Hotel Scapolatiello Cava de’ Tirreni

Historic residence with wonderful views over the countryside
 

The Hotel Scapolatiello's elegant dining
terrace overlooks beautiful countryside

In the wooded hills above Cava de’ Tirreni, which is ten kilometres (six miles) northwest of the town of Salerno, the Hotel Scapolatiello is the perfect place for a relaxing break.

Located in a wonderful position overlooking the surrounding countryside, Hotel Scapolatiello has large, comfortable guest rooms, a garden with a swimming pool and a restaurant that serves breakfast, lunch and dinner.

You can eat in either the elegant dining room or on the terrace looking out over the garden. The restaurant takes pride in using local cheeses, fruit and vegetables and has its own label wine and preserves. The menu features some unusual antipasto combinations, risotto, pasta and meat dishes.

The Scapolatiello's risotto with mushrooms
and savings of provola cheese

The Hotel Scapolatiello first opened its doors to visitors in 1821 and has entertained many of the famous people who have visited the nearby L’Abbazia della Santissima Trinita, known locally as La Badia. One of the most important religious centres in southern Italy, La Badia celebrated its 1000th anniversary in 2011.

Hotel Scapolatiello is in Piazza Risorgimento in the centre of Corpo di Cava, a small walled village three kilometres to the south of Cava de’ Tirreni.

Editor’s note

‘I have lovely memories of enjoying lunch on the terrace of the historic Hotel Scapolatiello overlooking their immaculate garden. I was given complimentary mini calzoni filled with cheese, tomatoes and ham before the risotto with provola that I had ordered. I sampled the hotel’s own label Falanghina, which was delicious.’

What to see in Cava de' Tirreni

Cava de’ Tirreni may not be as well known as Naples, Sorrento and Salerno, but it was once the preferred stopping off place for travellers on the Grand Tour visiting Pompei, the Amalfi coast or Paestum

For centuries, Cava enjoyed a free port at Vietri sul Mare and became prosperous through trading in silk tapestries, leather goods and ceramics. The city also became known for its skilled engineers and craftsmen..

Cava de' Tirreni's porticoed streets provide
shelter from the summer heat 

Cava was given the full name Cava de’ Tirreni, acknowledging its earliest known inhabitants, after Italian unification in 1861 and it has remained an elegant, civilised town with beautiful architecture

The city has earned itself the title of ‘the Bologna of the south’ because of its half kilometre of elegant porticoed streets in the centre. The oldest porticoes were built in the 15th century in front of single storey shops so that goods could be displayed and trade carried out sheltered from the sun. At 47km (29 miles) south of Naples, Cava is hot during the summer.

The traders built living accommodation over their shops and many of the buildings have ornate facades and pretty balconies. Today, fashion boutiques, wine bars, restaurants and pastry shops do business behind the ancient porticoes..

Intriguing glimpses of the mountains on both sides of Cava de’ Tirreni can be seen from the end of many of the streets. Look out for Monte Castello, a triangular shaped mountain with a castle on the top, which appears in the skyline at different places in the centre of town.

The Abbazia Benedettina della Santissima Trinità - known also as La Badia di Cava - is three kilometres from the centre of Cava de’ Tirreni. Behind the 18th century façade lie the original 11th century church and cloisters, a chapel with a magnificent 15th century majolica floor and a museum and library. The abbey was built in 1011 after a nobleman, Alferio Pappacarbone, retired to the area to pray and other worshippers gathered around him. La Badia went on to become the religious hub of southern Italy and Pope Bonifacio IX made Cava a city in its own right, separate from Salerno, in 1394. The abbey was given a baroque facade in the 18th century but retains its original architectural details inside.

La Badia nestles in the wooded hills a few
kilometres outside Cava de' Tirreni

Cava de’ Tirreni is surrounded by hills with pretty villages that have medieval towers, built for a dove hunting game. Starting from Annunziata you can follow a circuit, passing eight towers along the way, before arriving back at the same village.

North of Cava de’ Tirreni lies the nature park of Diecimare, also known as Parco Due Golfi because it has views over the bay of Naples and Vesuvius to the north and the bay of Salerno to the south. It is home to beautiful plants, flowers, birds and animals and visitors can choose to follow different panoramic paths.

There are regular trains and buses to Pompei, which is half an hour away from Cava de’ Tirreni. As well as the world famous scavi, the excavated remains of the original Roman town, Pompei has a church that has become a centre for pilgrims, il Santuario della Beata Vergine del Rosario in Piazza Bartolo Longo.

