgantina is a long trek from just about anywhere, but one fine June day we decided to see what all the fuss was about.   Much of our route from Modica to Aidone was on winding back roads with little traffic, and also without much in the way of road signs, but we managed to find the town with only a couple of U-turns. 

Before arriving at the museum, we noted an information point with a couple of tour buses, and stopped for further info. A friendly man gave us a map of the town, and with obvious pride, pointed out the route to the archeology museum, and also suggested we visit a church and the belvedere with a splendid view. 

We are instructed to leave our car and continue on foot, but Emanuele, ever the hardheaded Italian, insists on driving, and after getting lost, we soon end up on a steep narrow street barely wide enough for our compact car.  After wedging the car into a stairwell, we clamber out and hurry to rush past the tour group arriving on foot.  Inside the splendid statue is a bit of a surprise.

At 2.20 meters tall (7 ½  ft) this a big goddess, with massive thighs outlined beneath her flowing gown, and I am at first a bit disappointed as she seems to lack a certain elegance. It’s as if the size of the room does not quite do justice to this amazing figure – she needs more space. But the more I gaze upon her, walking around to get a good look from all sides, I begin to sense her power and feel that she just might burst through her gown, crushing the onlookers in one triumphant step.

The Goddess of Morgantina (often erroneously referred to as Venus) is most likely a figure of Persephone and is carved using the acrolithic technique in which a different material is use for the body and the extremities. In this case the body is carved from a limestone from Ragusa, while the head and extremities are carved from Greek marble. Traces of color suggest that the gown was once painted. Archeologists date it from 400-425 BC, and a likeness of the statue has been found on ancient coins from Morgantina. It is surmised that the statue stood on a pedestal in the center of the city. 

Locals hope that the return of the Goddess of Morgantina will help the economically depressed town of Aidone, and I hope that they are right.

The Aidone Archeological Museum is open everyday from 9.00 am to 7.00 Pm.  Tickets are 6 euro, children and students 3 euro. It is recommended that you arrive early so as to allow time to also visit the nearby archeological site of Morgantina, and the Roman Villa Casale at Piazza Armerina (under restoration, but parts of the magnificent mosaics are open to the public. )

Join us on October 31 as we explore these sites together, as an add-on to our Splendors of Sicily walking tour, Oct 24-30, 2011.  Only a few spaces available – see our contact info below

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The Looted Morgantina Silver Hoard

History of a Sicilian Biscuit

After being looted and sold to the Metropolitan Museum, the stunning collection of 3rd century BC silver pieces known as the silver hoard of Morgantina has come back to Aidone in Sicily.   It’s an arduous task to get to this remote town,  but I can assure you that it’s worth the trip. 

On a recent visit, I found the silver pieces breathtaking – exquisitely crafted bowls, drinking vessels and other pieces left me and other lucky visitors gasping in awe.  The silver hoard is beautifully displayed in the tiny archeological  museum of Aidone, and in the same museum you will find the Goddess of Morgantina, a Greek statue that also has a murky past, having come home to rest after having been looted and sold to the Getty Museum. 

We will be including a visit to the Morgantina archeological site, Aidone archaeology museum as well as the spectacular mosaics at Piazza Armerina as a 1-day add-on to our Splendors of Sicily walking tour Oct 24-30, 2011 ( add-on day is Oct 31.)  To join,  e-mail us or call to find out more: (780) 438 5712. 

The looting, sale and investigation of the Morgantina silver is also a fascinating story.

Considered to be among  the finest Hellenistic silver known from Magna Grecia,  the pieces were purchased by Metropolitan Museum of Art in the early 1980’s  for $2.74 million from Robert Hecht Jr,, an American dealer in antiquities that is currently in trial in Italy for conspiring to deal in stolen artifacts.  Robert Hecht Jr is now 90 years old and the statute of limitations runs out in July 2011, so it is doubtful he will ever be convicted. 

It was also an American, the archeologist Malcom Bell III, who championed investigations at the archeological excavations of Morgantina, and eventually proved that the silver hoard had been stolen.  

