Penny Ewles-Bergeron
Santa Caterina a Formello
Naples, CampaniaNot far from the Porta Capuana, one of the ancient gates of Naples, stands a church with Renaissance roots. Originally part of a Celestine monastic complex, Santa Caterina a Formello was dedicated to Catherine, virgin martyr of Alexandria. Dominican Fathers took charge of the monastery around 1493; the church was founded in 1510 and completed… (more)
Cuma, Messages from the Past
Cumae, CampaniaAncient sites jostle for attention across Campania but Cuma deserves a special place in the heart of any European, for this is where our alphabet made landfall on its way from Greece. Founded on a hillside in the 8th century BC within sight of an original colony on the island of Ischia, the new settlement… (more)
Bologna the Red
Bologna, Emilia-RomagnaBologna has three soubriquets – la dotta, la grassa and la rossa. The city is dotta (learned) thanks to her university founded in 1088, and is grassa (fat), in the sense of bountiful, because of her extraordinarily rich cuisine. Finally Bologna is rossa (red) and although this once referred to the red tiles of her… (more)
A View with a City
Napoli, CampaniaApp or map, you have to orientate yourself in an unfamiliar city. In Naples the view from the Castel Sant’Elmo is an excellent place to begin. The first thing you’ll notice is the large conical object across the bay. It’s often veiled in the pale blue of distance or swathed in summer haze, but we… (more)
A Tug at the Heartstrings
Naples, CampaniaNot far from Piazza Dante, Naples, wedged into the side of a palazzo courtyard, is a small studio. Wood shavings drop tendril-like from work benches to the floor; there are interesting smells – is that glue or rosin? Intriguingly curved cut outs are ranged on the table awaiting their moment in the creative process. This… (more)
The Fountain of Neptune
Bologna, Emilia-RomagnaIf you were Bolognese, you’d be used to it, pass it every day on the way to market, lean against the edge of it, never give it a second thought. But the fountain of Neptune in Bologna’s main square does come as a surprise to visitors because of the four lounging ladies around the base… (more)
The Bourbon Tunnel
Naples, Campania1848 was a year of riot and revolution across Europe. The Bourbon king of the Two Sicilies, Ferdinand II, beset by challenges to his absolutist rule, made contingency plans. The idea was a tunnel from the royal palace in Naples to Piazza Vittoria allowing rapid access to the palace of soldiery from nearby barracks and,… (more)
La Mortella
Ischia, CampaniaLa Mortella is a garden on the island of Ischia, the result of a love affair. Look around you; you are in the presence of passion – the mutual passion of a English composer and a beautiful Argentinian woman, his for a place to inspire music, hers for ravishing and exotic flora. Susana was 22… (more)
A Balcony in Naples
Naples, CampaniaJanuary always feels like the turning of a page. Resolutions, new beginnings, out with the old. We review the past, we plan the future, we vow to make sure the new year is full of good experiences. Which is where my friend Françoise’s balcony comes in… Françoise has a balcony with one of those views… (more)
Naples Rocks
Naples, CampaniaSomething unusual at the Palazzo delle Arti Napoli – Rock! – an exhibition telling the story of rock music and presenting over 500 hundred objects from private collections around Italy. Legendary guitars such as Fenders rub shoulders with signed drum-heads and vinyl disks, concert memorabilia, sound equipment, original posters and artwork from the music industry.… (more)
Carotenuto’s Painted Presepe
Salerno, CampaniaIf you are passing the Duomo (cathedral) in Salerno, look out for two angels above the doorway to the Sala San Lazzaro. Let them draw you in – into a unique experience. The artist Mario Carotenuto has created an unusual presepe (Christmas nativity scene) very different in character from those traditional Neapolitan tableaux of small… (more)
Duomo di San Matteo – The Crypt
Salerno, Campania(related to this note…) There are many places in Italy where a ‘wow!’ cannot be suppressed and I defy you to descend into the crypt of the Salerno Cathedral without uttering one. Domenico Fontana was charged with restoring the crypt in the 1680s and later in the 18th century Neapolitan Francesco Ragozzino worked his wonders… (more)
Insalata Caprese – deceptively simple
