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Eat Here: Da Gemma

Note the ubiquitous sfusati (bulky lemons) on the Da Gemma lamp fixtures

Today we are going to pay a lunch-time visit to a restaurant that was recommend by our concierge at Hotel Convento in Amalfi. And now, we recommend it to you, too…that is, if you happen to be on the Amalfi coast of Italy.

Since you’re staying at the fabulous Grand Hotel Convento, and it’s not too far into Amalfi town, let’s walk.

Along the way we’ll check out the small town campo, the church, and a few of the local shops.

So, join me now as, off we go to a now-favorite trattoria, Da Gemma.

Getting Into Town from Our Hotel

But, before we begin our journey into town, we need to rise-and-shine. We woke up a bit early this morning to catch sunrise from the Hotel Convento. It was spectacular, wasn’t it? You can learn a good bit more about the Hotel Convento by reading my article titled, Staying in a Convent Retreat.

A Post-Breakfast Swim

I’m sure you remember the nice swim we had after breakfast in the hotel’s cliff-side infinity pool. You looked fabulous in that new swimsuit, by the way!

Cliff-side pool of the Grand Hotel Convento

Talk about a pool with a view to infinity! Nice, huh?

To infinity and beyond…actually to Sicily

Making Our Way Into Town

OK, we’ve toweled off and changed clothes, so into town we go. Good move not wearing shorts…that’s a sure sign of a tourist in Italy.

Rather than taking the elevator down to the roadway, we’ll walk the many steps that wind their way down to town. Don’t worry, it’s all downhill from here.

There’s our destination…the red arrow points the way to the one-and-only road that pierces the heart of the ravine town of Amalfi.

[BTW: you can see the pool house about a quarter of the way into the photo from the left, and a third of the way down…and those horizontal rows of foliage below Amalfi’s mausoleum and the hillside above town, we’ll talk about those as we’re strolling in Amalfi]

As we near the bottom of the winding stairway, we look up to see our hotel poised on the edge of a cliff.

We’ve come a long way in the down-vertical direction

Wandering Our Way To Trattoria Da Gemma

Now, to work our way to our destination for lunch, Da Gemma.

In this aerial view of ravine-dwelling Amalfi, you can see Da Gemma in the blue box. But, as we are a bit early for lunch, we decide to first explore Amalfi’s charms. We’ll start with the Duomo di Amalfi (in the orange box), which is dedicated to San Andreas (aka Saint Andrew, the brother of Saint Peter). You can read a bunch about San Andreas, his relationship to Scotland, and this church, in my article titled, Transforming the Cathedral of San Andreas.

The blue box marks Da Gemma…the orange, the cathedral of San Andreas

The Piazza Duomo

As we start toward the church, there is a small piazza (more of a campo) with an age-old statue of San Andreas.

“Why the x-shaped cross?”, you ask…it’s because Saint Andrew's martyrdom by crucifixion was on a cross called a ‘saltire’ cross, which is an ‘x-shaped’ cross, like the one he is holding onto in his last moments.

You can see just a bit of the statue to the left in this very old photo of this same campo.

Here is my own rendition of the old photo, which I created using Google ‘street view’. As they say, “Close, but no banana”.

The Duomo (Cathedral)

Just across the street we see the steps of the cathedral I’ve removed all of the people from the photo except the bride, standing at the top of the steps. And, I replaced a blah sky with one of more drama. The Duomo has a rather magnificent mosaic façade.

Here you can see the exquisite detail of the mosaic, with a still-different sky.

Here are just a few interior photos, as Ellen leads us inside.

Beautiful! But, it’s time to begin our walk toward Da Gemma.

Street Life in Amalfi

This hungry, but well mannered, pup outside the butcher’s shop reminds us of just how hungry we too, are.

But, to get to Da Gemma, we have to negotiate the one-and-only street through town. Yes, this it it! Via Lorenzo D’Amalfi.

The street is so narrow that there are traffic lights that alternate traffic from north to south.

Another Google street-view photo below shows us that street light. The sign above the red light asks motorists to turn off their engines whilst waiting for a green light, rather than idling out emissions in this pedestrian laden area.

