It all started with a love story. In June 1899, in the small town of Solofra, Italy, Francesco D'Alessio wrote a beautiful love letter to Antoinette Maffei, asking her to confirm her love for him.  They were married in November 1903,  moved to New York City in May 1907 and ended up having 13 children.  Over 100 years later their great grandson and his family went back to Solofra to see where it all began. That great grandson is Chris' dad and I was very happy to be a part of this adventure!

Solofra, Italy is located approximately an hour southeast of Naples and 40 minutes inland from Amalfi.  It is not a typical vacation destination.  In fact, if you were to look up Hotels in Solofra on Tripadvisor, you'd find only one listing.  Yet, this town of about 12,000 people is one of Italy's most famous towns for the tanning of leather and it is said that some of Italy's best leather products originate here.  So it's not really a surprise that, in the old days, Chris' ancestors ran their own leather tannery. 

For about a generation, some contact was maintained with family who stayed behind in Italy.  But as the older generations passed away, contact was lost with family in the old country. Luckily, Chris' great great aunt Josie was extremely organized and kept many photos, letters, passports and other documents in immaculate condition. Therefore, we had a lot of clues,  so we decided to go check things out and see what we could turn up.  At the very least it would be fascinating to see the town where Antoinette and Francesco had grown up, been married, and lived many years of their lives.  

We thought the most logical place to begin was at the main church in Solofra, St. Michael's Cathedral. During his childhood, Chris' dad (also named Michael!) heard many stories about the beautiful cathedral so it was a real treat for him to finally see it in person. We arrived in town around 11am on a Friday and took a spin around the central part of town, then entered the cathedral to find a beautiful place:

After a few minutes of poking around, we were approached by a man speaking to us in Italian, which was partially understood by Chris' dad.  He introduced himself as Mario.  We soon found out that Mario also knew some Spanish, and between my Spanish and Chris' dad's Italian, we deduced that he was probably a priest at the cathedral.  We later learned that Mario was actually Monsignor Mario Pierro, who serves at St. Michael's along with two  priests. We described why we had come to Solfra, and showed him some of the old pictures and records that we'd scanned, as well as the old love letter written by Chris' great great grandfather to his great great grandmother in the late 1800's.  Since the love letter was written in Italian, Mario was able to read it and was clearly moved by the words.  He showed us around the cathedral, explaining its history which we tried to piece together with our combined Italian and Spanish. Chris' Latin and Mom Barbier's French also came in handy! 

While I was taking pictures of the church, a lady offered to take our picture with Mario.  She first spoke to me in Italian, to which I responded in Spanish.  Upon hearing Spanish,  her eyes lit up and she asked me in Spanish where I was from.  We got to talking and I learned that her family had left Solofra to move to Argentina, where she was born and raised.  She recently moved to Italy to be closer to the rest of her family. When I asked her for their last name I was amazed to learn that it was the same as as Chris' great great grandmother's - Maffei!  While Maffei is a common name in Italy, especailly in the town of Solofra, we still found this quite remarkable and immediately began comparing notes.  Since they spoke Spanish it was much easier for me to communicate.  We could not believe the coincidence and decided that our families must share some common ancestry somewhere along the line. 

We were soon shown all around the beautiful cathedral by Mario, including some of the oldest portions of the church, dating back to the 1300's, where many people do no get to visit.  The Argentinian Maffei's accompanied us, which was super helpful because they spoke fluent Italian and Spanish. Therefore they translated Mario's Italian into Spanish and then I could translate the Spanish into English.  It was great teamwork and we had a lot of fun! We spent almost an hour talking to Mario, the other Maffei's, and touring around the church.

After heading back outside, we met another man passing by, who Mario engaged in conversation.  It turned out that he had known one of our distant relatives in Solofra, whose picture we had brought along.  A few minutes later, he came back with a lady who currently lives at the address we had found from ages ago, and is actually the niece of one of our relatives from Solofra, a few generations removed.  Solofra is indeed a small town.  

