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WEEKENDER ANCIENT WINES Turkey is home to a winemaking tradition stretching back over 4,500 years. At Gelveri, in Güzelyürt, wine is fermented in ancient clay amphorae, using Anatolian grapes. gelveri- manufactur.com Ihlara Valley, a winding basalt gorge whose walls are pocked with cave churches DAY THREE THE SOUTHERN LOOP MORE INFO Museum Pass Cappadocia, An extra day in Cappadocia allows time to explore further afield, touring sites largely off the main 175 lira (£20) for three days. trail — either under your own steam or as part of an organised tour muze.gov.tr/museumpass Cave Man Cafe. facebook. KAYMAKLI IHLARA GORGE Empire to serve trading caravans. com/pericafe50 IMAGE: ALAMY Cappadocia’s subterranean This canyon snakes through Enter through the ornately carved Argos in Cappadocia hotel. labyrinths, initially excavated the flat landscape beneath the doorway and explore a courtyard argosincappadocia.com over 2,600 years ago and enlarged bulk of Hasan Dağı Volcano, 44 surrounded by chambers in which Royal Balloons. during the Byzantine era, served miles south west of Uçhisar. Its merchants stabled their animals royalballoon.com as a refuge from waves of Arab basalt walls are pocked with and stored goods. Old Greek House. and Mongol invasions and cave churches, although the oldgreekhouse.com Ottoman persecution. Of several real joy is simply ambling along SOBESOS Millocal. underground cities open today, the peaceful path alongside the Discovered in 2002 on the millocalrestaurant.com Kaymakli is arguably the most Melendiz River. Tackle the 10-mile outskirts of Şahinefendi, 16 miles Turkish Culture & rewarding to visit. Delve five levels stretch between Ihlara village and south east of Uçhisar, Sobesos is Information Office. down to explore kitchens, stables, Selime (around six hours), or the the only ancient Roman city so far gototurkey.co.uk wineries and churches. central portion between the main found in Cappadocia. Having been entrance above Sümbüllü Church partially excavated, visitors can HOW TO DO IT SOGANLI VALLEY and Belisırma (about 1.5 hours). wander around a bath complex, an This valley is flanked by high Pause to admire Kirkdamaltı Kilise assembly house, a graveyard and a Turkish Airlines flies daily cliffs into which are carved (St George’s Church), and its 19th- basilica with some fine mosaics. from various London and numerous pigeon houses. The century Greek graffiti. UK regional airports to small monastic cave complex at KEŞLIK MONASTERY Nevsehir Kapadokya, the end of the valley is the starting SULTANHANI South of Mustafapaşa, this via Istanbul, with return point for two walks — one above The largest han (caravanserai) in compact and atmospheric fares from £266. the poplar-lined river via Kubbelli Anatolia, west of Aksaray, makes monastic complex bored into turkishairlines.com Kilise (‘domed church’) to Soğanlı an interesting detour from Ihlara. a cluster of pointed outcrops Abercrombie & Kent offers a village (around 45 minutes), and Founded in the 13th century, it is home to a kitchen, refectory, four-day Cappadocia trip a six-mile hike north through the was a key stop on the network winepress and school, all set from £1,850, including flights, gorge to Güzelöz. of havens built under the Seljuk within a lush orchard. B&B accommodation at Argos in Cappadocia, transfers, guide and a hot air balloon experience. abercrombiekent.co.uk 52 nationalgeographic.co.uk/travel

East meets West Ancient meets Modern Ariana Sustainable Luxury Lodge blends contemporary, sustainable style with unique expressions of the region’s cultural heritage. Complimentary Tasting Menu Dinner Stay two or more nights and enjoy a complimentary tasting menu dinner featuring locally-sourced ingredients. Book Now ` www.arianalodge.com 0 Cappadocia, Turkey Use promo code NGT20

E AT BUFFALO Famed for its eponymous wings, New York State’s second-biggest city is finding a new audience for its home-spun fast food. And there’s a distinctly local feel to the city’s take on Americana food culture. Words: Neil Davey T o my left, there are people diving loved chicken wings and was travelling to ABOVE: A colourful mural IMAGES: SUPERSTOCK; GETTY; NEIL DAVEY; SHUTTERSTOCK face first into a paddling pool of blue the Buffalo Wing Festival in Buffalo. But, in on Elmwood Avenue cheese sauce. To my right, there are 2001, Buffalo didn’t have a festival dedicated OPPOSITE, CLOCKWISE girls on stage explaining why they deserve to chicken wings. Our local paper wrote to be crowned Miss Buffalo Wing 2019. an article that all these wings around the FROM TOP LEFT: A And, surrounding me, in the temporarily world are branded with the name of our city, bartender mixes dram repurposed Sahlen Field baseball stadium, why don’t we have a festival? I was a food box cocktails at Frank there are tens of thousands of people promoter at the time and one thing led to Lloyd Wright Fontana preparing chicken wings, serving chicken another and here we are.” Boathouse; Anchor Bar, wings, queuing for chicken wings, eating where Buffalo wings chicken wings and talking chicken wings. And thus, on Labor Day weekend 2002, were invented in 1964; Frankly, Bill Murray has a lot to answer for. the National Buffalo Wing Festival began. a meatloaf sandwich at Fast forward 17 years and the festival has Swan Street Diner; the Yes. Bill Murray; that Bill Murray. There grown to a quite incredible level. Once the view southwards down are many places that are big on food tourism dust has settled, the ‘dipping for wings’ blue Main Street in downtown — Venice, Bangkok, Tokyo, Padstow — but cheese paddling pool has been tidied away, few lend their name to one of the world’s Miss Buffalo Wing 2019 has been crowned most popular dishes. Buffalo, New York is the and a surprisingly slight man called Geoffrey home of the Buffalo chicken wing, and the Esper has won the United States Chicken brilliant chaos that owes its invention to Bill Wing Eating Championship (281 wings in 12 Murray is the National Buffalo Wing Festival. minutes), it’s all over for another year. Drew tells me that this year’s festival involved “There was a movie back in 2001 called some 55,000 visitors and 24 tons of wings. Osmosis Jones,” festival founder Drew ‘The Wing King’ Cerza tells me. “Bill Murray’s It’s a remarkable achievement, but then character was a big junk food eater who Buffalo is a remarkable place. It’s New York 54 nationalgeographic.co.uk/travel

