Southern Lazio; Lunch in Cassino, War in Venafro, back to Rome

After Visiting Monte Cassino we drove down to the town of Cassino (dating back to the Volsci people as early as 5^th century B.C.) and had lunch at Civico Sociale. Great food and a fun history of its own. As for the Civico Sociale story: "Years ago, two kids who came from troubled families in the south of Italy were taken to foster care in Cassino. They lived in Cassino for many years, went to school there and made friends. When they were approaching their school leaving exams, the family they had lived with decided to take the chance and help them open a restaurant, so that they didn't have to go away to work.

Three years later, their Civico Sociale restaurant is an acclaimed successful story. Not only they're fantastic in the kitchen and at tables, but they also share a full committed philosophy of engaging with producers who care for the environment (they serve so called 0km products, meaning food that comes from farms and producers nearby, often organic and biodynamic) and for social and legal fairness, therefore buying many products from farms which were established on lands confiscated to the mafia and camorra criminal organizations and which were given to cooperatives of young workers." (Vanessa Ianni)

Once we were well fed we departed for Venafro. Here we visited one of the most fascinating war museums I’ve ever seen, Winterline. Almost everything in the museum was found by the owner Luciano Bucci. When he was a young teen he asked for a metal detector, not a skateboard. Over the years, Luciano scoured the war-torn mountains of this WWII battleground known as Winterline. 

He made the decision to not make his museum a political statement, but a view into the daily life of all the soldiers, regardless of which side they fought for. His findings are grouped into clusters on lifelike mannequins representing different scenarios. 

The artistic detail is amazing. His museum has earned him worldwide respect amongst veterans, and he proudly points out the gifts from men who’d fought in this arena. He even replicated the art he discovered in a cave on the walls of his reconstructed cave inside the museum.

Vanessa drove us back to Rome (after we walked through ancient Venafro with Luciano to get a gelato). My brain was numb with information. I told her I would have to wait until I got home to blog about this three day whirlwind tour. 

The drive gave us some time for her to explain how her tours work. The amount of tours we did in three days can be done by you if that’s what you want. I would prefer a slower pace, but the entire region wanted to be in on the “Travel Writer from California.” I didn’t have the heart to tell them I wasn’t that important.

ItalyIndeed has designed itself to meet that niche of people who want to go on a tour of their own choosing. In other words you pick where you want to go: Abbeys, crypts, ruins, museums, cathedrals, wineries, hikes, castles, truffle farms… whatever you want to see. Vanessa can arrange tours throughout Italy, but my focus was this charming region of Southern Lazio. I will be back, of that I’m sure. Next stop... Bahamas in October.

Southern Lazio; Wine Tasting, Cooking Class, Churches,& a Cemetery

From there we went back to the B&B in Alvito to rest for an hour, then off again to go wine tasting at La Ferriera. Giuseppe Caporelli was waiting for us. 

He gave us a description of the history of the property while we toured the lush grounds. The part we saw wasn’t large, but wow, it was packed with history. La Ferriera was a major iron works factory. The huge smelting vats are gone, but the supporting structure is beautifully preserved and covered with greenery. 

Of course we finished with my favorite part… wine tasting and food pairing. I couldn’t bring myself to try the weird meat called lardo something or other. It looked like lard. He looked a little surprised and hurt that I wouldn’t even try it.

Then we were whisked off to Agriturismo Cerere for cooking lessons. Caterina (Adelina Eramo) welcomed us into her giant industrial kitchen. Everything was set up and ready for us to get to work. She had a great sense of humor and alternately praised us and laughed at us. The first thing we made were crackers, which was what we munched on for the rest of the preparations. 

A film crew was present to create a commercial for tourism in which we were the star guests… I guess it’s more authentic if you can watch someone actually floundering around in the kitchen trying to make pasta. A woman my age and two young ladies, all from France or Canada, and French was their primary language. Then Roseline (our French landlady) showed up to watch. Poor Vanessa and Caterina were outnumbered by foreigners.

After we’d finished creating a five or six course meal, we were led to the restaurant that I wasn’t even aware of. We ended up at a table for eight and a meal for us all, which lasted several hours. She emailed me the recipe.

That night we collapsed into our beds and surprisingly woke up early. The view was lovely, but we resisted the urge to sit like lazy bums. We headed down to get an espresso and a pastry. On the way back we stopped to admire a shrine in front of the church by our home. As we stood there, an elderly priest came by. 

He stopped and pointed to the church and mimed going inside. We eagerly followed him through the parish office past a couple of surprised nuns having coffee. As we stood there I photographed him patiently waiting for us to properly admire his little tiny church. What an honor.

As we were preparing to pack up and leave our little B&B, Roseline came to our room and asked me if I would be willing to look at her other room for rent. I agreed and crossed the hallway to another lovely flat. This one has an actual balcony. The reason she wanted me to look at it was so I could tell you guys that it’s for sale for 78, 000 Euros. The one we stayed in is going for 72,000. Can you imagine owning a flat overlooking Valle di Comino in the adorable town of Alvito? That would be amazing.

