THE ITALIAN JOB
Marlow owners Thomas and Jutta Kittel continue their cruise around Italy, which this month takes them from Porto di Roma to Palermo in Sicily via the Aeolian Islands
PART 3 Thomas and Jutta Kittel continue their cruise down the ltalian coast, taking in Capri, the Aeolian Islands and Sicily
PART 3: AMALFI COAST, CAPRI AND SICILY
After a short visit home, we are back on board and heading south down Italy’s coastline. Below Rome, the maritime infrastructure starts to change: the ports are getting smaller, berths big enough for our Marlow 72 are becoming rarer and English is no longer widely spoken. Our first destination is San Felice Circeo, home of the sorceress Circe on Odysseus’s travels, and more prosaically the place we plan to meet our friends on Blue Bear.
When my email request for a berth goes unanswered, I call the harbour authorities only to discover that the port is full – the best laid plans of mice and men! Anzio or Nettuno are the nearest alternatives so we opt for Nettuno. The marina is large and offers excellent protection but the service leaves a lot to be desired, especially given the price of €210. We set off to find the old town of Nettuno, high above the port, and are pleasantly surprised to discover a beautiful little setting with several small squares and restaurants. A big
Italian wedding spills out onto the steps of the church, adding to the spectacle.
We decide to stay another night and take advantage of the calm seas the following day to explore nearby Anzio by tender, then meet up with our sailing friends for dinner in the old town. A delicious ice cream in a local gelateria rounds off a quintessentially Italian day. The next morning, we hear the distant thunder of heavy artillery and feel the ground shaking underfoot. Soon after leaving port, we are met by a patrol boat warning us to take a 12nm detour before heading for the Pontine Islands if we don’t want to end up as target practice!
PONZA SCHEME
According to our cruising intel there are around ten different jetties on the main island of Ponza, all of which are managed independently. We email five of them, four of which don’t answer while the fifth replies: “Sorry – fully booked.” So we only take a short photo break at Ponza before continuing to the neighbouring island of Ventotene, where we have a confirmed booking. Once again this turns out to be a stroke of luck.
Ventotene lies between the larger, better known islands of Ponza and Ischia but is arguably even prettier. The marina is situated in a picturesque bay surrounded by rocky cliffs and right next to the old fishing port of Porto Vecchio and is surrounded by colourful restaurants and shops. An old stone path winds its way up through the village to a large piazza with fabulous views of the harbour and the former prison island of Santo Stefano.
With a strong storm forecast to blow through the next morning, we decide to stay a second night and use the time to explore the island and take a lengthy guided tour of Santo Stefano – in Italian only. We feel so at home here that we leave Ventotene with a slight sense of regret and head for the island of Procida. Even from afar, its secluded bays, sandy beaches and colourful architecture boost our spirits. Once safely ensconced in Marina di Procida, we have dinner on the flybridge and enjoy a spectacular sunset watching the various ferries shuttling back and forth between the islands and the mainland.
Porto d’ischia – our next destination – has an interesting back story. Legend has it that a city once stood here before being swallowed by an earthquake and replaced by a circular lake. It wasn’t until 1854 that a cutting was made connecting the lake to the sea and creating today’s Porto d’ischia. Multiple fenders and lines are a must here as the large ferries passing through the narrow entrance cause a lot of swell.
We rent a car and drive round the island, stopping off in
Forio for coffee on the terrace of Umberto a Mare, where as the only customers we are made to feel like guests of the owner. Then we continue to the more touristy San Angelo before driving through the mountains to Fontana and back to Porto d’ischia, capturing some memorable photos of the Castello Aragonese lit up by the evening sun. With origins tracing back to 474 BC, its mish-mash of architectural styles is a prime example of the numerous wars that have shaped Italy over the years.
UNAFFORDABLE CAPRI
The next leg should take us to Capri but first we have to find a berth. The online booking portal for the Marina Grande suggests a price of €950 – for one night! And when I call to check my booking and am asked to confirm our boat’s exact dimensions I have to admit that the beam is actually 6.13m rather than 6.0m. This pushes us into an even higher price category of
€1,900 per night. The lady on the phone is almost apologetic but that’s the price. I can’t bring myself to pay that kind of money and reluctantly give up on the idea of visiting Capri in our own boat.
Since Sorrento – the main ferry port to Capri – is fully booked, we check into Marina di Cassano instead, taking the opportunity to cruise round the bay past Mount Vesuvius and the remains of Pompeii. The marina is tucked into the cliffs with a narrow row of houses clinging to the rock face. Connected to the village of Sant’agnello high above it by a dizzying sequence of hairpin bends, the road resembles a child’s marble run, especially at night when the lights of the cars swing back and forth as they slalom down the hill.
We are thrilled with Marina di Cassano and decide to stay three nights so that we can visit Capri on a tourist boat that leaves from the port. Even though we catch the early crossing, Capri’s Marina Grande feels as busy as Times Square. Only when we reach Via Krupp and catch the cable car to Monte Solaro does it become a little more relaxed. On the way back, however, it gets so overcrowded that even our taxi driver exclaims: “Mamma Mia – Baghdad!”
It’s a similar story when we visit Amalfi and Positano by rental car the next day. It takes 2.5 hours to travel the 35km on the spectacular but congested coastal road to Amalfi. Our efforts are rewarded with a magical choral recital in the cathedral, solo arias in the town centre and a daytime fireworks display of warlike intensity. In pretty Positano, we enjoy a much more relaxing coffee break at a roadside bar close to the Hotel Reginella.
Our next cruising destination is the relatively new Marina d’arechi south of Salerno. Its practical, modernist design has an unexpected charm especially at night when the chic lighting and the distant sound of music serenades us as we sit on the flybridge long into the night soaking up the atmosphere.
