Experience the "real Italy" in these small mountain towns and villages
In Sant'Agata de'Goti， an ancient town built on a rock cliff， we met Loredana Fusaro and her husband， enrico Pofi. They were our hosts at the B they opened recently in the 19th-century stone building they bought a few years ago. From their garden planted with fig， orange and olive trees， we looked down on the new town-built after the earthquake-and the restored medieval old town， al of it surrounded by mountains and terraced vineyards.
Fortified* each morning by Loredana's apple and raisin strudel*， we spent the next few days exploring little mountain towns known for their ceramics*， cow-and sheep-milk cheeses， wine， and torrone， a nougat candy made with honey， nuts and egg whites.
Calitri， Avellino
We had no idea what to expect when we drove to our next stop， the hilltop hamlet of Calitri in the province of Avellino. An isolated mountain town bordering Basilicata and one of Italy's poorest regions， Calitri has always been a town that people left. Thousands immigrated to other parts of Italy， South America and the United States in the 1900s in search of jobs， and again after 1980.
Now tourism is staring to spawn* a small migration of foreigners interested in exploring their roots or buying a vacation home. Browsing the Internet， I found houses for rent in the "Borgo Antico，" the medieval-town center that was all but abandoned after the earthquake.
Ten thousand people lived in the borgo in the 1950s， some within the remains* of 12th-century castle. Today just 500 of Calitri's 5，000 residents live here， mostly elderly people who refused to move to a modern， new town built next door. A few homes have fresh coats of paint， but many more are vacant， with weeds growing around weathered doorways.
In Sant'Agata de'Goti， an ancient town built on a rock cliff， we met Loredana Fusaro and her husband， enrico Pofi. They were our hosts at the B they opened recently in the 19th-century stone building they bought a few years ago. From their garden planted with fig， orange and olive trees， we looked down on the new town-built after the earthquake-and the restored medieval old town， al of it surrounded by mountains and terraced vineyards.
Fortified* each morning by Loredana's apple and raisin strudel*， we spent the next few days exploring little mountain towns known for their ceramics*， cow-and sheep-milk cheeses， wine， and torrone， a nougat candy made with honey， nuts and egg whites.
Calitri， Avellino
We had no idea what to expect when we drove to our next stop， the hilltop hamlet of Calitri in the province of Avellino. An isolated mountain town bordering Basilicata and one of Italy's poorest regions， Calitri has always been a town that people left. Thousands immigrated to other parts of Italy， South America and the United States in the 1900s in search of jobs， and again after 1980.
Now tourism is staring to spawn* a small migration of foreigners interested in exploring their roots or buying a vacation home. Browsing the Internet， I found houses for rent in the "Borgo Antico，" the medieval-town center that was all but abandoned after the earthquake.
Ten thousand people lived in the borgo in the 1950s， some within the remains* of 12th-century castle. Today just 500 of Calitri's 5，000 residents live here， mostly elderly people who refused to move to a modern， new town built next door. A few homes have fresh coats of paint， but many more are vacant， with weeds growing around weathered doorways.