Season 5, Episode 9 | Southern Italian Culture: Roots in Sun, Stone, and Sea
Episode summary
In this episode, Anthony and Brian explore the rich culture, history, and culinary delights of Southern Italy. They discuss the importance of media in reflecting Italian life, travel tips for experiencing authentic Italy, and the unique characteristics of various regions. The conversation highlights the slower pace of life in the South, the historical influences that shape its culture, and the diverse food traditions that make Southern Italy a unique destination for travelers.
Takeaways
Southern Italy is rich in culture and humor.
Media like 'Sicilia Express' reflects Italian life.
Traveling to Italy requires careful planning.
Naples is often a gateway to the South.
Authentic experiences are found off the beaten path.
Historical influences shape Southern Italy's culture.
Food is a central part of Southern Italian life.
Lesser-known regions offer unique experiences.
The pace of life in the South is slower and more traditional.
Culinary traditions vary greatly across regions.
Episode Transcript
0:00
Media's Portrayal of Southern Italian Life and Culture
Hey, guys, welcome back.
You're listening to the Bella Italy podcast
0:15
and we're back around again, everybody.
Hello, Hello, Anthony and Brian.
Brian and Anthony in the studio and we're heading South, my friend.
0:26
Speaker 2
How you feel about that?
0:28
Speaker 3
So it's funny you say that.
And so I tell, I think I texted you over the Christmas holiday about the South.
I was just watching probably 2 very famous comedians.
Sicily Express.
0:39
Speaker 2
I brought that up a couple of episodes ago and and told you that we had just finished it.
I guess it came out over there as well.
0:46
Speaker 3
Yeah, it just came out a little later.
It's.
0:48
Speaker 2
Perfect, perfect.
0:50
Speaker 3
It is perfect for this.
Basically, it's perfect for this conversation because it starts out with a gentleman from Sicily in a Milan hospital and he don't even want to take the pills if they come from Milan.
1:05
He doesn't want to smell the air.
It's, it's it is ironic and it's true.
I mean, it's a little over the top, obviously, but yeah, it's, it is.
It's just just that first 5 minutes of the clip of that gentleman from Sicily who he's dying because he's in Milan and he misses the sea, the sounds, everything, even the water for his IV had to come from Sicily.
1:30
It's pretty funny.
1:42
Speaker 2
If you're trying to figure out who and what we're talking about, this is Sicilia Express or Sicily Express, and these are two beloved Italian.
1:56
Speaker 1
Comedians that are often in Sicily, often in Palermo for their series, it's super, super funny.
They're they're known as Ficara Epicone.
And so it's Salvatore Ficara and Valentino pick on it and they have their their characters, you know, are are just they're they're always.
2:16
Speaker 2
Getting into trouble, they're always getting into trouble and that's what makes it so fun.
So they they have this magic dumpster that they find that they can work in Milan and live in the South.
And that's the perfect life because that's what's you know, it's the it's the southern living la Dolce Vita down here.
2:36
But you got to, you have that job that pays you, and that's only in the limit.
And so they have solved that problem.
Solved it.
2:44
Speaker 3
Yeah, it's just some of the lines in it.
You're just I'm dying.
How about the other guy?
He's he goes.
But you're from the South too?
No, I'm from Calabria.
I'm a little up north.
2:55
Speaker 2
It's north.
2:56
Speaker 1
It's north.
2:58
Speaker 2
That was the the chief in the in the hospital where they were.
3:01
Speaker 3
It was awful.
Yeah, it's a very funny joke.
It's great.
3:06
Speaker 2
But yeah, if you're if you're itching for some new series, we're we're.
3:09
Speaker 1
Actually going to talk about a couple of series in this episode today.
Really fun because some of the content that we're going to get into it, it's just if you want to immerse yourself in some Italian culture, the the best way is through the big screen.
3:26
And this was ATV series, but there's some other miniseries or a movie that we're going to talk about.
What are we talking about?
3:33
Exploring Italy's Macro Regions: Heading South
All right, so if you're joining us for the first time, this is the Bella Italy podcast and we are an extension.
3:40
Speaker 2
I was going to say an outgrowth, I don't know if that's really the term protuberance, as Michael Scott would say, a growth of Italy with Bella.
If you're thinking about going to Italy, think about going to Italy with Bella.
3:56
Head over to Italy with bella.com.
Sign up for a free consultation with Anthony's wife, Denise.
4:02
Speaker 1
No strings attached and it's just going to walk you through what a trip to Italy would look like.
They're going to give you some great pointers.
Even if you don't go to Italy with Bella, you're still going to come off of that call having learned something, hopefully been inspired.
And that's what we we hope to do on this podcast.
4:19
It's we, we have this as a base for us to, you know, all the clients that are coming over with us, with Italy, with Bella has provided us that afforded us the opportunity to learn and grow alongside and extend our knowledge and information base so that we can just provide the a free resource, hopefully of inspiration to you.
4:42
And so all that to say, what we have been doing recently.
So this is in season 5.
Now you're finding us.
If you started at the beginning of the season, we walked through traveling to Italy, you know some reasons not to go to Italy.
If you're going to go to Italy, here's what to do and the right mindset, the right things to think about to consider reducing that bucket list.
5:06
For example, cutting it in half and maybe in half again, coming over with at least 10-12 days.
How many cities you need to to look at in that time frame and where you should focus based on your preferences, not your friend or your cousin or your aunt and uncle or your, you know, favorite Instagram TikTok influencer, but your preferences coming over here to Italy.
5:30
So that's where we are.
Then we started into a little mini series inside of this season 5 talking about the macro regions of Italy.
Again, 20 regions total, 5 macro regions or groupings, just like we have the NE, the Northwest, the Southwest, South.
5:53
As we say in Nashville, you know, you can have the plains, you got all these little groupings.
And this is what we've done over here, Italy, just to give us a way to talk about these great zones.
So we've dealt with the North East and the Northwest and the Central, and now we're heading South.
6:12
And so that's where you find us today.
6:14
Understanding Traffic and Appeal of Southern Italian Regions
So welcome to the show as you know if this isn't your first time.
6:20
Speaker 2
We're going to challenge Anthony because that's what we love to do.
So given that Anthony knows probably a little bit more and he's got roots in the South right outside of Caserta, if I'm not mistaken, we've had a house in in Umbria.
6:36
And so, you know, this is kind of that.
6:37
Speaker 1
Central and then S region, you're over here a lot in in Naples and coming out on the the Sorentine Peninsula a lot.
I know you're already planning for the next couple of months what the next trip would look like.
