Whereas the high-speed practice zips between Rome and Naples in simply over an hour, I a lot favor to meander between these vibrant cities. My travels are a culinary quest, and after 20 plus years dwelling in Rome, I’ve found that the artichokes and pastas you encounter alongside the best way rival the delights ready upon arrival. So, I lengthen the journey right into a leisurely four-day journey, savoring meals at centuries-old trattorias and exploring the mesmerizing volcanoes and majestic Bourbon palaces that give this area of Italy its distinctive attraction.
DAY 1
Once I turned as much as the rental company at 9:00am, my “Mini or related” turned out to be a Volkswagen Polo, which wasn’t as enjoyable to drive as my first selection, however any medium-sized automotive would do. The one important amenity I ever actually need is full insurance coverage protection to make sure headache-free journey. You don’t should e-book manner prematurely for computerized automobiles anymore however when you wan’t a hybrid, then you need to.
I directed my purposeful however un-romantic car east alongside Through Tiburtina, a 3rd century BCE freeway that was utilized by Roman Emperors and vacationers to maneuver between Rome and the traditional village of Tibur (modern-day Tivoli) and additional afield to Abruzzo. Seventeen miles from Rome, I finished at Villa Adriana, an unlimited second century advanced that did double responsibility as Hadrian’s residential palace and his imperial headquarters. Centuries of pillaging have stripped the hulking partitions of their stone veneer however have performed little to dampen the impression of the villa’s revolutionary design and astonishing scale. Up the hill in Tivoli, I parked the automotive in Piazza Garibaldi close to the Villa d’Este entrance, feeding the meter for five hours to permit for a leisurely lunch adopted by a villa go to. I prefer to get lunch first, strolling by way of the slender alleys to the sting of Tivoli’s historic heart the place La Sibilla, a restaurant based in 1720 on Roman ruins, serves an ample antipasto unfold together with cured ham, fried parcels of dough, and croquettes beside the restored ruins of an historical temple. By the point I backtracked by way of city, a lot of the crowds at UNESCO-recognized Villa d’Este had thinned—many guests by no means enterprise past the villa entrance, making the remainder of the city pleasantly tourist-free. The Villa D’Este’s cycles of polychrome frescoes that includes Biblical and mythological tales are beautiful, however the fountain-filled gardens are maybe much more spectacular.
From Tivoli, I veered south, reducing by way of olive groves and grazing pastures as I approached brooding and gothic Genazzano, a medieval village value a cease for a stroll by way of the practically 1000-year-old historic heart and for views over a patchwork of farmland. Subsequent was Olevano Romano, a city of stone homes stacked atop volcanic rock, quarter-hour away. As I scanned the skyline of the area’s terrain from an overlook in Olevano, I may make out the silhouette of the volcanoes, lengthy extinct, that birthed the terrain millennia in the past. This vista at all times stops me in my tracks—and I’ve traveled by automotive on practically each freeway and again highway of southern Italy—and I’m hopeful extra guests will make the journey, if not for the surroundings than no less than for Olevano’s best gastronomic asset: the cavernous Sora Maria e Arcangelo, a vacation spot trattoria favored by Roman meals professionals, which serves meaty masterpieces like béchamel-laced veal cannelloni and fried child lamb chops. The delicacies usually attracts me from Rome for day journeys and I by no means miss a plate of tender artichoke hearts, the most effective outdoors the Italian capital.
Sufficiently nourished, I drove the rolling nation roads by way of hills dotted with grazing lambs to Antonello Colonna Resort & Spa, a boutique resort in rural Labico. Whereas the meals isn’t to my style—chef Antonello Colonna’s up to date delicacies is boring as hell—the property itself is beautiful and there’s an interesting visible steadiness between the construction’s concrete structure and the working farm surrounding it. The patio of my east-facing room, which missed manicured fields, was a tranquil place to retire with a bottle of native Cesanese from the sensational wine record.
Day 2
The daylight gently coaxed me awake because it poured into my room, signaling it was time for a fast swim within the heated pool earlier than departing Labico. I adopted the Through Casilina, a medieval highway crafted from two historical highways, into the Ciocaria, a sub-region of southern Lazio recognized for its easy vegetal delicacies, sparse inhabitants, and unspoiled terrain. I really like the realm’s rural environment and it’s a type of locations in Italy that’s so insanely lovely that I’m torn between wanting to guard and needing to shout about it to anybody who will pay attention. Don’t be delay by the commercial parks you’ll drive by way of—take the A1 freeway to expedite your journey. When you flip off after quarter-hour, you’ll be rapidly again on a picturesque stretch of Through Casilina approaching the medieval city of Anagni. I parked simply outdoors the partitions at Porta Santa Maria to discover the slender, palace-trimmed streets and spectacular cathedral, reminders of the centuries when Anagni was the summer season retreat for the Popes.
A go to to this a part of Lazio is incomplete and not using a cease at Pezz de Pane in Frosinone Alto, the extra historical a part of the town. The truth is, I might argue that when you go to Rome and don’t take the practice all the way down to Roberta Pezzella’s landmark bakery, you could have missed out on one of many best bread and pizza experiences on the planet. Her breads, pastries, cookies, and pizza by the slice are crafted with artisan flours and her panettone are legendary. Thoughts the hours, which on the time of publication, are Wednesday to Saturday.
