If you take the scenic road that leads from Itri towards Sperlonga, as you begin your winding descent you’ll catch your first glimpse of the blue Tyrrenian Sea. If you pull over and park in one of the panoramic stopping places you can look down on Sperlonga’s Roman archaeological site, Tiberius’ Grotto and the Museo Archeologico Nazionale, which is situated at the far end of Levante Beach.
Around the next few bends of the road you will get a really splendid view of beautiful Sperlonga in all it’s glory.
Even back in Roman times the beautiful Sperlonga area was a popular summer retreat for prosperous Romans and politicians. Indeed the Emperor Tiberius is said to have had a sumptuous villa here, part of which consisted of a natural sea cave that was transformed into a lavishly decorated banqueting hall.
Emperor Tiberius (42 B.C. – 37 A.D.)
In the 1950’s, during the construction of the new coastal road, remains of various Roman buildings were unearthed. In the grotto were found fragments of huge sculptures which once adorned the man-made fishponds at the mouth of the cave. These remarkable groups of sculptures, dating from the 2nd century BC, depicted legendary scenes taken from Homer’s “Adventures of Odysseus”.
Odysseus
Many of these mythological works of art have been painstakingly reconstructed in plaster and resin and can be seen in the Archaeological Museum in Sperlonga.
These include “the horrificattack of Odysseus’ ship by the sea monster Scylla”, “Diomedes and Odysseus stealing the Palladion”, “Odysseus lifting the corpse of Achilles’s. In my opionion the most stunning is the colossal group of statues depicting “The Blinding of the drunken Cyclops Polyphemus by Odysseus and 3 of his companions”.
The museum also houses a host of other interesting Roman artifacts and treasures.
From the museum a path leads down, towards the actual Grotto of Tiberius, passing a large area of excavated Roman ruins.
You can read more about the Grotto of Tiberius at this previous blog post -
One lunchtime we all ate together with the builders on the terrace, Saverio’s wife had kindly prepared a delicious meal for us all.
We explained to the lads that Elsie, Karen and Bobbie belonged to a troup of Belly-dancers, which performs regularly in South Wales. Suddenly Karen and Bobbie rushed off only to return a few minutes later fully dressed in their dancing attire.
The builders were transfixed by their whirls and twirls !!!
One evening we all went out to our favourite restaurant, where the girls, this time including Elsie, put on another colourful show-stopping performance.
Just where does a year go !!! November – Olive Harvesting time again.
By the end of October a good proportion of trees were heavy with olives.
Our friends Kay , Elsie and Karen are regular visitors to “Tre Cancelle” and had volunteered once again to help us out. This time they recruited a new member for their team, Bobbie, who was eager to experience the harvest.
Unfortunately, at the beginning of their stay, the weather was not so helpful, as there were several days of rain and strong winds which scuppered our plans. Thankfully as the week went on the weather began to improve. The girls were keen to get stuck in.
On the first terrace, we spread out the nets around the bases of the trees. Elsie commenced on the higher branches using the mechanical shaker.
Meanwhile the rest of us girls gathered any olives that which we could reach and pick by hand.
Some of the trees had grown over tall, so Paul set about killing two birds with one stone, giving the lofty bushy branches a good prune, which then allowed us to gather the olives from them more easily.
We also set aside the thicker branches which could be used as winter fuel for our wood-burning stove.
The olives were poured into plastic crates to take down to the local olive mill in Itri.
I sorted some lovely plump olives to be cured in brine to make into delicious table olives.
Paul was unable to overdo things, because of his heart condition. He was finding that he tired very quickly. Thankfully, on several days our builder friends also offered their services which was grand as they are a very fit and strong gang.
During Emma and Aneurin’s stay we helped our friend Filippo to make some wine. A few days earlier at “Tre Cancelle” we had harvested all the grapes from the vines that grow between the olive trees. This year we had not given the vines the care and attention that they deserved, however there was still a reasonably bountiful crop.
Filippo took the crates of grapes back to his house where he crushed them in a large vat. Here they remained for 5 days, Filippo took care to stir and turn the grapes both morning and night .
On the 5th day it was time to actually press the grapes. We helped to scoop up the mashed grapes and put them into the centre of the old manual press or “torchio”.
The press works on a square thread on a ratchet mechanism which you gradually wind down until the grapes begin to be squeezed.
The juice runs down and is collected in buckets and transferred into 2 x 56 litre demi-johns.
The tops are then sealed and the mixture is left to settle before being siphoned off a week or so later. Aneurin very much enjoyed helping.
In October we were delighted to welcome our youngest grandson Aneurin and his mummy Emma, who came for a 2 week visit. The weather was still beautifully warm and sunny for much of their stay, which was perfect for several days out at Sant’Agostino beach, situated midway between Sperlonga and Gaeta. As you can see, we had the beach practically to ourselves.