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EAT A TASTE OF Buffalo Buffalo wings at Bar-Bill Tavern SWAN STREET DINER RIGHT: Mini doughnuts at This beautifully restored, Swan Street Diner mahogany-lined 1930s diner car offers hearty breakfasts and IMAGES: NEIL DAVEY; DREW BROWN State’s second-biggest city but, like so many and wanted something a little different than lunch dishes from 7am until 3pm places with an industrial heritage, the last the standard Italian fare. Teressa was in the daily. These days, the menu also few decades have been tough. However, kitchen, she had these chicken wings she’d offers healthier options, but the Buffalo feels like it’s bouncing back. Old been planning to use for stock, and instead calorific temptations are hard to buildings are being repurposed to great she fried them up and put a cayenne pepper- resist, particularly the Meatloaf effect, from the Buffalo State Asylum for based sauce on top, with garlic and vinegar. Melt and mini doughnuts. You the Insane — which is now the impressively She added butter to calm the heat down, and can’t reserve a table, but service luxurious (if allegedly haunted) Hotel Henry celery and a blue cheese sauce to do the same. is efficient and it’s absolutely — to the huge riverside grain elevators that worth the wait. $30 (£23) per now house, among other things, chic bars, “They kind of looked at them like, ‘what are person, including beer or wine. breweries and a zip-line experience. these things?’ But once they started eating swanstreetdiner.com them, they were sold. The wings went on the While new life is creeping in, it’s the city’s menu a couple of months later and, slowly, THE ANCHOR BAR historic culinary heritage that’s also finding word started spreading around Buffalo about There’s an air of the theme-bar a fresh, appreciative audience outside of this new dish. They gained popularity in the to this place; there’s a gift shop, Buffalonian circles. 1970s and blossomed in the 80s.” the walls are lined with signed celebrity photos and licence We have to start with Buffalo wings, of And blossom they did. The original plates, while motorbikes hang course, and that means a pilgrimage to the Anchor Bar serves around 5,000 people and from the ceiling. Wings are Anchor Bar, the place where it all started. 2,000lbs of wings a day — not including the portioned as Single (10 wings), On a weekday lunchtime, the place is packed 15 franchise operations across Canada and Double (20) or Bucket (50) in with a good mix of locals — positioned the US, the FedEx deliveries (“Christmas and a choice of seven sauces and around the bar, drinking beer, watching Super Bowl are our busy times,” explains heat ranges. There are also sports — and tourists who have come to the Mark), or the 4,000 supermarkets that sell sandwiches, burgers, seafood source for, well, the sauce. their original sauce. More than that, and and, to reflect the restaurant’s because imitation is the sincerest form pre-chicken history, classic Italian Having heard various versions of the of flattery, a raft of alternative — and, dishes. $40 (£31) per person, origin story, I ask Mark Dempsey, CEO and frequently, very good — wing places sprang including a beer. anchorbar.com partner of the Anchor Bar, to tell me how up around town: the city’s official Buffalo Buffalo wings came to be. Wing Trail features the Anchor Bar and 12 MARBLE + RYE other local rivals. This repurposed industrial venue “In 1935, the Anchor Bar started as an serves up a menu that’s strictly Italian restaurant, owned by Frank and While the flap over chicken wings seasonal, featuring snacks, larger Teressa [Bellissimo],” Mark explains. “They cemented Buffalo’s reputation, they’re only plates plus cocktails, craft beer moved to this location in 1942 and, in 1964, part of the story. For those in the know, and whiskey-heavy drinks. The on a cold night in March, their son Dominic Buffalo’s original claim to culinary fame execution is immaculate, too. was tending bar. Some of his friends came in There are plenty of internationally inspired dishes — think tandoori cauliflower and Korean-style octopus — but don’t miss the American classics, including a fine double cheeseburger. $65 (£51) per person, including a drink. marbleandrye.net Sept/Oct 2020 57

Ted’s Hot Dogs, a local institution that serves charcoal-broiled footlongs LEFT: Buffalo sponge candy Five food finds BUFFALO SPONGE CANDY comes in the form of a sandwich called ‘beef Club Pizza — which probably originated this IMAGES: VISIT BUFFALO NIAGARA; SUPERSTOCK Or, basically, the inside of a on weck’. And for that, there’s only one place version — has been selling it for more than Crunchie. A teeth-sticking twist to go: Schwabl’s. 70 years and ships hundreds across the US every week. on cinder toffee. The ‘weck’ in question is the kummelweck: a bread roll that’s crusty on the outside, soft Buffalo’s food history is peppered with BEEF ON WECK and salty within, and topped with caraway similar long runners sold from venues that Buffalo’s German heritage seeds. It’s a perfect vehicle for thick, hand- continue to pack them in today. Ted’s Hot portrayed in one mammoth, carved roast beef, with a dash of horseradish. Dogs, for example, has been serving charcoal- delightfully messy, hand-held broiled links since 1927. Parkside Candies snack — provided you’ve got big Local history suggests that a Bavarian — purveyors of another local ‘delicacy’ called baker called William Wahr, brought the Buffalo sponge candy (think chocolate- enough hands, that is. recipe to the US some time in the 1800s. covered cinder toffee or, if you prefer, Another German immigrant, Sebastian misshapen Crunchie bars in miniature) BUFFALO-STYLE PIZZA Schwabl, opened his restaurant in 1837. — dates back to the same year. Anderson’s Oddly addictive spongey, Whether they knew one another is Frozen Custard, meanwhile, has been serving crunchy, sweet and spicy pizza unclear. But, while Schwabl’s doesn’t sweet treats to Buffalonians since 1946. with a cheese to base ratio of, claim categorically to have invented the sandwich, it suspects it did and, frankly, One could, no doubt, argue that there’s approximately 60:40. when its version is as good as it is, one can be nothing cutting edge here. A beef sandwich? forgiving about proof. Just stepping through A cheese-heavy pizza? Decades-old hot BUFFALO WINGS the door is a history lesson with a gentle dogs, ice cream and candy stores? Even the Crispy fried chicken wings perked jazz soundtrack — waiting staff, carvers and invention of Buffalo wings is, really, simply a up with a coating of vinegary hot bartenders are clad in traditional whites, and twist on fried chicken, but each dish sauce, and cooled by the addition old menus on the wall show the sandwich — particularly the latter — reinforces the of butter and sides of blue cheese has been served here for over a century. city’s long support for its own: no wonder it’s sometimes called The City of Good sauce and celery. Almost inevitably, Buffalo’s unexpected Neighbours. Simply put, to spend a day food culture doesn’t stop there. Like New eating in Buffalo is to spend a day immersed TED’S HOT DOGS York — and Newhaven in neighbouring in a distinctively American food culture. A local (and national) institution, Connecticut — Buffalo has its own pizza style: a thick, but light and airy base, sweet Buffalo is a six-hour drive from New York City or a serving burgers, fries and the sauce, copious (possibly heart-stopping) one-hour flight, with around 70 services a day from titular, immense charcoal-broiled amounts of cheese, topped with ‘cup-and- JFK (plus more from La Guardia, and other US hubs). hotdogs, including the footlong. char’ pepperoni — disk-like slices that curl For further information on the region, including where up at the edges when cooked. At first bite, to stay, visit visitbuffaloniagara.com 58 nationalgeographic.co.uk/travel it’s a safely bland crowd-pleaser. By third slice, it’s an addiction. No wonder Bocce