We hopped back into the Alfa Romeo and climbed to the famous Monte Cassino. Saint Benedict came to this mountaintop around 529 A.D., and decided it would be a peaceful place for his following of monks. Its giant parking lot was packed with tour buses. At the last moment I realized I wasn’t properly dressed for the abbey! I dug into my bag for something to cover up my shorts and bare shoulders. A green pajama dress and a scarf did the trick. In two minutes I was ready to go inside. Honestly… it didn’t look too bad!

This is an abbey with a difficult history. It’s been destroyed and rebuilt four times. It looks ancient, but was in fact leveled in 1944 by bombardment, so it’s only 74 years old. A temple to Apollo apparently was here first and Saint Benedict destroyed it and its associated grove of trees (which were used for pagan rites). He built a hospital and a worship center. The monks began accumulating medical books from around the world. Their skill increased. 

They began to teach, opened a medical school in nearby Salerno (the first school of higher learning in the world), and therefore played a major role in bringing Europe out of the Dark Ages. We entered the church, wandered the grounds and stopped for a little shopping in their store stocked with goodies made by the monks. I bought some elderberry jam.

Next stop was within sight; the Polish Cemetery and museum. If you go the museum, be sure to read the interactive computer book about the bear who was born in Iran and orphaned. The Polish II Corps adopted him, and he became a kind of mascot as he traveled with his regiment. He finally ended up in Scotland where he retired into zoo-life. To learn a little more about him, visit ItalyIndeed’s website and check out his story on their blog.

Over a thousand Poles died storming the abbey in the Battle of Monte Cassino. The cemetery is majestically beautiful. The best view is from the balconies of Montecassino, but I’m glad we went down to it. The museum is well done and compact. It is mostly ceiling to floor life-sized photographs.

Southern Lazio: Alvito, Atina, Posta Fibreno

It was afternoon and I was hankering for some wine. Luckily for me our next stop was the Cominium Winery in Alvito. We beat the owner, Maria Pinto, so we wandered out onto the hill overlooking the vineyards rolling away under heavy clouds. The brilliant green grass was startling against the grey. Maria arrived and so did a burst of energy. 

This lady loves her business and loves Americans. She and her husband are transplants from a different region. After making wine and tasting wine made organically and non-organically, they made the difficult decision to go organic. Being a certified organic winery is extremely hard to do. It’s a family affair and each giant barrel and vat is named after a family member. 

Of course Joe had to pose in front of Peppe (Joe’s nickname in Latin America). She talked Izzy into climbing on top of one of the barrels. That was the end of those jeans until we got back to Rome to wash them.

Maria showed us the much coveted cork tree, and then she took us across the street to her house for a food paired tasting on the lawn with the view of the other half of the vineyard. She insisted on showing us her home. 

She explained each artifact and put her grandfather’s army hat on Izzy. This is the third time in three days someone has put a hat on her! Poor kid, but she bore it well as she giggled nervously about what the hat might contain. We were led right through the master bedroom to her balcony. What a gorgeous view!

Finally to Vicolo Maggiore B&B owned by Roseline Orofiamma. Roseline became our sidekick for several of the excursions after that and grew quit attached to her. She’s Italian, but born and raised in France. Now she has a home in Alvito (my favorite town), and a home in Paris.

After we got settled into our lovely rooms we left for dinner in Atina. The restaurant, Il Vicolo , was really nice, but I didn’t take any photos. Davide Tamburrini was our waiter (and the owner) and gave excellent attention to the food. He was a little bashful when he talked to us and would scurry off to bring us more treats.

The next morning we woke up to an amazing view of the valley blanketed in fog. I’ll never forget watching the fog slowly lift and reveal the verdant green valley floor. The B&B had a kitchen (with a stocked fridge and baskets of fruit and goodies), family room and two bedrooms, with a shared bathroom. Both bedrooms had doors to little tiny balconies, which opened wide to reveal the Alvito and valley.

We walked down to the town center for an espresso at Antica Pasticceria Di Tullio. Mauro Fazio popped in to take a tour the little town hall and theater of Alvito. We even got pulled into the mayor’s office where the secretary looked up in surprise. Down the hall was a civic room where Vanessa got married.

Vanessa drove us up to the Cantelmo Castle. This was a big hit for the three of us. Our hostess at the B&B, Roseline, joined us. No one was at the castle with us, we just wandered around.

There weren’t placards with descriptions, no fence, just a beautiful old castle. After we’d investigated to our heart’s content, Vanessa introduced us to our trail guide, Stefano Gaetani (with Compagnia dei Viandanti).

