When we were in Italy we celebrated the fifty-second wedding anniversary of one of my husband's sisters. (You may remember that about this time last year I wrote about how I met my husband at his sister's wedding when she lived in England and we remain good friends).
This is the hotel we went to near Casamari Abbey. It's named after Caius Marius, the Roman whose villa and estate was on the site where the small settlement of Casamari (the house of Marius) developed and the Abbey was built. Opposite the hotel stand the remains of the Roman acqua duct and there's a bridge that spans the River Amaseno, which in places is often dried up.
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| A mid 20th century image of the abbey and the remains of the Roman acqua duct |
There was a display in the restaurant of the local red wines such as the Cesanese del Piglio and typical regional varieties of hand made pasta.
Below are some of the dishes we enjoyed - antipasti, 'fini fini' pasta with porcini mushrooms, lasagne al forno, asparagus, pineapple soaked in maraschino liqueur and sambuca with coffee beans floating in it.
Since arriving back in England my husband has been working on the vegetable plot - more about that another time - and we've been making plans to convert an existing space into a downstairs cloakroom. In the meantime I shall be writing some more about last month's trip to Italy.