At one point, Chris was going to leave to feed our parking meter since our time was up.  He was stopped and told that he didn't need to pay for parking in Solofra because he was family. I guess word travels fast in Solofra! 

We spent some more time talking to our new friends.  While the other family of Maffei's had to get going, Monsignor Mario invited us to have lunch with him.   We immediately accepted and accompanied him to his home in the back of the church where he prepared a feast for us! We had spagetti (al dente of course), homemade sauce, fresh olives, locally produced pepperoni, an amazing eggplant appetizer, marinated artichoke hearts, fresh mozzarella, homemade white wine, fresh bread, olive oil and an amazing dessert. I was so full from lunch that I couldn't eat dinner that night! 

We spent many hours with Monsignor Mario enjoying great food and conversation, and even got to meet some of his friends and family who stopped by for a bit.  The next thing we knew, it was around 5pm and we had to head back to our home base in Minori.  Before leaving, Mario gave us 3 bottles of home-made wine and a few mementos from the church.  We couldn't thank him enough for his hospitality. All we could say is Grazie Assai Assai Assai (Assai means very in Italian). We never could have imagined what a great day we would have had in Solofra, and how many wonderful people we would meet.  This was truly a highlight of our trip.

I think Francesco and Antionette are probably smiling somewhere up above ;-)

We spent the next several days on the Amalfi coast.  We rented a two bedroom unit from Amalfi Vacations called Villa Limone, which was situated on the road between the towns of Minori and Ravello.  The unit came with sensational views, its own patio area overlooking the Mediterranean, and a beautiful pool that we shared with the other few units in the complex.  In addition, there was a caretaker, Franco, who lived on the grounds and raised a variety of fruits and vegetables for the guests - tomatoes, eggplant, grapes, pears, basil - which we utilized regularly!  Franco was fantastic.  When we first met him he told us that if we needed anything all we had to do was call and he'd be there within 10 minutes. He was a man of his word, often times anticipating what we would need before we could even call to ask! Here are some photos of our amazing place in Minori:

One day, Chris' parents treated us to a day-long boat excursion up and down the coast.  Franco hooked us up with a nice boat and captain, Giovanni, and we spent the day zipping along the coast, swimming and checking out a couple of the other towns - Positano and Amalfi.  We thought this was a perfect way to see the coast, as you can take the boat wherever you like, jump in the water whenever you feel the urge, and you don't have to deal with the crazy roads!  And of course, the views from the water can't be beat.  A definite highlight of our time in Amalfi!

Another milestone was hit on the boat trip - my first jellyfish sting.  Yup, it finally happened and it really wasn't that bad. Luckily Chris' mom had some Afterbite in her bag and the sting disappeared in about an hour's time. 

We were out on the boat from around 9:30 until 5:30pm. Right around 5:30 the weather changed suddenly and storm clouds rolled in off the mountains.  The sea started to churn and Giovanni rushed to drop us off before the rain & lightning began. Luckily our trusty caretaker, Franco, was at the dock waiting for us and helped us get back to the apartment safely before the crazy storm. From our apartment we watched lightning over the water, and later, a beautiful rainbow. 

Of course, we can't talk about Southern Italy without mentioning food! We had some great meals while in Amalfi - both home-cooked and at restaurants. On our first night we went to a beautiful restaurant called Il Giardiniello in Minori.  We sat on their patio covered in grape vines and lemon trees. The food was excellent, the service was great and the live music was a nice touch. 

Another night we went to Midnight Sun Bar in the main plaza by the beach.  Our waiters were incredibly friendly and the linguini al limone was just as good as the reviews said it would be...maybe better! 

The rest of the time we grilled steak and sausage on our outdoor patio overlooking the sea. Of course we had fresh fruits and vegetables from Franco's garden to accompany our meals!  We also had a few dinner guests.  Meet our holiday cats that we named Mama Cat and her kittens - Anna Lisa and Lucia:

Although none of us are really cat people (Chris and his dad are allergic and I don't find them very friendly) we quickly warmed up to these three. Look at them - how could you not?  