Cava de’ Tirreni has become known as ‘the green gateway to the Amalfi coast’ as it is close to  the resort of Vietri sul Mare and the village of Cetara, where you can sample their famous pasta dish, spaghetti with colatura di alici, a type of sauce made from anchovies, thought to derive from an ancient Roman recipe.

Eating out in Cava de’ Tirreni

Pacheri allo scarpiello, with fresh tomatoes,
is a Cava speciality dish

On restaurant menus you will see pacheri, the local tube shaped pasta, served either allo scarpariello with ‘shoemaker’s sauce’ made with fresh tomato, cheese and basil, or con carciofi e provola (with artichokes and cheese).

There are many dishes featuring fresh, local fish and southern Italian classics such as fritto misto.

Light dry, fragrant Falanghina is a white wine that goes perfectly with fish and dishes made with mozzarella, such as insalata caprese. Cava de’ Tirreni is in the prime territory for the best Falanghina wines made from grapes grown on the slopes of Vesuvius, along the Sorrentine peninsula or near the Amalfi coast. 

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Hotel Annunziata Ferrara

Wonderful views of one of Italy’s most impressive castles

The Hotel Annunziata is directly opposite Ferrara's star
attraction, the magnificent Castello Estense

The Hotel Annunziata is in a great location on the opposite side of the square from Ferrara’s most famous landmark, the imposing Castello Estense.

There are lovely views of the castle from the windows of many of the hotel’s guest rooms.

The four-star Hotel Annunziata is set in a restored, historic town house with a contemporary décor. All the accommodation is immaculate and spotlessly clean, earning the praise of many of its guests.

Breakfast is served in the hotel’s elegant dining room and there is a bar serving drinks and snacks 24 hours a day. All the guest rooms have free wifi, satellite TV and air conditioning.

Although the Hotel Annunziata is located in a pedestrian only area of the city, there is a car park for the use of guests.

The Hotel Annunziata occupies an historic
restored townhouse in Piazza Repubblica

When out and about in Ferrara, you will see many of the local residents travelling by bicycle. The Hotel Annunziata provides cruiser bikes free of charge to guests so that they can explore all corners of this wonderful city with ease.

The Hotel Annunziata is located at Piazza Repubblica, 5 in the centre of the city.

Editor’s note: ‘Right in the heart of the historic city of Ferrara, I enjoyed my stay at the Hotel Annunziata in a very comfortable guest room with wonderful views of one of the most impressive and beautiful castles in Italy.’

Click here for more information, to check prices and to book a room at the Hotel Annunziata.

What to see in Ferrara

Ferrara was ruled by the Este family between 1240 and 1598. You can still see the original, narrow, medieval streets to the west and south of the city centre, between the main thoroughfares of Via Ripa Grande and Via Garibaldi, which were the core of the city in the middle ages.

Building work on the magnificent, moated Este Castle (Castello Estense) began in 1385 and it was added to and improved by successive rulers of Ferrara until the end of the Este line. 

Lucrezia Borgia lived in the castle after her marriage to Alfonso I d’Este in 1502 and was reputed to have had an affair with the court poet, Pietro Bembo, there.

The castle was purchased for 70,000 lire by the province of Ferrara in 1874 to be used as the headquarters of the Prefecture. 

The Palazzo Diamanti is another Este palace in Ferrara, its
walls studded with diamond-shaped stones

It is open to the public every day from 9.30 till 5.30 pm, apart from certain times of the year when it is closed on Mondays. For more details and ticket prices visit www.castelloestense.it.

Another Este residence in Ferrara that is worth seeing is the Palazzo Diamanti in Corso Ercole I d’Este, which takes its name from the 8500 pointed, diamond-shaped stones that stud the façade, diamonds being an emblem of the Este family. It was designed by Biagio Rossetti and completed in 1503.

The palace now houses the Pinacoteca Nazionale di Ferrara on its first floor, where you can also see the 16th century apartments inhabited by another Este bride, Virginia de’ Medici. She lived in the palace after her marriage to Cesare d’Este, the grandson of Alfonso I, Duke of Ferrara. Visitors can see three of the rooms that Virginia used, which overlook Corso Biagio Rossetti. The Pinacoteca is open from 10.00 to 17.30 Tuesday to Sunday.

