DAIRY TENUTA VANNULO: MOZZARELLA di BUFALA

 It's feed time for the mighty Water Buffalo.  Here at Dairy Tenuta Vannulo, located somewhere between Naples and the Amalfi Coast, four hundred water buffalo are fed each day with organically grown feed cultivated solely on the dairy's ninety hectares.  Ninety hectares is about 222 acres.  Their milk is used to make a unique product called Mozzarella di Bufala among other dairy products which include yoghurt and ricotta.

Another view of the Water Buffalo.  If there is enough milk left over from making the mozzarella, they make smoked provola, salted ricotta and cream cheese.  Don't go looking for any of this product at Stop and Shop or Publix because it is only sold at the farm.  I guess this is another reason to visit Italy.  This particular mozzarella has it's own unique flavor.  It is nothing like you can buy in the store.  The richness of  it's flavor  ranges from an " intensive milky flavor to a slightly sour touch with nutty traces".  I can't wait to get more.

Machines are not used in the process of making the mozzarella.  In fact, as you can see in the picture it is all done by hand.  The plant is spotlessly clean and all the workers are dressed in the white uniforms you see here.  In fact, while we were there someone was outside trimming bushes and trees and dressed the same as the workers in the plant.

 Here you see the men working the whey.  Again it is all done by hand.  The mozzarella is formed into small softball size balls and kept in a milky brine.  When you purchase the mozzarella it is placed in plastic bags with the brine.  You keep it that way until you eat it.  By the way this mozzarella is not for topping on pizza, but for eating just as you would eat any of the cheeses you eat for an appetizer.  You put salt on it and eat it.  Usually by itself and not on crackers or anything that would mask its unique flavor.

WORKER GETTING SOME WHEY TO FORM THE MOZZARELLA

 Another picture of the factory.  You are not allowed inside.  I took these pictures from a large window on one side or the room.  To date this is the only organic dairy farm located in Campania.  The owner, Antonio Palmieri, has set up quality standards and has avoided turning the product into a mass produced cheese.  He succeeded his grandfather who started the dairy in the early 1900's.

INSIDE THE PLANT

 Just as any creature on this earth life ends sooner or later.  Here you see the leather shop.  The hides are used to create handbags, wallets, belts and just about anything that can be made of the hides.  Just a warning here.  If you plan to buy any of this product, you better go the ATM first and take out the maximum. You might need it.

THE ORIGINAL FACTORY AND OFFICES

OOPS, I GUESS I WAS I A HURRY TO GET THE MOZZARELLA HOME.  DON'T BE ALARMED.  THIS IS IN KILOMETERS PER HOUR.  RULE OF THUMB IS 60% OF WHAT YOU SEE ON THE SPEEDOMETER.   BELIEVE IT OR NOT THAT IS STILL SLOW FOR THE ROADS IN ITALY.  CARS WERE ZOOMING BY ME.  STAY TUNED FOR ONE MORE BLOG BEFORE WE HEAD HOME TO THE GOOD OLD USA.

THE ANCIENT RUINS OF POMPEII

One of the side trips we took while we were in Santa Maria di Castellabatte was to the ancient city of Pompeii.  We set our GPS to Pompeii and started on our journey.  Our great GPS took us right to the city of Pompeii, except it was not the ancient ruins, but the modern day Pompeii.  When we got there they were having a feast in the major part of the city.  Many streets were closed and it was extremely crowded.  We learned our lesson about visiting places on a Sunday.  Most places are quite busy, so it is much better to go during the week.  Because the ancient city of Pompeii has no specific address, we were not able to enter it into our GPS.  Believe it or not but our Tom-Tom did not list the ancient ruins as a point of interest. We parked the car and started walking, and walking and walking, but no ancient city.  This picture is of the church in the main piazza.  I never did get the name but it is kind of typical of cities in Italy with the main church or cathedral or duomo in the main piazza. 