The Riviera D’Ulisse or Costa Pontina in South Lazio – this beautiful coastline, with its golden sandy beaches, is still largely undiscovered by international tourists. It is extremely popular with Italian visitors from Rome and Naples, particularly during the month of August, or on sunny summer weekends, when they flock to the seaside to escape the city heat. However out of season this area reverts to a sleepy, peaceful setting for a relaxing Italian holiday.
The safe sandy beach was an absolute delight for a fearless energetic 2 year old !!!
Aneurin really enjoyed the freedom of the wide open spaces and olive groves around “Tre Cancelle” …
and we dug out the old train set from the loft, which went down very well !!!
One evening we went to our friends’ restaurant – the Bellavista in Itri, run by Giancarlo and Massimo. Here Massimo gave Aneurin and Emma a lesson in making pizza.
We all, including Aneurin, very much enjoyed our pizzas !!!
Giancarlo has a little girl just a few months older than Aneurin.
It was so lovely to see them interacting. It was clear that Chiara had taken quite a shine to Aneurin.
Thanks to all at the Bellavista for a lovely rememberable evening !!!
It was with heavy hearts that in October we had to say our goodbyes to our dear friend, Loredana. She sadly passed away, having put up a long and courageous fight against cancer.
Luca and Loredana had helped us greatly by house-sitting “Tre Cancelle” and looking after our dogs– the infamous “Woof-Gang” during our absence 2 years ago.
Loredana and Luca much loved “Tre Cancelle” and the dogs, indeed she loved all animals and nature, and enjoyed walking in the mountains surrounding Itri.
She much enjoyed arts and crafts and she was a keep photographer – Luca and Loredana had run a photographic shop in Itri for many years.
We will always remember her as being fun loving, smiling and laughing.
We all shared some special times together.
We will remember her fondly and miss her greatly. May she rest in peace.
photo *
Our hearts go out to her loving husband Luca, their son Lorenzo
(A Guest Blog Post by Diana Johnson of Bribie, Queensland, Australia)
Hearing my black Labrador dog, Cindy, barking vigorously under my bedroom window reminded me of the dawn chorus at “Tre Cancelle”. No, not the birds but the doggies of “Tre Cancelle” whose voices may be a little muted if Paul has overslept and they are still in their night kennels. By day they have free rein across a large yard and are quick to detect the slightest movement from the occupants of the downstairs unit who might just be bearing doggie delights to their yard.
“The Woof-Gang”
A shared interest in Shapcott Genealogy gave me a virtual introduction to Paul and Louise many years ago but it is only in the last two years that I‘ve managed to visit their idyllic Italian hideaway. This September I lured my husband as well to South Lazio to meet Paul and Louise and the Woof Gang!
Well what a week! After combing the supermarket shelves in Rome for dog treats, I found it was much easier to buy them in Fondi or Itri. Of course by that time I also had to add in cat food as well for the latest additions to the “Tre Cancelle” home for waifs and strays. We wasted much time in trying to coax a very shy little kitten out into the open although her mother, named Micha, was much bolder and more forthright in her demands for sustenance. Milk and biscuits disappeared rapidly every day and cat food was gone in a flash!
Micha
Tinkerbell
Diana befriending Tinkerbell
Warning to anyone dispensing Dentastix to the “Woof-Gang” – be sure to keep you fingers out of range lest Lizzie mistake one for a Dentastick ….
Somewhere in between walking dogs and generally making a fuss of all the furry inhabitants of “Tre Cancelle”, we found time to do some sightseeing around the region. With Paul driving and Louise supplying the tour commentary we feasted our eyes on the beautiful fishing ports with their steep steps and narrow alleys and archways in the old parts of the towns.
Gaeta
We visited markets selling every kind of produce under the sun, watched a religious procession …
Feast of Saints Cosma e Damiano
drove up into the mountains to see elaborate churches, villages perched on mountain tops and of course the famous Abbey of Monte Cassino.
The Abbey of Montecassino
A special bonus was afforded to us in Atina, where Louise met some of her relatives and we were invited into one of their houses in the old quarter of the town.
Atina’s ancient Cathedral
An alley in Atina
Louise and Paul at Atina’s weekly market
Listening in ignorance to the rapid flow of Italian I knew that I had to improve my knowledge of the language of this beautiful and intriguing country. It is not enough to be able to buy a bus ticket or order some meat or cheese in the deli, you really want to know what is going on…………..