He led us to an overgrown path, we’d never have been able to find on our own. It was an easy two hour walk along the side of the mountains to the next castle of Vicalvi. During the walk Stefano stopped frequently to point out plants alongside the trail.

He kept a pair of clippers handy and would snip off wild asparagus or herbs for us to munch on.

We drove down to a little lake with a town around it for lunch, Posta Fibreno. This community had a different feel to it… like a summer resort-kinda-place. Daniele Quadrini welcomed us into his restaurant, Smile Pub for an early lunch (he opened the doors early) and he prepared a meal just for us. Apparently the word had gotten out that we were carnivores and Americans, so he made us the Italian version of hamburgers. They bring out all the fixings and then the hamburger patty on a plate… you build it yourself. He sat down with us and a couple of his friends to eat.

Then another lady came in and sat at their end of the table. It turned into a community meeting about their most pressing subject—how to get the word out that Southern Lazio is a beautiful area for tourists.

Southern Lazio: Veroli, Isola Liri, Sora, Campoli Appennino

Before our next tour site, we stopped for an espresso—very important—in Anagni (Scroll down for details of Southern Lazio up to this point). Then we clambered into Vanessa's Alfa Romeo and went south to the next town, Veroli. This region is super ancient, dating around the 12^th Century B.C.. We met our next guide, Lorenza. 

She walked us through the Criptoportico in Veroli underneath the town hall and the museum. This is a must see for checking out archeological digs. I’ve since checked the web for photos of this Criptoportico, but none of the photos match mine. I think we were taken to a deeper part. I have a thing about wanting to touch the stones and marble in ruins. She permitted us to touch these two thousand year old stones. Shiver of delight.

There’s also a beautifully preserved Roman stone calendar posted on a town wall. It has January, February, and March. Lorenza explained that each day tells the Roman citizen what subjects were permitted for discussion (politics, spiritual matters, community issues, and free discussion days). Talk about Big brother!

We stopped for a traditional lunch at Trattoria Sora Loci with Chef Carlo Fiorini coming to our tableside for a visit while we ate. This was Izzy’s first experience with Gnocchi (nyo-kee). For the next three weeks she ate it almost every day. When she got home she made it with sweet potatoes, and apparently it was good.

Next stop; Isola Liri to look at the waterfalls, It’s kind of cool how the river split around this island. We just stopped long enough to hop out of the car for some photos and a little blurb on local history.

Then off to Sora for a tour of the San Domenico Abbey with Giuliano Fabi. This is a really pretty church. The interior is as simple as the exterior… all beige stones and beige marble floors. 

Giuliano pointed out all of the recycled stone used from ancient Roman cemeteries and crumbled buildings. Even the pillars used recycled stones. The most interesting were the soldiers tombstones placed randomly along the walls both inside and out. 

We walked bypassed the steps that led up to the alter and went down to the crypt. I loved the soft ambiance with all of the arches. I could’ve stayed down there for an hour just soaking in the peacefulness. But no, back up to the real world.

Vanessa explained that Sora is Cicero’s birthplace (though it wasn't called Sora way back then). The two rivers that merge here are written about by Cicero’s brother. There is some story about a woman with braided hair being tossed in the river… I think she was a nun. Vanessa says she got her head cut off like Cicero... that's just gross. When we left the church interior we were taken around to the back of the church to see the oldest part of the structure. I pointed to several rows of stones out on the back lawn that looked like they may have been pillars. “What was here?” I asked. Giuliano and Vanessa looked at each other and shrugged their shoulders. “They’re just old stones,” he answered. For some reason this made us laugh. Just some ancient ruins. No biggie, they’re everywhere.

Off to Campoli Appennino to visit Sulpizio Tartufi. We drove through the countryside for a bit and pulled into the driveway of a truffle farm. Truffles! Meet Spillo the truffle hunter. Spillo is specially trained to sniff out truffles, and we are here for the beginning of the black truffle’s season. White truffle season is over. We followed Marco down to the hillside for a demonstration of how his Spillo digs for truffles. 

We were accompanied by two little boys who divided their time between encouraging Spillo to work and playing games on the cell phone. The neighboring German Sheppards followed the chain-link fence to bark at Spillo, who completely ignored them. I noticed Spillo sneeze several times. Then he took off running through the grass at mach five, apparently uninterested in truffle hunting.

Marco was completely frustrated with playful Spillo. He threatened, offered rewards, begged, to no avail. Spillo would dig for about three seconds and run off again. We were dying laughing. Marco wasn’t. I finally suggested maybe Spillo’s sniffer wasn’t operating today. I mentioned the sneezing fit earlier. With Marco’s help a fig sized black truffle was unearthed. Marco told Vanessa that Spillo would be working overtime in the weeks to come to get him ready for her next tour group. She just laughed.

They have a little shop where they sell truffle infused olive oil and various truffle related treats. A tray was brought out for us to sample cheese, candy, and pickled un-ripe peaches (weird, but good).