The streets were crowded with vendors, mostly selling religious items.  This is typical of most of the vendor offerings.  We walked more and found a building that looked like maybe a town hall or some kind of municipal building.  We found a local police man (carabinieri) who was very nice and spoke just a little English.  After a short conversation with arms waving and fast talking in Italian he led us right to the bathroom.  When he realized that we were not looking for the bathroom but for the ruins, he pointed up the street and said "not far".  Well, after walking what seemed like a mile we turned back and decided to go back to the car and eat the panini's we bought on the way and then decide what to do next.  On the way back to the car I spotted an American Flag waving outside of a small hotel.  In I went and the owner, who by the way was orgionally from Castelabatte , gave us directions in English.  The ruins of Pompeii ended up to be just a short drive down the street from his hotel.

Here are some of the outside walls of the ancient city of Pompeii.  As you may know from ancient history, the volcano on Mt. Vesuvius had a major eruption in 79 A.D. and destroyed the city.  It is estimated the Pompeii had as many a 20,000 people living there at the time. Many escaped but many were lost  to the volcano.  The city was left buried under a thick layer of volcanic ash and debris.  It is really surprising how much is intact, even after almost 2000 years.

Another view of the outside walls of the city.  Pompeii was re-discovered in 1748 by a band of explorers from Spain.  This is when uncovering the ash and debris began and continues today.  We did notice when walking around the city that there were still areas that were being uncovered.  As I mentioned earlier, we were there on a Sunday.  Not a good idea.  There had to be hundreds of bus loads of people there walking around with tour guides.  It was a very warm day and the black ash which covers the streets and alleys makes it even hotter.

Unfortunately, because it was so busy that day, they were out of guide books written in English so we were on our own for the most part.  This is either the stables for the horses or it could be the open air market.  You can see here how much of the city was left intact once unearthed from all the ash and debris.

Here is the great amphitheater. This is still used today.  At the end from where this picture was taken, is a stage with modern equipment.  It is used for lectures and concerts.  It is quite large.  I am not sure how many people it will hold but I would venture a guess of at least one thousand people.

This is what remains of the many houses that were located within the city.  You could walk for miles on these roads to see what remains of the houses.  It was extremely difficult to walk because of the uneven stones that lined the streets and sidewalks.  I am not sure I would want to drive my little Fiat I have been driving here around Italy down one of these streets.  I think it would shake your inner parts out.  Not a pleasant thought.

This is a picture of one of the more intact houses.  This apparently was of someone of wealth.  There is a pool in the middle and several fresco's on the walls.  Notice the pillar and the beams that were holding up the roof.  The roof, however, is no longer there.  Remember all this was built over 2000 years ago.  It would be difficult to accomplish this even today.  And you would have to have tons and tons of money.

MORE FRESCO'S ON THE WALL

MORE FRESCO'S IN ANOTHER HOUSE

Another wealthy persons home.  There are three statues on the far side of this center area.  I know they have some significance but I am not sure what it might be.  As I mentioned earlier, we were unable to get a guide that was written in English.  They had Dutch, German, French and more but no English.  It is very different at attractions in Italy compared to the United States.  There are no placards or signs to tell you what you are looking at.  You are pretty much on your own, or you can hire a guide for several hundred euros to take you around.  We decided against that.

A VIEW OF ONE OF THE WIDER STREETS

The bodies are probably one of the most impressive attractions in ancient Pompeii.  This one is glass enclosed as you can see.  OK, it's not the real body, but is a plaster cast of the real body that was found in the ruins.  It is in the exact position it was found.  Bodies were preserved because they remained under tons and tons of volcanic ash which kept them air tight and therefore, there was no decay until uncovered.  There are several around the site but many are in a museum in Naples along with other important artifacts.

This could be a public bath.  It has a domed ceiling and an area that was probably filled with water.  You can also see what is left of the fresco's on the walls and ceiling,.  I remember in doing my research on Paestum, the ancient Greek city, that a swimming pool was used by women having a baby.  They would submerge themselves in the water while giving birth to avoid pain and to facilitate the birth.  Perhaps it was the same here in Pompeii.

