Leaving Italy 2004

 [11-12 March 2004]

Thursday morning found us pretty much packed up. After breakfast we asked the front desk to  call a cab to the airport. The drive is slow going since it is rush hour but at last we unload, check-in and sit back to await our long flight home.

Our flight was scheduled for a 1:00pm departure but in fact we leave 45 minutes late, waiting for passengers from a late connection from Naples and arrive in New York at just a bit after 5:00pm. 

dOnce we retrieved our luggage we schlep our bags to the Airtrain which took us to the long-term parking lot, retrieved our car, paid the parking and called the Archers to let them know that we have landed at last and are on our way to their house. Don and Gloria lived in Brooklyn not terribly far from the airport and asked us to stay with them for the evening. They (rather Gloria) had dinner ready for us and after another delicious meal we went bed.

Friday morning after coffee and breakfast we thanked our hosts for a delightful meal and great company, helping us to readjust to being back in the United States.

It turned out to be an uneventful trip through Brooklyn and the Bronx and we got to see a spectacular view of the Manhattan skyline. Our trip began in sun but by the time we arrived home we found the weather had turned noticeably colder with the occasional snow flurry. Winter is still here in Vermont but spring won't be far behind. 

And that put us that much closer to our next trip to Italy. A trip that would a REALLY BIG ONE.

Last day in Rome

[10 March 2004]

We had originally planned to head to Ostia Antica today but since I was feeling somewhat unwell we take a more leisurely approach, sort of our trademark anyway, and stroll the streets of Rome, looking at people and enjoying just being in Italy. We picked a place at random for lunch, a wonderful ristorante called Quirinio and had an absolutely fantastic meal.

About 7:00pm we walked out for the evening  passegiata and strolled down the Via Corso peeking in at a number of shops ending at the top of the Spanish Steps. The evening was cool but clear and we couldn't think of a better way to end our last night in Italy than simply strolling.

At about 8:30 we ended up at l’Angolo Divino, just a block or two off the Campo de’ Fiori, to meet up with Anthony and Jennifer Scanio from New Orleans. This was  one of the highpoints of a truly wonderful trip.  We met online at SlowTrav.com where one can post trip calendars and try to arrange GTG (“get togethers”) with other travelers in the same area. Anyway, we knew that Anthony and Jen, who were scheduled to arrive in Rome today, were heading to the Marches for a month-long language course. What we didn’t know was that that was to be just the beginning of a nearly eight-month sojourn throughout Italy. 

The "get-together" came off without a hitch and after we had introduced ourselves they told us their story. They saved their money quit their jobs in New Orleans (Anthony had been a cook and Jennifer a physical therapist) and moved their belongings to Jennifer’s family home in Illinois. After which they packed two large backpacks and headed off for Italy. Aside from the language program they had arranged for lodging in numerous places (Rome, Sorrento, Ostuni) through the summer but were going to “wing it” after that. 

The four of chatted swapped stories about Italy (mostly us I suppose). for dinner Susie and I each had a light meal a selection of French cheeses for her and for me a small broccoli & potato gratin along with a Merlot-Cabernet blend from the Veneto. 

What a grand way to spend our last night in Italy.

Beneath St. Peter's

[9 March 2004]

After breakfast where we have learned to ask for cappuccino and espresso instead of “coffee” (read brown hot water) we're off for St. Peter's. More precisely, what is beneath St. Peter's. 

The tour of the necropolis takes a bit over an hour and our guide, Cornelia, is masterful in her explanation of both the history of the necropolis, the excavations which began in the late 1930s and took over a decade, and her discussion of the tomb of St. Peter and the current arguments for why the Vatican has concluded that they have indeed found the bones of the apostle.

We had no idea what to expect – I had first read about this in H. V. Morton’s A Traveler in Rome and knew that we would get a chance to see some amazing artifacts but were unable to appreciate the real significance until we actually got to see them.

In a nutshell, in the late 1930s Pope Pius XI announced that he wanted to be buried as close as possible to St. Peter’s whose tomb was traditionally thought to be directly below the existing High Altar in the present basilica. So excavations were undertaken downward to explore where might a suitable place be found for the pope to be interred following his death. It was soon discovered however, that in fact the present basilica rests on top of an ancient Roman burial ground and that there were literally scores of family mausoleums, many quite large, resting beneath the church. The excavations went on for more than ten years and an ancient Roman street was even opened as well. However, due to the danger of destabilizing the present church, all excavations were halted following the discovery of  St. Peter’s tomb.