After a tombarolo – tomb robber – confessed to having had a hand in digging up the treasure, Bell was given permission to examine the silver, and deciphered an inscription dated 211 BC of the family name Eupolemos.  Bell claimed that the silver pieces were “most likely hidden beneath the floor of a house by a Greek man named Eupolemos, who was trying to protect his wealth from invading Roman armies.”  The similarity to other silver pieces found at Morgantina also supported his theory. Another clue to the source of the silver was Bell’s discovery of a coin, minted between 212 and 214 BC found in one of the excavated holes that the tombarolo had indicated.  The most damning piece of evidence, was actually a 1978 coin of Italian lira that was also found in an excavation hole, apparently having been dropped by the illegal diggers, and proof that the silver had been looted. (Both of these coins are on display at the archeology museum in Aidone Sicily.)

The Metropolitan Museum agreed to return the Morgantina silver hoard to Italy, but retains joint custody of the pieces, allowing the Met to have the silver pieces for an exhibit every 4 years.  When the Morgantina silver came to Italy in February, the Met received a recently excavated 20-piece Roman dining set from Pompeii for a temporary exhibit.

The archeology museum at Aidone is open everyday from 9.00 am to 7.00 pm.  It is recommended that you arrive early so as to allow time to also visit the nearby archeological site of Morgantina, and the Roman Villa Casale at Piazza Armerina (under restoration, but parts of the magnificent mosaics are open to the public. ) Join us on October 31 as we explore these sites together, as an add-on to our Splendors of Sicily walking tour, Oct 24-30, 2011.  Only a few spaces available – see our contact info below. 

Read similar stories:

Goddess of Morgantina Returns to Sicily

A Foraging Walk in Sicily

‘Mpanatigghi biscuits are a specialty of the town of Modica in Sicily, and have a long history, as they were first brought to Sicily during the Spanish rule in the 16th century.  In fact, the Sicilian dialect name ‘Mpanatigghi derives from the Spanish word empanada.

If you are wondering how to pronounce this strange word in Sicilian, imagine that you have stuffed your mouth with empanadas, and someone asks you what you are eating – your reply will be remarkably close to the correct pronunciation for ‘Mpanatigghi. Both the Sicilian and Spanish words come from the verb meaning “to wrap or cover with bread dough.”

‘Mpanatigghi are little half-moon shaped biscuits (or cookies) with a thin crust, that are stuffed with a mixture of sugar, chocolate, almonds, lemon peel, egg, cinnamon and vanilla, plus a secret ingredient that is impossible to detect – minced beef!  If anything could be more unusual, these biscuits originally contained wild game.  In case you are breathing a sigh of relief that you are vegetarian, there is also another version that substitutes the meat with eggplant.

If these sound revolting, it is best to try them without knowing what you are eating, and in my experience everyone loves them- it’s only after being told what’s inside that people turn up their noses. It says something about food prejudices, no?

One of the best places to sample ‘Mpanatigghi is the historic Bonjauto Chocolate Shop, in Modica.  This is a favorite stop on our eastern Sicily walking and cooking tour where we taste lots of different chocolate items.  And just for comparison, I recently tried the ‘Mpanatigghi from Casalindolci, which is convenient if you are staying at the Hotel Palazzo Failla, and was impressed with the thin crisp dough and the fragrant stuffing.  Tip: Because non-Sicilians find this sweet to be  unpronounceable, ‘Mpanatigghi are usually ordered by pointing at them.

Read more about culture, traditions and regional foods in Italy:

Avoid the Gift of Death 

Have Sausage, Will Travel

The Tre Cime – Three Peaks - di Lavaredo, are some of the most photographed mountains of the Dolomites, and the surrounding walking trails offer beautiful hikes.  However, since this spectacular area is served by a good road and offers some easy walks, it can get packed with hikers.  Here’s how to enjoy this walk without the crowds along a medium difficulty trail with great views. 

Start early in the day before the crowds arrive, and you’ll be done your hike before the frequent afternoon thunderstorms.  Avoid Sundays, when the Tre Cime di Lavaredo area is overrun, though the people watching is astonishing: loud families with wild kids, super-fit climbers, pudgy walkers gasping for air, young Italian couples in tight jeans and high heels, and hoards of nuns in hiking boots.  All rather amusing but hardly peaceful.

Once you have found a parking place in the vast parking area (and paid the 20 euro per car toll/entrance fee) you can stop for a coffee at the Rifugio Auronzo before setting off on this loop walk around the 3 Cime di Lavaredo.