This is the Forum.  It is an expansive area with many temples along the sides.  You can still see some of the columns that are left standing.  The temple in the background with one tall column remaining is the Temple of Apollo.  And, yes, the mountain you see here is Mt. Vesuvius.  I have a closer look below.

ANOTHER VIEW OF ONE OF THE TEMPLES ALONG THE SIDE

ANOTHER TEMPLE WITH VESUVIUS IN THE BACKGROUND

Another view of the Temple of Apollo with Vesuvius in the background.  The last Vesuvius erupted was in 1944.  It is still considered one of the most dangerous volcano's in the world.  Experts believe that another eruption is due any day.  It could be catastrophic considering that almost three million people live within a twenty mile radius of the crater.  I am happy to say that there was no activity from the volcano while we were there on that warm Sunday afternoon.

MORE ARTIFACTS FROM POMPEII. NOTICE ALL THE POTTERY THAT IS STILL INTACT

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More artifacts.  If you look closely at the object in the glass container it is the cast of a dog found intact under all the ash.  Notice the shelves lined with vases and other objects, mostly all intact.  It is just amazing that all of these items were extracted from the ruins and are still intact.  In fact, they could be useable today.  They are however behind thick locked iron fences.  I had to put my camera (iphone) inside the fence to take the picture.  I was hoping that I didn't drop it because it would have been impossible to retrieve.  Who knows, perhaps thousand of years down the road someone would be looking at it as just one of the artifacts.  I could just hear it now:  "Wow look Emily, they even had cell phones back then".

MORE AND MORE, THOUSANDS OF THEM

Well, look what we have here.  If you look in the background of this picture you will see part of a wood pizza oven.  Don't let it be said that they did not make pizza back then.  Hello, this is near Naples, where pizza was invented.  Many people we met here in Italy did tell us that the best pizza they had was in Naples.  I'll take their word for it because Napoli is not on our agenda on this trip.  Maybe some other time.  Speaking of pizza, my next and probably last blog for this trip will be on mozzarella.  To be more specific, mozzarella di bufala.  We visited the factory where they make it.  It is probably the only organic factory in Italy making the mozzarella.  Stay tuned for more.

PAESTUM, AN ACIENT GREEK CITY IN CAMPANIA, ITALY

 Paestum is an ancient Greek city located in the region of Campania in the south of Italy.   We were able to visit Paestum while on our trip to Santa Maria Castellabate.  It is about a thirty minute drive from Castellabate.  The city dates back to the sixth century B.C.  The Greeks built the city as kind of a fortress away from the sea for protection.  Today the modern city of Paestum is located on the sea and is noted for its long sandy beaches. The ancient city was eventually conquered by the Romans around 273 B.C.  The original Greek name of the city was Poseidona (Poseidon), but the Romans latinized it to Paestum.

I am not sure if you can read this plaque.  Perhaps you can enlarge it so it is more readable.  It is a short history of the ancient city.  For those history buffs, you can go to www.sacred-destinations.com/Italy/Paestum-temples.  You might have to copy and paste this if you can't click on it.  The site gives you a good history of the area.  By the 9th century A.D. the land became swampy.  Malaria and raids from other Roman groups caused a decline in population and the city was eventually overtaken by forest.  It remained hidden until the 18th Century when the city was re-discovered during the building of a road.  Since then much of it has been exposed, yet there is still more excavation going on although some of it is on private property.

 The next few pictures are of some of the artifacts that were discovered at the site.  They have been preserved and are now located in a museum located on the property.  As you can see they are in glass cases and well preserved.  Their work was quite intricate.  I am not sure how extensive the restoration was of these items, but as you can see they are in good condition.  You can be sure of one thing, I was not going to touch anything in that museum.  I heard the story of someone while doing some construction near the site inadvertently covered some of the protected area with dirt.  He is now in jail.   