After about three weeks in various parts of Italy and a few prior trips, we both declared this area our favorite part of the country.  The views, the water, the villages, the food and the people are incredible.  This is certainly a place we hope to visit again.  

Amalfi tip: If you don't like crowds avoid staying in the major towns like Positano. When we visited it was difficult to walk around because the streets are packed with tourists.  The food prices are also a lot higher here than in the other towns.  Minori is one of the smaller towns along the coast and we never felt claustrophobic nor did we ever have to wait for a table at either restaurant.

Tip #2: Driving along the coast is dangerous.  The narrow roads twist and turn along the mountainside and through passageways in tiny villages.  You share the road with busses and motorcycles (who have their own set of rules).  Driving here is not for the faint of heart, so be prepared if you choose to drive!  While we hated to leave the Amalfi coast, we bid good riddance to the driving.

On one of our days in the Amalfi coast, we drove about 40 minutes to the town of Solofra.  What is Solofra's claim to fame?  It is the ancestral home of one branch of Chris' family.  They left Solofra around the turn of the century, but several family members stayed behind and the current generation living in the US has largely lost touch with the branch that stayed behind.  So we decided to check it out and do some digging.  What did we find?  Stay tuned for the next post!

The ancient town of Pompeii, famously destroyed by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius, lay conveniently along our route of travel from Rome to Amalfi.  We therefore decided to stop and take a gander at this ill-fated society.  

Brief History
Pompeii was an important large city in ancient Rome, with a population of about 20,000 during its heyday.  The population consisted of about 50% citizens and 50% slaves.  Pompeii was a port city as well as a holiday destination due to its close proximity to the sea and thermal springs.

Everything changed in 79AD, when Mount Vesuvius unleashed its wrath on the town, covering it with about 20 feet of volcanic ash.  Those people that did not immediately leave perished from toxic gasses, and then the entire city was buried under volcanic ash.  As a result of the eruption, Pompeii now sits well inland from the sea coast.

Discovering an ancient city ... in your backyard
Centuries passed after the eruption, and soon a small village was established above the buried city. In the 1700's a farmer (or a group of workers) was digging in the land and discovered a frescoed wall.  Excavations began in the 1700's and took place throughout the following century.  The ash preserved the city and its deceased inhabitants remarkably well over the millennia.  Much of the structural damage was due to the earthquakes that plagued the city before Vesuvius blew its top. 

Walking Tour
We had about two hours to see the site, which is massive.  We therefore felt it prudent to hook up with a tour guide in order to make the most of our limited time.  We used Pompeii Walking Tours and our tour guide, Fabio, was great. 

POMPEII TIP:  If you would like a guided tour, don't wait in the massive line for tickets.  Simply find one of the tour guides who will cut the line and buy your tickets for you.  

The following is a photo journal of our stroll through ancient Pompeii:

Next day…Vatican!

Siena
On our way south from San Gimignano to Orvieto, we spent a half day exploring Siena.  Siena is considered the ‘heart of Tuscany’.  It is a very charming city with an expansive old quarter and a beautiful central piazza and Duomo.  

We stayed just outside of Orvieto at an Agriturismo called La Rocca Orvieto.  This means that our lodgings were on a working farm, which produced grapes, olives and many types of fruit.  We had our own apartment with a pool overlooking the beautiful Umbrian countryside.  

In addition to producing great wine, the region also abounds with sunflower fields!

Ok, perhaps fools is a little harsh.  Of course, the people I’m about to describe are not necessarily fools. They just looked a bit foolish for a moment.  And I captured that moment on camera.

Our route of travel from Levanto to Florence took us by Pisa, so how could we not stop and see the famous tower?  The tower was pretty cool, but we spent most of our time watching the other tourists attempting to photograph one another holding up the tower, knocking it over, kicking it down, stabbing it, etc.  Here are a few examples:

So there you have it - humans at their finest.  But of course, we too are just simple humans so how could we not join in on the fun?

