Experience the "real Italy" in these small mountain towns and villages
Many Italian-Americans trace their roots* to Southern Italy， but guidebooks generally focus only on Naples， Pompeii and the Amalfi Coast， leaving travelers with the impression that a massive earthquake in 1980 left nothing much else to see.
Tuscany， without the tourists and high prices， came to mind when my husband， Tom， and I rented a car in Rome and drove inland to spend a week exploring.
As it is in the next-door regions of Calabria and Molise， where our families have roots， big sites and important museums are few in rural Campania. The reward for a long drive along a winding road might be a Roman arch left standing in a field， or a country inn specializing in* an "educated cucina povera， " a modern twist on the traditional peasant food familiar to many an Italian-American.
Consider the two-hour lunch we had at a farm restaurant outside Taurasi， a wine town about an hour's drive from Naples. We toured the cellars of Antonio Caggiano， 71， an architect who took up* winemaking in 1990. After a tour and tasting that lasted more than an hour， he gave us directions to a friend's farmhouse restaurant， where we sat around a table， eating family-style with a group from Ireland. Platters of air-cured* salami and ham， dishes of marinated* peppers and bowls of zucchini， potatoes and white beans were followed by pasta， lamb chops and salads. When the waiter finally served a nougat dessert topped with crushed hazelnuts， it was nearly 5 p.m.
It sounds like a cliché to call this the "real Italy，" but if those words define a part of the country so far untouched by mass tourism， this is it.
Many Italian-Americans trace their roots* to Southern Italy， but guidebooks generally focus only on Naples， Pompeii and the Amalfi Coast， leaving travelers with the impression that a massive earthquake in 1980 left nothing much else to see.
Tuscany， without the tourists and high prices， came to mind when my husband， Tom， and I rented a car in Rome and drove inland to spend a week exploring.
As it is in the next-door regions of Calabria and Molise， where our families have roots， big sites and important museums are few in rural Campania. The reward for a long drive along a winding road might be a Roman arch left standing in a field， or a country inn specializing in* an "educated cucina povera， " a modern twist on the traditional peasant food familiar to many an Italian-American.
Consider the two-hour lunch we had at a farm restaurant outside Taurasi， a wine town about an hour's drive from Naples. We toured the cellars of Antonio Caggiano， 71， an architect who took up* winemaking in 1990. After a tour and tasting that lasted more than an hour， he gave us directions to a friend's farmhouse restaurant， where we sat around a table， eating family-style with a group from Ireland. Platters of air-cured* salami and ham， dishes of marinated* peppers and bowls of zucchini， potatoes and white beans were followed by pasta， lamb chops and salads. When the waiter finally served a nougat dessert topped with crushed hazelnuts， it was nearly 5 p.m.
It sounds like a cliché to call this the "real Italy，" but if those words define a part of the country so far untouched by mass tourism， this is it.