We do a lot in the South.
We do a lot of business, let's say in the South with Italy, with Bella.
6:58
If you were to say what, what are the the top macro regions that we see the most traffic in what where would you, where would you point us?
What would you say to that?
7:11
Speaker 3
So in, in, in this particular series here or over the last few podcasts, I would definitely say the macro region would be the central for most because of Tuscany.
And if you're counting Lotzio, right, that would be the, the, the, the macro region.
I would say now I'm going to look at this macro region.
7:30
Campania obviously would be 90% of this macro region because of Naples in the Amalfi Coast, right.
But other than that, you know, you know, most of the customers we're talking with or not thinking about Pullia, Basilicata, you know, Calabria, you know, getting into that.
7:49
That's why I'm kind of excited about this because this this is where, you know, we're trying to drive or discuss more of the South in these type of macro slice, you know, little micro regions inside the macro regions that we we want to discuss.
8:05
But yeah, I think the central will be the most when it comes to customers because of the Tuscan in Latio traffic wise.
But you know, obviously Campania would be if you just had Campania as a micro macro region, Campania would be up there with all of it but you.
8:21
Speaker 1
See a lot of traffic.
Yeah.
So I, I, I did some research.
I actually threw this in our calendar item for today.
There's an image in there you can pull up top 10 most visited cities in Italy 2025.
So we're, we're closing out 2025 beginning 2026.
8:39
And this was kind of a look back at what, what the top were according to certain, you know, everybody's going to have their different ratings and how they get their statistics and, and all of that.
But I thought it was interesting.
Rome was crowned the the king.
8:55
I mean, you know, we've talked about this on this, not on this podcast, but in this season, in this series about how most travelers to Italy hit the top 1 to 5% of of Italian cities.
9:11
These are the biggest cities.
They see the most traffic.
That's where most people come in.
It's the same in the States.
We've talked about that 100 times.
There was also the jubilee over this year too.
And so I think that that pushed Rome even higher on the chart.
9:27
The next one down are the familiar faces that we've already talked about in the previous episodes, Venice, Florence, Milan.
You get down to #5 is Naples.
And yeah, it's a gateway.
9:43
I, I think a lot of people, they're not thinking that they want to actually go and visit Naples so much as use it as a, as a gateway to get out on, you know, over to Sorrento, the Amalfi Coast, down to Pompeii, paste them all of that.
10:01
More and more, though, we are seeing people take a two days, three days in Naples, piggybacking that while they're in the area.
And I think they're coming away loving it, having, you know, gotten into the big, messy, noisy, dirty city of Naples, but with the right guide to show them around, staying in the right lodging, eating at the right restaurants.
10:24
They're having a fabulous, fabulous time.
It, it is, it is a little bit off the beaten path, though, as we come down South and as we get into this episode today, you know, the, the other names that we could throw out on this top ten list were Bologna, Turin, Verona, Pisa.
10:42
I don't know why, but Pisa was on there.
It's for that iconic landmark.
But #10 was Palermo, so #5 Naples #10 Palermo.
Does that ring true with what you see from our team in the States?
10:58
Speaker 3
Yeah, I mean, that's not even a question.
I mean, you just stated it.
Well, no one asked for Naples.
It's like we want to see Pompeii and it's a stopover pizza, you know, Pompeii, We want to, you know, we'll we got to fly out the next day.
We're going to stay in Naples for a food walking tour or whatever, see some history.
11:17
But if you take Naples out of this list, there's nothing in the macro region that we're going to talk about today.
So you think about it there really there's no Puglia, there's no Basilicata, there's no Campania.
If you take Naples out, even though Positano's right now this not on the radar.
11:34
So it's just this is an exciting, this is an exciting, you know, podcast today because top 10 doesn't have anything.
I mean, even Naples is number 5.
But really, you know, they're not spending five days in Naples or four days in Naples by by our customers, Yeah.
11:48
Speaker 1
And you know, kind of the DNA, I think on this on this podcast for us and, and Italy with Bella as well, I would say is helping people see the real Italy.
11:57
Discovering the Real Italy: Authentic Experiences in the South
We we really, you know that, that just I don't know that gets us up in the morning, you know, to to help people have an authentic experience and enjoy it for what it is.
Enjoy Italy for what it is.
That's super exciting.
It's possible to do that in Rome and Venice and Milan.
12:16
You got to know the the tips and tricks.
You got to know how it works and you got it's just like going to to New York.
You know, it if there, there is some insider information for enjoying, you know, a week, let's say in New York, that if it's your first time and you don't know any of that, it it's a machine and it will, it's a meat grinder.
12:37
It really is.
It's a mechanism and and you got to know how to enjoy that.
And you know, as you're coming over here to Italy for the first time or second time, you can have those authentic experiences in the bigger cities as you come down the South.
12:52
Speaker 2
You're going to have authentic experience, like it or not, because that's all it's got.
12:58
Speaker 3
We're not marketing to you guys.
We're it's like when I first went to Bari, right?
I went to Bari and I was I was first time I went was sick.
It was too cold out to really see people sitting outside.
And the light next time I go.
And I'm like, it's getting more popular.
13:14
Polio is getting more popular.
But, you know, you're walking down the streets and this is, you know, this woman and her, her siblings or friends are sitting out in resin chairs with their host house coats at 1:00 in the afternoon with a like a Coleman tank and cooking fish in the middle of the street and a little side Rd.
13:34
I'm like, yeah, they're really not caring who's showing up.
They're really, you know, they're living life and they're not with marketing and they're not trying to.
13:42
Speaker 2
Clean the streets.
13:43
Speaker 3
They're very authentic, right?
And I'm like, but that's what people want to see.
Ironically.
They want to see a Nona in a housecoat cooking fish on a Coleman land, you know what I mean?
So, and it's just, you know, I love seeing this list and I'm kind of surprised that Verone is that high.
13:59
And, you know, but there's nothing, it really is nothing South of Rome on here, except for Palermo, you know, But it's that's the exciting part about it.
You know, I like, I like seeing that, hey, we're going to talk about someplace.
If you want to see real Italy, this is what you're going to get because you're not on this list.
14:16
You know it's funny.
14:28
Speaker 1
All right, let's jump in then.
14:29
Testing Knowledge on Southern Italy's History and Cuisine
Let's.
14:31
Speaker 2
Let's go to our list.
Anthony, Are you ready?
How you feeling today?
Little foggy headed?
Did you have your coffee?
You caught.
14:38
Speaker 3
My coffee.