We decided to pay a visit to Cinque Terre, the beautiful region along the north western Italian coast.  Cinque Terre, which translates to 5 lands, is a collection of five small villages along a stretch of rugged coastline connected only by a train and hiking paths.  

Home Base: Levanto
I had visited the area about 12 years ago with a couple of friends and hiked two segments of the trail, but Chris had never been.  Twelve years ago, my friends and I were backpacking so we took the train to Monterosso (the northern most of the 5 towns) and used it as our home base.  This time, Chris and I did things differently since we had a car and I suspected the  5 towns would be really crowded. Therefore, we based ourselves in a town called Levanto at the northern end of Cinque Terre, where we could easily catch the train to one of the 5 towns to begin our hike.  We stayed in a small B&B called Rosa dei Venti, located right near the beach & downtown area.  The B&B is run by a man named Marco and his sweet mother, Mamma Rosa, who greeted us each morning with a big smile and a hug, and then cooked us an awesome breakfast! She didn't speak any English but still talked to us a lot in Italian and somehow we managed to communicate with each other. 

Levanto has a large beach that is half public and half private. They also have many little restaurants, shops and gelato stands. We had a really nice dinner at L'Articiocca.

Cinque Terre Day Pass
Early the next morning we walked about 15 minutes to the Levanto train station and bought two passes for Cinque Terre - for 10 Euros, you get access to all the hiking trails and unlimited rides on the train between the towns.  

Crowded Terre
When we arrived, my suspicions were confirmed -  tourism in Cinque Terra has exploded in recent years.  When I was here 12 years ago, the trails were free to hike and we saw very few other people.  This time, the place was packed.  I think this is in part due to the fact that I was here in April instead of July, and in part because Rick Steves found out about it and put it in a guide book.  I suppose this is great for the local economy, but certainly creates a different dynamic for a visitor. The thing that was different this time around was that the trails were wider and had guardrails. When I was here 12 years ago I remember hiking trails just wide enough for one person with steep drop-offs and no guardrails.  Now that there is a lot of two way traffic and families with children hiking the trail, the national park had to take some safety precautions. 

Corniglia
Unfortunately, upon buying our tickets, we found out that for some reason only one segment of the trail was open for hiking.  The good news was, this meant we didn't have to decide which sections we wanted to hike.  We took the train to the third town of Corniglia, and then hiked back toward the second town of Vernazza.  Corniglia is located on top of the cliffs, while Vernaza is by the water, so the hike was mostly downhill!

The Things We Do for a Beach...
We decided to hike down to a beach that was at the base of the hills outside of Corniglia called Guvano Beach.  The beach was clearly marked on our Cinque Terre map, but on the path we only saw one way to access the beach:

We debated it, but then decided to go down the path a little to see what it was like.  It turned out to be an incredibly steep, windy path down the side of the mountain through some pretty dense vegetation.  It was a little scary but we decided to stick it out, as we knew there was only one section of the main path open to us that day.  Plus it was HOT.  It took us about 30 minutes to negotiate the steep path down, and we eventually found our way to the beach.  The good news is that the difficult descent meant the beach was almost empty, which was a nice break from the crowds above.

Naked People
Upon approaching the beach we discovered the other reason why this beach was not that crowded: it was a nudists' beach.  We did not mind sharing the beach with the nudists, but decided it would be polite to give them a wide berth, and plopped down at the other end of the beach.  This worked out well as this was the first time we felt like we had a beach to ourselves in Europe.  We took a dip, had some lunch and stuck around for another hour or so before continuing on.  

Decision: Cold Dark Hole or Hot Cliff Climb?
Before making our way back up the mountain side, we tried to find out if there was another way to get back up to the main path.  A local kid directed us to an abandoned railroad tunnel, which he said led back to Corniglia.  The tunnel was pitch black, and about a kilometer long.  We had a flashlight and headlamp in our bag, so decided to try it out.

