Italian lessons in Sorrento
I’m sipping a prosecco mixed with the area’s most famous liquor, limoncello, on the terrazza of the 180-year-old Grand Hotel Excelsior Vittoria in Sorrento, Italy, precariously perched on top of ancient limestone cliffs with a 164-foot drop to the sea.
As I sip my cocktail and nibble olives alla’Ascolana (fried olives), the crystalline waters of the Bay of Naples begin to darken along with the nighttime sky, and the landscape, now barely visible, looks like something from a fairy tale: the twinkling lights of Naples in the distance, and the still-active Mount Vesuvius, its craggy mouth partially shrouded by clouds.
It’s my first night, and I already know it will not be my last. I should know better. I’ve done this before. Italy and I go way back, and frankly it’s about time we rekindled our affair. Please pass the ricotta-stuffed sardines, would you? We’ve got another hour or so before dinner.
Over the next few days, I will zip around the Amalfi Coast, Ferrari-like, seeing and tasting some of the best the area has to offer, like sampling a large antipasti platter.
There is much more to explore and do here, such as: 1) spend an entire afternoon with a cappuccino (or a grappa, depending on the time of day), people-watching and trying to read the Corriere della Sera at the Fauno Bar, a grand cafe in Piazza Tasso, Sorrento’s main square; 2) take an evening passeggiata, or leisurely walk, with the locals along the main boulevard, Via Capo Corso Italia, and stop for a half-Bacio, half-stracciatella gelato at Primavera gelateria; and 3) eat lots more pasta.
My point is this: The main reason that people flock to this area from all over the world is the very same reason that the Romans, and before them, the Etruscans, Phoenicians and Greeks, spent their holidays here. It’s far more beautiful than you might imagine, and it’s the sort of beauty that insists you stop, slow down and simply take it all in.
Dolce far niente, the sweetness of doing nothing, is the best thing to do here, so plan accordingly.
You’ll want to make time to do as much as you can. Then book a return trip as soon as possible. Because you’ll undoubtedly find more to explore here, and you’ll want to come back — and si, I realize I’m gushing, but I can’t help it. I am in love with this place. Unbiased I definitely am not.
Here follows your Sorrento to-do list.
Eat spaghetti alla Nerano.
Seemingly innocuous — after all, we’re talking about spaghetti and zucchini here — this dish was quite possibly one of the dreamiest, most surprising dishes of my trip. A local specialty that originates from the town of Nerano just a few kilometers south of Sorrento, this is served on platters in trattorias and fancier places all along the peninsula of Sorrento and Amalfi Coast.
And while there may be slight differences, what makes this unique is the regional caciocavallo cheese, a provolone-like cow’s milk cheese that’s melted and saucy throughout, along with fried zucchini, which takes on a vibrant new personality.
Insider tip: Do not cut your pasta. Instead, do what the locals do: Take a few strands of spaghetti with the end of your fork, then slowly swirl it onto your fork, as if you have all the time in the world.
Take a boat tour and see the grottos.
A three-hour tour reveals all sorts of dramatic stalactites dripping from some of these mini-cave hideaways set in the cliffs, and the aquamarine-blue water takes on deeper, magical hues of bright turquoise in some of these grottos, a color so intense that the only point of reference I had for it, sadly, was the dyed-blue water on the log ride at Six Flags Over Texas.
But besides the brilliant colors, being on the water, zipping around on a boat, is the best way to see the landscape.
Plus our boat’s captain, Pepe, not only surprised us with a mid-morning snack of local strawberries and prosecco, he took us for lunch at Le Sirene at the Marina del Cantone in Nerano, where among other things I sampled pasta, dining on a covered patio overlooking the rocky beach, where locals in skimpy swimwear jockeyed for bright-orange-striped lounge chairs. Children played among them.
Insider tip: It goes without saying, but bears repeating. Bring sunglasses, a hat, sunscreen and a jacket (because it can be cool, zipping across the sparkling azure waters on a speedboat).
Info: You can design your own tour. Half-day, full-day and nighttime cruises are available, and boats go to the islands of Ischia and Capri, and to Positano and along the Amalfi Coast. Try Capitano Ago (www.capitanoago.com) or Sorrento Experience (http://sorrentoexperience.com).
Drive to Amalfi and back.
Drive along the narrow, cliff-hugging two-lane Roman-built road, now known as SS163. Hairpin turns take you to the edge of the cliff for miles and miles, but it’s worth making the trip, because you get to see islands named after mermaids and towers built in the sixth and seventh centuries, and newer ones, too, so identified by their square — not round — shape, built in the 16th and 17th.
As you speed up and slow down around the curves and short straightaways, watch out for the tiny villages built into cutouts in the mountainsides near some of the smaller towns along the way. No one talks about these, and if you’re not looking for them, you’ll miss them.
Amalfi is more touristy than not, but Positano, with its sweet boutiques selling handmade ceramics (all along Via Cristoforo Colombo), is worth an afternoon, if not a day.
Insider tip: For great button-down casual shirts that are long enough to double as swimsuit cover-ups, stop into the boutique Nero Sfumato at Via Cristoforo Colombo 101 in Positano. I bought one and wish I’d gotten more.
Learn to make Neapolitan-style pizza.
This will make you want to go home and build a pizza oven in your back yard. If you’ve ever been to Italy, you know the pizza here is different. But this area is where pizza began, so even in Italy, this pizza is different.