I've already had three calls this morning and I can't wait to be tested.
The owner The owner of the company loves to be tested.
14:47
Speaker 2
Let's see if he's worthy to be the owner of the.
14:51
Speaker 3
Owner of this company, OK.
14:54
Speaker 2
Ancient roots.
14:55
Speaker 3
Here we go.
We can always edit.
We can always edit bro, you know that.
14:58
Speaker 2
We're talking about the Deep South now.
Which ancient civilization founded the city of Neopolis?
Which is modern day Naples?
Which ancient civilization do you want to take a stab or do you want your your choices?
15:14
Speaker 3
Ancient civilization.
All right, good.
Sadly, that's where my family comes from, so I'm going to say monkeys.
15:23
Speaker 2
Monkeys for 2000, Alex.
Final answer Good Romans, Etruscans, Greeks or Phoenicians.
15:33
Speaker 3
You are killing me dude.
15:38
Speaker 2
I love the torment.
15:40
Speaker 3
Well, it can't be.
Well, the say it again, the Greeks.
15:44
Speaker 1
All right, ancient civilization that founded the city and think about the name Neopolis.
15:49
Speaker 3
Is it the Greeks?
Obviously it's the Greeks.
15:52
Speaker 1
Yes, Etruscan's Greeks are finished.
It's the Greeks.
This was, you know much of southern Italy.
So from Naples on down is really connected and that's why we're clumping it in this, you know, this, this mega or macro region, it was conquered, you know, by the the Greeks as A and was came to be known as Magna Greca, the the greater Greece.
16:17
So when you're thinking about this area coming from Naples on down, this was the Kingdom of the two Sicilies, think Greeks, Romans, Arabs, Normans and the Bourbons as they came in, each successive wave brought its culture.
16:34
And so there's a lot of similarities and a lot of imprint that's still the same.
You know, I mentioned it before about being in Tarmina here recently.
And again with the the amphitheater that's there and you're looking at it and you can see the erosion in every layer.
You go back to a previous civilization who built on top of it.
16:53
And and that's, that's the beautiful thing about the South.
I.
16:57
Speaker 3
Think well, even the paste them, even paste them has the Greek rune ruins.
I mean, not even ruins.
I mean they're beautiful.
You know, you could see the influence just going there.
Most people don't know that.
No, you know, but you know that in the South, I believe it's in Pesos in Campania, if I if I'm correct.
17:12
But yeah, I mean right there you'll see the Greek influence just taking a ride down South past the Salerno.
You'll see that, you know, the influence in that area just from the Greeks.
That's interesting.
17:23
Speaker 1
All right, let's talk about volcanoes.
There are several volcanoes here in southern Italy.
Several.
17:29
Speaker 2
OK.
17:32
Speaker 1
Which volcano directly threatens the metropolitan area of Naples?
And it last erupted in 1944.
I don't have to give you that, no.
17:44
Speaker 3
Vase Vesuvio.
So final answer.
17:48
Speaker 2
Final answer.
17:50
Speaker 1
Yeah, it, it is Vesuvius.
We also have Aetna down here in Catania, Sicily, Cromboli, one of the Aiolian Islands, Flegre, OK, is also an active volcano.
There's there's a lot, there's a lot of volcanoes, several of them, several of them are, are active.
18:07
We even have a volcano named Volcano.
18:10
Speaker 2
Think about it.
Think about it.
It actually makes sense when you think about it.
18:14
Speaker 3
Basically, the island is a volcano, so you might as well pull of that, yeah.
So yeah.
18:19
Speaker 1
Let's talk about pasta.
18:21
Speaker 2
Oriquette.
You know your ears.
Ears.
Okay.
Originated in which southern region was it Campania?
18:30
Speaker 1
Calabria or Polia?
18:34
Speaker 3
Polia.
18:35
Speaker 2
Finally, Polia, look at you.
How did you know that?
Because you've done cooking classes in, you're so happy with yourself, you're going to be on a runners high for the rest of the day.
Exactly.
18:49
Speaker 3
Well, I seen that old lady rolling them in the street after she took her house gown outside and she was cooking pasta.
She was cooking Arquette, so on a little camper.
Whatever she.
19:01
Speaker 2
Was going now if you if you get this wrong, Leonardo's going to be really upset with you.
The UNESCO listed Sassy de Matera are located in which region?
19:17
Speaker 1
No help my.
19:17
Speaker 3
Favorite region material is actually not my favorite city in Basilicot.
That's a little town called Potenza and.
19:26
Speaker 2
A.
19:27
Speaker 3
Lot of potential.
They just need to move some of these people out that we know to make it make the Class A little better.
Yeah, so, so the wonderful region.
19:42
Speaker 2
Of basilicata and all right where we're talking about food, where does.
19:47
Speaker 1
Nduya Nduya come from Italy's famously spicy spreadable salami comes from which region you want your choices?
19:57
Speaker 3
No, Calabria.
20:01
Speaker 2
It's Calabria.
It is Calabria Picante.
It's Picante.
20:06
Speaker 3
I'm good with food.
Anything with food.
You mentioned the pasta, the food.
I'm good.
20:11
Speaker 1
All right, well, I'll throw in a bonus one.
We're in the bonus round one, One extra.
It's about wine.
Which powerful red grape is mostly associated with volcanic soils in southern Italy?
Is it Primitivo Nero, Ditroya Alianico or Negro Amaro?
20:31
Most closely associated with volcanic soils.
20:36
Speaker 3
Eglonico.
20:38
Speaker 1
Bravissimo, yeah, look at you.
You are betting 1000 Alianico is absolutely Yeah you're.
20:48
Speaker 2
Doing so.
20:49
Speaker 3
Good.
Once again, food and wine.
20:53
Speaker 2
I would have failed all of those.
I'm so proud of you.
Look at you.
20:57
Speaker 3
So I get a Sam pin.
Can I have my pin though?
That would have been the question.
21:01
Exploring Abruzzo and Molise: Preserved Traditions and Slower Pace
You get a.
21:01
Speaker 1
Star by your name, and that's it all right, well, as, as we're coming into, we're going to talk about these regions.
So we're we're talking about a Brutzo Moliza, Campagna Puglia, Basilicata in Calabria.
So as you're looking at the map and you go yo roam and you head, you know due east and then you come all the way down.
21:24
It's everything from that line down and you know, we were just in a year, was it last year we were in a Brutzo and Moliza.
Interesting culture there.
I, I have to say this is, you know, this is the Adriatic side.
It's that backside that looks towards like the Balkans and all of that.