One must wait for vehicles preceding you (before you caught that red light) to travel over 1,000 feet on a green light, and then wait for oncoming vehicles to traverse that same distance before your own green light is activated…then add a good bit of pedestrian slowed time to the formula. I have no idea if this is all done automatically, or whether someone monitors the situation to change the lights at the appropriate time. But hey, it’s Italy!

See the folks in shorts? Tourists.

To avoid the occasional step-into-a-doorway routine, you can use one of the pedestrian tunnels that parallels the roadway, like this one.

A Few Street-Side Shops

Along our way, we pass shops selling this and that. This one sells mostly wine, as it is an ‘enoteca’.

And, this one features bottle after bottle of Limoncello. This sweet-tart-sweet (I’m emphasizing the sweetness, here) liqueur is made from lemons that abound along the Amalfi coast.

Limoncello is not made from your momma’s lemons, though. A single lemon is called a ‘sfusato’, and they are just a bit on the bulky side. The photo below showing sfusati hanging from the arbor was taken at our Hotel Convento. And, in the photo taken on our full-day boat trip to Capri, you can the ubiquitous terraces of sfusati layered up the hillside. Virtually all of the sfusati are destined for limoncello.

[Want to know more about having a fabulous day traveling along the Amalfi coast on your way to the Isle of Capri? See my article titled, “One Fine Day”]

And, did you notice the prosciutto hanging in that limoncello laden shop? What is that smeared on the cut-end of the leg? You can learn more about prosciutto in my previous article on Italian meats titled, “Eat This: Italian Meats - Part 1”.

Trattoria Da Gemma

Ahhh, we’ve reached Da Gemma, which means that it’s time for lunch!

Da Gemma is not a flash-in-the-pan restaurant. This trattoria has been around since 1872…and we’re glad of it.

It’s not located on the street, but thankfully, above it. Your al fresco dining is on a lovely terrace, above the hustle-and-bustle of Via Lorenzo D’Amalfi.

We’ll take those steps up to the right to get to our lunch.

As we typically do, we start our meal by enjoying a bit of the bubbly…prosecco. Cold and refreshing!

The waitstaff are super helpful and friendly…as is everyone we encountered in Amalfi. Here is Alfonso, who took great care of us.

And here are the two handsome young men behind the glass who man the pasticceria.

We’ve now ordered, and Ellen has been given a rather dangerous looking tool. We’ll have to see what that’s for.

But first, it’s time for a refreshing white wine. Alfonso recommended this Greco di Tufo. It is much like a Gavi…rich, refreshing and light…we like it! And of course, it’s a DOCG wine.

This is some sort of amuse-bouche, and at this seven-years-past-the-event stage, I have no idea what it was. But it was well plated, presented, and it tasted yummy.

As is customary for a meal in Italy, the pasta course is a ‘primi’, or first course, which is typically followed by a meat course. Notice the beautiful plating. And that tomato-heaven sauce on the pasta…bellissimo.

One most always gets a presentation of the prepared fish course

For us, the secondi meat course is a nice branzino (sea bass), cooked perfectly. It was presented table-side (above), and then Alfonso and helper began the deconstruction needed to plate the dish for us.

And, here is our fish course, complete with potatoes and a superb buttery-lemony sauce.

This dish is typical of seafood-dish presentations you will find in Italy. As proof, here is another sample of a superb fish course, this one enjoyed the next day on the Isle of Capri.

Do they do dolce in Italy? Yes, they do. The one of the left is the one we ordered. The one on the right…with limoncello…is house-provided…just in case one needs more sweets in one’s life.

All so very satisfying. Will we have room for this evening’s dinner? Always!

Along with the presentation of il conto (the bill), Ellen is presented with a couple of souvenirs of Da Gemma.

As we depart, we say a fond, “Grazie e arrivederci” to the friendly, competent kitchen staff.

La Fine

I hope that you enjoyed tagging along with us on our Amalfi adventure today.

Now, two questions:

What was that tool for that Ellen was holding? I have no remembrance of that. And I have no photos of a food item needing such a treacherous tool.
Who is going to help us get back up to our cliff-side hotel? We need a lift…literally.

If you find yourself in Amalfi town, please pay a visit to Da Gemma…you will not be disappointed. If it’s OK with you, we’ll walk with you from the hotel, high on the hillside.

