I have been coming to Italy every few years since I was a kid, and each summer for the past 15 years. Last year was an exception; while I was in France in the summer of 2020, I had wanted to go to Italy, but my relatives were concerned about having contact with someone who was travelling internationally. This year, I wanted to return to visit friends and family, and also to be immersed in the culture of a country which has been so central to my life—on top of the strong bonds with many people, I have written and published extensively about the politics of Italy, particularly in relation to Europe. Additionally, the epidemic had, by late-Spring 2021, significantly improved, even though the country’s reopening began in April. During the final weeks of June, for example, Italy had fewer than one thousand new Covid-19 cases per day, which is very low for a country of over sixty million people, while intensive care beds were mostly devoid of Covid patients. However, my relatives were still concerned about having contact with someone travelling internationally, particularly since one of them is eighty-five years old and relatively fragile. For this reason, I decided to rent a place for a month rather than, as I always did in the past, stay with family. This decision, it turns out, would make the experience of coming to Italy very different, mostly for the better, as this blog post hopefully will show.
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| Salerno |
First, it may be helpful to briefly discuss some family history and the associated geography of the region where I stayed. Both my parents were Italian immigrants; my mom is from a small village in the province of Salerno, and my dad is from a small village in Calabria. Since my brothers and I were raised by our mom, we have been closer to the relatives in the former part of the country, and hence Salerno is the region I have been coming to frequently all these years. The old house where my mom was born and raised is still in the family’s possession, and is about 50 metres from the newer place where my close relatives live. Typically, I’d sleep in the old house, while spending the day and evening with relatives in the new house. Occasionally, I would go to the city of Salerno to visit friends or do some shopping, which I always enjoyed, but limited public transportation imposed significant constraints. It is a 45 minute bus ride to the city centre, and the last one returns at 7 pm; therefore, many activities, particularly ones which involved returning home late in the evening, were not possible.
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| Main Street of Salerno |
Lodging in the city of Salerno not only meant I no longer had said constraints; unexpectedly, it opened up a whole new range of experiences which I had not imagined. First, being close to the centre of the town meant walking through it frequently for even the most mundane activities, like grocery shopping. Doing this allowed me to appreciate the medieval buildings, particularly in the old part of town. A feature which stood out was that many buildings have ancient Greek columns embedded to the façade, or to the corners to provide added support. One reason for this is that Southern Italy, including Salerno, was once part of greater Greece, and so there were—and are—many Greek ruins close by. Builders in the middle ages had access to them and decided to use the materials in the construction. From the perspective of a history buff in 2021, the effect is pretty dramatic. The medieval buildings already possess a certain charm, in part because they are mainly Roman in style and architecture, particularly the huge entrances with elaborately designed arches; the ancient Greek columns attached add the halo of Greece’s golden age, as well as the luster and prestige of their exquisitely crafted style. It also creates a sense of a continuity with the ancient past. Salerno, like other parts of Italy, has been invaded and settled by Etruscans, Greeks, Romans, Arabs, Normans, Spanish, and French, but I am highly confident that many of the city’s inhabitants are descendants of the Greeks who once lived and thrived in the city, and who built temples and other public buildings with the timeless and universal beauty of the classical style, elements of which can still be seen on many buildings.
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| Greek column embedded in a building |
Another exciting feature of staying in Salerno was being so close to Amalfi Coast, one of the most beautiful places in the world (quite literally). When staying with my family, I would occasionally take the bus to this location, or we would go together by car. From where I was lodging in the summer of 2021, Vietri, one of the pretty little towns on the coast, was only a 15-minute walk away, while others were easily accessible by bike. Cycling on the Amalfi coast was like seeing it for the first time, even though I have gone there frequently for decades, because more of the senses are stimulated. The winding and hilly road upon which I rode is embedded into the rock facing the sea, and there is much vegetation above and below. As a consequence, the air is fresh and clean, and there are pleasant odours emanating from the various plants and trees. The Mediterranean is always visible, but on some stretches one can literally hear the waves splashing on the beaches and rock formations below. And when biking through one of the beautiful little towns, one can easily stop to soak in the landscape, grab an expresso, or walk through one of the tiny medieval streets (a video of this adventure can be found here).
Another discovery during my sojourn was that there are groups in Salerno which organize outdoor activities on a regular basis, and for a decent price. The first activity I participated in was hiking, on a location called Sentiero Degli Dei (Path of the Gods). It is an appropriate name, since it is near the top of the mountains which bestride the Amalfi Coast, and the view is quite extraordinary; from the path one sees the vast horizon of the Mediterranean, with its azure waters seamlessly blending with the sky. The little towns mentioned above are also clearly visible, but from a greater distance and higher altitude, they seem to be small colourful settlements surrounded by, on one side, the sea, and on the other, the vivacious green of the mountain’s vegetation. And these views are visible while walking along a well-trodden path, although some parts are dangerous because there are no barriers between the path and steep rocks below; one slip and it would be all over.
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| Hiking |
Another activity I discovered was yoga. I have been doing mindfulness meditation since November, and am well-are of the health benefits of the types of practices associated with disciplined breathing. And so when I learned that there were outdoor yoga classes, I jumped at the opportunity. One session was particularly memorable because we were on the beach, and began around sunset. We did the extremely calming breathing exercises as the sun was setting, which bathed the landscape—the shore, sand, and trees behind—in soft and fading light while the sound of the waves gently splashing, plus the odd squeak of a seagull, helped to create a sense of oneness or unity between body and nature. The other yoga sessions were not as memorable in part because they occurred in a more mundane place, i.e., a park. But this experience taught me how these kinds of practices can be very beneficial, and also an excellent way to make new friends (which I did).
Kayaking was another sport I did in Salerno, and it allowed me to see the Amalfi coast from a different angle. We departed from Salerno, and paddled by the coast to two adjacent towns—Vietri and Cetara. On the way, we stopped on stunningly beautiful beaches that are inaccessible on foot; they can only be reached via the water, and hence either by boat or swim. Consequently, there are very few people. The greenish-bluish tint of the water, which reminds one of beaches in the Caribbean, is surrounded by rock formations that provid shade if one needs relief from the piercing midday sun. Unlike activities above, however, I had a negative experience while kayaking: on the way back, I experienced sea sickness. The water was choppy because of the many boats in the vicinity, and for some reasons unknown to me, it triggered dizziness, nausea, and muscle weakness. Consequently, the guide had to tie his kayak to mine so that he could drag me back, which was very humbling given that I was the youngest person in the group; some were decades older and for them, the sport seemed like a breeze (although they are seasoned participants, while it was my first time kayaking on the sea).
Finally, I had the fortune to be in the city during the Festival of Literature, which is a week-long event where scholars and thinkers from across the country—and a few international ones too—discuss their research or their latest books. Despite coming to this part of Italy frequently, I never knew that this event existed. I discovered it via an advertisement that was posted by a park I passed by whenever walking to the old part of town. The poster piqued my curiosity, and so I decided to attend the events, and they were very enjoyable. There were talks on everything from Plato to Dante to more present concerns associated with Italian history and the pandemic. Moreover, these talks occurred in some of the city’s prettiest buildings, like the Medieval cathedral, Il Duomo, in the centre of town. The exterior courtyard—where the talks occurred—is surrounded by ancient Greek columns which, as mentioned above, were likely part of ruins nearby and were included to the construction materials. Attending a talk in such an illustrious location greatly enriched the experience.