Naples, CampaniaWhat’s so special about a simple salad of tomatoes, mozzarella cheese and basil? Well, it does fly the Italian flag of red, white and green… and each ingredient has a story to tell. Take basil: this pungent, sweet herb is revered throughout Europe and Asia. It is used to prepare holy water in eastern orthodox… (more)
Mazzoni’s Compianto
Naples, CampaniaAmongst the many Renaissance treasures to be seen in the church of Santa Anna dei Lombardi is an extraordinary group of life-size figures by Guido Mazzoni. They compose a Compianto or Lamentation over the body of Christ, sculpted in terracotta with enormous realism and drama. Six such tableaux are attributed to Mazzoni, a native of… (more)
Palazzo Reale
Naples, CampaniaIn 1600 Viceroy Fernando Ruiz de Castro heard that his master Philip III of Spain had decided to visit Naples and his first thought was finding a location for the obligatory lavish festivities. One glance at the handful of gloomy castles and fortified houses available told him a new palace was in order. He told… (more)
The Suburban Baths
Ercolano, CampaniaFew ancient sites have the power to thrill like Pompeii and Herculaneum – the cities Vesuvius destroyed in AD79. Here are history and beauty on a overwhelming scale. But should you ever succeed in becoming blasé about wandering the streets of a Roman town, the suburban baths of Herculaneum will stun you anew. Built in… (more)
Santa Anna dei Lombardi a Monteoliveto
Naples, CampaniaNaples is home to much glorious baroque, but here’s a place where the Florentine Renaissance extended south. The church and monastery of the Olivetan monks (Benedictines) was begun in 1411. Despite dramatic changes – a revision to suit baroque taste in the main church, an 1805 earthquake, a bomb strike in 1944 and the modern… (more)
Duomo di San Matteo
Salerno, CampaniaThe duomo (literally “dome”, but meaning “cathedral”) at Salerno is rich in architectural delights. It is dedicated to Mary of the Angels and to San Matteo (Saint Matthew), whose remains arrived in Salerno in 954. Built on the site of a Roman temple, the church’s atrium has numerous Roman sarcophagi re-used for Christian burials. 28… (more)
Bespoke spokes – Talarico Umbrellas
Napoli, CampaniaIn one of Naples’ dusky alleyways is a little umbrella factory that puts others in the shade. It was 150 years ago that Achille Talarico opened his workshop on Via Trinità degli Spagnoli. His workers crafted handles of ivory, silver and majolica, fastening them to canopies of pure silk for an aristocratic clientele. A regular… (more)
Borgo Orefici
Naples, CampaniaFrom the time of Giovanna I of Anjou, crowned queen of Naples in 1343, Neapolitan goldsmiths have congregated in a dense network of narrow streets now bounded by the Corso Umberto and Via Marina, not far from the sea. 300 years later, the gold and silver-smith trade in Naples became an exclusive right of the… (more)
La Crypta Neapolitana
Napoli, CampaniaRemember the poet Virgil’s special powers? For the man who buried the magical egg under Castel dell’Ovo, it would be nothing to carve a 700 metre tunnel through the volcanic rock of Posillipo ridge to connect Naples with the road to Pozzuoli. In a single night. With his intense gaze. Strong magic indeed to tunnel… (more)
The Campo Santo
Pisa, TuscanyHoly ground indeed! Tradition tells us that the Campo Santo (literally “holy field”), a magnificent walled cemetery in Pisa, contains 5 shiploads of earth from Golgotha, the hill upon which Christ was crucified. To Archbishop Ubaldo de’ Lanfranchi goes the credit for ordering this unusual cargo in the 12th century. Such truly Holy Ground merited… (more)
Santa Chiara Cloister
Napoli, CampaniaWhat does the word ‘cloister’ conjure up? Gothic arches, crepuscular gloom, secondary characters from the Twilight vampire saga around the next bend, fangs at the ready? Here’s a novelty in Naples in the heart of the old city – a sunshine cloister, majolica-tiled in exuberant style. There’s blue for the Mediterranean sky, green for the… (more)
San Michele Arcangelo
Anacapri, CampaniaWhat would you give for a glimpse of Paradise? On the island of Capri you’ll find more than that. Welcome to heaven on earth, the beautiful church of San Michele Arcangelo. The masterpiece of this small baroque church is not hung on the walls or painted on the ceiling. It’s the floor itself, where in… (more)
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