Bella Italia

Having taken Amber and Mat to Madeira last year, this Easter it was time for my trip with Charlotte and Hugo. We decided to go to Italy, partly because I wanted to visit Sorrento again, but also because Charlotte couldn't remember previous trips very well, and Hugo had never been to Italy at all. So, I got it all booked and suddenly the dates arrived. Sorrento at Easter is a lovely 18-20° and sunny, plus they have incredible parades through the streets to celebrate Holy week.

We spent the night before the flight at Manchester airport, with Manchester being the only airport in the UK to offer a direct flights to Naples at this time of year (that I could find, anyway). We flew out at a sensible time on Thursday morning and then made our way to our Sorrento hotel via bus and train and a 20 minute walk through the main shopping area of Sorrento itself.

Grand Hotel Capodimonte is beautiful - I might have overdone it a bit on the swanky accommodation front - a doorman, marble floors, monogrammed sheets, waiter service in the beautiful bar lounge, incredible breakfast buffet etc etc. They changed the towels and made the beds daily. I felt very posh putting things on my room tab with a laissez faire attitude to the final bill.

We had dinner in the hotel and then headed out to catch the Maunday Thursday parade at 8.30pm. This one is the first white procession, organised by the Ven. Arciconfraternita del SS. Rosario (Venerable Archconfraternity of the Most Holy Rosary) - a local Catholic brotherhood, with participants wearing white hooded robes and black sashes. It was relatively quiet and we got a good spot at the front with a view along the road to see the whole procession heading our way. There are hundreds of people in the procession and it takes about half an hour to go past. There is a band playing solemn music at the front, hooded figures carrying all sorts of symbols representing the crucifixion of Jesus, such as the nails, the crown of thorns, or carrying burning torches or statues and banners. The whole parade is done in silence apart from the band.

Then, I was back up and out at 3am for the second white parade on Good Friday morning. This procession was organized by the Arciconfraternita di Santa Monica (Archconfraternity of Santa Monica) and is La Processione Bianca dell’Addolorata, The White Procession of Our Lady of Sorrows. There were very few people around to watch, so it was very quiet with the appropraite reverance. The parade itself is pretty much the same except with all white gowns. For this parade there is a choir chanting the Miserere at the back - hauntingly beautiful and incredible to hear. The statue carried through the streets during this parade is of the virgin Mary. The whole place smelt wonderful of burning incense.

Friday was spent wandering round Sorrento, seeing some of the little churches, which come in a huge variety. Some have beautiful painted ceilings and lots of statues, and some are very plain. But they all share that wonderful air of peace and serenity. We found a tiny enclosed courtyard of arches and greenery - Chiostro di San Francesco, which included a small room set up as a shop selling gorgeous black and white photos of Italian life. Photos of nuns on swings, lovers kissing against tiny cars, stylish ladies swimming and sunbathing etc. I found something labelled as a park, but was essentially a children's play-park, but it was quiet and had benches in the sun so I sat and read my book for a while out of the crush and noise of the main streets. Finally, I walked all the way down to the beach. The town is elevated but there are paths and steps running down to sea level. It was a nice walk down, but the beach itself wasn't beautiful. There were some nice, wooden fishing boats lined up on the sand and it was quiet and warm in the sun. I dipped my feet and ended up with wet shoes!

Good Friday evening was the final parade - La Processione del Cristo Morto, The Procession of the Dead Christ, also known as The Black Procession, and was organized by the Venerabile Arciconfraternita Della Morte (The Venerable Archconfraternity of Death). The main statue of this procession was of the dead body of Jesus, lying on a bed of flowers and surrounded by candles, followed by a statue of Mary, now dressed in the black clothes of mourning.

Saturday afternoon we booked into Azienda Agrituristica "La Masseria" for a farm tour and dinner. We were shown round by a very enthusiastic son of the farmer owner, who reminded me a little of a young Robert De Niro. The tour was really interesting and we enjoyed listening to the talk on sustainable farming and learning all about growing lemons and what they are used for.

Dinner was amazing - a tasting menu of zero miles food like home made bread, salamis and cheeses, pasta with tomato sauce, fabulous lemon cake and the house red wine. We sat on a shared table with an American lady who was solo travelling for three months and Canadian parents with one of their daughters. It was a very convivial meal. And of course, there was opportunity to buy all the produce afterwards so we grabbed some limoncello, lemon marmalade and olive oil.

Sunday morning I headed into town for an Easter Sunday service. All in Italian, but lovely to be part of it. It was packed and I headed up to the front for communion with everyone else. They even placed out a basket of tiny bottles of holy water for everyone to take after the service. I have one but I'm not entirely sure what to do with it - do I drink it, wash in it or sprinkle it round my house? The afternoon was spent lounging by the pool, alternating sunning ourselves and then trying to hide under the parasols when we started going pink. I did swim but, boy, was it cold! The evening was spent in the lounge drinking various spritzers and other cocktails and chatting in a way I don't often get to do with Charlotte and Hugo. And I loved it! We ventured out for dinner each day and enjoyed all the restaurants and cafes we ate at.