21:44
Interesting, you know, Venetian heritage, but also the the Greek and the Roman built up on it up that hill, the the heel of Italy.
And if you got Puglia as the heel as you come, as you come N you're getting into this Abruzzo.
22:03
And we did spend a few days in Pescara.
22:08
Speaker 3
San Bernardetto.
22:10
Speaker 1
These are not the places that most people are thinking about and, and this is off the beaten path.
But you know, as, as we, as we've talked to folks in these areas there, there's the Hill Country, hill type folks, there's the people that are just on the coastal areas.
22:28
They, they really stay put.
They don't travel outside of their region, their zone very much.
And, and you, you get that feel of you're in a very isolated place that has been protected and, and, and that it keeps the tradition, it keeps the, you know, the, the antiquity that you feel there when you go it.
22:51
It's not very modern and you know, it has a different look and feel to.
22:55
Speaker 3
It it just stuck in time.
Everyone knows each other.
It is very traditional.
You're not seeing, I mean, we were in Pescada, obviously pesero up in Marquet and you are just not seeing a lot of English speaking.
23:14
You're not seeing tourists.
You're seeing traditional great food.
You're seeing sticking in traditions.
A lot of traditions are even like I remember when we, when that Sunday, when in Pescada and it's a major city in Abuja, That's the, you know, that is the, the major city there.
23:30
And we, we show up, there's nothing going on.
I mean, me and you were like walking the streets.
We could, we could have played desert in the middle, middle of the road, you know, and all of a sudden we go back to the hotel after lunch, fabulous lunch of great Popette, by the way, great meatballs in Abuja And we, we go back to the hotel.
23:49
I'm like, all right, Bry, let's, let's do some work.
Come back out four o'clock.
It was like 5:00.
Everyone was out there.
It was like Saturday night living and it was, you know, that's what life was in back in the day.
You don't get that.
And the major cities like Rome and Florence anymore, you're going to you're going to see time stays still a little bit I felt.
24:09
And if you want a real experience, obviously this, you know, there's not a lot to do in Pescada.
You can go to the beach with the brown water, but you know, you know but.
24:20
Speaker 1
Turning turbulent water.
24:23
Speaker 3
Exactly.
But, and it's right there.
I mean, literally walk 100 yards from city center, you see the water.
But yeah, I, I, I loved, I love the people.
I love the the IT felt like a small community, even though it was a, you know, a decent sized city for that area.
24:39
Yeah, it was.
24:39
Speaker 1
Different, really, really underrated.
And I like what you said.
It's, it's like walking back in time.
There is a sense of being preserved because of its isolation.
It it's not a high traffic place.
I mean, you know, getting a train nowadays from Rome to Bari is possible.
24:59
And it it's still, what is it, 3 1/2, four hours at least to get down.
It takes some time it things move slower, but that's also great for, as you know, we talked about on in this season about slow Italy, slowing down to the pace of Italy so that you can enjoy it.
25:17
That's what you have to have in mind when you come to this macro region, these 5456 different regions we're talking about in southern, southern Italy and what was once the Kingdom of Two Sicily is it it has that look and feel.
25:32
Deep Dive into Southern Italy's Cultural Roots and Media Influence
If you want to get into that a little bit more, 2 two things come to mind immediately.
And and this probably because I'm, you know, here in in Sicily, but you've got my my favorite beach book.
I take it with me every summer just to see how far I can get in the book.
25:50
I've finished it, I think, two or three times, but I I love taking the leopard Gato Pardo by Giuseppe Tomasio de Lampedusa to to read.
It's a, it's a fascinating look at, you know, the, this time period in which Garibaldi and the red shirts are hitting the shores and everything's being changed, everything's being turned upside down and how the the aristocracy of the day was dealing with that.
26:19
Another series that people may like, I think it's actually out on Netflix right now is The Lions of Sicily.
Lions of Sicily explores the Florio family.
So Florio is on the other side, is Marsala side of Sicily.
26:36
We'll, we'll talk about that more as we get into the next episode after this one and we get into Sicily.
But the Florios was a very powerful family that that had a lot of influence here.
And they really changed the, the tuna industry.
26:54
And he was one of the first to submerge tuna in oil in order to preserve it.
They did.
They really made.
Yeah.
Lots of lots of waves, let's say.
And the the turbulent times is almost like watching a Sicilian version of Downton Abbey.
27:12
You know, that's why my wife likes to watch it.
Lions of Sicily.
Great novels too, by the way, but we're talking about traditionally agrarian slower economic development compared to the North, but a lot of culture and heritage and a lot of that comes from the Greek, the Phoenician, Greek and Roman roots and then all of these other layers built on top of that.
27:35
But I, I think that, you know, you mentioned too, the, the, how closely connected it is with the, the roots and we'll say the agrarian roots, but also their traditional roots in the food that you eat.
And just taking the simple things like you mentioned, you know, taking a walk, the Pasajata, you see that a lot more in the South than, than you do or you know, it, it may be that in some of these larger cities in the North, you just don't notice it.
28:02
If you're in Verona, you may not notice it because there's so many dead gum tourists out in the streets all the time.
It's hard to tell when you're in an area where there's a lot of residential, just normal Italians living that would go out for their normal stroll in the afternoon, the evening, that kind of thing.
28:20
Speaker 3
And if you do see someone, it's it's an old man with his hands behind his back and you're like, oh, it's just, that's an anomaly.
When obviously if you go to, if you go to Abruzzo or you go to a Marquette, you're going to see all the old men with their wives and kids and the strollers and all of that.
28:37
You know, it's just a different, you know, vibe.
28:40
Speaker 1
During the day, you'll see the men in the town squares playing cards.
28:45
Speaker 3
Or.
28:45
Speaker 2
Talking about their wives.
My my wife will tell me sometimes as we're walking around what the old guys are talking about in dialect.
And she's she'll start shaking her head and I'm like, Rosie, what are they saying?
She goes.
They're complaining about their wives who are at home cooking the sauce, you know?
29:06
Speaker 3
Sitting around playing cards, having cocktails.
29:10
Speaker 2
I just said, I said that's awesome.
This is the life that I'm looking forward to.
I can't wait to retire and be one of these guys sitting around badmouthing.
No, I'm not going to badmouth her, but talking about their wives, I'll.
29:22
Speaker 3
Do it to her face.
I'm going to tell my friends.
29:29
Speaker 1
You know, as as we get down into the South too, and, and we're talking about Rome on South, we, we see a lot more tomatoes.
We see a lot richer the the cheeses and a lot of heavy vegetable dishes.