And, until our next adventure…

Ciao for now,

Steve

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A Sense of Place

Index of Blog Articles

Well, I'm back from a bit of traveling: England, Scotland, Ireland, Texas and New Mexico. I'm ready to resume my blog articles for you. But, I'll be working my way in slowly with a short article today.

“Her response: “Now you tell me!” Well, yes, now she knows.”

This week I'm just letting you know about a change I've made to my list of blog articles, and why I've done that.

Last Thursday, I was visiting with a friend who had just returned from Italy. She expressed a bit of disappointment in some of the restaurants they chose in Venice. I let her know of my Italy Our Italy blog and the fact that it contains personally evaluated and recommended restaurants, hotels, and other helpful information on certain places within Italy. Her response: "Now you tell me!" Well, yes, now she knows. And I want you to know, too. That's why I've made changes to my list of blog articles.

What I have done is to take the Index of Blog Articles to another level by creating another series of headings in the right-hand column (which is labeled, "By Subject"). You will now find three new subheadings for 'places' within Italy -- specifically 'Places: Venice', 'Places: Amalfi Coast', and 'Places: Tuscany'. This will give one a greater sense of these wonderful places.

Now, if you are traveling to one of these fabulous places of Italy, you will have all of the resources that I have previously published about those fabulous places in one place.

That about sums it up for today's very short article.

Ciao for now,

Steve

Eat Here: Il Flauto di Pan

In a followup to last week's article on the beautiful Villa Cimbrone, I present their fabulous restaurant, Il Flauto di Pan.

“Wow! I’m very excited about Villa Cimbrone gracing the walls of a new development in San Antonio, Texas. Be sure to read the late-breaking addition to this article at the very bottom. ”

“I have never lied to you, and I won’t start now — so when I say ‘we ate every bite’, trust me on that”

We have a general feeling in our family about the quality of a restaurant versus its height above its surroundings...you know, the meals in space-needle-like settings, tops of very tall buildings, etc...often it is the quality of the view that takes precedence over the quality of the food...not always, but often enough that we steer clear without a recommendation.

Here is a restaurant that sits high above the Amalfi Coast, which has both a quality view and quality food.

The remarkable gardens of the Villa Cimbrone extend to the entrance of Il Flauto di Pan, as you can see here with a wall of petite white flowers.

As you are seated, you will find a lovely welcome at your place setting, as shown in the first photo at the top of this article, complete with embroidery hoop. So striking, don't you think?

As we sat, we were treated to both a view of the Amalfi Coat and bread sticks -- two of our favorite things!

In addition, there were two varieties of butter from which to choose.

Il Flauto di Pan is a Michelin-starred restaurant. Having a star is of great significance, and it is extremely hard to get.

If you have watched 'Chopped' on the Food Network, you know that they judge the food on taste, presentation, and originality.

These, of course, are important to the Michelin folks, too. But beyond the food itself are the aesthetics of the restaurant and the ways in which the diner is pampered. Touches like the orchids on your table are taken into account.

As Italian wine lovers, we seldom have cocktails whilst in Italy...well maybe a Negroni or Campari & soda on occasion -- but the suggestion of a Bloody Mary made with fresh-squeezed tomato juice sounded too good to pass up...so we didn't. And man-o-man was it ever good!

We had course after course, some of which I'll show you here. I won't try to tell you exactly what each dish is, because frankly, I can't remember.

I think you can get the gist of a Michelin-starred restaurant from the photos...lots of garnish, debris, drops and plops on decorative substrates with well-placed and tasty sauces. Not only is it pretty to look at, but it is most excellent in taste!

Of course, right now you are asking, "But what about desserts?" My response would have to be, and is, "Yes, they have admirable desserts -- which we did indeed admire, right before we ate them." I have never lied to you, and I won't start now -- so when I say "we ate every bite", trust me on that. And, as unusual, we also enjoyed a dessert wine.

I have to say that we had a wonderful afternoon and evening at the far reaches of Ravello at Villa Cimbrone -- at the villa, the gardens, and the extraordinary restaurant. As I finish, we toast you and say 'thank you' to all of you who loyally read the articles of Italy, Our Italy.

Villa Cimbrone in San Antonio!

You can now find Villa Cimbrone in San Antonio, Texas...at least photos of the villa.