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IMAGE: GETTY NEIGHBOURHOOD MEXICO CITY If you know where to go, Mexico City has never had more allure, from the haute cocktail bars and rejuvenated veteran theatre scene of Colonia Juárez to the buzzing food and flower markets of Jamaica. Words: Michael Parker-Stainback Mexico City is now on everyone’s wishlist. Smog, traffic and chaos be damned, after decades of bad press Mexico’s notorious capital is enjoying a visitor boom. And it’s a boom that’s surely sustainable. Mexico has a longstanding tradition of receiving foreigners, and the sunny welcome, even in the frenetic capital, is extraordinary. The charms of the city’s showplace precincts — particularly Condesa and Roma, the Centro and posh Polanco — are often self-evident, but shouldn’t be missed. However, be sure to poke around in other, lesser-known, less-polished barrios: the city’s secret cool. Those who stray from the beaten path will discover welcomes just as warm and revel in the authentic urban adventures they reveal. Sept/Oct 2020 61

NEIGHBOURHOOD Colonia Juárez there. “You can live a traditional Mexican FROM TOP LEFT: The Soumaya Museum, IMAGES: LINDSAY LAUCKNER GUNDLOCK; ALAMY and hipster life here,” says resident Mirelle one of the city’s most iconic buildings; “They haven’t been able to completely Leider. “It has a kind of a small-town feel interior of Amaya, a restaurant located gentrify it,” says local art historian Aldo where everybody knows everybody.” in Colonia Juárez; market vendors Solano, over black coffee at Café La Habana. unload piles of of marigold flowers The circa-1954 diner, all but unchanged since The tiny, diamond-shaped quarter is ahead of Day of the Dead festivities; it opened, gained fame as a hangout for local set between nondescript Centro and the enmolada tortilla de hoja santa from the journalists and is where, they say, exiles Fidel flashy trashy Zona Rosa. Benign neglect has taco bar at fine-dining restaurant Pujol Castro and Ernesto ‘Che’ Guevara planned conserved numerous fin de siècle mansions in the swanky Polanco neighbourhood the Cuban Revolution. and apartment houses topped with turrets and mansard roofs, plus eclectic local PREVIOUS PAGE: Browsing the offerings Formerly one of Mexico City’s most touches like blue talavera tile and marvellous at a colourful stall in Mercado Jamaica exclusive districts, post-Second World War double-doored balconies that invite Mexico ‘progress’ saw the wealthy leave Juárez for City’s temperate, sunny weather into high- newer, more suburban tracts, leaving grand ceilinged, belle époch parlours. Uncut by old buildings to languish in subsequent major thoroughfares, its streets are quieter, decades; auto parts suppliers and other pleasantly shaded by trees. downmarket retail moved into once-genteel ground floors. In recent years, booming Plop down at Parker & Lenox, a vintage- property prices in Condesa and Roma look luncheonette, then slip, speakeasy style, pushed arty youth to Juárez in search of through a back door into a dusky, nostalgic still-affordable vintage digs. These creative jazz cabaret famed for excellent haute newcomers brought on buzzy dining rooms coctelerie (fancy cocktails) and live music. and sleek cafes; the vibe injected new life Notable dining rooms, like industrial-chic into a veteran theatre scene. Amaya or the informal but delicious Lucio, draw smart crowds from all over the city. “There are still people who’ve lived on And at much-loved, hard-to-reserve Havre the same street all their lives,” says Aldo. 77, acclaimed chef Lalo García and his team Unpretentious joints — like dumpy-but- prepare scrumptious French-bistro classics loveable Gabi’s Café, for no-nonsense coffee with impeccable local ingredients. and newspaper perusal — are hanging in 62 nationalgeographic.co.uk/travel

NEIGHBOURHOOD Jamaica preferred cuts (lean or fatty, organs, entrails, When in Mexico City tongue, a nip of skin). You cut the spice with “These darlings were running around the a sweet, tea-like brew called tepache, lightly TACO OMAKASE yard this morning,” declares Rufina Yáñez, fermented and served at room temperature. Five-star restaurant Pujol is owner of Mercado Jamaica’s Pollos Yáñez Neophytes start with one dainty glass; I’ve on every gastronome’s list. poultry stand, as she lifts a dead bird from come to love it in half-litre doses. Celebrity chef Enrique Olvera a cooler. Her cold-storage system is in fact applies Nipponese perfection to two defunct refrigerators, lying sideways on Duck behind the produce sections to reach a dazzling array of flavours and an irregular pile of junk. “We kill them early, Jamaica’s mind-boggling flower market. then bring them in, every day,” she says. The Dodging carts and avoiding puddles, explore sensations. pujol.com.mx stand is spartan — an oilcloth over a table, two aisles jammed with gorgeous, multihued chicken viscera galore, comically oversized roses, daisies, sunflowers, gerberas, birds RIDING HIGH scissors. Satisfied customer Araceli Piña tells of paradise, chrysanthemums, irises, lilies Despite the city’s infernal traffic, me they’re the freshest birds anywhere in — and that’s before you’ve even got to the local cyclists rejoice at the bike this enormous, working class market. “Come houseplants. You’ll see everyone from trendy early, they sell out,” she advises. design types to septuagenarian church ladies lanes, which are increasing in and just regular joes loading up on blossoms. number. Best of all are riding The small colonia (neighbourhood) known Spring for a cheap-but-cheerful vase and Sundays (strolling, skating, dog as Jamaica (pronounced ‘ha-MY-ca’, which brighten your hotel room. walking) from 8am to 2pm on means ‘hibiscus flower’), just under two stately Paseo de la Reforma. miles southeast of downtown, barely extends Last stop: avocadoes. Next door to a busy beyond the hundreds of stalls that make stand serving up delicious squash blossom RIVERA REDISCOVERED up its market. Visitors who love the exotic quesadillas (they’re well worth the wait), lies Don’t miss Diego Rivera’s colossal food at Mercado San Juan in the historic Viviana Quiroz Hernández’s avocado stand. centre or the homestyle comforts at Mercado Somewhere in the centre of this labyrinthine sculpture of Tlaloc, the Aztec Medellín in Roma will fall all the more for market (after numerous visits I still get rain god, at Chapultepec Park’s Jamaica. This vast food forum offers fruit lost), her table is spread with hundreds Cárcamo de Dolores, a newly and vegetables, meats so fresh they’re not of gorgeous, ripe avocadoes. Daughter restored and dazzling mid-century refrigerated, cheeses rustic and fine, seafood Lourdes splits open a sampler for potential structure that’s both temple and and practically everything else in between. customers, tossing out the pit and pinching municipal waterworks. Avenida the fruit. Move in for a bite of luscious, Rodolfo Neri Vela, Chapultepec The hungry should head to Carnitas Paty, a creamy flesh; don’t forget the salt. “This is a local landmark for fried-in-lard pork carnitas. market unlike any other,” says Lourdes. “It’s Park (second section) They’re served taco-style with onions and a place where generations have built their coriander or wrapped in butcher paper to lives; I grew up among these stalls. I like the STREET FOOD go. An army of garrison-capped waiters solidarity and the tradition.” Keep your eyes peeled for stands hustles all day long, fetching customers’ that attract a crush of passers-by. The selection is vast: unending taco varieties, torta-style grilled sandwiches, seafood cocktails, chicken stews and churros both solid and sweet-injected. DESERT DASH Desierto de los Leones National Park, 20 miles southwest of the city centre, is a reserve that surrounds the remains of a colonial-era Discalced Carmelite monastery. Explore the ruins or hike into cool highland glades. Parque Nacional Desierto de los Leones; Delegación Álvaro Obregón Sept/Oct 2020 63