Taste it here and there, then learn to make it, like I did, at the L’Orangerie Poolside Restaurant, which, as the name implies, is right in the middle of an orange grove (lemons, too, which the area is also known for).
The sauce isn’t what you thought, just tomatoes and basil. The dough is simply flour, salt, water and yeast. You pull and stretch, never roll, the dough. You make a little ridge along the edges, which will be the crust.
And whatever you do, when you are putting your two scant spoonfuls of sauce on the pizza, do not let it spill onto the crust, which keeps everything inside so the raw pizza can slide into the oven with ease.
When you taste the pizza you’ve made, you will become obsessed with re-creating the experience. Which means you will build that pizza oven, immediately start planning a return trip to Sorrento or both.
Insider tip: Pizza-making is as much fun for grown-ups as kids, so bring them along, or even better, sign them up for a class of their own.
Info: L’Orangerie is part of the Grand Hotel Excelsior Vittoria, but there are other places in Sorrento where you can learn to make pies. Ciao Laura (www.ciaolaura.com) and Villa Ida (www.villaida.com) are centrally located and have wood-burning ovens.
Go to Pompeii.
Hire a guide and walk along the original basalt roads, which run precisely in a north-south (cardo, in Latin) and east-west (decumanus) grid, with deep grooves made by mule-drawn carts and chariots still visible. Learn about how the 15,000 residents of this very modern seaport city lived — as middle-class shopkeepers, politicians and weekly spa-goers — from 300 B.C., when it was established, to 79 A.D., when it was destroyed by Mount Vesuvius over three or four days of spewing ash, rock and lethal gases.
Magnificently frozen in time, there are marble-floored amphitheaters for comedy and tragedy and music and poetry, a gladiator school, and a town center where parts of the municipal buildings still stand. There’s a stage to speak freely in front of an audience about a topic or point of view, which is how people used to express themselves before Facebook came along.
Insider tip: Plan to go first thing in the morning before the crowds arrive or late in the afternoon when they’ve left for the day, and make sure your camera is charged. You’ll want to photograph everything here. I had a three-hour tour and it was perfect. Longer tours are available.
Info: Official tour guides of Pompeii, www.guidepompeii.com.
See the Italian art of marquetry.
Meandering through Sorrento one morning, I followed a sign that read, “Demonstration of wood working,” which, being in English, seemed both suspect and interesting, so I followed the arrows.
A twist and turn down a narrow road or two and I was at my destination, Biagio Barile, a father-son team of craftsmen who cut paper-thin pieces of wood by hand and piece them together to make miniature colorful objects, mostly onto music and jewelry boxes, just as others have done in this area since the 15th century.
The dusty shop itself is worth the trip, but buying one of the gorgeous boxes like the ones they make for some of the United States’ most well-known luxury retailers at a fraction of the sticker price makes it even more so.
Insider tip: Bring euros. These boxes make great gifts, and you’ll probably want more than one.
Info: Biagio Barile is about a five-minute walk from the statue of Saint Antoninus (the entrance to the old city) at Vicolo Sant’Aniello 6 in Sorrento; www.barileinlaidsorrento.com.
See the coral museum in Torre del Greco.
A private museum with an underground vault door entry, this place has sculptural coral pieces that are one of a kind, including John Wayne on horseback (which President Bill Clinton wanted to buy, but the family patriarch, who loved American Westerns and whose friend carved the John Wayne specifically for him, wouldn’t sell it).
The collection of more than 500 pieces dates back to the 15th century and traces the art of coral diving and carving in particular to this part of the Mediterranean, which the area has been known for since Roman times.
After looking at not-for-sale pieces in the museum, see what’s for sale upstairs. Check out the simple, elegant coral beaded necklaces, from 3 1/2 to 10 centimeters. The area’s good-luck charm, a chile pepper-shaped amulet known as the cornicello, is thought to ward off the evil eye.
Insider tip: If you see something you like, say, a string of gorgeous pearls, but would like them a bit longer, just ask. My 18-inch pearl necklace is scheduled to arrive in two weeks — and they ship worldwide.
Info: Museo Basilio Liverino, Torre del Greco, Via Montedoro 61, www.storeliverino.com.
Rest like royalty.
Everyone from the King of England to Queen Victoria of Sweden and Princess Margaret of England have slept in one of the spacious, elegant rooms at the Grand Hotel Excelsior Vittoria, with either a view of the sea or the gardens.
A five-star property of three adjoining buildings, the hotel is still owned and managed by the Fiorentino family, which opened the hotel 181 years ago.
From frescoed ceilings and hand-painted yellow and blue Vietri tile floors, along with an easy mash-up of Louis XVI, arts and crafts, and Biedermeier, the decor is both timelessly stylish and comfortable, a reflection of the periods the hotel has lived through, seamlessly and beautifully reflecting its rich history.
Modern comforts include Wi-Fi and cappuccinos always on call, and waiters who remember that you like the area’s traditional lemon-orange breakfast cake and surprise you with the recipe. Because it’s one thing to feel like an honored guest and another to feel like you’re at home. Here, I felt like both.
Info: Piazza Tasso 34, Sorrento, 39-081 877 7111, www.exvitt.it.
This story was originally published August 3, 2015 at 1:55 PM with the headline "Italian lessons in Sorrento."