After we left St. Peter’s we returned to our room to shed some clothes before since the day had turned warm. From our hotel we strolled to the Forum, the Coliseum and back home. But not before getting some cheese to have with our wine and tarrallini crackers on our balcony.

Dinner was at Al Armando di Pantheon, right around the corner from the Pantheon and a Gamberro Rosso recommendation. 

counting their change to buy tickets to the Vatican Necroplis

Strolling Rome 2004

[8 March 2004]

After breakfast at the hotel Monday morning we set out on a stroll through the city. No set objective today just walking, taking in the sights and enjoying being in Rome. And since most museums etc are closed on Monday this turns into to a day of walking and looking which is fine for us. We do make a point of walking across a swollen Tiber River over to Hadrian's Tomb. Otherwise it's just out for a stroll.

ancient Roman train circling Hadrian's Tomb

St. Catherine keeping watch near Hadrian's Tomb

Leaving Hadrian's tomb we walked past St. Catherine keeping watch over the decadent Romans and ended up strolling through the Forum and onto the Piazza Venezia, the central hub of Rome. 

When we returned to our hotel midday for an afternoon siesta there was a note informing us that the Vatican called and we have a reservation to see the necropolis beneath St. Peter's, Tuesday at 9:30am! A couple weeks before we left for Italy I had sent a note off to the Vatican Scavi Office asking for a reservation for 9 March but never heard back and assumed we were lost down a bureaucratic hole. So this note came as a pleasant surprise for us since there are very few of these tours available and it is exciting to be able to see what was once a Roman (pagan) necropolis excavated along with the road which originally separated the various mausoleums, all directly beneath St. Peter’s. The highpoint of course will come at the end of the tour when we actually get to see the tomb of St. Peter as well the remnants of the very first structures built directly over the tomb.

 The hostess of our hotel, who is also the owner, suggests a restaurant called Nino, which is just around the corner from the Spanish Steps and we get a reservation for 8:30 pm.

 This evening turns out to be the singular unpleasant dining experience of our trip. The food itself is good – I had beef grilled just right and Susan had veal - not great but really quite good. We had a Poliziano “Asinone” Vino di Nobile from Montepulciano (2000), which was also delicious.

No, the unpleasantness came from a couple of other quarters in this case. First, the staff was indifferent and minimally attentive, not just to us but to everyone. 

Second, the restaurant allowed smoking (but not of cigars) and it seemed as if every smoker in Rome was there that evening. 

And last, at a table next to ours were four young American girls who were joined shortly afterwards by the father of one of the girls, a man who, at least from the conversation which we had no choice but to hear, traveled a great deal and was in Rome for work. At one point, after they had ordered some wine for dinner and the waiter left the father said to the girls at the table how nice it was that the waiters here spoke English. He traveled so much and so few people spoke English it really was frustrating. We thought maybe he should try learning the language. God knows he would expect nothing less from someone visiting his country.

Return to Rome

[7 March 2004]

Woke up at about 8am to a dreary, rainy Sunday morning. We packed and after having coffee and some breakfast with the Tampones we said goodbye and headed for the Autostrade. We were originally going to take the A16 north to Pescara and then head west to Rome through the Appenines but Peppino informed us that there was snow that way and throughout the mountains to the north. 

So we get onto the A14 for Naples and after a drive of about two and a half hours, we arrive at Fiumicino airport where we promptly get lost looking for the rental car return. We drove around the terminal a couple of times before we finally the Avis sign. We dropped the car off and since we had a zero deductible there was nothing to be paid for the minor damage from the accident in Lecce. This is definitely worth remembering for future car rentals.

After making our way down to the arrivals level of the terminal we grabbed a cab for the city. Our driver – who apparently studied for his driver's license at the Formula 1 racing school  – whisks us into the city for what we soon discover to a small fortune. Got to remember to ASK THE PRICE FIRST!

Our lodgings for our final leg of the trip was the Hotel Due Torri,  a stone’s throw from the Tiber and a quick five minute walk to the Pantheon. In fact, it was located to just about everything in the city center. The room was quite small and tight – particularly considering we arrived with so much additional baggage, the result of Rosa and Vito loading us down with homegrown and homemade goodies. But it had a wonderful little balcony and if the weather cooperates we might just get a chance to use it. Also the bed is large and well appointed for those of us who like reading before sleep.

check out the yellow sign upper left

lobby

terrace accessed through the bathroom

view from the balcony

After relaxing for a bit we head out – but before we go we have our hotel make a reservation for dinner at Ditirambo’s, a wonderful restaurant just off the Campo de’ Fiori where we ate a couple of years ago. And we were not disappointed this time either. Sue and I both had fish as well as a wonderful white wine “Aurore”. After dinner we walked around the corner to our favorite gelateria, “Blue Ice” and then walked back to the hotel for a restful night’s sleep.