Walk to the end of the lower parking areas, and take the #105 trail (this overlaps with part of the Alta Via #4, one of the Dolomites High Routes long distance trails).  Follow this trail all the way to the Rifugio Lavaredo, which will take about 2-1/2 hours.  If you start early in the day (by 9.30 am), you will see almost no one on this trail and can enjoy the scenery in blissful solitude. Note the wildflowers, especially the yellow alpine poppies that favor this rugged rocky terrain. There is some steep up and down along the trail, but if done slowly, it is not difficult.  Along the way, you will pass some tiny lakes surrounded by wild rhododendron, and a malga, an alpine dairy farm, which may be serving cool glasses of fresh milk. 

The Rifugio Lavaredo is at an intersection of several trails, so it is often chaotic with wild-haired climbers and sweaty hikers.  Welcome back to civilization. At least you can enjoy a pit stop and refuel with Dolomitic portions of chocolate cake and apple strudel.  

You now follow the main wide trail #101 with breathtaking views and a bit of a climb up to the small pass that offers the best views of the 3 Cime as well as alpine climbers on the north face.  (Above you there is a narrow trail from a WW I battlefield, where there is a via ferrata, a trail equipped with fixed cables, but you keep to the main walking trail).  You’ll get to the Rifugio Lavaredo in about 90 minutes, which is a good place for lunch.  A hearty plate of polenta with goulash spiced with juniper berries is a traditonal food in this part of Italy and will taste oh-so-good.   

After the Rifugio Lavaredo you will no doubt find lots of walkers, but it hardly matters at this point because you have had such a great walk.  It takes another 20-30 minutes to reach the parking area of the Rifugio Auronzo where you started.  You will have seen an impressive number of Dolomite peaks along the way- the Cristallo, Sorapiss, Croda Rossa – as well as the beautiful blue lake of Misurina.  Now you know why this is one of the most spectacular walks in the Dolomites, if not all of  Italy!

My previous posts about the Dolomites include Gourmet Dining in Rifugi and a Via Ferrata Hike with Christopher Buckley on video.

We are based in Cortina when we do this walk on our Wildlflowers in the Dolomites walking tour, where we stay in the historic Hotel Ancora in downtown Cortina, or if you want to be utterly pampered in a luxurious spa hotel, the Hotel Cristallo Palace a few kilometers up the hill with a shuttle service into town. E-mail us as we often have specially discounted hotel rates at the Cristallo for individual travelers.

The gourmet hiker is in for special lunchtime treats in the Dolomites, where top chefs from Michelin-starred restaurants have created dishes using traditional ingredients for eight alpine rifugi or mountain huts .  It’s all part of the “In Vetta con Gusto”- Peaks of Gastronomy – initiative that makes hiking in the dolomites with lunch at a mountain hut a truly sublime experience.

The chef’s dishes, which feature many South Tyrolean food products of the Dolomites, are paired with a local wine, a great way to taste some of Alto Adige’s lesser known wines.

After a magnificent walk through alpine meadows full of wildflowers in the Dolomites, we lunched at the Rifugio Pralongià where I was too hungry to notice the gourmet dish, and opted for an immediate and steaming bowl of barley soup, but sharp-eyed hiker Robert Gardos went for the chef’s dish:  Fresh sheep’s milk cheese wrapped in warm Speck ham with mountain honey, served with an Alto Adige Sauvignon.

Other rifugi that are participating and are convenient for wildflower walks from San Cassiano (and the luxurious hotel Rosa Alpina, a Relais & Chateaux):

Rifugio Bioch:  Chef Norbert Niederkofler of the 2-star Michelin St. Hubertus at the Rosa Alpina, proposes a tortelli pasta stuffed with Speck ham paté and buffalo ricotta cheese on a bed of green beans, paired with an Alto Adige Bianco.

Rifugio I Tablá: Chef Arturo Spicocchi of the 1-star Michelin La Stüa de Michil suggests pork shank in honey and black pepper, with thyme-seasoned polenta and chanterelles accompanied by an Alto Adige Pinot Nero.

For more information about the Peaks of Gastronomy initiative, click here.

To learn more about where I go hiking and walking in the Dolomites, click here.