NEIGHBOURHOOD LEFT: People gather at the Kiosco Morisco, a beautifully intricate structure located in the centre of the main park in Santa María La Ribera Santa María La Ribera The neighbourhood’s most popular MORE INFO IMAGE: LINDSAY LAUCKNER GUNDLOCK cantina, Salón París, is a glorified proletarian My friend, Mexico City native Jesús lunchroom. Here, tables are abuzz with Café La Habana. Morelos 62, Chairez, and I take a Sunday stroll along the every slice of local life. Part of the attraction Colonia Juárez Alameda, the tree-lined plaza at the centre may be the kitchen’s selection of botanas, Gabi’s Café. Liverpool at Nápoles, of raffish but irresistible Colonia Santa surprisingly substantial ‘snacks’ — including Colonia Juárez María la Ribera. A mile or so northwest of Thursday’s succulent chamorro roast pork Parker and Lenox. downtown, the neighbourhood’s streets are shank — thrown in for the price of your beer. facebook.com/parkerandlenox lined with a combination of down-at-heel Amaya. amayamexico.com mansions alongside art deco and modernist The Santa María arts scene is burgeoning Lucio. facebook.com/doctorlucio1027 apartment blocks. Jesús points out the at places like the National University’s El Havre 77. Calle Havre 77 Zona Rosa, plaza’s famed Kiosco Morisco, a jewel-hued Chopo museum, on the district’s eastern Colonia Juárez Moorish gazebo that represented Mexico at edge, a prestigious showcase for the edgiest Mercado Jamaica. long-forgotten world’s fairs. No dead relic, vanguards. Another standout is Acapulco facebook.com/jamaicavive today it hosts everything from ballroom 62, in the ground floor of a mansion right on Kolobok. kolobok.com.mx dancing and rock gigs to political rallies, rap the plaza, a new gallery for contemporary Museo de Geología. poetry slams and courting couples. Along painting and photography. geologia.unam.mx/igl/museo the plaza’s edge, crowded sidewalks lead to Salón París. Jaime Torres Bodet 151, hipster restaurants plus old standbys, like The plaza beckons once more, as the sun Colonia Santa María la Ribera much-loved Kolobok and its house speciality sets. Children shriek and scamper, old folks Museo Universitario El Chopo. Russian empanadas. On the western edge gossip, teenagers flirt or just hang out; an chopo.unam.mx of the plaza stands the venerable Museo imposing flock of squawking birds roosts for Acapulco 62. facebook.com/acapulco62 de Geología, home to dinosaur skeletons, the night in the surrounding trees. No one is Visit Mexico City. cdmxtravel.com/en fossils and other curiosities, all displayed in in a rush for Monday to come. “I love it here,” Mexico Tourism. visitmexico.com beautiful old-fashioned wood vitrines. says Jesús. “Night or day, seven days a week, there’s always something fabulous to see.” JOURNEY LATIN AMERICA offers six days in Mexico City starting from £1,636 per person based on two sharing, including five nights at Hotel Geneve, B&B; a city tour with a visit to the Teotihuacan pyramids; and direct flights from London. journeylatinamerica.co.uk 64 nationalgeographic.co.uk/travel



SLEEP IMAGES: GETTY; ORMOND GROUP KUALA LUMPUR With its buzzing neighbourhoods and glittering skyline, Malaysia’s ever-changing capital is home to some of the most affordable five-star stays in the world. Words: Lee Cobaj Kuala Lumpur is a city on the up. Along with spectacular architecture, it has top shopping, world-class museums and a food scene to rival any of its Asian neighbours. The same could be said of its ever-increasing number of interesting hotels, too. These range from gorgeous heritage houses to stylish modern sky pads and cool co-living spaces, all with pleasingly low rates. Staying in KLCC, the buzzing downtown hub that surrounds the Petronas Towers, might seem like the obvious choice for first-timers, but this busy city is packed with a web of fascinating neighbourhoods: foodies flock to Jalan Alor in search of the perfect noodle dish; Bangsar’s lifestyle stores and coffeeshops attract a fashionable crowd; grittier KL Sentral and Chow Kit are brilliant if you’re on a budget; while the colonial district around Merdaka Square has a Golden Age of Travel aesthetic. And the monorails, free tourist buses and cheap taxis make it easy to get around. 66 nationalgeographic.co.uk/travel

Best for bargain hunters MOMO’S With a colour-pop paint job, a great in-house Mexican bar and diner (think cauliflower tostada, chunky beef tacos, chilli sugar churros, jugs of margaritas), and clever attention to detail, MoMo’s is breaking away from Kuala Lumpur’s typically dreary hostel mould. Smart, environmentally aware and located in the grittier west of the city, you can book compact private rooms from just £10 per person per night. Choose from bunks, doubles or twins, all with comfy mattresses, TVs, wi-fi, hairdryers and en suite shower rooms stocked with fluffy towels and organic shampoo and shower gel. ROOMS: Doubles from £20, B&B. stayatmomos.com Sept/Oct 2020 67