29:46
Speaker 3
You know that volcanic too coming off, you know, think about the volcanoes you got.
You got two of them with all the great vegetables and.
29:54
Speaker 1
Got your nutrients?
29:55
Speaker 3
Yeah, all your nutrients and minerals.
30:00
Speaker 1
But you know, you're going to, you're going to see and feel it.
You know, we've, we've talked about a lot where the, the disconnect is for people that come over to Italy because we have something in our minds.
You know, you go to Olive Garden and there's all the little things on the walls, you know, to remind you of and you feel like you're, they want to make you feel like you're in Italy.
30:22
Speaker 2
But it you're you're.
30:24
Speaker 1
You're being programmed with a caricature, a caricature of Italy with, you know, you have a caricature or something with a little small body but a big head.
And it and it exaggerate certain features in order to in order to make a point.
And we do that a lot of time as Americans about Italy.
30:42
We have, you know, the films and the TV series and the whatnot that has these exaggerations.
Some of them are true.
And we see a lot of tomato in the South, a lot of vegetables in the South, a lot of, you know, pizza, it starts in Naples.
This is the place to go.
31:00
And as you come down to into Calabria, as we mentioned before, you have a little bit more spice because you have the, the pepperoncini.
And, and if you're over in in Puglia, we had some fantastic food in Puglia last time we were there and have a cooking Class, A great partner outside of Leche.
31:20
All, all of this goes into the experience.
And I, I think a lot of people when they finally come down South, because again, it's not in that top ten list.
A lot of times when they come down South, they feel like they're finally seeing the real Italy.
And I think that's, that's the big reveal for this macro region is even these unknown regions for US Americans, unknown in the sense of a Brutzo Moliza, a Pulia, Pulia.
31:49
As you get into these areas, you, you have the sense of you're, you're finally saying the authentic side of Italy.
32:06
Is that ring true for what we've heard from clients?
32:10
Speaker 3
Yeah, I think it's totally true.
And you know, and that's the to me is if you if people were an open book and really true to themselves and they said we want to see real Italy, we don't care about anything else.
I know I could see history and Puglia.
32:26
That's the other thing is people, there's history everywhere in Italy, you know what I mean?
And believe me, any town you go to, they're proud of it and they're going to tell you about it, right?
You don't even think of Bari.
They have this, you know, Sun Sunny Cola, which is Santa Claus, right, Right.
You know, I was like, wow, this is cool.
32:42
It's fascinating.
Great history, great history lesson, the whole thing behind Santa Claus.
But it's the, it's the people, the pace, the food, your vision of what you think Italy is.
Because you went to an Italian restaurant with a checkered board tablecloth and the guy was from Italy, right?
33:02
You're getting that in the South because they don't, they're not marketing yet, they're not figuring it out yet.
And that's going to give you the real experience, the food, the cost, the pace, the crowds, everything you think of the headaches are getting around sometimes.
33:17
Yeah, It's it's if you want to have that vision of I came back and I met, you know, Giuseppe, I met Ava.
I met these people that were local.
They're now on Facebook friends.
And I'm having experiences.
We laugh and we stayed up all night and talked in the middle of the pier.
33:33
You're going to have a better shot of having that experience.
And what you're in your mind that you want, then you're going to have and, you know, Rome, Florence and Venice, you know, or Amalfi, they don't have time for you.
You know, they're making money.
They get the machine rolling.
If you want to go there in February maybe and, and see if they're around and they're a little bit slower.
33:54
Yeah, exactly.
You're going to have what your mind thinks about experiences, the people, the food, the pace is that you're going to get.
But you got to be open to it.
You got to, you got to take that.
We talked about it for AD Nauseam.
34:09
We've got to be open to it to take away the Rome's, the Florence and Venice, because your friends went there, because they have the Coliseum, because I could see the David and I, you know, I can buy leather, whatever, right?
That's what this is for.
34:25
Speaker 1
Yeah, yeah.
And I was just thinking there, there's so much similarity if if you've been to Spain, there's a lot of similarity between north of Spain and South of Spain as you're in those northern towns of like a Madrid or a Barcelona.
34:44
And then you come down to the South to like a Toledo or something along the, the coast.
I know you were in Spain a year ago and, and had that experience.
The South of Spain is slower, more traditional, really deep roots in in the religious side and the food side, the agrarian side.
35:02
It's not to say you can't have great experiences in the north, but in the South you're really seeing you kind of roll going back in time a little bit.
And I think the same thing holds true here in in Italy in in the South.
35:16
Highlighting Principal Cities and Beautiful Coastal Areas of the South
And we're talking about, you know, some of these principal cities that you might find in this macro region.
People come to Naples, we we know there's tons of history.
It's big, it's bustling, it's vibrant, it's noisy, it's dirty, it's all of that.
But it's a great, great town.
35:33
I love it.
I can't get enough of Naples body in in Puglia Matera in Basilicato we talked about in the trivia leche in Pulia is has been called the Florence of the South is one way to say it.
35:50
Reggio Calabria, the southern tip you're getting you're going back.
I mean, they're finding these, these sunken ships and Greek or Roman statues submerged underwater all the time.
They're finding these things.
There's treasures down here in the tip of Italy.
36:07
One of the things that people don't calculate coming South Naples on down and it really roam on down is the coastal areas, not just for a boat trip, but the beaches as well.
Both I think are are undervalued components of Italy.
36:27
It's just not the first thing that goes comes into your mind.
I'm going to get out on a boat, I'm going to go to the beach when I go to Italy.
I I think that's a shame because it it's so much part of the culture and what people do, especially in the summer to beat the heat and get away.
36:42
That's.
36:42
Speaker 3
Where the Italians go, right?
They're, they're the ones getting out of Rome and going down to Cilento, right?
And then you talk about it, I mean, and it's easy.
You could sit in Leche.
We always talk about this.
You're sitting in Leche.
You can go to the Adriatic or you can go to the Gulf, right?
36:57
And it depends on the trade winds.
It depends on where you want to go that day, what kind of beach you want.
It's 30 minutes either direction, I mean.
37:04
Speaker 1
It's really.
37:05
Speaker 2
Favorite Florida?
37:06
Speaker 3
Exactly.
Really.
In Florida, it's the best way to put it, yeah.
37:08
Speaker 1
You choose the coast that day, you know, based on the weather conditions, based on crowds, based on, you know, the kind of experience you want.
But you have an incredible seafood, incredible Vista, you know, the views and the, the beaches and the water and you have a, you take a boat tour or whatever excursion getting out and it's, it's like you're rolling back.
