Boscoreale

Fatti i cazzi tuoi, ca campi cent'anni.

(Mind your own business, and you'll live 100 years.)

Nook of Naples:  Tucked away behind a complex of apartments, Boscoreale lies about two kilometers away from Pompeii.  During Roman times, the area was part of a hunting reserve.  

This particular villa burned down during the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius, so there's not much to see.  I walk down a slope to the excavation site thirty feet below ground level.  Only a few rooms remain, but the kitchen makes the visit worthwhile.  Inside are rows of buried amphorae that must have held all sorts of delights.

Next to the villa, a small museum houses frescoes, marble statues, and other items.  But there's no brochure and the collection is eclectic, not necessarily displaying what was found exclusively at this location.  

Interestingly, a huge number of coins were hidden in a cistern at Boscoreale just before the eruption.  They were re-discovered in the late nineteenth century and museums throughout Europe, including the Louvre, snatched up the coins for their own collections.  Fortunately, many frescoes and coins from Boscoreale can also be admired at the National Archeological Museum in downtown Naples.

Wine: Lacryma Christi comes from this region.  The name, meaning 'the tears of Christ', derives from an old tale that when Christ wept over Lucifer's fall from heaven, his bountiful tears fell along the sides of the volcano.  Certainly, the lava flows on Mt. Vesuvius have made the lower slopes extremely fertile.  Click the Recommended Wines on the Cellar Tours website to find out more.

La Cucina Napoletana:  The oldest surviving work of Latin prose, Cato's On Agriculture dates back to around 160 B.C.  The work gives detailed information on the customs, superstitions, farming techniques, and cooking recipes of his time.  

In her Ricette Della Cucina Romana A Pompei, Eugenia Salza Prina Ricotti cites several of Cato recipes, including this one:

Mix two pounds of cheese in a mortar.  When you have made it smooth, knead the cheese into one pound of flour, or if you want it more light, a half pound.  Add one egg and knead again.  Form a round loaf, put on a bed of leaves and cook slowly in a hot oven.  (Cato, On Agriculture LXXV)

Here are Eugenia's additional comments:

Libum Di Catone

2 cups ricotta

1/2 cup flour

1 egg

1 pinch of salt

Cato described how to cook one large round loaf, but today it's much more practical to make a small bun that can be served like bread.  So agree to make the loaves about 2 inches in diameter.  Given that it inflates in the oven, it's good to remember to put them a little distance apart on the baking sheet.  The kneading Cato recommends results in a very soft mixture that tends to stick to the hands when shaping the buns, so it's good to use a spoon with a little flour when making each roll, giving it the form of a marble that you flatten and put on an already greased baking sheet.  Put the buns in the oven at 350 degrees for about 25 minutes.  

Optimally serve Libum with cocktails for a party (or at a diner on foot).  In this case, double or triple the quantity according to the number of guests, but remember that when using up to 4 cups of ricotta, you continue to use only one egg.

Cin-Cin!

Summer Solstice

In this mid-week post, I'm diverging from my usual format to document a Naples original event.

Event: Every solstice, a group of universal-minded Italians hold a Solstice Ceremony at the Temple of Apollo in Lago Averno. The ceremony is well attended and charming in its desire to unite all religions and all peoples together.

We began at 18:30 on June 21st outside the Temple of Apollo. While everyone gathered around, an elderly gentleman gave an introduction to the coming service, in particular the need for the group to respect silent moments.

Then we filed into the Temple -- a place usually closed to the public. The ceremony began with two circles, one inner and one outer. We first recited an "Invocation of the Seven Directions." Throughout the service, songs were sung and individuals read poems. Symbols of the earth, wind, fire, and water were passed around: a plate of Lago Averno water, bread, incense, and a torch went from person to person.

An elderly woman gave a speech explaining that we come together with our sayings and songs from different religions in order to appreciate our unity.

We then made our way from inside the Temple to the lake where we swept candles on lilypads into the water. Stones were also thrown into the water as offerings. The ceremony ended with a long "OM...." at the banks of the lake just as the sun sets across the crater.

The next solstice ceremony will be held in winter. The event is free and you can find more at Centro Nuova Era. (The center is located in Vomero overlooking a breathtaking view and offers massages, yoga, and other activities.)

Pace!

The Villa of Poppaea in Oplontis

Chi tante male azioni fa, una grossa ne aspetta.

(He who does many bad deeds can expect a big one in return.)

Nook of Naples:  An ancient map named this suburb city of Pompeii "Oplontis."  Today, the modern city is known as "Torre Annunziata".  What remains of the Roman suburb is a well-preserved villa thirty feet below the modern level where visitors can roam a massive residential complex that once belonged to Nero's wife, Poppaea Sabina.

Buried during the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in 79 AD, the rooms still tell a story about the daily lives of its former inhabitants.  The first room at the entrance of the villa is the Atrium, a grand sitting room with an opening in the roof and a corresponding tub in the center of the floor that collects rainwater.  

A brick oven looks as though it could still be fired up and the adjacent triclinium still boasts red frescoes.  The triclinium once had cots along the walls where people lay down to eat.  