Eating out in Ferrara

A good place to try some Ferrarese specialities is Trattoria il Cucco in Via Voltacasotto, where they serve the traditional cappellacci con la zucca, a type of ravioli stuffed with pumpkin, sage, butter and cheese. You could follow that with salama da sugo, which is said to have been Lucrezia Borgia’s favourite dish. It is a spicy pork sausage made from different cuts of meat that has been boiled for about four hours.

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Hotel Piemontese Bergamo

Smart hotel in an ideal spot for visitors

The Hotel Piemontese is in a handy location in Piazzale Marconi on the opposite side of the square from Bergamo’s railway station.

Guests can quickly access local buses that leave from outside the railway station or from stops near the top of Viale Papa Giovanni XXIII to go out and about.

The pink facade of the Hotel Piemontese

The hotel is within comfortable walking distance of the shops, bars and restaurants of the Città Bassa (lower town)

The Piemontese has a modern décor and there are 50 rooms served by a lift, all with telephone, satellite television and wifi connection.

A generous buffet breakfast is served each day in the large breakfast room on the lower ground floor and there is an internet point in reception and car parking available for guests.

Transport advice

The hotel is a short bus or taxi ride from Bergamo Caravaggio airport at Orio al Serio.

There are coaches to the lakes and nearby towns from the bus station, which is close to the hotel in Via Bartolomeo Bono. Trains leave frequently to Milan, Brescia, Lecco, Cremona and further afield from the railway station.

To visit the Città Alta (upper town) you can either take the bus to the funicular railway station in Viale Vittorio Emanuele II, from where you will be conveyed up the steep hill by the funicular, or you can take the bus round the 15th century walls that surround the upper town and get off at Colle Aperto, which is next to Porta Sant’Alessandro, one of the city gates.

Editor’s note: ‘It was great to be able to just cross the square to the station in the mornings and board a train to Milan or Cremona and not have far to walk from the station back to the hotel at the end of an enjoyable day out.’

Click here for more information, to check prices and to book a room at the Hotel Piemontese.

What to see in Bergamo

Città Bassa

Walk down Viale Papa Giovanni XXIII until you reach Via Sentierone. Turn right to see the 18th century Teatro Donizetti and next to it the monument to the composer Gaetano Donizetti, erected in 1897 in the centenary year of his birth in Bergamo. Opposite is Balzer, a bar founded in 1850 under the portici that has now become a Bergamo institution. 

The Accademia Carrara is one of Italy's finest art galleries

Further along Via Sentierone is the church of San Bartolomeo, which houses a large altarpiece by Renaissance artist Lorenzo Lotto depicting the Virgin Mary and child on a throne surrounded by saints.

Walk down Via Torquato Tasso to Piazzetta Santo Spirito, where the church of Santo Spirito also has a work by Lorenzo Lotto. Turn left into Via Pignolo and walk along until you reach the church of San Bernardino in Pignolo, also home to a Lotto masterpiece. Further along Via Pignolo you can turn right into Via San Tomaso, at the end of which you will find the Pinacoteca di Accademia Carrara, one of Italy’s finest art galleries.

Città Alta

If you ride up to Bergamo’s upper town on the funicular railway and step out into Piazza Mercato delle Scarpe you will feel as though you have travelled back in time.

Walk along narrow Via Gombito, which is thought to have existed during the Roman era. It is lined with shops and bars occupying the ground floors of medieval houses. 

The Cappella Colleoni and (bottom left)
il Battistero in Piazzetta del Duomo

Via Gombito lead to Piazza Vecchia, a beautiful square with a 12th century building, il Palazzo della Ragione (Palace of Reason). Next to it, the big bell tower, il Campanone, dates back to at least the 12th century. Just in front of the Palazzo della Ragione is a statue of Torquato Tasso, one of the greatest Italian Renaissance poets, who was the son of a Bergamo nobleman. 

If you walk through the archways of the Palazzo della Ragione you will find yourself in the Piazzetta del Duomo, where in addition to il Duomo you will see the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore, the Cappella Colleoni, and il Battistero.

In nearby Via Arena is the Palazzo della Misericordia Maggiore, which houses a museum dedicated to the life of composer Gaetano Donizetti, who was born and died in Bergamo.

Another fascinating street leading off Piazza Vecchia is Via Colleoni, which is lined with shops, wine bars and restaurants housed in medieval buildings.

Bergamo food and wine

Sampling melt-in-the-mouth casoncelli alla bergamasca, topped with chopped bacon, sage, butter and grated cheese, is an unforgettable part of a stay in Bergamo.