About five minutes into the tunnel, however, we thought better of this plan.  As the light from the tunnel entrance dwindled behind us, it became clear that our two puny flashlights were not cutting it in the complete darkness.  We had no idea exactly how far the hike through the tunnel was going to be, and what sort of creatures - animal or human - could be waiting for us within.  We decided to turn around and brave the ascent back up the steamy cliffside.

Fortunately, the hike back up the cliffside was much easier than the hike down.  We continued on toward Vernazza and found a place where we could climb out onto someone's roof to survey the view:

Vernazza
From here, the hike to Vernazza took another hour or so.  I remembered thinking that Vernazza was the prettiest town last time I was here, and I was not disappointed this time around either!  

While the view of Vernazza from Corniglia is beautiful, I still think the view coming to Vernazza from the other side (Monterosso) was the best.  Unfortunately that trail was closed this time around.

Vernazza was overwhelmingly crowded. After spending about 5 minutes in the main piazza, we hiked up to the top of the town and found a nice quiet nook with a view where we took a break.  At this point it was getting a bit late, so we decided to head back to Levanto for dinner, hopped back on the train, and we were back at our B&B in just 15 minutes!  We had a nice night strolling through Levanto before continuing on to Florence the next day. 

Lake Como - home to charming mountain-climbing villages, sweeping views, jasmine-scented gardens and George Clooney.  While we didn't get to see the latter, we enjoyed the other beauties from this very special place in the world.

Bellagio is centrally situated at the center of the Y, so you have lake views all around.  Across the lake from Bellagio to the east is the town of Menaggio, and across the lake to the west is the town of Varenna.  These three villages are the most popular vacation destinations, so there are regular ferries running between the three towns.  At the southern tip of the lake is the city of Como, which we drove through on our way to Bellagio.  Don't stay here because it's a more of an industrial city, and the southern part of the lake is polluted, so you can't swim in it.  The northern part is fed by runoff from the Alps, so it features crystal clear waters and beautiful vistas.

We rented a 1-bedroom apartment at Casa la Rosa, about a ten minute walk outside of town.  We were up a slight hill, which gave us a beautiful view!

While it took us 10 minutes to walk down to town, it took us 15 minutes to walk back up to the apartment. A trade off for the nice view was a steep climb up the hill.  In order to distract ourselves during the ascent, we played a movie-themed 20 questions. It helped a lot! 

The apartment was huge by Italy standards - big living/dining/kitchen area and an equally large bedroom. We also had our own washer which was key! Our only complaint was one all too common in Italy: the beds were uncomfortable - lumpy to be specific. This would be the first of many tough mattress experiences as we are in Italy for 3 weeks!  

Another added bonus to renting an apartment at Casa la Rosa is that the owner, Marco's, family runs a take-out place in Bellagio. They are super nice people and never charged us full price when we stopped by to purchase paninis, gelato, pizza or wine. 

We spent our first day in town walking around and checking out Bellagio and some of the lake shore.  Bellagio is a very nice little town, consisting of two main streets featuring lots of restaurants, bars and shops.  It gets very crowded during the day - especially on the weekends - when people come to visit on the ferry from either Menaggio or Varenna, but quiets down nicely in the evenings.  

The next morning, we rented kayaks to see more of the lake and villages, while getting a workout.  In the afternoon, we took the ferry over to the town of Varenna, which is similar to Bellagio.  It was Sunday, and many of the shops were closed, but it was a really pretty little town to walk around.  

The food in Lake Como is nothing original, but we found a couple of good spots. La Fontana is a nice place on a side street in Bellagio with standard Italian fare.  We also found a neighborhood restaurant down the street from our apartment called La Bellagina, which had decent food and a really nice view of the lake.

We loved Lake Como - it's one of the most picturesque places we've seen thus far and that is saying something after coming from Switzerland! I'll leave you with this sunset view over the mountains...