Benvenuti al Sud
The next part of our adventure saw us headed for the beautiful medieval town of Castellabate. There is an Association in Italy called ‘I borghi piú belli d’Italia’ or the Association of the most beautiful villages in Italy. Castellabate is one such village. Perched up high, tumbling down a hill near the coast, you can see why it’s been included in this exclusive list. The village’s name derives from Castrum Abbatis – meaning Abbot’s Castle, due to the castle that was built in 1123 by the abbot Costabile Gentilcore. As a result the surrounding village later followed. The commune of Castellabate also includes the larger settlement at the bottom of the hill on the coast called Santa Maria di Castellabate which boasts a beautiful harbour, beach and small lungomare (seafront.) The route took us off the coastal road and up the hill via a few hairpin bends until we entered the village and seemingly went back in time! We had booked in to the Residenza Matarazzo e Le Sue Soffitte, a beautiful 16th century Palazzo in the heart of the medieval centre made up of a selection of suites, apartments and cute little attic rooms in the wonderfully characteristic old building. The room we’d booked was just beautiful. Adele, the property manager escorted us to our room where we were greeted by the most glorious of views from two of the little attic room windows. On one side we overlooked the cascade of terracotta roofs, spilling down the hill to the sea which was glistening in the sunlight. The other panorama was of a green carpet below with rolling hills and small farms or villages forming the beautiful pattern stretching all the way to a slither of sea. We were mesmerised! The little apartment itself was as perfect as the vistas it offered; furnished in a traditional but luxurious way. It was exceptionally well equipped leaving us not wanting for anything during our three night stay. My absolutely favourite feature though was a kitchen in a cupboard! I pulled open the thick, heavy doors to reveal a fully equipped kitchen complete with beautiful ceramics and even an integrated chopping board! My levels of incredulity led to Mr BND coming to the conclusion that I’d finally lost it!
We were lucky enough to be joined by our good friends, their three children and their dog Lola in the next door apartment (Peggy was in her element!) so after unpacking we strolled the picturesque streets, steps and alleyways of this quaint little village. Castellabate is actually well known to many Italians, due to it being the setting of an Italian comedy film called ‘Benvenuti al Sud’ – Welcome to the South. A film where a Post Office manager from Milan ends up being moved to the branch here in Castellabate, a horrific prospect for anyone from the North of Italy! We watched the film (with English subtitles, our Italian isn’t quite that good yet!) before we visited, so it was lovely being able to recognise some of the filming locations. When staying somewhere like this my favourite time to explore is early morning or late at night. The difference in light makes such an impact and you get a completely alternative to feel to the same place. As it turns out, times that coincide with the needs of a little puppy, so in the quiet of the following morning Peggy and I had a very pleasant stroll through the passageways, marvelling at the pretty little houses, the beautifully cobbled streets, the basilica and my favourite little building, the Chapel S.Maria della Pieta, a 16th century chapel squeezed amongst the residences. The sun was creeping over the hills behind us casting a beautiful, warm glow on the stone and eventually reaching the sea to continue it’s shimmering from the day before. With that and coffee and cornetti from the cute little bar opposite, it was a perfect way to start the day!
During our stay here we explored the coast with trips to nearby deserted beaches, where the girls built sandcastles and paddled, the dogs ran free to their heart’s content and we scoured the sands for pretty little pieces of ceramic that these shores are are riddled with. (A grand plan of creating a table top mosaic with them remains to be seen!) One morning we left early and headed back down the coast to Palinuro, where we’d been earlier in the week. Armed with our inflatable canoes and paddles we loaded up the vessels with adults, children, dogs and enough snacks to sink a ship (I’m sorry, I couldn’t resist!) and set off around the headland, with our friend commenting on the similarity we bore to refugees! The water was gloriously clear and calm and we soon encountered a large cave we paddled in to. The map denotes it as the Grotta Azzurra, Blue Cave, the reason for it’s name soon becoming apparent as we paddled further inside. There was a large window high up in the rock on the other side resulting in a luminescent, turquoise glow below the surface of the water, a wonderful sight to see that was slightly lost on the younger sailors amongst us who had their eyes closed at the terror-filled prospect of being in a cave! Back out on the water it soon became apparent that kayaking wasn’t the little one year-old’s calling in life so we decided to head back to dry land. A delicious lunch at La Pergola, a fish restaurant in the town followed our sea faring mission. The food was absolutely delicious but the highlight of the meal was when the waiter delivered the food. Three out of the four of us are all in the same Italian lessons back at home, having had lessons for a while now we feel quite confident in such an environment, however perhaps complacency has set in! Something that became apparent when the kind waiter brought out a stainless steel bowl of penne pomodoro (tomato pasta that was ordered for the baby) and promptly put it down in front of Lola the dog! I’m not sure who was more embarrassed him or us! But Lola was over the moon and promptly wolfed down her delicious pasta lunch!
The hour drive back to Castellabate was a wonderful way to end the day. As we drove, the sun was dipping down towards the sea, casting long shadows on the surrounding rolling hills. Although on a motorway, it felt like we were coasting over the beautiful National Park, a natural landscape made up of a blanket of trees below a patchwork of fluffy clouds constantly changing colour from whites to oranges to pinks. The drop in temperature with the departure of the sun meant there were wisps of smoke from chimneys like cotton wool dotting the landscape for miles around, seemingly endless in their effort to reach the sky. We arrived back in Castellabate just in time to see the sun drop in to the ocean from the belvedere in the village. A great end to our stay in this gorgeous place. Having to prise ourselves away the following day would be hard but there was one more adventure awaiting us.
Brand New Day 