37:32
You know, I, I know that we've got some movies coming out this year like Christopher Nolan's.
Oh, they've.
37:37
Speaker 3
Been us.
I know, I know.
We're starring in anything.
You mean we got some movies coming out?
Hold on.
Hit us up at podcast@eliwoodbella.com if you wanna know what movie we're gonna be in.
37:49
Speaker 2
But they they filmed.
37:51
Speaker 1
Some of those scenes in the Aiolian Islands and so you're going to see that on the big screen.
I really, I think there's going to there's going to be this huge uptick just like there was people were coming over here to Catania Tormina because.
38:05
Speaker 3
Of.
38:05
Speaker 1
White Lotus there, there's all these reasons it it creates A surge, but you know, there's a reason people seeing it I think for the first time and they're going, Oh my God, that's that's Italy.
I didn't realize Italy had those little islands.
I didn't realize they had so many beaches.
38:21
I mean, we're all beaches over here.
38:23
Speaker 2
It's it's a one giant, you know, Florida, it's all beach and.
38:28
Speaker 3
It's and yeah, literally 99% of the customers, like I don't want to go in the water.
I like to see it take a ride by it.
But I mean, even then it's still nice to see and and like go back to what you said about leche.
I mean, and you think about you're coming from a nice city, the Florence of the South, where all the broke architecture, great cocktails, great food, and you can get up in the morning and go, all right, I'm going to go to the beach and, you know, and come back an hour later, two hours later, whatever you want, you know, and go to the sea.
38:54
So, and most people don't know this, you know, this is this is the things that, you know, we take consideration on top of the experience of having a real Italy experience.
You still get to see what you wouldn't want in Amalfi or Italian Riviera.
39:07
Speaker 1
Yeah, And you know, you've got all the things that people like to go and see down in that Matera sits very close to the border of Puglia, still in Basilicata.
39:16
Strategic Basing for Exploring Puglia, Matera, and Beyond
But you know, people go to Matera.
People want to see the truly houses in Alberto Bello.
They're going to do the the the historic things.
We we try to make those more like day trips, day trips.
And you're basing in a city that you're really going to enjoy living in for a week, you know, and having that experience of the passage out that night, eating some incredible seafood.
39:41
But you know, taking those day trips to go to a winery, go to go check out some of these little hilltop whitewashed towns in the South.
And Puglia is is amazing and fantastic.
The food's fantastic, you know, but most people don't have that on their radar.
39:58
And, and again, that's a it's a shame.
Let's.
40:00
Speaker 3
Talk about the other thing is right, they have it on their radar, but it's the flip.
So when they think about Puglia, they want to stay in the truly house at Alberobello, but they don't know enough about Alber Abella and go Alber Abella is 1/2 an hour, an hour taking.
It's like literally off the lot of Walt Disney.
40:17
I mean, it's clean, there's trinket shops, there's people getting off in buses to see these little houses.
That's it.
But it's the opposite.
They don't realize that 90% of Puglia is to get into Monopoly, Gallipoli, Puerto Cesario, Leche or Toronto, all of those.
40:35
And Alberto Bello was a day trip for an hour or local Rotondo or, you know, Martina Franca.
But yeah, I mean, these are the things that once again, what is leading them to.
Yeah, you're going to go there.
Anthony and Brian are talking about Pulia.
It's going to be a great experience, great cultural experience.
40:51
But we want to go to Alberto Bello for four days and sleep in a truly.
It's not going to be.
It's going to be like you're being in Rome.
That's not my.
40:56
Speaker 1
Favorite.
Yeah, that's not my favorite.
And you know, we've stayed in the in the stone cave.
41:03
Speaker 2
Hotels freezing four and five star, you know, experience, but it's not my favorite.
I mean, you know, it's it's an experience.
If you got to get it, it's your check.
It's one of your check boxes.
Okay.
41:14
Speaker 1
Go and and check that box.
But you know, if you you want to come and really relax and be in a great base, you know, we have some other options that I think are are superior.
41:25
Speaker 2
But let's, let's talk about.
41:27
Speaker 1
Itinerary, OK, we're going to say minimum 10 day, probably 12-14 would be amazing.
That would give you, because we've talked about before, you know, 10 days Max 33 bases.
And in those bases you're, you're putting yourself in a strategic location that you can get around, take a day trip here or there, but you're not having to pack and unpack, pack and unpack.
41:50
We've talked about doing the math on how many stays you've got.
And you've got to remember every stay is 2 wasted days in the sense of you're arriving probably after lunch, you're leaving before lunch in, in terms of having to unpack and then pack and leave.
42:10
So you've got some wasted time in there.
And so to minimize that, we want to, we want to minimize the, the unloading and the reloading to get you to the next location so that you can base on a strategic location and you go an hour away.
We talked about that before.
42:25
You know, it being in a place like Padova that's 45 minutes from Venice, an incredible strategic base and a lovely city to walk around at night, I think that is where the money's at nowadays.
But looking at this southern, you know, as we come down into the South here and talking about some of these bases, a lot of people request to do a mall fee in Pompeii.
42:52
Choosing Sorrento as the Ideal Base for the Amalfi Coast
Nowadays we're pushing a little bit towards Sorrento as a better base because and and give us some because what can you do in a base like Sorrento that would be difficult in, let's say, Positano?
43:08
Speaker 3
Yeah.
So, you know, first of all, Sorrento's going to be a little more spread out, flatter, especially for, you know, people that want to not be with the crowds.
Positano can be to the point where, you know, you'll feel like you're walking through the Vatican, through the streets.
It's so narrow, Right.
43:24
So you little, little more tougher to get reservations, little more tougher to get that quintessential, you know, experience of a quiet Italy town.
Good food.
Yeah.
Good food.
Yeah.
And Positano.
But to be honest with you, is, is is a day trip to me.
43:40
It is.
It's it's small.
It's nice to do at night, have dinner and come back.
But Sorrento's a great base because everything can be based out.
You can go to take a ferry anywhere.
It's got a port you can do rides and private boats into into coppery if you want, or even down the Amalfi Coast.
43:57
It's spread out, what is more?
43:59
Speaker 1
Shopping.
44:00
Speaker 3
It's good.
Yeah, Ishkia, you can take, you can do shopping from there.
There's the food.
I personally think is better in Sorrento because there's more choices and less touristy, it's more walkable, there's more shopping, the crowds you can get away a little bit like in Positano.
44:16
If you wanted to stay in Positano, there's two really main streets, Colombo and Pasitea.