SLEEP Best for design buffs THE RUMA An oasis of calm on the edge of buzzy Bukit Bintang, KL’s entertainment district packed with malls, bars and restaurants, the RuMa is set in a soaring tower, where stand-out design cleverly blends old and new Malaysia to beautiful effect. Guest rooms feature blond and hard woods, elegant rattan chaises longues, and pretty copper pendant lamps. Elsewhere, there’s a cantilevered swimming pool, a secluded spa, and an all- day restaurant. ROOMS: From £95, B&B. theruma.com Best for high-rise living BANYAN TREE Expect your ears to pop as the high-speed elevator fires you up to the 52nd floor of this 59-storey skyscraper in the heart of the Golden Triangle. Family break, romantic getaway shopping, wellness or business — you name it, the Banyan Tree can accommodate it. Even the entry-level rooms are huge, with calming decor and ultra- modern bathrooms featuring egg-shaped tubs, LED colour-changing showers and Japanese electronic toilets. The pool is on the rooftop, alongside the fabulous Vertigo Bar, and the spa offers traditional Malaysian healing treatments. The location is tip- top, too, circled by the Golden Triangle’s multitude of shops, malls, and restaurants. ROOMS: Doubles from £150, B&B. banyantree.com 68 nationalgeographic.co.uk/travel

SLEEP Bhiedsetafowraay romantic VILLA SAMADHI You can order breakfast any time of day at this sybaritic retreat on the leafy edges of the city centre. Fitting the urban resort bill brilliantly, a series of 21 rooms and suites are housed in a Malay-style mansion set around a large lagoon-shaped swimming pool. Each has teak floors, carved panelling, antique furniture and beautiful big bathrooms. The poolside restaurant is only open to hotel guests, and serves modern Malaysian dishes such as dory fish curry in coconut milk and chilli prawn spaghetti. ROOMS: From £115, B&B. villasamadhi.com Best for city chic FOUR SEASONS KUALA LUMPUR This airy hotel next to the Petronas Towers overlooks KLCC Park. It exudes the kind of smooth vibes one might expect from the Four Seasons brand: there’s a sleek marble lobby, a clutch of swish bars and restaurants, and first-class service. Facilities include a rooftop swimming pool and a serene spa. Rooms and suites — 209 in total — are stylish and generously proportioned. ROOMS: From £145, room only. fourseasons.com Sept/Oct 2020 69

tastic Villas. Where Moroccan heritage meets Oriental charm. Route du Golf Royal, 40 000 Marrakech, Morocco. For reservations, visit mandarinoriental.com or call +212 5 24 29 88 88  

SLEEP Best for party animals W KUALA LUMPUR The W is the cool kid on the block, rocking the sexiest look in the city. There’s a fun vibe, from the pink-and- purple lobby, to the sparkly spa, and the ring-shaped rooftop pool with views of the Petronas Towers. The bedrooms are equally glitzy: batik-on-acrylic panels above the beds, hot pink sofas, rugs which look like they’ve been pixelated. Asymmetric bathrooms come with big bathtubs and Bliss amenities. Eleventh floor restaurant Yen serves up modern Chinese cuisine that’s best followed with cocktails on the Woo Bar deck overlooking the city. ROOMS: From £130, B&B. marriott.com IMAGE: RALF TOOTEN Best for style gurus Best for history buffs Best for luxury lovers ALILA BANGSAR HOTEL MAJESTIC MANDARIN ORIENTAL, KUALA LUMPUR A lone slab of black glass towering over hip Bangsar, Architecture buffs will adore this historic hotel in Kuala At this grand hotel, you can do laps of the swimming the Alila has show-stopping views of the city, suburbs Lumpur’s colonial district. Spread over two wings (the pool while gazing out at one of Asia’s most and distant Cameron Highlands. Up top, casual French original 1930s-built Majestic wing and the Tower wing, restaurant Entier serves first-rate food at affordable spectacular skylines. The teal-and-taupe rooms are built in 2012), guests can flit between atmospheric spacious and comfortable, with superb big beds prices, next door to noir-ish cocktail bar Pacific afternoon teas on the lawn, the rainbow-hued Orchid Standard. Downstairs, there’s Botanica + Co, a breezy and sylish black marble bathrooms. From the ample Conservatory, and the Cigar Room for late-night breakfast spread to candle-lit dinners at the Mandarin cafe dishing up health foods and Asian favourites. cognacs. Rooms in the Majestic wing channel a Rooms are smart, modern and spacious, and the hotel traditional aesthetic, while Tower wing rooms have an Grill, the food is consistently excellent here. Guests art deco feel. There’s also an outdoor pool and a spa. can also make sure they get a thorough pampering at even runs free shuttle buses to Bangsar Village. ROOMS: From £65, B&B. alilahotels.com ROOMS: From £95, B&B. majestickl.com the best spa in the city. ROOMS: From £129, room only. mandarinoriental.com Sept/Oct 2020 71

SLEEP Best for affordable luxe IMAGES: ORMOND GROUP THE CHOW KIT After five-star style at three-star prices? The brains behind the newly opened Chow Kit have stripped back such frills as hair conditioner, body lotion and in-room kettles to focus on a luxurious look and feel while at the same time keeping prices low. Interiors hit just the right note between modern and homey, with a welcoming lobby dotted with interesting Malay artworks, vintage furniture and elegant lanterns. Over six floors, there are 113 stylish rooms ranging from downright dinky dens to spacious corner suites (tea, coffee and extra amenities are available from stations in the corridor). The Kitchen serves moreish Malaysian food and a set breakfast, which includes a fresh juice, a hot drink and an a la carte dish (eggs benedict, nasi goreng) costs just £6. There’s also rooftop yoga and free neighbourhood tours. ROOMS: From £45, B&B. thechowkit.com 72 nationalgeographic.co.uk/travel



Italy 74 nationalgeographic.co.uk/travel

Off the beaten track There’s never been a better time to explore Italy’s quieter corners. From a classic Neapolitan neighbourhood to Lazio’s archaeological sites, a road trip in Puglia with epic views all to yourself, and the best aperitivo spots in Turin and Trieste, we bring you the lowdown on the lesser-known — including the most indulgent places for a remote retreat, a quiet beach break and more WORDS & INTERVIEWS JULIA BUCKLEY PHOTOGRAPHS FRANCESCO LASTRUCCI Sept/Oct 2020 75