No visit to Itri is complete without a visit or two to the aptly named Bellavista restaurant run by Mamma Riccardi and her charming sons. The road to the restaurant is an interesting climb if you happen to be the driver but thankfully I was not. Having made it to the top, we relaxed on the terrace in the warm evening soaking up the glorious views of Itri by night (no doubt improved by the jugs of wine that appeared regularly upon our table). The Italian wine goes well with the Bellavista pizza, which is just great, in fact I’ll find it difficult going back to Aussie pizzas after having the real thing in Italy.
Trevor and Paul at the Bellavista
And while I’m on the subject of food, how can I not mention the wonderful gelati ice creams that we downed on several occasions. Alas, it means several more hours in the gym to work those inches off the waistline but ….well…. it was worth it!
Sadly a week goes by too quickly and all too soon we were heading back to Rome for the next leg of our trip but I know we will be back one day in the not too distant future. That is providing our good friends can put up with their Aussie visitors again.
I awoke with a start when Paul burst in to say that the Vet would be here in 5 minutes. It was time for the dogs to have their annual check-ups and vaccinations. Maurizio, who we have come to consider as a good friend, is very sympathetic to our cause and very kindly only charges for the medication and not for his time.
As we walked around to the front of the house I noticed the patio was littered with black specks of ash, and as I looked up it became clear that a fire was close-by. Columns of grey / brown smoke were billowing from behind the hill in the Valle Staura area. We immediately phoned 115 to alert the Fire Brigade.
Maurizio then arrived and we tried to concentrate on the job in hand, of getting the dogs inoculated.
Meanwhile the smoke continued to rise into the sky, swirling in the light breeze. Before long we could hear the crackling as the bush fire neared the summit. The Polizia Forestale and the Vigili arrived and I directed them to drive up the rough track on our neighbour’s land, that leads to the top of the hill.
One of our guests, Andrew White began to video the scene …….
The bright orange flames soon became visible as they continued to ferociously devour all in their path. The firemen began dousing the edge of the inferno which was by now descending our flank of the rocky limestone slope, and scrubland. This is composed of densely growing vegetation such as broom, heather, juniper, myrtle, rock roses, wild asparagus and stramma grass. The fire also took hold of many Cork Oak trees along the way. The terrain was parched as we have in the last month or so, been regularly experiencing temperatures in the mid 30’s centigrade.
I and all the members of the White family speedily ran down to the edge of the wood, which borders our olive grove. Andrew and Paul lugged down the petrol driven pump, to where we had previously had the forethought to install a water stand pipe. Here we were able to fill up a large tub with water, to act as a reservoir, and hence deliver water through the long yellow hose that we would normally use for spraying the olive trees.
Paul and Andrew intrepidly took this hose into the woods spraying the edges of the fire that was steadily creeping through the undergrowth, while the rest of us frantically filled buckets and any containers we could find with water in an effort to dampen down the boundary of the wood to prevent the fire from reaching our olive trees.
At last a fire fighting helicopter arrived with its first bucket of water to release over the fire, dowsing an area of the flames.
a great photo by andrew white
It then returned in the direction of Fondi Lake to refill and repeat the procedure. Indeed the helicopter to and froed many times and then a second helicopter joined in the fire-fighting effort.
In between the skillful helicopter manoeuvres and drops Paul and Andrew continued to work on the edge of the fire. Yet as one area seemed to come under control another section would flare up necessitating taking up new positions along the creeping front.
Eventually the Vigili thought we had all managed to get the fire under control, and we continued to douse down stubborn little pockets.
I chatted to the head of the Volunteer Fire-Fighting team, who informed me that the fire had started the evening before in Valle Staura, but because it was dark the helicopters were unable to fly. I asked what he considered to be the cause to the fire, and he replied that he was pretty sure it had been started intentionally and that the suspected culprits were local herdsmen or hunters, who try to clear troublesome undergrowth to enrich pasture-land and stimulate regrowth. There had been a spate of local fires during the last few days and weeks, far too many to have been all started naturally. Indeed, in Italy, it is said that 98% of forest fires are caused by people while only 2% by natural phenomena. One night recently, during the Feast of the Madonna della Cività, a large fire had raged on one of the hills that encircle the town. The problem, the fireman said, is that it is difficult to catch the arsonist with such malicious intentions in the actual act.
Around mid afternoon, seemingly the job was done, the helicopters having returned to base.
We adjourned to the upstairs balcony for a most welcome cup of tea. However, from this vantage point, and only a couple of mouthfuls of tea later, it became very obvious that under the tree canopy, in the most dense patches of parched undergrowth the fire had rekindled and ominous columns of smoke began to rise once again like the proverbial phoenix.
So once again Paul and Andrew dashed back down, refilled the pump’s motor with petrol and set to work tackling the re-energised flames within the woods.