Overnight in Cerignola

[6 March 2004, Saturday evening]

Leaving Cannae we headed off to Cerignola, a drive of about 30 minutes, where we linked up with Luisa and her father –  they met us at the toll gate coming off the A16.

We followed them into town and down a series of progressively smaller streets to their house where we parked. (Later in the evening we would park our car in their “box” as they referred to their garage.)

 Naturally, Rosa (Luisa’s mother) had prepared a lunch for us in their informal dinning room right off the kitchen. It seemed as if Rosa cooked and prepared food constantly, much to the delight of her family and guests.

They had just finished their soup course when we called. Tiny pasta in broth with vegetables, followed by fried beef scaloppini with chicory and lettuce in oil and vinegar and for dessert we had a ricotta cake with a crumb topping – absolutely fabulous.

 After lunch (which took a while) we retired to the formal dinning room – which was also the sitting room – and looked at more family photos. This seems to be one of their favorite pastimes and curiously we found ourselves drawn into their enthusiasm and excitement in sharing their family memories with us.

Susie and Vito

Vito and Cinzia soon arrived from Stornara, and Steve brought out the computer and showed a few prepared movies of photos taken during our previous visit to Stornara and Cerignola earlier in the week. We also showed them Susan’s website (on the computer not online) as well as Steve’s site on Siena and Italy.

At about six in the evening Rosa began making the pasta dough for the evening meal – the main course would be fried panzarotti with fillings of either tomatoes and cheese or prosciutto.

Rosa

Rosa and Peppino

 After the dough was prepared and set aside to rest for a couple of hours, Peppino (a nickname for “Giuseppe”) went next door to his office to catch up on some paper work – he is very active in the Italian nursing association -- while Vito, Cinzia and Susan and I went for a passegiata, with Luisa serving as our tour guide for the sights of Cerignola.

 To the average foreigner such as ourselves we might have passed through and never given Cerignola a second look, just concluding as we had done for so many other cities and large towns along our trip that it was too busy or not designed for easy tourist access, etc. Yet with Luisa’s explanations of so many of the things to be seen we had to conclude that a guide, and preferably a local guide, can indeed provide a world of new things to see and learn.

 We saw the church near the Tampone home where they attended mass when the children were little – and mass was underway as we walked in. Interestingly there were no men but the church was filled with women only. The men, we would soon come to find out, were in the center of town, in large groups, standing around talking, smoking, and, according to Luisa, many of them were daily agricultural workers looking to line up jobs for the next day.

 The evening was cool but the sky clear and the moon full and as we walked around with Vito and Cinzia and Luisa explaining what we were seeing it was as if we were seeing a slice of Italy through local eyes. We also stop to buy a second bag for the additional items Rosa has given since we arrived Saturday afternoon.

We walked back about 8 or so and the family moved to the top floor apartment for the evening meal and where we spent some time looking at photos on Luisa’s computer. We saw her doctoral presentation (done in Power point) on medieval ceramics in a dig near Florence, as well as photos of her and other students at their present dig in Matera in Basilicata. 

Tina

Cinzia

Nino

Luisa’s fiance’s parents, Nino and Tina, soon arrived for dinner (her fiancé is studying in the Netherlands) and the rest of the evening was devoted to either preparing or eating dinner which commenced at about 10 pm.

 We had fresh mozzarella rolls, beef pizzaiola, chicory, and of course the panzarotti. The wine, a light and simple, slightly sweet white wine was provided by Nino who is also a local wine producer. The meal also consisted of talking about food and politics and many questions were asked of us, particularly from Tina who is a professor of history at one of the local universities.

We retired to bed – actually “beds” since we were sleeping in Luisa’s room, which consisted of two very comfortable single beds -- sometime after midnight.

The next morning after coffee we were on our way back to Rome. 

Castel del Monte and Cannae

 [6 March 2004]

After breakfast Saturday morning we packed the car and got ready to leave for Cerignola and our night with the Tampone family. Wouldn't you know it, as soon as we gave our host the credit card the power went out and he had to spend the next 15 minutes or so digging out his (very) old credit card slider – but we were soon on our way north. 