MORE ARTIFACTS

ANOTHER URN

There are three notable temples located in ancient Paestum.  This one is the temple of Athena dating back to 500 B.C.  Athena is the Greek goddess of war and wisdom.  She is also credited with inventing the chariot.  She also built the first ship.  It is hard to believe that this temple is over 2500 years old.  What is more amazing is that a structure of this magnitude can be build without the benefit of the equipment we have today.

This is known as the house with a cistern inside the house.  Here you see the cistern and the foundation of the house.  As you walk on the paths and former streets of Paestum you can see several foundations of the many dwellings that made up the city.

Here you can see more of the foundations.  In the background is a view on another of the temples.  This one was dedicated to Hera the wife of Zeus.  She is considered the queen of the gods.  It is said that she took revenge on all of the girlfriends of Zeus and his illegitimate children.  When the Romans conquered the city these temples were turned into churches.

Here is another foundation.  I am not sure what that tent-like structure is in the middle of the foundation.  I am sure I was told at the time I saw it, but you know how that goes, I just can't remember.  The entire area is quite large.  We walked most of it, but unlike most attractions in the U.S. there were no signs telling you want you were looking at.  You could pay for a guided tour but they were very expensive.  We rented an audio for five euros but it was difficult to understand and very long winded.

Hey, guess what!!  Even in those days they had a bocce court. After all, you're in Italy.  Hello!  Looks kind of short but the people were much smaller back then.  Maybe it is something else, but it sure looks like a bocce court to me.

Here is an artist rendering of what a section of the city might have looked like 2500 years ago.  This is just a small section of the city showing the amphitheater, stables, and several official buildings.  I don't know about you, but to me it is hard to imagine that structures of this magnitude could be built 2500 years ago.

This is the temple of Neptune.  It dates back to 450 B.C.  It is the most complete of the three temples.  Everything is intact except the walls and the interior parts.  There are two alters inside the temple, one it is said, was built by the Romans.  You are not allowed inside any of the temples.  As you can see in this picture, the temples are surrounded by a fence so you can only get to within perhaps fifty or so feet from the structure.

SIDE VIEW OF THE TEMPLE

CLOSE UP VIEW OF THE COLUMNS

To the left of this picture is the temple of Neptune and on the right is a second temple to the goddess Hera wife of Zeus.  Outside of the archaeological site are several shops and restaurants.  Of course the shops have many typical souvenirs  you would find at any tourist attractions.

ANOTHER VIEW OF NEPTUNE

Here is a fresco found in the "Tomb of the Swimmer".  This was found in 1968 on the ceiling of the tomb located about 1.5 kilometers south of the city.  If you remember from another blog I did last Spring, people were buried away from an ancient city for health reasons.  This fresco dates back to around 470 B.C.  My next blog will have several pictures of the ruins of Pompeii and if you don't know what Mozzarella di Bufula is, I will show you how they make it.  Let me tell you from experience, it is yummy.  Hope you get to try the real thing some day.  Stay tuned.

MAGICAL SANTA MARIA DI CASTELLABATE, CAMPANIA, ITALY

 Caroline and Pino are home from their trip to Spain and the Camino Santiago.  They will be home for a few days so we are out exploring in the south of Italy.  Here we are at Santa Maria di Castellabate.  We are directly on the Mediterranean in a beautiful apartment that has a kitchen, bedroom and living room and a modern bathroom. Our unit has a balcony overlooking the Mediterranean. 

 This picture is taken from our balcony.  As you can see it rained before we got there, but all of our four days were filled with sun and warm weather.  We stayed at a place recommended by Caroline called Palazzetto Floria.  If you ever want a quiet getaway, this is the place to go.  When you get there you park your car and you never have to use it.  Everything is in walking distance, restaurants, shops, authentic Italian grocery stores and more.