After another hour or so, Paul was suffering badly from heat and exhaustion, and was forced to sit down, before Andrew drove him back to the house in our car, where Paul had to retire and take to his bed for a while.
In the meantime I joined the White family went back on the balcony to keep an eye on things. Before long a new large plume of brown smoke appeared on the hillside …….
I phoned 115 once again, and before long we once again heard fire trucks in the vicinity, and shortly afterward the familiar and welcome hum of the helicopter making its way in our direction.
The helicopter tackled the new region of fire.
a great atmospheric photo by andrew white
The rest of us had to start again working on small persistent pockets of fire which stubbornly held on.
At this point our Italian guests returned from the beach, and rushed down to find us. Valter asked me to find some spades. It turned out that he had had experience as a Volunteer Fire Fighter in the Torino area – what a wonderful choice of guest to have at this critical moment !!!
Paul was by now feeling a little better and he helped locate the required tools. Valter, using his invaluable experience, began moving burning chunks of debris away from the fresh and untouched vegetation, to areas that had already been consumed by the fire, where they could burn out harmlessly. Meanwhile Paul and Andrew continued dousing down along the front edge.
By the end of light, we were exhausted, and had done all we could physically do, so we retired back to the house to shower off the soot and ash of the day’s toil.
Andrew and Jenny and family had very kindly prepared a meal for us to share with them all. As we dined on the balcony we watched the glowing embers of tree trunks that had succumbed to the flames.
The next day, in the heat of the day small areas of our charred woodland began to smoke ominously, and we spotted flames in an area close to the edge of the wood. Once again we all sped into action, getting the pump working and handing out buckets of water. Thankfully it did not take long to get these odd glowing patches extinguished.
We took a drive around to the far side of the hill to survey the damage in Valle Staura, where despite the fact that the fire had been largely extinguished, we could clearly see that some large sections of olive groves had been consumed, and there were several olive trees still burning.
We cannot thank the White family enough for their sterling fire-fighting efforts. We don’t know how we would have managed without you. Many thanks to Valter and family also.
Also during June we were to welcome some very special guests
Joan and Tony from Cornwall.
Dear Joan has been incredibly kind to us over the last few years, sending regular donations towards the “Woof-Gang” fund.
In fact we and the “Woof-Gang” can’t thank Joan enough for her continual moral and financial support.
Having been able to find a suitable dog-sitter for their own dog Maisie, this year Tony and Joan decided to come and pay us a visit at “TreCancelle” and meet the members of the “Woof-Gang” for the first time, face to face.
They came laden with squeaky toys, something the “Woofers” have never experienced before, it was amusing to watch the individual curious reactions of the dogs.
One day we decided to pool our energy and give all the pooches a bath, before administering their Frontline treatment. We filled up a large plastic vat with water and one by one the dogs were “processed”, some of the dogs accepted their fate more calmly than others !!!
Bella
Cara
Max
Trixie
Tessie
Flossie
Flossie
Flossie whose long coat of hair was badly matted also had to undergo a rather undignified haircut, however I am sure she felt much better for it afterwards.
Flossie
We would also like to take the opportunity to express special thanks to Diana in Queensland, Australia for so kindly sending gifts and goodies for the dogs. Diana, we very much look forward to seeing you again this coming September.
Joan is a very green fingered and enjoyed helping us out in the garden. She and works as volunteer gardener at Mount Edgcumbe House and Country park near Torpoint in Cornwall.
In the heat of the day Tony much enjoyed the benefits of the refreshing pool.
One day we took Tony and Joan on a trip to Cassino, first to see the Commonwealth War Cemetery and then on to Montecassino Abbey and its interesting Museum.
Here you can see some of my Flickr photos of Montecassino / Cassino :
During Tony and Joan’s stay, Paul set about making some homemade liqueurs. Nocino is made from green walnuts, which traditionally are gathered on the 24th June, on the Feast of St. John The Baptist.
As it was in fact the 25th June Paul took 25 immature walnuts, still in their shells, and cut them into quarters.
These were added to a demi-john into which was poured a litre of neat alcoholic spirit.
Paul then added a cinnamon stick and 5 cloves, and put it aside for 40 days. The resulting liquor is then drained and filtered. Then between 300 and 500gms of sugar is dissolved in approximately 750ml to 1 litre of water to make a syrup, according to how sweet you wish the resulting liqueur to be. This is then added to the walnut flavoured alcohol. Nocino has an interesting taste, slightly herby and medicinal.
We also made liqueurs using more of our home grown fruit, one with sour amarena cherries.
Once again we have had a glut of plums so we have tried our hand at making some Plum liqueur and Plum Gin, as well ask making 32 jars of Plum Jam and another 32 jars of Plum Chutney !!!
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