I'm pleased to announce that 210 Development Group, one of the premier property developers in San Antonio and beyond, has ordered eight of my photos of Villa Cimbrone as the wall art for a model in their recently completed Aviator project. This housing project is on the site of the old Brooks Field of World War II fame, now called Brooks City Base.

Here, you can see photos of the installation. My thanks to Alyson Callison, Director of Design for for 210DG, for putting her confidence in my work, and for creating the beautiful model that surrounds my photos.

I suspect you will recognize these photos from last weeks article, titled A Visit to Villa Cimbrone.

Ciao for now,

Steve

p.s You can see other Amalfi Coast blog articles here:

A Visit to Villa Cimbrone

A quiet place of peace and marvelous views.

“The first mention of Villa Cimbrone is found in the 11th century. The origin of the name comes from the rocky outcrop that surrounds the 20-acre site”

It's time to return to the Amalfi Coast...way above the Amalfi Coast.

Getting There

Villa Cimbrone (cheem-bro-neigh) sits in the town of Ravello, at the end of its peninsula-in-the-sky. And Ravello sits high on the escarpment above the town of Amalfi. Getting there is not too difficult, unless you are faint of heart on narrow, winding, ever-climbing, roads.

The road from the Amalfi Coast highway to Ravello gets very narrow...so narrow that a traffic light allows cars going up hill to proceed whilst cars traveling down hill wait, and versa vice. And not all of the vehicles travel up the road at the same pace, as you can imagine from this photo.

[lease click on a photo to get a larger view]

Here you see this peninsula-in-the-sky, which is the town of Ravello. Notice the cliff to the left where The Belvedere is located.

A birds-eye view of the Ravello escarpment

The Piazza and Duomo

One parks, or is dropped off by taxi, at the Piazza, where the duomo, or cathedral church, sits.

I'm not sure if this is admonishment, praise, or otherwise, but the priest of the Duomo has something to say to his parishioner and her sun-glass-wearing son.

Inside the church you will find the typical, gorgeous trappings of Italian churches. Here we see the Angel Gabriel doing battle with Satan, Mary and the soon-to-be-risen Christ, a marble-lion column support, a bronze door with Biblical scenes (well, mostly Biblical, as you can see St George slaying the dragon in one panel), a marble and mosaic altar with Jonah waving farewell as he is devoured by the serpent, and a painted icon.

Young entertainers on the Piazza at Ravello

While we were there, a number of the young of Ravello were having fun making music as they marched around town. I'm not sure if the fingers-in-her-ear girl in the rear is enjoying the group's musical attempts.

These two young men seemed to be particularly zealous in their appointed task.

Our first thoughts as we watched these children was, 'This would be a fabulous place to live.'

A Walk to the Villa

It is a walk of about 4/10ths-of-a-mile from the piazza to Villa Cimbrone, all the while wandering narrow, pedestrian-only walkways. And along the way, you will have ample opportunity to purchase beautiful, hand-painted Italian ceramics. And we love the care that is taken in wrapping purchases. In the photo on the right, notice the ceramic panel in the top-right -- you will see what that scene is in a moment.

Along the way we saw several shrines and vines, and a cat or two.

We came across an occassional lazy dog sleeping under lemon trees, poppies, and views of other towns across the valley.

This fabulous view took our breath away...town after town clinging to the hillside above Amalfi, marred only with the drifting smoke from someone burning their trash. If one isn't born in a particular town, how on Earth could you decide in which to settle?

Looking to the west from Ravello, where the town of Amalfi sits at the terminus of the distant valley

The Villa

At last, we arrive at Villa Cibrone. The first mention of Villa Cimbrone is found in the 11th century. The origin of the name comes from the rocky outcrop that surrounds the 20-acre site, which can be seen in the aerial photo at the top of this article, which was known as 'Cimbronium'. You can read much more about the history of this property on the Hotel Villa Cimbrone website here.

Today, the estate consists of the villa/hotel, a Michelin-starred restaurant (that being the subject of next week's article), the gardens, and the famous scenic viewpoint known as 'The Belvedere.'

Here is your first view of the vine-covered villa as you approach.

You see scenes from inside the walls of the villa, just below.

I particularly like this scene of the stairway, and the intricate pattern of iron work found on the door on the landing.

Verdant Gardens

And then there are the gardens.