Once you get out, you're up in the you're up in the the mountains and there's one ways to get into the town if you're driving just a little more in egress ingress problems, right with Sorrento is a really good base to get into the Amalfi Coast.
44:33
To be honest with you, 90% of our customers stay there and they are very happy that they do because it's a great jump off point.
Even from Naples, it's easy to get to Naples airport in the morning if you're going flying out or flying in.
So it's just, you know, overall Sorrento, we feel it's just a better base to enjoy the Amalfi Coast from.
44:52
Speaker 1
Yeah.
And that whole area, I mean, you could look at it as its own little zone region, macro region, micro region.
You, because you've got Naples on the north as you come down to Sorrento, Sorentine Peninsula on, you know, you've got the Northside, not not as many scenic towns to go and look at, but Sorrento is lovely.
45:13
You come around the southern coast, you've got these Amalfi and Poseytown, you've got these really scenic towns.
You've also got on as you hit the mainland again, you get off of that peninsula on to the mainland peninsula of Italy.
You've got Salerno, which is another underrated gem of a, of a town, easy to walk, easy to get around, good food.
45:36
And, and it's, it's so strategic in the sense of you go just hop, skip and a jump from places like paste them or all of the Amalfi Coast and a great port city.
So again, there's these strategic places where people that have a certain, you know, checklist that they're trying to get to, but maybe don't want the wear and tear of the crowds or the packing, the unpacking, all of that.
46:02
They might consider a place like a Sorrento or a Salerno as you get down, then into Basilicata, into Calabri, all of that.
Of course, people are looking at Matera.
46:14
Crafting Southern Italy Itineraries and Savoring Local Delicacies
It was in one of the Bond films.
A lot of the.
46:17
Speaker 2
Jesus nativity Christmas type movies are using Matera because it's so Dang old.
46:24
Speaker 1
And it's easy to film there, I know.
46:26
Speaker 2
I still have dirt from one of the film sets on one of my little trolleys from the night that we arrived in Matata.
They were filming and.
46:36
Speaker 1
Had laid all this dirt around to cover up the the pavement and asphalt.
46:41
Speaker 3
And I thought that was, I didn't realize that.
And I don't know if you felt that way.
I'm like, well, this town's got a lot of sand and dirt in it.
It really is Old Town.
And then we realize, oh, wait a second, they're filming.
They're filming on the street.
46:52
Speaker 2
Did they never sweep around here?
46:54
Speaker 3
It's like the beach.
46:57
Speaker 2
I know they've got those old brooms made of like twigs and and stuff.
47:03
Speaker 3
So, but let's, let's talk about that.
Even a sample itinerary, to be honest with you, you could do just the Amalfi for six days, seven days and then do Naples two days, right?
So you're only at 9 days if you really wanted to immerse because you can't immerse yourself because of the islands off of Amalfi, because the Concerta going to the royal palace too, right?
47:24
So you have, you have Naples, Pompeii going on the mountain, I mean Mount Vesuvius, right?
And then you have Mama office.
You could do 10 days and not get over to Polia, you know, cuz Polia, there's where you're talking beaches.
Again, you're talking, you know, you know, total different itinerary to be honest with you.
47:43
Cuz then you have, you have Matera and Polia coming out of Naples.
So you could do Naples, Matiera and Pullia and that could be a 10 day trip in itself, right?
And you know, I don't mean I don't mean upset the apple cart here, but right there is a perfect, it's a perfect layout.
47:59
Fly into Naples, enjoy it for a night or two, get down to body, enjoy Pullia and go back to Matiera and bacillicotta and come home.
That's what I would do, you know.
48:07
Speaker 1
There's so many UNESCO sites, there's so many beaches, there's so much history, there's so much to do and see that I, I, it really, it really makes it worth it.
And you're, you're living that experience that most other people have.
48:23
And I, I agree what you said about Caserta, I think if you're, if you're at least two nights, maybe 3 in Naples, Caserta makes sense as a day trip.
Easy peasy.
Jump on the train, you're in downtown.
As soon as you get off the train, you're looking at the Regia, you're looking at this grand palace of the, the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies.
48:43
And there's so much history that goes into that.
The gardens are, it's beautiful.
You could spend a whole a couple of days there.
It's so much ground that it's incredible space.
49:05
And incredible pizza.
I have to say, some of the best pizza I've ever had in Caserta.
Also in Naples.
Naples is knocking it out of the park.
They really, really are.
One of the things they do so well is the mozzarella.
49:23
Mozzarella de Buffalo.
We have this also here in Sicily from Ragusa, but real mozzarella de Buffalo needs to be from Campagna.
It must be and stamped.
49:38
I mean, we, we have it, we can buy it down here.
We have our Ragusa kind in the but it's a completely different texture and flavor and it's absolutely where that what what are some other iconic dishes that come to mind when you think of I'm going to the South.
49:55
I've got to have I know when my friend comes down from Zurich, he can't wait for spaghetti Ala Vongole.
50:03
Speaker 3
Vongole.
Vongole is.
50:06
Speaker 1
It's hard I.
50:06
Speaker 3
Love, I love, especially in Campania.
Campania is in Vongole, yes.
I that's funny is I never really liked it growing up.
But then once you hit Naples and I'm like, OK, this is how it's done.
50:22
Speaker 2
It makes sense.
It makes sense.
And you're like, yes, yes.
50:25
Speaker 3
And definitely aricetti, Aricetti with the anchovies.
And they do like a little bit of green sometimes.
Broccolini, that's really good.
That's a staple, obviously, the bread in Altomoto and Bacilla kata, and that's and the breads the size of my head.
50:42
That's big guys.
Really big.
50:45
Speaker 1
So you have so much brain, you're so smart.
50:48
Speaker 3
It's that's fabulous all the focaccia and buddy buddy on body.
The focaccia is off the chain there.
Parmesan.
Well, I'm trying to think does is is it Sicily that has the eggplant?
Parmesan?
No, they do it in They do it in Campania too, though.
51:04
They do.
They do it in.
51:05
Speaker 1
Campania it is and and again you're seeing some of that overlap from the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies.
And is your is your reading through Lampindusa's book, Tomasi's Book of the Leopard?
He's going back and forth and visiting Naples and appealing, you know, to the higher power there.
51:25
But there was a there's a lot of traffic and there's a lot of connection linguistically, dialectically, all of this kind of thing because of the South and how connected it was geopolitically.
Let's say you find an imprint in in overlap in some of these dishes like parmigiana di melanzania.
