I Love Touring Italy - Campania West Of Naples

If you are looking for a European tourist destination,
consider the area west of Naples in the Campania region of
southwestern Italy on the Tyrrhenian Sea. You will find
several small towns and two islands. While the area is not
undiscovered it tends to be less “touristy”
than many other parts of Italy including Campagnia on the
other side of Naples, namely Sorrento and the Isle of Capri
described in companion articles in this series. If
you’re in the neighborhood, be sure to visit Naples,
described in another companion article in this series.

We’ll start our tour in Solfatara just west of
Naples. Then we will head west to Pozzuoli and southwest to
Baia. We’ll pop up north to Cumae. We finish our tour
with some island hopping, first south to Procida, and then
southwest to Ischia. The entire area is known as Campi
Flegrei (Fields of Fire) because it sits on molten lava.
There is no reason to believe that volcanic eruptions are a
thing of the past. And remember, the area is not far from
Mount Vesuvius on the other side of Naples.

Solfatara is a semiextinct volcano that last erupted in
1198. Its name comes from the Latin sulpha terra for land
of sulphur so you know what to expect. Solfatara is not
very pretty, unless you like to look at boiling mud. But as
long as you stick to the path you should be safe. On the
positive side the escaping vapors have been used for
medicinal purposes since Roman times.

Pozzuoli is a fishing town that has become a suburb of
Naples, hardly suprising given its proximity. The Greeks
founded it in the Sixth Century B. C. Once the home of
wealthy Romans, famous residents include St. Paul and Sofia
Villani Scicolone better known by her professional name,
Sophia Loren. Pozzuoli was damaged by volcanic eruptions
during the Middle Ages and again in the 1970s. You’ll
want to see the Anfiteatro Flavio (Flavius Amphitheater),
Italy’s third largest, that held 40,000 spectators.
It hosts evening concerts in the summer.

Baia was perhaps the greatest Ancient Roman resort of them
all. All the big shots including Caesar, Nero, and Tiberius
had a home away from home in Baia. Cleopatra was there on a
visit when Julius Caesar met his untimely end. For many
people part of Baia’s attraction was its thermal,
mineral waters said to have healing powers. Local
excavations include the Temple of Mercury, the Baths of
Mercury, the Baths of Sosandra, with the semicircular
Theater of the Nymphs and a statue of Sosandra, the Temple
of Venus, and the Baths of Venus.

Cumae was perhaps the first Greek colony on the Italian
mainland, founded in the Eighth Century B. C. You’ll
want to see Antro della Sibilla (Sibyl’s Cave)
considered by some to be the most romantic classical site
in all Italy. This cave, almost five hundred feet (one
hundred thirty one meters) long, was carved out of solid
rock. According to legend Sibyl was a prophet granted
almost eternal life (as many years as the grains of sand in
her handful) but she sadly forgot to request eternal youth.
As she aged she shriveled so much that her body fit into a
bottle that hung from a tree. In between uttering
prophecies she begged for death.

Most present Cumae is underground. Make sure to see Lago
d’Averno (Lake Avernus), a volcanic crater lake that
the Romans considered the entrance to Hades (Hell).
According to legend, birds flying over the lake would die
from the poisonous fumes. It was on these shores that
Virgil wrote The Aeneid. Let’s assume he didn’t
inhale.

Just off the coast lies the densely populated island of
Procida with about eleven thousand people jam packed into
two square miles. This is about one third the population
density of Hong Kong but Procida is the most densely
populated island in all Europe. In spite of all that,
Procida is beautiful and relatively undiscovered compared
to the other islands off the coast of Campania. If you can,
get there for the Good Friday procession, an annual event
since 1627. The island and its small fishing village
Corricella were featured in the films Il Postino and The
Talented Mr. Ripley, parts of which were filmed in many
Campania locations including the island of Ischia,
described next.

We will finish our tour of this sometimes lovely area west
of Naples at the island of Ischia, probably inhabited for
thousands of years. Its almost sixty thousand inhabitants
including thousands of German citizens live mostly from
tourism with an estimated six million visitors a year. No,
this is not one of the undiscovered gems that pop up from
time to time. Over the millennia Ischia has suffered many
conquests. Among the worst was in 1543 and 1544 when the
pirate Barbarossa devastated the island, taking four
thousand prisoners in the process.

The Castello Aragonese (Aragonese Castle) is Ischia’s
most heavily visited monument. Actually it was built on a
rock near the so-called mainland just a bit shy of 2500
years ago. In 1441 the castle was linked to the island by a
stone bridge. The nearby beach is fine and its waters may
heal your ailments.

The La Mortella gardens belonged to the British composer
William Walton and his Argentinean wife Susana, 23 years
his junior. It is home to thousands of rare Mediterranean
plants. After visiting the garden you may want to climb the
long dormant volcano, Monte Epomeo, bathe in the pools of
Giardini Poseidon Terme (Poseidon Gardens Spa), or take a
short boat trip to the village of Sant’Angelo on the
southern coast.

What about food? There is something about volcanic soil
that makes food tasty and plentiful and gives wine a
special zest. The focus here tends to be on vegetables and
fruits. Tomatoes are served every which way, including
pizza and spaghetti of course. Try to taste the mozzarella
cheese, made from the milk of water buffalo.

Let’s suggest a sample menu, one of many. Start with
Nero di Seppia (Spaghetti with Black Squid Ink). Then try
Coniglio all’Ischitana (Rabbit simmered with
Tomatoes). For dessert indulge yourself with Strufoli
(Honey Balls). Be sure to increase your dining pleasure by
including local wines with your meal.

We conclude with a quick look at Campania wine. Campania
ranks 9th among the 20 Italian regions for both acreage
devoted to wine grapes and for total annual wine
production. The region produces about 64% red and and close
to 36% white wine, as there is little rosé. There
are17 DOC wines. DOC stands for Denominazione di Origine
Controllata, which may be translated as Denomination of
Controlled Origin, presumably a high-quality wine. The G in
DOCG stands for Garantita, but there is in fact no
guarantee that such wines are truly superior. Only 2.8% of
Campania wine carries the DOC or DOCG designation. The G
stands for Guarantita, and you’ll find three, the red
Taurasi, the white Greco di Tufo, and the white Fiano di
Avellino. I have tasted the Fiano and found it to be top of
the line. There is only a single DOC wine produced west of
Naples; the Ischia DOC whose region covers the entire
island of Ischia and is made from a variety of local
grapes. This wine may be red or white. The red may be dry
or sweet, while the white may be still or sparkling.
Frankly, I’d go with the Fiano di Avellino.

Levi Reiss has authored or co-authored ten books on
computers and the Internet, but he prefers drinking fine
Italian or other wine, accompanied by the right foods and
people. He knows about dieting but now eats and drinks what
he wants, in moderation. He teaches classes in computers at
an Ontario French-language community college. His new wine,
diet, health, and nutrition website
http://www.wineinyourdiet.com∞ links to his other sites.

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