There were two places in this corner of Puglia that I really wanted to see: Castel del Monte and the ancient Roman battlefield at Cannae. 

First off was the Castel del Monte, just south of Andria. An architectural mystery from the 14th century this is most definitely worth a visit. (No one knows why Frederick II built this very small castle with its identical towers and rooms none of which have a distinct purpose).

We come to find out from Luisa Tampone that we have missed what was probably one of the few toilets ever found in a castle.

Oh, and please by all means stay clear of the city of Andria since going “around” this rather large city means virtually going “through” it, which can take some time along with some serious traffic snarls.

view from the front entrance

interior of the courtyard

Next up was the ancient battlefield at Cannae where Hannibal destroyed a large Roman army. The museum in the ancient hill town of Cannae is quite pleasant and town itself is worth a stop – in any case you have to walk through the town ruins to view of the battlefield from atop the citadel. Although the terrain has changed substantially over the centuries it’s a most impressive sight.

From Cannae we made our way to Cerignola, a drive of about 30 minutes,

Last day in Fasano

[5 March 2004]

Yet another in a seemingly long line of leisurely days. Truth be told (and it will) we didn't have much choice. 

Anyway, after breakfast we left for Locorotondo about 10 am. It’s a short drive, only about 8 or so kms from Fasano but we decide to take a bit of back road over the Murge (the ridgeline which runs parallel with the sea) to get there. 

We find a place to park right off (surprise) and before we can get out of the car two policemen pull up and point out where we can buy our parking tickets. It turns out to be a business directly in front of our car. Nice gesture. 

And speaking of parking your car some of the towns in this area use the parking ticket machines but a great many of them use a rather different and quite novel method. You look for a sign with the big blue P on it and which lists the hours for parking etc – in Locorotondo the sign was in English and Italian but this is not true everywhere. Where the sign is located there is a business that sells the cards. They look like scratch-off lottery cards and you buy blocks of 30 minutes. We wanted two hours so we were given four cards which the person selling them then scratched off the date, the time, etc. Quite awkward it seemed to us. Anyway you place cards on your dash like you would a normal parking ticket and you’re set.

During our stroll around Locortondo we bought some of the locally produced white wine (for which the town is famous), but finding little else open we returned to the car and drove toward Bari on back-roads. We cruised through and/or around Putignano, Turi and near Mola di Bari we got back on the superstrada and headed home for lunch of salad, cheese and wine.

For our last meal we opted to eat at the Masseria and spend the rest of the day relaxing, packing up our things and working on our Italian, which is in serious need of work indeed. 

Dinner was again wonderful. Since there was only one other guest staying besides Susie and me our host set us all up for dinner in a little side room with a large fireplace to help take the (significant) chill off the evening. Food was delicious as usual: started with eggplant, fried artichokes, pureed fava beans and small panzarotti (little pockets of dough with various fillings). For primi we had a simple orchiette (“tiny ears”) pasta with a simple, tasty tomato sauce. For the secondi we had grilled lamb with raw chicory and fennel pieces.

Down the Salento Peninsula

[4 March 2004]

A leisurely Thursday morning. Sue does some more wash before we set out for a road trip down south. We decided to drive down to the Salento peninsula, down toward the tip of Puglia. By 10am we're on  the road after filling with gas and after about 60 kms get off the superstrada onto a secondary road reportedly running along the Adriatic coast. At least that’s what the atlas shows but in fact very little of the road is along the coast but a bit inland. 

We track from resort town to resort town each one of which appears totally uninhabited; shops and most buildings shuttered, hardly another soul in sight. It felt quiet eerie. Still, one can see from the businesses that this must be a thriving place in the summer. 

Anyway the day is sunny although cold and very windy; plus the drive is very nice and little (and I mean little) traffic so we enjoy ourselves. The beaches are empty of people but many are still littered with the debris and detritus from the previous season. Not especially attractive. At one point we find ourselves driving alongside what appears to be some serious maneuvers of the Italian armored unit and notice numerous tanks, self-propelled howitzers running parallel to our road and just a few meters away. Pretty spectacular actually.

We arrive in the coastal town of Otranto and decide to park and look for some lunch. We do find a few shops open selling souvenirs of course and we do take the opportunity to buy some more wine for our pantry. It is extremely windy and quite cold here but the sun is out which is a consolation.