On Monday we set out for Capri. Despite being told to turn up 20 minutes before the ferry the next two boats were already full. So we booked tickets and grabbed a coffee overlooking the harbour and awaited our 10.50am sailing. It's a quick crossing - only about 45 minutes. Once there Charlotte and Hugo decided to head off on a boat trip round the coast, hoping to see the Blue Grotto. I took the bus up the precipitous cliff drive to Anacapri. I walked quickly through the tourist shops selling all the same lemon themed stuff you can get in Sorrento but at twice the price, and headed to Villa Rosa. An interesting looking place from the outside and pretty in the courtyard, but what an odd 'museum'. A short video presentation beamed onto the walls about the discovery of the Blue Grotto, then on to a tiny collection of random paintings, badly displayed, and finally a view from the rooftop. Glad it was only €5 to get in! Next was Chiesa di San Michele Arcangelo to see the famous floor depicting the garden of Eden, but it was €2 euros, cash only, so I could not go in which was a shame.

Next was Chiesa Madre di Santa Sofia, a very plain church but with lovely light through the windows, illuminating the alter in a warm yellow glow. Then I set out for a half hour walk to see some ancient ruins. Once away from the main tourist street it was suddenly empty residential streets and I was enjoying the wander, even though it was all downhill - which of course meant the return would be uphill!

I could see Orrico fort from the path I was on, quite a way below me on the cliff edge. Just past that was the Roman Villa of Damecuta. There was no one else there. The eastern sector of the villa is characterized by a small cluster of rooms perched on the edge of the promontory. Owing to its isolated position and the discovery of the torso of a nude ephebe - the so-called Narcissus - this area has been interpreted as Emperor Tiberius's (Roman emperor from AD 14 until 37) residential quarters. In the Middle Ages, the site was occupied by the Tower of Damecuta, a circular limestone structure presumably built in the late medieval period. The western sector of the Villa of Damecuta includes a large hemicycle, known as the Rotonda del Belvedere. The structure rests on a complex system of substructures that supported upper levels. On the lower level of the hemicycle, fifteen rooms opened radially toward the sea.

I walked back, up hill in the heat, and made it back to Anacapri in time to visit Villa San Michele, home of the doctor, Axel Munthe. He was born in Sweden in 1857 and did his medical training in France. He travelled to Naples during the cholera epidemic of 1884 to help the victims. He was awarded the Italian Order of the Crown for his services during the earthquake on Ischia and the typhus epidemic on Capri in 1881. Munthe's patients included many members of the upper-classes and the aristocracy, but also the poor of Paris, Rome and Capri. In 1893 Munthe became personal physician to Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden-Norway. In 1901, when Munthe moved permanently to Capri, Victoria followed him. The relationship between Munthe and his patient, which was significantly more intimate than that prescribed in the doctors' code, lasted for thirty-seven years, until the queen's death in 1930.

I caught the bus back down to the harbour and treated myself to an incredible ice cream while I waited for Charlotte and Hugo and the ferry back to Sorrento.

On Wednesday morning I headed out straight after breakfast to a tiny shop, called Studio d'arte di Marcello Aversa, selling traditional Italian terracotta figures, called presepi and pastori. They are tiny figures that make up nativity or Easter scenes and can be tiny and quite simple, or beautifully complex, but they are all delicate and beautiful. Twenty years ago when we first visited this shop I saw a tiny dancing devil figure, playing pipes with goats hooves feet, and fell in love with it. I have thought about it many times over the years, so I took the opportunity to go in and ask if Marcello would do me a commission. He agreed and gave me a very reasonable price, although I am still waiting for an email with the bank details so I can pay for it, but fingers crossed I could soon own my own little dancing devil.

Later we soaked up the last opportunity to enjoy the poolside and view from the terrace over Sorrento. Then, we paid off the room bills and wandered into town for a final pizza and limoncello spritz before catching the train back to Naples and on to our accommodation by way of a taxi.

Our final evening was spent at La Cassa di Carlotta - a two bedroom apartment, ten minutes walk from the airport. Our flight was 6.30am the following morning so we had a very early start. It did nothing to improve my negative feelings about Naples! We didn't get the details of how to get into the apartment and we struggled to get sense out of the owner over the phone. Once in, the apartment was basic and a bit haphazard along with there being no hot water for a shower at 4am. This photo is to show the tiny space I had inside my single bed. But I did get a good few hours decent sleep once the noise outside had died down. I left a withering but honest review and got a rude message from the owner for my trouble.

We boarded the plane under orange morning skies and had a great flight home. And we had a great holiday, but it is really good to be back.