There are latrines with top slabs and a canal below.  At the entrance to the bathroom, a tub once contained water used to clean out the canal.  

The baths are particularly impressive, including a calidarium and tepidarium that once had an advanced system of hot & warm air flowing along the walls and under the floor.  

Roofless indoor gardens still depict lush vegetation on the walls and vast gardens are lined with marble sculptures.  Archeologists have created casts out of the roots of tall trees they found here.  The trees are believed to be sycamores.

The villa truly comes alive with the history of Poppaea Sabina (30-65 A.D.).  Born in Pompeii, her distinguished mother committed suicide when Poppaea was 17.  At the age of 14 she had already married Rufrius Crispinus, a man of Egyptian origin and leader of the Praetorian Guard.  (The military group that assisted emperors in campaigns and were known for their intrigues and assassinations.)  But Poppaea divorced him and married Otho, a good friend of Emperor Nero.

Nero fell in love with her and she became his favorite mistress.  Tacitus describes her as ambitious and ruthless.  She enticed Nero to kill his mother, Agrippina and after Nero's mother was out of the way, she pressured Nero to divorce and later execute his wife, Claudia Octavia.

Poppaea became pregnant and bore Nero one daughter who died at four months of age.  Two years later, while pregnant with their second child, rumors held that she and Nero quarreled about him spending too much time at the races.  In a fit of rage, Nero kicked her in the abdomen.  She and her child died.  Nevertheless, she was given a state funeral and Nero praised her during the eulogy.

Apparently, Poppaea enjoyed taking milk baths.

Movie Recommendation:   It Started In Naples (1960) with Sophia Lauren and Clark Gable.

La Cucina Napoletana:  My next few posts will be dedicated to the villas around Naples.  In keeping with this theme, I would like to translate (loosely) some recipes from the book Ricette Della Cucina Romana A Pompeii (Recipes from the Roman Kitchen at Pompeii.) by Eugenia Salza Prina Ricotti.  Because Pompeii was so well-preserved, today we know quite a bit about their eating habits.  The author of this cookbook is also an archeologist who has written extensively on the period.  The book is filled with delightful nuggets, but for today, very appropriately, I post the dessert called:

Cassata di Oplontis 

(Tutti-Frutti of Oplontis)

(Serves 15-20)

3 lbs. ricotta

2 1/2 cups honey

3/4 cup dried apricots

3/4 cup prunes

1/2 cup raisins

1/2 cup walnuts -- shelled and peeled

10 dates

3/4 cup almond flour

Red colored powder bought from a bakery

Cut and dice the dried fruit.  Put aside the nicest pieces as well as the dates for decoration.  Bring the walnuts to a boil in some of the honey until they are caramelized.  Break the pieces apart.

Next, pass the ricotta through a sieve.  Reserve about a half cup for decoration, then mix the rest with honey until the ricotta is adequately sweet (more or less at the level of the Sicilian tutti-frutti).  Work the cream until it becomes extremely smooth, soft, and light.  At this point, add the diced fruit and the caramelized walnuts.

Take more honey and kneed it into the almond flour along with the red coloring powder until a ball forms.  Line a baking tin with greased wax-paper.  Stretch the marzipan with a rolling pin and then press the dough into the tin.  Fill the tin with the cream of ricotta and place in the refrigerator for at least one day.  (Don't put in the freezer).

Delicately remove the wax-paper from the tin, then remove the wax-paper from the marzipan, and place on a round tray.  Layer the top with the ricotta and decorate with the dried fruits -- imitating as much as possible the desserts you see in the frescoes of Oplontis.

Eat while taking a long tepid milk bath in your tepidarium.

Buon Divertimento!

Mt. Vesuvius

(Pictures:  View of Naples from the top of Mt. Vesuvius, view of Pompeii, Mt. Vesuvius in clouds, the path leading to the top, the crater at the peak, the volcanic walkway along the top.)

Quel che non ammazza, ingrassa.

(What won't kill you, will feed you.)

Nook of Naples:  Mt. Vesuvius looms over every vantage point in Naples and the surrounding areas.  The only active volcano on the continent of Europe, Vesuvius is over twelve thousand years old.  Its highest point is 1270 meters high.  Records show that before 79 AD (the year of the eruption that covered Pompeii), its slopes were probably covered by forest and at its foot the lush soil made cultivation of various crops easy, especially vineyards.  

A visit up its slopes means driving up a narrow winding road, easily following the signs, until the parking lot to the national park.  The walk up to the peak takes about 20 minutes, souvenir shops and cafes available along the way.  The breathtaking view of Naples along with the three islands of Capri, Ischia, and Procida make the steep climb pleasureable.  

Once at the top, I look down into a steep crater, its rock formations impressive, but I'm a little disappointed because I expected to see bubbling lava.  Instead, it's all dry rock.  But the trek along the volcano still feels a bit daring.  Vulcanologists anticipate another eruption sometime soon.   Interestingly, that doesn't prevent Neapolitans from building a sprawling metropolitan area right at the foot of the volcano.

