The rain continued on our second day. Not a hard rain, but an annoying rain, especially since our supply of clothing was limited and the only way to dry things was to hang them up in the sunshine. If there had been any sunshine, which there wasn't. So staying dry and keeping dry clothes became a major concern.
We strolled around Sorrento that morning, soaking up the local charm, and bought groceries (picnic supplies: bread, salami, and cheese for lunches; bottled water; and some coffee for breakfasts). We also picked up some flimsy 1-euro rain ponchos which were basically dry-cleaner bags in fun colors. These were possibly the most important purchases of the whole trip.
As I mentioned, the town of Sorrento sits atop some very tall cliffs, and there's a deep gorge right through the middle of town. At one time it was full of water-powered grist mills and sawmills, but now there's nothing but ruined stone walls down at the bottom. At some point in the town's history they filled in part of the gorge to extend the main square past the old defensive walls, and (I suppose) culverted the stream. More mysterious Mole People windows down there.
Emily and I discovered a simply gorgeous old Franciscan cloister which was quiet and beautiful in the rain. There were grape vines which ran up the old stone columns to trellises on the second story, and an olive tree in the center.
We also did a little shopping, since Emily didn't have warm enough clothes for the weather. Sixty degrees Fahrenheit is T-shirt weather when it's sunny, but sweater weather when it's cloudy and damp. So we found her a nice-looking coat that didn't break the credit card. It's now her "Italian coat" and she can swan around school at Frontier Regional High acting like Audrey Hepburn.
The four of us had our first pizza in Italy for lunch. We actually went a little overboard and ordered four separate pizzas, expecting them to be individual-sized. They weren't.
So, how does authentic southern Italian pizza made by authentic southern Italians in southern Italy compare with its American offshoots?
• The crust is better. Considerably better. I don't know if it's the flour or the yeast or whatever, but the difference was profound. The Italian crusts were crisp without getting leathery.
• The range of toppings is different. The universals are Marinara (plain tomato sauce) and Margherita (tomato and mozzarella). Other standards are Siciliana (eggplant), Capricciosa (artichoke and olive), and Quattro Formaggi (mixed cheeses). Beyond that it goes off in directions strange to American pizza eaters: fried potatoes, speck (bacon, and indicative of how many German tourists visit the area). Some of our dependable favorites are entirely absent: I didn't see a single place serving pepperoni or other sausage on the pizza. Nor did I see mushrooms or onions. The quantity of cheese is much smaller than on American pizzas (and this may have something to do with the crisper crust).
• The makers use a much lighter hand with the toppings. There's always at least a two-inch margin of crust at the edges, and the toppings are generally thinner. Italian pizza is very unmistakeably bread with stuff on it, not a pie. This may also have something to do with crispness.
Keep in mind this was not a systematic study. We got pizza a couple of times, once in Sorrento and once in Naples itself. Still, it would be fun to do a cladistic study of how pizza evolved, starting with the originals, comparing the transatlantic family of pizzas to the Italian ones, and looking for reverse influences and crossovers.
It's useless to claim that the pizza of southern Italy is the "real" dish. It's the root stock, but pizza has become a global food. One can get it on every continent including Antarctica.
After pizza we checked out the Duomo of Sorrento, which boasts lots of interior decorations done in inlaid wood, the local specialty handicraft. (We skipped the Museum of Inlaid Wood because it seemed like a marketing showroom rather than a real museum.) There was also a very elaborate Nativity diorama the size of a small room.
For dinner we went down a long flight of steps to the fishing port, called the Marina Grande (the other port in Sorrento, where the boats to Naples and Capri dock, is called the Marina Piccola, and is much bigger). We dined at a trattoria called Santa Anna di Emilia, which I heartily recommend to anyone who goes to Sorrento. I had spaghetti with clams, Diane had whole fried sardines, Emily got calamari, and Robert had ravioli. We got a pitcher of wine and emerged very full and happy.
The climb back up the cliff gave us enough appetite for gelato. Robert discovered the existence of Nutella-flavored gelato, which is now his favorite flavor -- so much so that we may have to learn to make it.
Then we all went to bed early, ready for an exciting day at Pompeii!
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