Tag Archives: Italy

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The Villa Comunale in Naples, Italy: and Carducci

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A look back (first published 16 July 2015): when we left Naples a fortnight ago there were still occasional purple flowers on the young jacaranda trees along the edge of the Villa Comunale, and the park’s lovely old bandstand was under wraps.

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The Villa Comunale in Naples The Villa Comunale in Naples

It was months before I noticed him.  I drove past him every day  … and yet I never looked left.  There were two reasons – the first was fear, new-to-the-road fear, and the second was the light of the early sun on the sea.

The fear of the drive into Naples has almost gone, and with it the bolts of shock that thumped through my heart each time I joined the traffic into the city.  Now, my spasmed eyeballs have relaxed and there’s time to enjoy the view.

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A ‘sagra’ on an old Roman road north of Naples, Italy

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A look back (first published 19 June 2015): many of the villages in the countryside around Naples, and up into the mountains behind, have ‘sagre’ in the summer – food festivals where fresh food is served close to the land it came from.

thephraser's avatarThe Phraser

Bees swarming at the 'Sagra delle antiche taverne' Bees swarming at the ‘Sagra delle antiche taverne’

‘Sagre‘, and this was our first, are the right-in-the-thick-of-it festival celebrations that usually revolve around food.

Originally the meaning was linked to churches and the Latin word sacrum – holy.  Now they are still about expectation and celebration, but often with a local speciality centre stage rather than the church.

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Castel Sant’Elmo, Naples, Italy: built to last

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A look back (first published on 12 June 2015): Castel Sant’Elmo is a great starting point for any visitor to Naples. Stand on its ramparts and it’s like being part of an enormous 3D map of the city and its bay.

thephraser's avatarThe Phraser

The Castel Sant'Elmo Naples, Italy The Castel Sant’Elmo Naples, Italy with coat of arms of Charles V and the double-headed eagle

If you find a castle in town you know there’s been trouble … and the bigger the castle the bigger the trouble.

Bump into Castel Sant’Elmo, with Vesuvius just there, and you realise that you probably have no idea what ‘trouble’ even is.

When we visited there was trouble.

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