During a walk around the old part of the town – which is mostly designed to cater to the summer tourist business apparently – we find ourselves in a most unusual little church in the middle of the old section. The floor is virtually one enormous mosaic telling a great many different bible stories. And in one of the side chapels, very well lit I might add and quite striking in its miniature duomo-like appearance we see the walls are covered with glass and behind the glass are literally hundreds of skulls and various other skeletal components. Apparently these were the inhabitants of Otranto who were massacred by the Turks many centuries ago and subsequently enshrined here. Curious to say the least. We ask the sexton to see the underground crypt and chapel which is small to be sure but has over 40 Norman columns separating the space and the walls are adorned with very old frescoes, paintings of various saints, angels, etc.

The seasonal curse continue to haunt us and we strike out in lunch – as usual – and head back north this time take the superstrada. We opt to get off at Lecce to check out the city and look for lunch. Here we strike out again but in a rather different, and potentially disastrous way. 

 As I was turning into a parking space a young woman on a motor scooter comes out of nowhere and hits our driver side rear door. Fortunately no one is hurt and little damage is done to the car. The girl’s motor scooter is damaged to the extent it won’t start and we are now at an impasse. She can’t speak english, we speak very little Italian of any value in this situation. She is calm, and we try to be. 

I try to call Avis – thank heavens for renting a cell phone – but their emergency number produces a recorded message, which is, of course, useless. The local Avis office does not answer. 

Anyway the young woman calls her friend and a few minutes later he shows up on a bicycle. We fill out the paperwork provided by Avis – one good bit of news – and after about an hour or so say ciao and we’re off again, a bit shaken. I am beginning to tire of driving around to what seems little purpose. The rare time we do find parking we find very little is open. It’s a frustrating combination.

So, it’s back home again in time for wine and cheese and a siesta before going out to pick up laundry from yesterday. Dinner at home this evening: pasta with a sauce made from fennel, onion and balsamic vinegar. 

Exploring Puglia 2004

 [3 March 2004]

We decided to be low key today. After breakfast Sue did some laundry by hand and set it out on various pieces of furniture to dry by the heaters. And we do need heaters today. It has been cold pretty much the entire time – yesterday was cold and rainy today is just cold and windy. 

But it's time to get out and explore Puglia! We head into the nearest town, Pezze di Greco where we drop some laundry off – pants and shirts, which can’t be done at our place. Then we head off for the Emmezetta for a quick stop to buy a replacement bedside lamp for one Steve broke the night before. We also find another bag to use for check-in since Vito gave us a variety of his canned vegetables and homemade grappa and Rosa has already warned us she intends to give us some of her foodstuffs as well.

After our morning errands we head to Alberobello and serious trulli country. We find the zona trulli, walk around but it is terribly cold and there is very little of anything going on anyway. 

We head next to Grotte di Castellana to see if the grottoes are open this time of year. The Blue Guide says no and it certainly seems as if most things in the vicinity of the grottoes are indeed closed. But in fact we do get in with a small group consisting of a German woman, and three other Americans, an elderly couple and a young woman carrying a newborn child. The excursion underground lasts about an hour and a half and it is truly a fantastic thing to behold. Well worth a stop. 

From the Grottoes we head back toward Fasano taking a back road through a wonderful little valley, which puts us in Selva di Fasano on the ridge overlooking Fasano with fantastic views of the coast. 

 We get back to our apartment and fix a bit of lunch – salumi, cheese, bread and some white wine. 

About 4 in the afternoon we head back into Ostuni – after trying to find the neolithic “Tavole dei Paladini”, the Table of the Knights, near Montalbana but fail to locate its whereabouts. We circumnavigate Ostuni and find a place to park right at the entrance to the old center of the town. We walk a bit – very windy still and quite cold but the view is truly spectacular from this vantage point and itself worth a stop. But there are many quaint – and some not so quant – shops scattered throughout the town. Some are open but many more are closed. And very few ristoranti or Osterie seem to be open although in fairness it is still quite early (only about 5:30 pm). We head back to the apartment for dinner and for the evening.

One can only imagine how wonderful it must be in spring and summer, to be outside in the evening for dinner, on the beach during the day. Still, we begin to wonder if a week in Puglia is a bit too much time to spend here at this time of year.

along the Adriatic

Stornara 1944 to 2004

 [2 March 2004]

We left our apartment at Masseria Salamina in Fasano and headed north to Stornara. Our one and only objective today was to meet with Vito Campagna and his granddaughter Luisa Tampone. In fact, this meeting was why we came to Puglia in the first place. 