ITALY 76 nationalgeographic.co.uk/travel

ITALY Artisans Le Marche MAKE IT LIKE A MARCHIGIANO For artisan skill, there’s nowhere in Italy like Le Marche, a central region populated with family businesses that handcraft paper from hemp, weave basket bags for Italy’s biggest fashion houses, and stitch the leather balls used in an ancient, tennis-like sport FROM LEFT: Daniele Rango I’m peering in through the window of Renzo with help from his mum and daughter. Tiny Castellani’s barbershop in Treia when he it may be but the Nardis produce bags for the making a bracciale ball in his rushes out. “You’re not from here, are you?” he likes of Prada, Dolce & Gabbana and Fendi, workshop, in the village of says, ushering me in to talk about his beloved overseen by their pet parrot and a photo of the Treia; street scene in Treia town. Renzo is in his 61st year of barbering Pope. Their work — I watch Morena weave a PREVIOUS PAGES, — and he wants passersby to know it. Louis Vuitton bag in 90 minutes — is a high- speed blend of dexterity and artistry. Pride, CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT: Welcome to small-town life in Le Marche, too. “Everyone in Mogliano used to do this,” just across the Apennines from Tuscany and says Tonino. “It was born from necessity Fried crab claws, prawns, Umbria. The Renaissance hill town — all — peasants wove their own baskets.” squid rings and bread dough elegant terracotta buildings, narrow streets, and a jewellery box of a theatre — reminds me Now there are only four such artisans left in outside a seafood cafe near of Montepulciano, in Tuscany. Only instead the village. Eight years ago, the Nardis didn’t Castro Marina harbour, of touristy wine shops, there’s a queue at the think they could keep going either, then butchers for herby porchetta, diners crowding Prada called and changed their lives. “Before, Puglia; Pescoluse Beach, on out the vaulted-roofed, frescoed cafe, with its you were almost embarrassed to say you Puglia’s west coast; Luigi stucco Jesus outside. And Renzo. were a weaver,” says Tonino. “Now it’s being Mecella with freshly made rediscovered, I’m proud. It’s art — and it links paper in his countryside Le Marche is often touted as an alternative our culture to the area.” Dino breaks off from workshop near Fabriano, to Tuscany — it has the same billowing hills weaving to take me to a nearby 16th-century Le Marche; cyclist in Santa and medieval streets minus the selfie sticks church, for which the family are keyholders. Cesarea Terme, Puglia; and souvenir shops. But it also lives its history It’s just the two of us by the frescoed altar, a — not least through its artisans. Here in Treia, chorus of birds serenading us as we walk in. street scene in the Sanità you’ll find such curiosities as bracciale — a district of Naples tennis-like game played with spiked wooden An hour west of Treia is the town of ‘fists’ that look like torture instruments. Fabriano, renowned for its paper since the Dating back to the Renaissance, it’s largely 1400s. At the Paper and Watermark Museum died out in Italy, but here in Treia, on the first Fabriano, guide Claudia Crocetti takes me Sunday in August, locals transform a car park around the workshop, where papermaker into a court where a tournament is played. Roberto dips moulds into a cotton-water Each ball costs €100 (£90), says cobbler and solution and lays the barely formed sheets ball-maker Daniele Rango, whom I find in onto wool to dry off. Upstairs, artist-in- his workshop hand-stitching strips of leather residence Stefano Luciano is busy making onto grapefruit-sized balls. “It’s hard work — it startlingly modern prints, when master ruins your shoulders,” he shrugs, as if to say: papermaker Luigi Mecella bursts in. “Have you this is Treia’s history, so it must be done. tried my paper yet?” he asks. Stefano hasn’t. Inspired by Daniele, I’m keen to hear more And so it is that the next morning we all of the story of this central part of Le Marche, pile into Luigi’s workshop to watch him as told by its artisans. Thirty minutes later, transform 800-litre tubs of homegrown having weaved around walled medieval hemp into paper, while his colleague towns and through a landscape as rumpled Emiliano Scattolini binds the sheets and as an unmade bed, I reach the hilltop hamlet adds leather covers. It’s a process that’s been of Mogliano. I eat the porchetta panino I’d carried out here in the outskirts of medieval bought in Treia while admiring the view of Fabriano for over 600 years. The Marchigiani snow-capped mountains, and beyond them doing what they do best: living their history. fields, forests, olive groves and necklaces of terracotta villages cresting grassy peaks. Sawday’s has double rooms at La Casa degli Amori, Treia, from €85 (£73), B&B. sawdays.com At the foot of the hill, Tonino Nardi Ryanair flies from Stansted to Ancona from £50 return. welcomes me into his garage. “It’s just a tiny ryanair.com MORE INFO: Visits to the artisans all by business,” he blushes. He, his wife Morena and direct appointment. prolocotreia.it his brother Dino weave wicker and leather, Sept/Oct 2020 77