51:43
You going to find that in Naples and it's, it's different.
I mean, we, we've done cooking classes down here in Sicily and up there and the process is a little bit different and what their tolerance or their amount of measure, it's all a little bit different how they would do it, their approach to it.
52:04
But it it, it's a lot of because of the the tomato base, you're finding the right tomatoes to make that dish as as as well as the melanzana, the eggplant.
Yeah, absolutely.
52:17
Speaker 3
And yeah, so it's funny.
And then even like even now with Puglia, I don't know if you have done this yet, it's the assassin pasta assassinina.
I think it's called unbelievable.
And it's funny because it's not that old.
It's probably 15 years old, 12 years old.
52:34
And when they came out, they were like basically laughing at the chef because it's not traditional.
And now it's like to die for.
I mean, it's probably top three favorite pasta dishes I eat.
It's got to be done right because I've tried it and I didn't do it right.
But it when you have the real, when you have the real deal, that's that's going to be a that's going to be something you're going to see more and more.
52:55
I think you'll see in the States and it's going to come across it's.
52:58
Speaker 2
Interesting.
52:59
Speaker 1
Yeah, it, it may not show up as a lot of tradition there.
It it's interesting.
I, I was doing a little research on Southern Italy and there was a black pasta back before the squid ink pasta became really common, became really popular.
53:17
And it is especially in, in Puglia, it's called grano arso.
Arso is like a arson.
It's like, you know, we get this flame, you get that scorched fields after harvest.
They would take that burnt wheat flour to make this, this really black pasta.
53:37
And it's, it's interesting.
There's some similarities there between because you're, you're essentially burning the pasta in the pan as you're, as you're doing the assassin buzz is interesting, but there's, there's a lot of overlap I think in, in the culture and what you're going to see in Naples and Sicily, But based on what's local and what's available.
53:58
Part of the reason that the bread is so interesting there.
The from Matera, especially in that area, they're using a mixture of sourdough and durum wheat together.
It's not very traditional in other places, but in that area they used it because this was really the Koshina Povre.
54:18
It's, it's the, it's the the food of the poor.
And it would, it was designed to have an extremely durable crust that would help preserve the bread for several days.
Interesting.
54:31
Speaker 3
Amazing.
54:31
Speaker 1
How that?
But then it's still even.
Even for the rich, now it's a delicacy or or another scrap is is like the the brata where where the the leftover scraps of mozzarella.
54:48
And now it's a delicacy because it's so, so much creamier, rich, soft texture, all of that.
The consistency is different and that's what people will gravitate to.
And now it costs more.
54:59
Speaker 2
But it used to be the leftover pieces that.
55:03
Speaker 1
The people.
So it's interesting how the the IT develops the trend goes all I love that I.
55:09
Speaker 3
Got to tell you, the bread in the South, once you get past Rome and you get into the bread in the I love the bread in Naples.
I grew up with it, the Capania region and it's just amazing.
Once you get above Rome, you're like, all right, this is, this is, this is not good.
55:26
Speaker 2
Could would it really kill you to add a little bit of salt?
Let me.
55:30
Speaker 3
Get a little moist, kill you.
Could you have the the crust be little crumbly?
55:36
Speaker 2
I'm breaking my teeth here and there's no flavor.
It's just to clean up and, you know, clean up your plate.
It's the Scarpetta.
It's that's the only bread.
55:45
Speaker 3
I need my bread man.
55:47
Speaker 1
Down in the South, bread is more of a passion and it's more of a it's more of a meal.
It is more of a centerpiece.
And so it man, it is so, so good, dangerously good here in the South.
Well.
56:02
Listener Engagement and Preview of Sicily & Sardinia Episode
OK.
56:03
Speaker 1
I think I think we've hit on just about every category in this episode.
We we've talked about food itineraries.
Listen folks, if there are things that we're getting to, but it's not quite scratching the itch, send us a comment, an e-mail, something and, and say, hey guys, talk about this next time.
56:23
We'd love to incorporate your thoughts, your questions, your comments into future episodes.
So we make sure that we're hitting the cord that need to hear how'd you like that?
56:35
Speaker 3
I like that.
I think, I think what happens is we tease some things and I would love to hear people like, hey, go to like even the food.
If you want to do regional food, we'll talk about it and compare it to the region next door or cocktails or I mean, me and Brian could talk about food and drinks till the cows come home.
56:52
So yeah, please, you know, hey, please write it because I would love to do that.
But no, I love talking about food and and the wine and, you know, whatever you guys want, you know, if you're going to get us, you know, talking about Michelangelo paintings, then you know, obviously Brian can take that on his own.
57:11
Speaker 2
We're not so much experts of that, we're not so much experts of anything.
57:14
Speaker 3
But especially it's.
57:16
Speaker 2
Green Art.
57:18
Speaker 3
No, obviously my attire, any clothing, hairstyles, you know, I don't have much not that deep anywhere.
So I could tell you about it remember having here how do you handle how do you cry?
How do you cry when you lose your hair?
57:34
I'm.
57:35
Speaker 2
Still in my prime.
57:37
Speaker 3
Yeah, exactly.
All right, I digress.
57:42
Speaker 2
Let's wrap it up then, folks.
Hopefully this has been helpful to you.
You heard something that maybe you got.
You're going to think about it and and Fact Check us on something.
Please go ahead.
We will mention your name in a forthcoming episode.
57:58
So and so jerk Fact Check.
Just say we were wrong on this point.
It'll be the first time.
58:06
Speaker 3
Please.
58:07
Speaker 1
Yeah, give us your, give us your feedback.
Check us out on whatever pro program platform that you're using to listen or watch this podcast episode.
Give us a thumbs up, a suggestion, maybe a five star review would help out somewhere else to find us and benefit from.
58:26
Yeah, a little bit of perspective and hopefully a lot of inspiration about your next trip to Italy.
And as always, if you're thinking about going, think about going to Italy with Bella, Italy with bella.com.
And that's it.
We're going to wrap up this five episode little mini series on the macro regions coming next time.
58:48
So be looking for it because we're going to hit some of the big islands.
I'm not talking about Hawaii, Oahu, Maui.
We're talking about the big islands in the Mediterranean here in Sicily.
I live on one of them.
The other one will remain the mystery guest, but excited to talk about the big because these are really big regions.
59:09
Sicily, Sardenia are big regions, a lot of territory, a lot of history, unique and the it's bizarre how different these two islands are, but their histories are, are very different and it plays into the mindset and the culture.
59:27
So excited to talk about that with you next time.
Until then, talk to you soon.