Vito

In 1944 Vito was a young man working for the Col. Thomas Steed, commander of the 456th Bomb Group, then located at the US airfield in Stornara, not far from Cerignola. Susan's father Tunis had served as a navigator on B-24s serving with the 456th. After the war Vito stayed in contact with many of the men who had been posted to Stornara -- including Col. Steed -- and over subsequent years many of the veterans and their families returned to visit the old airfield. Ed Moore, a member of the bomber crew to which Susan’s dad belonged to during the war, had given us Vito's name and Luisa's email and we arranged to meet them in the central piazza of Stornara on 2 March.

 We arrived in Stornara in the middle of market day but could not find the meeting place. Since we had the foresight to rent a cell phone we called Luisa and about five minutes later we were all together and on our way to the airfield.

There was little left of the old field since the land has been turned to agricultural uses and the buildings which had been used by the bomb group HQ were pretty much abandoned – particularly the former HQ of the colonel commanding the base which had apparently been at one time the palazzo of local nobility and was pretty much in ruins. But Vito brought his personal archives along – newspaper clippings, documents and letters that he received from various members of the men who served here during the war, items which he cherishes a great deal.

We drove further on down into where the airstrip itself used to be located and where Vito now has an absolutely wonderful garden: olive trees, apricot trees, fig trees, grapes, artichokes, tomatoes, just about everything one could want or hope to have in a garden in Italy.

me, Vito and Susie

Susie, Vito and Luisa

in Vito's garden

runways turned into fields of crops

From the old airfield it was a short drive back to Vito’s house in Stornara where we met one of his two daughters, Franca (Luisa’s aunt) and where we had coffee and continued to look over all of Vito's WW2 memorabilia from the old airfield. His smile was infectious and his openness and warmth toward Susie and me drew us to him. The joy he seems to derive from being around other people reminded me so much of my own father whose sole purpose in life was to simply enjoy the company of others.

From Stornara we followed Luisa and Vito to Cerignola where we had lunch at Luisa’s parents’ house.

About ten minutes later after turning down several very tiny streets in Cerignola we have arrived at the Tampone series of flats. We climbed up to the third floor (they also have the fourth floor as well) and were welcomed into a wonderful cozy house and almost at once the photo books came out and we quite some time looking at photos of all their family members. It was a singularly pleasant feeling that continued to hold us in its grasp for the next several hours.

We were joined for lunch by Luisa’s parents Rosa and Giuseppe (nicknamed “Peppino”), both nurses in the local hospital. Rosa headed up the operating room and Giuseppe was the chief nursing administrator in charge of information systems. We also met Luisa’s younger brother Antonio, who was about 16 years old.

Rosa prepared a superb meal for all of us – antipasti consisting of olives in oil, tiny onions preserved in oil, two variations on mozzarella cheese, and two types of salami. Rosa also laid out two bottles of Vito’s white wine, a bit sweet and most pleasant for this meal.

Next came the pasta – simple spaghetti which Rosa brought out to ask us or rather Susan if this is OK – in a sauce she put up last August and a few basil leaves preserved in salt placed on top. From there it was straight to the fish course, a delicious light white fish somewhat like cod in appearance but with a meatier texture and more flavor, almost sweet, which Rosa had prepared by poaching in a bit of oil and capers and herbs; this was accompanied by green lettuce with oil and vinegar tossed on at the last moment.

For the dolce course we had fresh fruit cut up with a bit of sugar and sprinkled with homemade limoncello.

After dinner we went upstairs to the top flat that had once been the apartment of Giuseppe’s mother who died some years previous. We sat in a small room around a warm fire and talked and drank Amaro and coffee until it was time to go back to our apartment in Fasano.

Rosa and Giuseppe wanted us to stay that night but we felt totally unprepared for this. One just does not see Americans behaving in this fashion – asking total strangers to stay in their home for the night. And yet that's the Italian for you. They said why drive back tonight, just stay with us! No, we had no toothbrush, etc., was our excuse. But the more we thought on it the more we wanted to spend time with this family.

At the very least they asked us to stop and stay with them on the way back to Rome. So that is now the plan. We will leave our agriturismo in Fasano a day early and head to Cerignola on Saturday and spend the night with the Tampone’s before heading to Rome on Sunday.