New Home In The Second Rome

Rush hour. Ora di  punta as the Italians say. It's already dark. I'm shopping.

I pay my money, I take my chance. Laden with bags I dodge the Italian cars once again. A pretty young woman has just sped past me in a new 500. She's not seen me. She's not seen anyone. Separate a Neopolitan from their cellulare and that's a risk I'm not prepared to take!

  On the Roman bridge I pause to take in the beautiful  sunset. Tra monto in Italian- across in the mountains. In this case across the river Volturno below. The wind becomes stronger. It's time to head for home.


Home? Si in Capua. This attractive traditional Italian town in Caserta province has been my home for less than a month. Yet  I feel I know it somehow. Maybe you do too?

Nowadays a town of 19,000 inhabitants. Twenty one centuries ago Cicero, the famous Roman orator, described it as 'the Second Rome'. Old Capua is the modern day Santa Maria Capua Vetere. Situated on the VIa Appia, the ancient Super Highway leading to Rome. It was founded in the ninth century BC and flourished thereafter due to the abundance of produce the rich volcanic soil here makes possible.

Evidence of this pre-Roman past lies all around us. An example is the temple of Diana Tifatina, in Saint Angelo, 3 miles from Capua. Built by the Samnites in the 5th century BC, it has remained a place of spiritual importance to the present day, with a Catholic Church being built on top in the first century AD. From the terrrace you can see see Vesuvius on the left, the Naples coast, the isle of Capri and the Ausonini mountains. At sunset it's breathtaking!

In fact this whole area invites closer inspection.Rich in natural and architectural beauties, with  Pompeii and Herculaeum only a 40 minute journey away , Oplonti, Formia and Cuma even closer.. Evidence of a glorious past lie all around. A past that we know something about, a past that repays further investigation.

Villas In The Sun, Castles In The Rain

 

Picture Provenance with  Roman ruins and and lemon trees and you're almost there. Amidst this landscape, in Caserta, on a sunny Saturday  we

begin our search for our new home.

There are many possibilities: holiday villas near Liberi, old stone built houses in hilltop villages above Casserta,modern apartments hugging  the cliffs of Montregone,  the abandoned farmhouses that litter the countryside.


 You can take your pick. Like a typical Italian celebratory meal there are just too many tempting possibilities to choose!










Tiring work indeed! We take a break to lunch outside a bar in the Sunshine at Triflisco, near a pebble-bottomed pool of sparkling water. This is as close to Paradise as you'll get in this life!

Sunday is a quieter day. We spend it in Nola listening to a friend's band entertain a private party in ancient country estate dating back to the 17th century. We look out of huge windows on to  castles towering over orange trees in the Mediterranean rain.






The light fades as afternoon turns to evening. The band plays on, yet another course arrives. Can we still dance? Of course we can!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Quiet Sunday In Naples

What better way to begin  your New Year than a listening to an uplighting sermon on 'The Six Blessings of the New Year' in a beautiful old Church near the Harbour in Naples?


What could be better than a bracing walk along the seafront, looking out across the bay of Naples to the islands of Ischia and Capri, glistening in the afternoon Sunshine. Time to reflect on the year just passed. A year that flahed passed like the Italian countryside on  a Freccia Rossa train from Bologna to Naples. A successful and very happy year nevertheless which saw me plan an outdoor wedding in England ( Yes!), leave my teaching job after 25 years and sell  my house.



Then around the coast to Baia for a late lunch of a wonderful variety of piatii of beautifully presented fish dishes. Baia boasts a ruined city in its harbour. A major holiday destination city for centuries, Baia provided entertainment for the rich and powerful  amongst amongst the Roman upper classes. The city, which was located over natural volcanic outlets was famous for its healing hot springs. Some of Rome's most powerful rulers such as Nero, Cicero, and Caesar were frequent visitors.  Hopefully one day I'll explore its hidden wonders.





The afternoon ends with coffee in a seafront bar in Bacoli, gazing out at the blue sky and the fluffy clouds over Vesuvius. Hot and fluffy: possibly the model for the  perfect cappucino. Being in Italy, of course, you see nothing else.




Next week we begin viewing Italian villas.

Temples In The Sun

'We had joy, we had fun, we had seasons-or temples- in the sun!'

So here I am in beautiful Paestum by the sea in brilliant sunshine of 12  degrees on a warm January afternoon. Its glorious temples to Apollo, Minerva and Hera still stand out proudly in the Italian countryside amidst olive and umbrella pine trees.

The Greek city dates back to before 600BC. Its houses, baths, theatres and, most wonderfully, its huge pale pillared Doric temples give much history to savour on a warm afternoon Later we savour the delights of a grand Italian lunch of real creamy buffalo mozzeralla, ravoli, and an abundance of local Italian vegetables.



In the evening I'm informed by a colleague that the boiler had broken down at work and the BBC are about to screen a programme on the hidden glories of Naples. I look over my photos of the sun god's temple with a new reverance.

Only Looking Forward

Am I really here in Capua at last? Have I finally left everything in the UK behind?

Well it is already January the second when my head and the smoke clears.

But would any Italian be able to start a blog on January the first?

Only those who unable to climb on fifth floor roofs in Caserta to watch the 360 degree firework display after the chimes of Little Ben.

Unlike the goddess Janus I do not look back, only forward.

The local gods here have one head.