Deeper into the Ciocaria, the Valle di Comino is a pristine valley on the sting of a nationwide park. I got here right here to unplug, eat actually good meals, and hike round fairly stone villages like San Donato and Picinisco, that are clustered alongside the decrease slopes of the park’s mountainous terrain. I took my time driving between villages, that are linked by the picturesque SR509, to soak up the sweeping vistas of olive groves and dealing farms. I wrapped up a day of driving at Agriturismo Cerere, a trattoria and natural farm within the woods above Alvito, for a dinner of native sheep cheeses, simmered legumes, and handmade pasta. I walked off my meal in Picinisco, dwelling to a crumbling medieval fort and Sotto le Stelle, an albergo diffuso with a concierge and suites positioned in separate buildings.
Day 3
Earlier than departing the Valle di Comino, I organized an early morning go to to Agricola San Maurizio, an natural farm the place Maria Pia made the cheese I tasted the earlier evening. Her formaggi ranged in taste from floral to natural, relying on the approach, age, and sheep’s weight loss program. We chatted over spoonfuls of recent, steaming ricotta, then I headed in the direction of the Lazio-Campania border. I adopted the collection of roundabouts from the motorway exit to a switchback highway main as much as the Abbey of Montecassino, a Benedictine monastery that was destroyed in WWII, then closely restored. The stone cloister, ornate basilica, and well-appointed museum can entice hundreds of pilgrims day by day. Preferring silent and subdued memorials, I drove 30-minutes south to San Pietro Infine, a uncooked however worthy detour and somber companion to the Abbey. This stone village was left deliberately in ruins to bear witness to the ravages of conflict and its crumbling partitions and bombed-out roofs appeared eerily trapped within the second of their destruction, like a modern-day Pompeii.
My subsequent cease, after 45-minutes on the A1 freeway, was the Reggia di Caserta, one of many largest palaces on the planet. I meandered by way of the gilded halls and marveled on the wealth of the 18th century Spanish royalty that constructed 1,200 rooms unfold over 2.5 million sq. toes. Completely overwhelmed, I retreated to the 300-acre gardens behind the Reggia the place lots of of botanical species flourished round a stocked fish pond, synthetic lake constructed to host mock naval battles, and fake archeological ruins. All that strolling had labored up my urge for food, which I would want at my subsequent vacation spot, Pepe in Grani, Italy’s most celebrated pizzeria. Once I arrived for my 30th go to—I’m greater than a bit of obsessive about this place—grasp pizzaiolo Franco Pepe was within the kitchen stretching his hand-mixed dough (uncommon for a pizzeria that does greater than 400 pies an evening!) into disks, adorning them with tart heirloom tomatoes, native salamis, and savory mozzarella earlier than baking them within the domed wood-burning oven. His masterful approach and obsession with dough make his pies ethereal, vital for any multi-pizza tasting menu and Franco’s devotion to his territory means every topping is culled from a stellar artisan producer close by. The pizzeria rents just a few B&B rooms upstairs however the place has turn into so well-known amongst Italians who journey from each area they’re practically at all times booked. My plan B was hardly a compromise and after a 30-minute drive by way of windy nation roads, I used to be drifting right into a dough-induced slumber between the linen sheets at Aquapetra, a resort and spa immersed in a dense pine forest close to the sting of the Matese mountains.
Day 4
After a soak beneath tough hewn stone vaults in Aquapetra’s heated indoor pool, I continued an hour southwest to Sant’Anastasia, a village on the slopes of Mt. Vesuvius dwelling to ‘E Curti, certainly one of my favourite trattorias wherever. The place is value a drive from Rome by itself—and I make the journey continuously–for chef Angela Ceriello’s Campanian consolation meals like a stew of bitter greens studded with bits of tender pork and suckling lamb accompanied by simmered candy peas. I crave her heat hospitality and household recipes, which she instructed me haven’t been altered in generations. What has modified not too long ago is the situation, a bigger area throughout the road with a backyard and plenty of pure gentle shining into the eating room the place Angela stuffed me with stew and lamb and, as at all times, despatched me away with a bottle of her Nucillo, a digestif comprised of walnuts she harvested herself.
The 30-minute drive due west to Naples was mellow till the motorway funneled me into the town’s nightmarish visitors of darting scooters, cavalier pedestrians, and dinged-up automobiles oblivious to lanes. These circumstances may appear overwhelming—the uninitiated ought to return their rental on the Naples airport and take a taxi to the town—however I really like Neapolitan-style driving and all its lawless, me-first brashness. I immediately tailored and double parked on by way of Salvator Rosa, then adopted the black basalt sidewalk just a few steps to Caseari Cautero, a champagne and gourmand meals store. The proprietor Salvatore Cautero belted out an enthusiastic greeting of “Uè Ketty!” Earlier than I knew it, there was a glass in my hand and Salvatore and I have been toasting to my skilled parking job.