Book:  In the Shadow of Vesuvius:  A Cultural History of Naples by Jordan Lancaster is a smooth read that gives a fun history of the city.

La Cuinca Napoletana:  To plant a seed in this region means that it will sprout and grow within minutes.  At least, that's how it seems.  Part of the reason is that the soil around the Mt. Vesuvius area is extremely fertile.  Fruits and vegetables abound and restaurant menus are filled with non-meat dishes that are extremely tasty.  

The eggplant is the vegetable I see most.  Eggplant can be served marinated in olive oil, grilled and seasoned with parsley or basil, fried and tossed in pasta, simmered within a tomato and basil ragu sauce, and more.  The most renown eggplant dish is, of course, Eggplant Parmesan and yep -- the first mention of the dish was in Vincenzo Corrado's 1765 Il cuoco galante (The Gallant Cook), which was also the first Neapolitan cookbook.  This classic version is never breaded before frying, the sauce and cheeses are sparing, and the dish is often eaten on the side.

Parmigiana Di Melanzane

3 pounds eggplant

4 cups tomato sauce

1-1 1/2 cups of extra-virgin olive oil

1 cup diced mozzarella

1 cup basil leaves

1 1/2 cups grated Parmesan cheese

Wash and dry the eggplant.  In a skillet, heat about 1/3 inch of oil and fry a few slices of eggplant at a time.  Spread about 3/4 cup of tomato sauce over the bottom of a baking dish and place a layer of eggplant on the sauce, then a layer of mozzarella, another 1/2 cup of sauce, 1/3 cup of the basil leaves and 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese.  Repeat with a second layer of eggplant along with the other ingredients, then a third layer.  Top the dish with the remaining ingredients.  Preheat over to 350 degrees.  Bake for 30 minutes or until bubbly.  It can be served at room temperature or warm.

(This recipe is a paraphrased version from Naples At Table by Arthur Schwartz.)

Soccer in Naples

(Pictures:  Naples vs. AC Milan players on the field, David Beckham, San Paolo Stadium in Naples, fans in the stadium, and rowdy fans in the "Curva" section lighting fires.)

Nook of Naples:  It's impossible to talk about life in Naples without mentioning soccer.  And there is nothing like the experience of a Neapolitan soccer game.  The fans are rowdy, the Stadium San Paolo is old, and you can frequently see flairs and fires dot the stadium during a big game.  Soccer is a huge sport here and it seems that all young males devote their afternoons and weekends to honing their skills on the field.

For those of you who don't know much about soccer, here's a small summary.  The season runs from August through May.  The Naples team plays forty regular season games per year -- twenty at home and twenty away, playing each Serie A team twice.  The Naples team is excellent, so they are in Serie A or the Italian Premier League.  This league is considered one of the three best in the world alongside the English Premier League and the Spanish Primera Liga.

Throughout Italy, almost every town has its own team, so there are also Serie B, C, and D.  Each year, the top teams in each division move up to the next division the following year.  The bottom four teams of a Serie move down a division.  This makes the competition within each Serie fierce. 

The top teams in Italy tend to come from Milan -- AC Milan, Juventus, and Internationale.  They are the ones who usually win the Serie A.  Naples usually finishes somewhere in the middle of the Serie.  The Italian teams -- just like other teams in Europe -- buy their players from all over the world.  AC Milan, for example, has David Beckham from England and Ronaldinho from Brazil.  

The sport can get complicated because not only do Italians play teams within their country, but European tournaments also run throughout the year.  The most famous tournament is the Champions League, which pits the top teams in Europe against each other in a year long competition with a finale in May.  These best-of-the-best teams recruit players from all over the world, including Brazil and Argentina.

The top Neapolitan player today is Ezequiel Lavezzi from Argentina.  He is the most renown Argentinian to play in Naples since Diego Maradona.

Getting There:  Take the Tangenziale to the Fuorigrotto exit.  Once you get off, you'll see the stadium to the East.

Website Recommendation:  The Naples soccer team is known as Societa Sportiva Calcio Napoli or SSC Napoli.  Their English language website is fabulous. 

La Cucina Napoletana:  Vendors can't be found inside the stadium, so Italian 'fast-food' gluts the streets outside.  'Fast Food' for Italians includes pizza with beer, fried bread with ricotta and ham inside, and panini (sandwiches).  Two of my favorites panini are:

Panini with Eggplant and Mozzarella:

Take a small baquette and slice in the middle.

Fry eggplant in a pan with healthy heaps of olive oil.  

Slice mozzarella cheese.

Place the eggplant and mozzarella inside the panini and eat.

(Usually, no condiments are used.)

The other sandwich I see sold by vendors has no name that I know of.  It's a bread bun sliced in the middle, then stuffed with french fries and one small hot dog.  (You eat it with no condiments.)

Buon Divertimento!

The Pasta Factory

Semolina durum wheat is the ingredient that makes Italian spaghetti both so good and so healthy.  

Here I'm posting a tour in pictures of the Paeone Pasta Factory in Formia.