The Belvedere

The world-famous Belvedere, perched atop a cliff, offers a magnificent view of the Mediterranean, one which these time-worn busts seem want to ignore.

These statues are actually quite whimsical, as their expressions are not what one normally sees in classic carving. See what I mean by clicking on the thumbnails in these closeup views.

They look very content to be sitting there, don't they?

In this view from The Belvedere, you can see more towns to explore along the Amalfi Coast, should one have the time.

View of the Amalfi Coast looking to the east

I'll leave you with a quote from Gore Vidal concerning The Belvedere: 'A wonderful place from which to observe the end of the world." And when it comes to that, I would have to agree.

Ciao for now,

Steve

Next week: The Michelin-starred restaurant at Villa Cimbrone

Amalfi Stairs

“If you want to shop, this is not the path for you! But, if you want to get home quickly and without being run down, this way is perfect.”

This week, it's back to Amalfi. We've been there before in One Fine Day! and Staying in a Convent Retreat. But today, I want to tell you about the stairs and passages of Amalfi.

Amalfi is situated in a ravine that comes down from the mountains to the harbor of Amalfi. The buildings of Amalfi are situated up the slopes of the ravine. At the very bottom of the ravine, there is a small road -- and this road is the main thoroughfare through the town, as you can see in the photo below.

[click a photo for a larger view]

As the buildings were constructed centuries ago before automobiles and trucks were envisioned, the roadway is very narrow. Here is a photo of this main street through the heart of Amalfi -- yes, that is THE street.

The roadway is so narrow that there is a traffic light that queues traffic wanting to travel one direction, whilst the traffic going the opposite direction works its way through the crowds. As you can tell from the photo, this is really a pedestrian-mall-roadway combination.

Here is another photo with vehicles making their way through the masses.

When the buildings were constructed many years ago, a number of alleyways were set aside within the structures. Some of the alleyways parallel the path of the roadway, while some work their way up through the buildings that cascade down the sides of the ravine.

Here is one of the alleyways that traverse the same path as the roadway, but under the protection of the surrounding buildings.

If you want to shop, this is not the path for you! But, if you want to get home quickly and without being run down, this way is perfect. You just have to know the hidden-away location of these passages.

These hidden-away passages are the subject of today's article, and I will be focusing on the stairways that travel up the ravine-situated buildings. And, at the same time, I am giving you a two-for-one article, as you also get one of my photo transformation articles rolled in.

Stairway #1

Here is a snapshot of one of those stairways. It's a long way up there.

By now, you know that I have a bit of an OCD issue with modern bits and pieces in my dream-world of an Italy of another time. To satisfy my compulsion, I just have to remove these items.

Here is the photo with modern matters resolved.

And, to get that age-old look that I am after, I've added a sepia tone and worn-frame look. Here is the final version of this very long stairway.

And, what might lie waaaaaay up there at the end of this stairway? The photo below tells us that to the right is a pizzeria and to the left is the Patrizia (Patricia's) Esthetician Center, of course. Only a local with well-formed calves would know.

Stairway #2

In the passage below, you can see that there was just a bit of wrought iron and stair railing with which to deal. It's zapped away in the second photo and the final sepia version is at the right.

[click on a thumbnail for a larger view of the photo series]

Stairway #3

In this series, you can see that there was a panel to the left, a person entering the door at the top of the stairs, and a plethora of electrical wiring in the arched alcove. In the second photo, all is gone and the sepia version ages this passage a bit.

Stairway #4

This stairway was the most challenging. In the archway to the left is a sign for another pizzeria and a scooter -- maybe for pizza delivery? On the right are a number of panels and several electrical conduits. Working up the stairs are other detriti that I felt compelled to remove. In photo two all is cleaned up, except the ages-old grime that has worked its way down the stairway.

To bring home the compactness of Amalfi and the forced interaction of pedestrian and vehicle that stems from the old working its way into the new, here is one more photo. This one shows my wife, Ellen, as she walks the 'sidewalk' along the main Amalfi Coast highway on the way to a Michelin-starred La Caravella restaurant (which will be the subject of a future article).

I hope you have enjoyed seeing some of these hidden, secret passages of Amalfi. When you go, how about wandering around up there a bit -- we may run into each other!

Ciao for now,

Steve