ITALY Cities Naples A TA S TE OF THE S TREE TS Explore the revitalised district of Sanità to find authentic pizza restaurants, unique pastry, washing line-strung streets and a cathedral-sized ossuary carved into the rock It should be a quiet Tuesday lunchtime in the watching tattooed arms stretching dough, CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: Sanità, but Via Vergini is full of life. Little girls hurling on toppings, and slinging pizzas into in fancy dress — a Chiquita banana girl, Elsa the oven. Pizza is quick in Naples — the menu Seafront near Chiaia, with from Frozen — strut about with their parents. even lists how many seconds each takes to Posillipo in the background; An elderly man races over the cobbles in a cart cook. My San Marzano (a margherita reliant the pastry counter at pulled by a skewbald pony. Passersby inspect on its namesake tomato for its sauce) takes a Pasticceria Poppella; shrine the shop displays: garish pleather bags, couple of minutes to arrive, the waiter ripping in a fish shop on bustling Via vegetables stacked impossibly high, fresh leaves off a basil plant and flinging them on Vergini, Sanità district; pizza fish from the Bay of Naples. It’s so noisy here, my pizza as soon he sets the plate down. chef outside Concettina ai outside Pasticceria Poppella, I can barely hear Ciro Scognamillo speak. “I got a tattoo,” he The deeper I go into the Sanità, the more Tre Santi pizzeria with a tray says, rolling up his sleeve to reveal an icicle- Neapolitan it gets; I pass flaked-paint palazzos of dough; garnishing a San hung snowball on his forearm, with ‘fiocco di with laundry strung from every balcony, Marzano pizza with fresh neve’ (‘snowflake’) inked above it. “I tattooed it and elaborate shrines to saints — Padre Pio, basil, Concettina ai Tre Santi because this changed my life,” he adds. Saint Vincenzo Ferreri, the Madonna. Totò, the early-20th-century actor, aka ‘the prince Ten years ago, Ciro was a struggling third- of laughter’, was born here, his former home generation baker in the Sanità — which marked by a mural of the great man, complete was, he admits, not a great area. “It was a with his trademark top hat and sardonic bit abandoned by everyone,” he says. “No expression, although I can barely make it out, one came here.” Struggling to make a living thanks to the washing lines. alongside his father, he decided to invent a pastry that would bring all of Naples to their Further into the district, the streets get door. Ciro tried over and over again — “I was quieter (it’s siesta time). I walk past a furniture desperate” — but nothing happened. Until stall — its owner lolling on one of the couches one day in 2014, he came up with the fiocco di — and butcher’s shop windows filled with neve: a profiterole filled with chilled sheep’s tripe and cornicellos, Naples’ ubiquitous, ricotta and fresh cream. horn-shaped lucky charms. A 20-minute walk takes me to the Cimitero delle Fontanelle, a “From one day to the next, people were cathedral-sized space hollowed out from an here,” he says proudly. In 2017, buoyed by the outcrop of soft tufa rock. This vast paupers’ success of his snowflakes, he opened a fancy grave is where the bodies of thousands of pasticceria on Via della Sanità. My fiocco Neapolitans were placed over the centuries, di neve is chilled, the sweet-but-not-too- their skeletons artfully stacked and topped by sweet filling melting on my tongue as I bask layers of skulls. in the Naples sun, attended to by a smart, black-gloved waiter. Ciro’s success has paid Naples is a fiercely religious city, which dividends for the neighbourhood — his 37 explains why every surface here is covered staff are “ragazzi del quartiere”: local lads, with lovingly placed tokens: train tickets, employed so that they “don’t grow up wrong”. pencils, a sachet of a face cream. Candles All thanks to his snowflake. flicker in the gloaming as pop music blares from a nearby house and dogs howl in the These days, the Sanità is buzzing. Up the distance. It’s pure Naples — and pure Sanità. street, a man with a clipboard is policing entry to Concettina ai Tre Santi, a 68-year-old Citalia has three nights at Naples’ Hotel Paradiso from Naples institution. After a 40-minute wait, I’m £449 a night, B&B, including flights from Gatwick and ushered through heavy, scarlet curtains to the private transfers, with add-ons available to the nearby brand new semi-secret kitchen area, where we Amalfi Coast. citalia.com sit at high tables around a wood-fired oven, MORE INFO: pasticceriapoppella.com pizzeriaoliva.it 78 nationalgeographic.co.uk/travel

ITALY

ITALY Road trips 80 nationalgeographic.co.uk/travel Puglia HISTORY ON THE HEEL The Salento peninsula offers a road trip packed with sandy beaches, clifftop cave dwellings, dolmens and towns studded with elaborate, baroque palazzi The lights are off but everyone’s home in Gallipoli. It’s Sunday lunchtime, and they’ve gone from church to table. At least, that’s according to the clinking of cutlery through open windows. Outside, it’s a ghost town, the summer heat sitting heavily on the cream-stoned palazzi. Gallipoli is already a fairytale of a place — a fishing village teetering on a rock in the Ionian Sea, tethered to the mainland by a sandy wedge. But the stillness makes it more special. Even in summer, when tourists flock to the sugar-sanded bay, life continues at a rhythm established over hundreds of years. History is inescapable here on the Salento peninsula, the southernmost tip of Italy’s heel. It’s here in the prehistoric dolmens; here in the angels smiling down from baroque buildings. It goes still further back at Porto Selvaggio, to the north of Gallipoli, whose cliffside caves were, 45,000 years ago, home to Europe’s first documented Homo sapiens. Those early humans, who’d travelled up from Africa, were the first of Puglia’s many immigrants. Some had fled here (like the Basilian monks, escaping Jerusalem in the eighth century, sculpting underground churches whose frescoes survive to this day). Others chose to settle here (the Greeks founded towns like Calimera). Other arrived with conquest in mind: the Normans, Lombards and Saracens all left their mark on Salento architecture; the watchtowers — valiant attempts to ward them off — dot the clifftop as I head south on my road trip around the Salento coast. Salento may be just 25 miles across at its widest point, but its east and west coasts are starkly different. The flatter, western side is known for its beaches. Earlier, I’d stopped at Punta Prosciutto, where dunes melt into thick sand. South of Gallipoli, there’s a beach every five minutes — some with a platform of spiky rock sheering into the sea; others, more idyllic, like Pescoluse, nicknamed Puglia’s Maldives. Santa Maria di Leuca, Italy’s most southeasterly point, is where the Ionian and Adriatic coasts slide into each other. From Leuca, the coast gets more spectacular, the road roller coastering up and down sharp cliffs, past teeny fishing villages below a headland speckled with myrtle and carob bushes. At the Grotta Zinzulusa, a local guide shimmies me deep into the cliffside to an enormous, bat-filled cave. In the town of Otranto, I see the cathedral’s 12th-century mosaic ‘carpet’, complete with cameos from an elephant and a buxom mermaid. Just above it, from the Aragonese castle, I look back along the coast: it’s a carbon copy of the Amalfi shoreline — but without the traffic, crowds or high prices. Citalia has five nights at Masseria Montelauro in Salento, including flights from Gatwick to Brindisi and car hire, from £699 per person. citalia.com MORE INFO: grottazinzulusa.it

ITALY CLOCKWISE FROM BELOW: Countryside around the Capannelle Pass en route to Campo Imperatore, Gran Sasso and Laga Mountains National Park; cliffside entrance to Grotta Zinzulusa; beachside dining at Punta Prosciutto; Spiaggia della Purità, Gallipoli The roads less travelled CAPO VATICANO // CALABRIA The coastal road between Pizzo and Reggio Calabria passes pretty villages and apocalyptic views of two active volcanoes: Stromboli, smoking offshore to the east, and Etna, puffing away in Sicily, across the water. Stop at Tropea, where palazzi teeter against the blue, and finish at Reggio’s Lungomare walkway, with Sicily brooding across the Straits of Messina. GR AN SASSO NATIONAL PARK // ABRUZ ZO This mountainous region is home to bears, clifftop villages and twisting roads. The Grand Highway winds through the best of it, cleaving through mountains and rolling through the altipiano between L’Aquila and Teramo provinces. SULCIS COA ST // SARDINIA Sardinia’s southwest coast is less manicured than the Costa Smeralda, but no less spectacular (its hairpin clifftop roads aren’t for the fainthearted). From Fontanamare, wiggle round the old mining coast, stopping at Porto Flavia, home to a mining tunnel that looks out on the cobalt sea. Finish inland at Carbonia’s mining museum. Sept/Oct 2020 81