Casoncelli alla bergamasca is a traditional Bergamo dish

Casoncelli, also sometimes referred to on menus as Casonsei, are a type of ravioli, filled with sausage meat, which has been mixed with several other vital ingredients, including finely chopped pears, sultanas and amaretti.

Casoncelli are believed to have originated in the countryside outside Bergamo, where they were originally created as a way of using up left over meat.

Enjoy your casoncelli with a glass of chilled Valcalepio Bianco, a light, dry white wine with a delicate fragrance, produced in the small valley between Bergamo and Lago d’Iseo. If you prefer red wine, try Valcalepio Rosso, which is dry and soft with an intense scent and goes well with red meat, polenta and local cheeses, such as taleggio.

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Hotel Savoia & Jolanda Venice

Enjoy a view of the lagoon from a palace on the waterfront

The Hotel Savoia & Locanda occupies a
superb position on Riva degli Schiavoni

Overlooking St Mark’s basin from an excellent location on the Riva degli Schiavoni, the Hotel Savoia & Jolanda can boast a long history of providing hospitality to guests from all over the world.

It has the charm of a Venetian palace but with all the modern facilities such as free wi fi, Sky and satellite tv, a gym and a boat available for the use of guests.

The hotel is very handily placed for the San Zaccaria vaporetto stop for boats that go up the Grand Canal towards Rialto, the station and Piazzale Roma, and, in the other direction, boats that go across the water to the Lido.

The Savoia & Jolanda is just a few minutes walk from the Bridge of Sighs, the Doge’s Palace and St Mark’s square and by going through the alleyways (calle) following the yellow signs with arrows it does not take long to reach the Rialto Bridge area.

Guests have one of the most iconic Venetian views from the hotel’s front windows as you can see the church and island of San Giorgio Maggiore out in the lagoon.

Editor’s Note: ‘I used to love sitting at a table at the bar outside the hotel watching the people going by as the sun set over the lagoon. Every time I have stayed at the Hotel Savoia & Jolanda my room has been comfortable and immaculately prepared, the breakfast has been excellent and the service faultless.’

The Palladian church of San Giorgio Maggiore is one of
the most famous of Venetian views

For more information, to check prices and to book a room at the Hotel Savoia & Jolanda go to our hotel booking partners Hotels.com

A little bit of history 

The Savoia & Jolanda’s origins can be traced back to the early part of the 19th century thanks to the discovery of a black and white postcard showing the building, which was then named Bavaria & Jolanda. It was named in honour of the official union of the Savoia royal family with the Duchy of Bavaria. This was sealed when Princess Enrichetta Adelaide Savoia married Duke Ferdinand of Bavaria in 1650. 

A few metres from the hotel there is an equestrian statue of the first King of Italy, Vittorio Emanuele II, which was erected to commemorate the tenth anniversary of his death. The statue was inaugurated in 1887 by King Umberto I and his queen, Margherita Savoia.

The name of the hotel was changed to Savoia Hotel & Principessa Jolanda in the early part of the 20th century and it finally became Hotel Savoia & Jolanda in the 1940s.

Afterwards the hotel was proud to welcome art patron Peggy Guggenheim, who stayed in a suite there in 1948 on the occasion of the XXIV Venice Art Biennale.

Food and wine

There are plenty of good restaurants in the calle between St Mark’s Square and the Rialto Bridge and, to get good value for money, opt for one that is some distance away from the piazza.

Fegato alla Veneziana is a classic Venetian dish, made with
calf's liver and often served with polenta

Look out for some of the local specialities, such as sardine in saor (served with a sweet and sour sauce), fegato alla veneziana (tender calf’s liver cooked on a bed of onions) and zuppa di cozze (mussels with white wine, garlic and parsley).

Make sure you try some of the wines from the Veneto region, such as Soave, a white wine that is very well known internationally and is made from grapes grown in the vineyards around the nearby hilltop town of Soave. Also look out for Tocai and Bianco di Custoza, other good white wines from the region, which will be on most restaurant menus.

If your preference is for red wine, Valpolicella is a pleasant, light, fruity wine made in the area between Verona and Lake Garda.

If you like sparkling wine, don’t miss trying Prosecco, which is mainly produced in the Veneto.

Named after the variety of grape it is made from, Prosecco is lighter and more delicate than Champagne because it is bottled while young rather than being fermented.

It is made in the areas of Valdobbiadene and Conegliano north of Venice, although it was probably named after the town of Prosecco near Trieste, where the grape, one of Italy’s oldest, is believed to have originated.

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