 We did use the car to do some traveling from there.  You will see in my future blogs pictures of Paestum (an ancient Greek city) and the ruins of Pompeii. It was kind of interesting when we got lost in the city of Pompeii.  I'll save that for my next blog. It's funny now, but trust me, it wasn't then.  Anyway here is a picture of our beach taken from the balcony.

 Santa Maria di Castellabatte is an idyllic magical fishing village.  Here is a man fishing off the rocks early in the evening.  I am not sure what he is fishing for, but he had probably an eighteen ounce weight and a long pole so he can cast far out.  Most of the restaurants serve fish. Not the kind, however, that we are used to in the U.S.  They have a lot of anchovies.  But I did see squid and prawns on some menus.  They did have meat but not much variety.  Of course always pasta for the primi course. 

 Here is another view of the beach from our balcony.  As you can see it is not crowded even on the weekend.  Those mountains you see in the background are part of the Amalfi Coast.  The water between the two coasts is called the Tyrrhenian Sea.  The water is  crystal clear and warm.

 A sunset view from our balcony.  The area is very safe and the people are friendly.  My family on my mother's side came from southern Italy and my grandmother who lived with us until I was around twelve and only spoke Italian in the house. Having heard that Italian before I was able to understand and even speak some of the language there.  I am told it is a combination of dialect and Italian.  I found it very comfortable.

Here you see a picture of a restaurant where we had dinner one night in Santa Maria di Castellabate.  This restaurant is at the hotel Residenza d'Epoca 1861 which is part of the property where our apartment was located. It is a bed and breakfast, also very nice with hotel rooms right on the sea also.  The meal was great and served the Italian way. 

One morning while I was taking my usual walk (passeggiata) I noticed this man repairing fishing nets.  The bins to the left of the picture are filled with nets.  I am guessing that these nets are used to catch the anchovy and other small fish, judging by the small size of the openings.  Remember, this city is an ancient fishing village. Right behind him is a small boat basin where all the boats are located. And, yes they do all this by hand.  The boats are small and have older motors.

At the top of a hill on a long winding road behind Santa Maria di Castellabate is the hamlet of Castellabate.  It is about 900 feet above sea level.  Here is a picture of our beach below.  You can't see our building because it is just a three story structure housing nine apartments.  Here they call them apartments and at home we would probably call them suites.

Another view of the coastline. This coast, facing Amalfi is called the Cilento and is all located in the National Park.

Another view looking the other way.  It looks large but there are only around 8,000 residents in the area.

If you remember in a previous blog I had a picture of the mountains behind our hotel and that there was a large structure at the top of the hill.  I also said I would find out what that is up there.  Well here it is.  It is called Castello dell' Abate. The castle of the Abbot.  The castle was built in 1123 for the Benedictine Abbot S. Costabile Gentilpore who was also the founder of the city.  As I mentioned earlier this is all part of the National Park and is also an UNESCO World Heritage site.

Here is a picture looking up at the castle.  I am not sure about that building inside the walls.  We were up there after in the afternoon and the castle was closed.  You have to adjust your schedule when in Italy unless you are in the major cities.  Everything closes at 1:00 P.M. and opens again at 4:00 P.M. and usually stays open until 7:30 or 8:00 in the evening.  If fact we couldn't even find a place that was open to have lunch.  Not the we needed it, if you know what I mean.  Most of the restaurants that serve dinner do not open until 7:30 or 8:00 P.M. We go at 7:30 and find most of them not busy then.  They start getting crowded when we are leaving around 9:00 P.M.  Remember the Italians still have their siesta between one and four in the afternoon. I tried it my self a few times.  I don't know but they may be on to something.

Another view of the castle.  Just around that corner is a small courtyard that one of the locals told us you can get a small pizza and eat it standing up as it is just a small window type food place.  Well we went there and it also was closed. Oh well, back to the car and down the winding switch back road to our temporary home and some snacks from the fridge.  From Castellabate we visited two of Italy's main attractions. The Paestum and, of course, the ruins of Pompeii. I took many pictures and will include them in my next blog.  See you then.