ROMAN RUINS
We do not yet know the next section of coastline that stretches south from here all the way down to Sicily. Compared to the mountainous scenery we’ve been used to, it looks flat and featureless but it was this flatness that prompted the Greeks to build Poseidonia here in the 6th century BC. Later renamed Paestum by the Romans it is now known for the well-preserved
remains of several huge temples that have stood here for 2,600 years after being abandoned for centuries due to malaria. It wasn’t rediscovered until 1752 – around the same time as Herculaneum and Pompeii. Today Paestum is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and a must-see stop on our trip.
We visit Paestum from Agropoli – a pretty little town with a lively harbour and an old town up above it with a wonderful view across the bay to Salerno. We celebrate our 35th wedding anniversary here at the restaurant Vecchio Saracino.
The next leg takes us past the Cilento e Vallo di Diano national park and around the Capo Palinuro to Scario. This small town has an excellent promenade and a reputation as the St. Tropez of Campania. Unlike Tuscany and Liguria, Campania has long been neglected as a tourist destination but is now starting to emerge as a more tranquil alternative. Gone are the days when the mafia openly ruled the roost. These days you can find plenty of pretty villages, happy people and a cheerful holiday vibe. Even the marina Ormeggiatori seem happier and more helpful.
We feel the same way about Tropea, on the instep of the Italian boot, where it clings to a rocky outcrop with staircases leading up from sea level to the town centre. We like it so much here that we stay two days and let our minds wander. Despite the holidays being in full swing, it remains wonderfully tranquil and uncrowded, meaning you can get a table in most restaurants without a reservation – unthinkable in many parts of the Med.
AEOLIAN ISLANDS
We leave Calabria and head for the volcanic island of Stromboli in the Aeolian Islands. As luck would have it, after 17 years lying dormant, Stromboli erupts the day before our arrival, killing a hiker. We can see the column of smoke rising above the crater long before we get there. Circling the island at a safe distance we can see and hear great globs of magma being thrown into the air and watch in awe as lumps of lava thunder down the slope into the sea, leaving a trail of dust in their wake. A Guardia Costiera boat patrols the sea around it as we glide slowly through fields of pumice stones floating on the surface.
Our destination – the island of Salina – turns out to have a charming little harbour. Countless ferries connect Salina with the other Aeolian Islands, Sicily and the mainland. Like its sisters, Salina doesn’t have its own freshwater source, so water has to be delivered by tanker, explaining the port’s price of €40 per m³, compared to €2.50 on the mainland. The shape of the mountains, the colour of the rock and black sand beaches give away the volcanic origins of the archipelago but, with the exception of Vulcano, the seven main islands appear green and lush.
We move on to Lipari, the capital of the Aeolian Islands, whose historic old town is home to the renowned Ristorante da Filippino, which celebrated its centenary back in 2010. Here, waiters dressed in black still deliver impeccable silver service and we spend a wonderful evening outdoors with birds chirping in the trees and children frolicking in the playground, as dusk slowly falls. Choose the delicious fish soup and you’ll even get to keep the bowl as a memento.
Vulcano is the southernmost Aeolian island and only a stone’s throw from Lipari, so we circumnavigate it in the warm light of the late afternoon before pushing on to Sicily. Vulcano is known for its numerous fumaroles – vents where hot steam and gases escape from the seabed turning the already warm waters into a virtual hot tub. There are even warm mud holes on the beaches where you can immerse yourself if you don’t mind emerging from the sulphurous morass like a primeval swamp creature.
It’s not for us so we carry on south to Sicily.
SUNNY SICILY
A protective concrete mole with mountains of tetrapods surrounds the Marina Capo d’orlando, our first port of call, giving an idea of the conditions here in winter. The marina is well organised, with a working shipyard, three different restaurants and various shops, stalls and a fine deli. Our visit coincides with a classic Ferrari rally, which later departs with a great roar of engines. We eat in the fantastic Pepe Rosa and indulge in a spot of people watching as all Italian life unfolds around us.
Our next stop of Cefalù has a completely different vibe. The harbour has a slightly unkempt look with bare concrete piers, harsh street lighting and no shorepower. However, Cefalù old town with its towering castello and Byzantine cathedral is worth the inconvenience.
Unfortunately, the long period of calm, stable summer weather we’ve been enjoying is nearing its end and while the sun and heat remain, the wind and waves return. After a first taste of it from Capo d’orlando to Cefalù, we decide to bring forward our move to Palermo to avoid it getting any worse. We plan to leave our boat here for a few days while we attend a wedding in Paris, so our top priority is safety. The ports in the city centre don’t get the best reviews, so we opt for Marina Villa Igiea.
The marina gets its name from the villa overlooking the harbour, as does the grand hotel next to it, which our guide describes as follows. “A magical bar and an exquisite restaurant are hidden behind the faded sandstone facade from where you can see the entire bay of Palermo. Be sure to have a drink here at sunset and if the mood takes you, stay for dinner. It’s not as expensive as you might think and the attentive service takes you back to a time when men wore a suit for dinner and met the lady of their dreams for a martini at
6pm.” Suit aside, that’s exactly what we do.
After a bit of a struggle the previous day communicating our plans, the marina manager Vincenzo seems to have it all sorted by the next morning. He organises taxis to and from the airport for us and arranges for the various jobs to be done to the boat during our absence. We feel we are in safe hands and leave Palermo suitably reassured. We are halfway through this year’s cruise having already covered some 1,540nm at sea. Thus far Italy has lived up to all our expectations and we are excited to see what the second half brings!
NEXT MONTH: The Egadi islands, Malta, Gozo and Messina