It's nearly the end of May now. Two months of warm sun. One month of hot sun. This
month has seen only two
days of rain. Yes rain; warm refreshing Mediterranean rain- the type you can have a pleasant cycle in. Maybe enjoy a cappuccino or wild apricot along the way. The apricots may need another week or two of sun but the cherries have been ready for some time.
And what better to do in this early season of mellow fruitfulness than to make jam or marmellata ; the Italians distinguish only the fruit ;ie Marmellata di arancia. But in this case, marmellata di ciliegia.
So I'm up early boiling the jars and stoning the cherries. The birds are singing frantically outside. Sounds idyllic? A problema, however, has arisen. My beautiful cake stand is empty. I start to
rank all the afternoon teas I've ever had. My best - to date- being in an English orchard. I think there were 5 varieties of scones. It's time to hit the local stately homes and palazzos.
Today the Italian government have announced that 50 million people have visited their museums in 3 years- an increase of 7 million. So clearly there's plenty of them! In fact there's one is just down the road. I can smell the jam already!
I'm joking? Right? Versailles Palace in the centre of Italy? Well, almost! This is Caserta Royal Palace, which was modelled on its French predecessor. Italy, world leader in all the major arts, wasn't going to be outdone in palaces. Begun in 1752, the vision took 50 years to realise. As G D'Annuzio stated: 'La fortuna d'Italia e' inseparable dalle sorti della bellezza di cui ella e' madre'.
Yes. Only 8 miles from Capua and 12 miles from Naples. We have the largest royal residence in the world. A palace on five floors, boasting 1,200 rooms. Although it has appeared in a variety of films ranging from Anzio (1967) with Robert Mitchum to the Star Wars series, few outside the Caserta area know it even exists. I didn't! Built for the Bourbon kings of Naples, in April 1945 it saw the signing of the unconditional surrender of the German forces in Italy and in 1997 became a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
It was built for Charles VII in 1752 and completed in the reign of his son, Ferdinand IV. It was designed by the architect, Luigi Vanvitelli. Vanvitelli's design so impressed his royal patron that he stated that he was filled with emotion 'fit to tear his heart from his breast'. It would provide accommodation for the king, his court and his government. It would include 24 state apartments, a larg
e library and a theatre modelled on the Teatro San Carlo in Naples. It was located inland to be safe from possible attack by sea and away from the troublesome masses of Naples. It was large enough to house the royal garrison.
Today only a few of the 1,200 rooms have been restored and are accessible for visitors. But don't worry, there's more than enough to dazzle! The throne room, adjoining waiting rooms ,royal apartments including the king's and queen's private libraries intact with their original book collections provide more than enough.
And then there's the original
precipices, with the largest number of nativity characters you could ever imagine. Look at the individual expressions on the face of each of the people and each of the animals. Believer or not, you're there!
And yet I believe that the
best is still to come! And I'm not alone! The gardens have been voted the most beautiful in the world in 2010. They consist of hundreds of rare and precious botanical plants. They cover 120 hectares and have a length of 3.3 km. The canal stretches the whole 3.3 km and ends in an amazing waterfall.
From the palace the gardens extend as far as the eye can see, using a' telescopic effect' introduced by Vanvitelli himself. He designed the Carolino aqueduct to bring the water required from Monte Taburno over 40 km away! This alone led to the development of the whole area as the water was not only used for ornamental purposes in the pools and magnificent fountains but also supplied agricultural fields and eventually buffalo farms- this making buffalo mozzarella the major export the area is known for today!
The gardens are divided into two parts: formal and informal.
The formal gardens are the Parco Van Vitelliano and cover 66 hectares and include the 'Peschiera grande' a pool of 800m used for the Naval battles of the prince and the breath-taking collection of Classical fountains, each taking its name from the stunning statues depicted: Diana and Actaeon, Venus and Adonis, Aeolus and Ceres and the Fountain of the Dolphins.
The informal garden is the English garden designed by the botanist, John Andrew Graefer and covering 22 hectares. It is situated in the eastern part of the park and was begun in 1786. It was the first example of an informal garden in Italy. It was the idea of Queen Maria Carolina, wife of Ferdinand IV, who was the sister of Marie Antionette. It was to be the ideal of spontaneous and wild nature, a total contrast to the rest of the formal park.
It includes Roman monuments brought from Pompeii, a pyramid, a pool of vibrant water lilies and the bath of Venus- a huge tunnel and waterfall, a Greek theatre on an island. It is filled with an amazing variety of trees and provides cool shade on even the hottest summer day. Some corner of a foreign field that's forever England and all that! Personally it's my favourite part of the whole place! I bet it will be yours too!
So now with all that walking you can need a little refreshment. We've come for the afternoon tea after all. And what a setting to indulge. You come around a corner in the English garden and see a beautiful huge the neo-Classical home of the gardener. You expect to hear classical music mingling with birdsong in the trees. We've found the tea room, the orangery at last. But as you approach the mirage a sinking feeling fills your stomach. The beautiful house is derelict.
The orange-scented currant scones you dreamed about for the last five hours, aren't there. Are Ryanair still doing cheap direct flights home??? Has the absence of English torte brought the Italian dream to an end???
Almost! But not quite. We Scots are made of stronger stuff. We were raised on Iron Bru after all! My vision is so much smaller than Van Vittitelli's. The Bourbon reign was a golden age of gastronomy. It saw the blending of French, Italian and Austrian Cuisine. Many dishes developed in that era are still served in the best Italian restaurants today. Ferdinand himself popularised the eating of pasta, previously the food of the lower classes in Italy. His chamberlain was commissioned with the task of finding a dignified way to eat spaghetti. The modern fork was born! Personally I think he'd have loved the royal afternoon tea currently served in the Orangery in Kensington Palace- see below. So let's have it! A tearoom fit for a king! Or indeed a queen!
Royal Afternoon Tea
A selection of afternoon tea sandwiches; Egg mayonnaise and cress, smoked salmon and cream cheese,
Coronation chicken, roast ham and English mustard sandwich, cucumber and fresh mint
Orange-scented and currant scones served with Cornish clotted cream,
English strawberry jam and an assortment of tea pastries
Served with a range of loose teas, tisanes or coffee
August. Don't you look forward to the month all year long! As soon as the tinsel is boxed, its on to the internet to choose your seaside holiday. According to a recent Sunday Times survey- if you're set on foreign shores- it may well have been an Italian beach.
It's early August now an we're still in the grip of this great African pestilence. If Pepys was still around he'd be writing about it in his diary. Yesterday we fled to the hills. Our destination a thermal town, Caramanico, 700 m above sea level. 
However, as always, I remain the true Scot! And, a recent DNA test has shown me to be a 40% Viking, so it's down to the sea early next morning. And yes, the water's fresh! Thank God!