ITALY Cities Trieste ONE PERFECT DAY Historic Bagno Ausonia, a popular swimming spot close to Il Pedocin LEFT: Coffee with sachertorte at Caffè Tommaseo From your first cappuccino in a Viennese-style cafe to a nightcap of Friulano wine in a folksy osteria, we map out the perfect day in Italy’s easternmost border city 8AM 5,000 people, largely political prisoners, are haunting, while the cottage-style grounds thought to have been murdered at the Risiera — overlooking a marine reserve — are superb. BREAKFAST AT CAFFÈ TOMMASEO di San Sabba, a factory-turned-concentration miramare. beniculturali.it One look at its Viennese-style coffee houses camp. Today a museum accompanies the will show you that Trieste used to be part sobering buildings. risierasansabba.it 4PM of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Caffè Tommaseo is one of the finest — drenched 1PM HAVE A BATH in more stucco than an opera house, with Triestini love their city beaches. You’ll find musical instrument-playing cherub carvings ALFRESCO LUNCH them rolling out their towels on the shoreline serenading you over your cappuccino and Taverna Sapori Greci’s fairy-lit bower all the way from Miramare back into town. croissant. caffetommaseo.it brightens up its surroundings (the area was But it’s more fun to head to the old-school La knocked down while excavating the adjacent Lanterna or Il Pedocin — the latter a pebbly 9AM Roman amphitheatre). Sure, it’s a Greek beach near the marina with ‘male’ and restaurant, but there’s no better place to sun- ‘female’ areas separated by a concrete wall. KING OF THE CASTLE soak and try Trieste’s outstanding seafood. San Giusto Castle looms over the city, with facebook.com/tavernasaporigreci 6PM views from its battlements across the Gulf of Trieste and down the coast to Slovenia and 2PM GULF-SIDE SUNDOWNER Croatia. Nip into the Lapidarium, a museum Piazza Unità d’Italia is one of Europe’s most housing Roman remains, for geometric ROOMS WITH A VIEW captivating squares. See the sun set over the mosaics and lifelike funereal sculptures. Miramare Castle, the city’s most famous water from the outdoor tables at Caffè degli castellodisangiustotrieste.it site, is five miles away — whisked straight Specchi, a belle époque coffeehouse, with out of a Disney film and plonked on the Gulf a local Friulano wine, then have dinner at 11AM of Trieste. Built in 1856 by Maximilian I, nearby Osteria da Marino, a tavern with 700 Archduke of Austria, its story is tinged with types of wine that specialises in Trieste’s PAY YOUR RESPECTS tragedy: following Maximilian’s execution Balkans-influenced cuisine. caffespecchi.it Its border-territory location means Trieste is in Mexico, wife Charlotte had a breakdown osteriadamarino.com no stranger to dark times, but the nadir was she never recovered from. The rooms are MORE INFO: discover-trieste.it the 1943-5 Nazi occupation. Around 3,000- Sept/Oct 2020 83

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ITALY Cities Walled garden at Castello di Ugento, Puglia AFTER DARK Remote getaways Turin Escape to the country It’s a rare Italian city that indulges in the aperitivo Seeking a standout Italian hotel? These rustic-chic stays deliver showstopping hour as much as Turin, views and service with style where drinks are served IMAGE: SUSAN WRIGHT with ‘snacks’ so substantial Sextantio Santo Stefano di Sessanio, Castello di Ugento, Puglia you won’t need a meal Abruzzo On the far-western tip of Italy’s heel is this BEST FOR ATMOSPHERE // This is one of Italy’s more remote ‘scattered honey-stoned 17th-century castle, whose FLORIS HOUSE hotels’ (a concept that sees guest rooms spread nine rooms and suites are filled with designer Comprising a restaurant, bar across buildings throughout town) — and Italian fittings. There’s also an excellent and perfume shop, Floris one of the cushiest. It occupies a hamlet in restaurant and cookery school on site. House is an elegant spot for an Abruzzo, with plush digs in old cottages. Doubles from €430 (£387), B&B, minimum aperitivo. Order a drink amid Doubles from €130 (£117), B&B. sextantio.it stay of two nights. castellodiugento.com the many palms and potted plants and you’ll soon find Su Gologone, Sardinia Forestis, South Tyrol yourself being served tiered stands of chef-made snacks. This mountainside hotel offers an immersion This hideway offers a plum view of the floris-profumi.it into Sardinian culture, from the meat Dolomites — including from the suites, all smouldering on a spit to the farming of which face the peaks with floor-to-ceiling BEST FOR SUMMER // EDIT equipment strung up on the walls. The windows. Leisure options include yoga and On sunny evenings, grab a whitewashed rooms feature colourful skiing, but you’ll also want to leave time for the seat in the garden of this bar accessories, and there are daybeds outside. spa, with its pine, spruce and larch treatments. and restaurant. There’s a hint Doubles from €197 (£177), B&B. sugologone.it Doubles from €320 (£288), B&B. forestis.it of a Budapest ruin bar to the courtyard, which is dotted with food trucks and fairy lights, and a lot of Milan in the tapas-style sharing plates and lengthy cocktail list. edit-to.com BEST FOR FREE FOOD // BEERBA If you want to make a dinner out of your aperitivo buffet, look no further than this San Salvario bar, famous for its buffet dinners. Like the area itself, it’s geared to a younger crowd. Grab a beanbag and settle in — there’s a lot of eating to be done. facebook.com/ beerba.frytobegood Villa Paola, Calabria Eremito, Umbria Located close to the pretty coastal village In a forest north of Orvieto lies this newbuild of Tropea, this candy-coloured villa was ‘hermitage’, where dinner is eaten in silence, originally a convent. The views are the rooms have a monastic aesthetic and there’s main draw here — in an Executive room, little to do except soak up the solitude. you’ll be woken by the sun glinting on Eremito was designed with solo travellers in the Med. Doubles from €212 (£191), B&B. mind, so be ready to mingle (quietly). Doubles villapaolatropea.it from €230 (£207), all-inclusive. eremito.com Sept/Oct 2020 85

ITALY Remote getaways Secret weekend escapes With so many lakes, mountains and UNESCO-listed sites, Italy has no shortage of stunning locations to while away a few days. These oft-overlooked spots promise a unique break The lake: Iseo The island: Ischia The unique wonder: Matera It appears almost as a mirage: thousands of Often overshadowed by its higher-profile It shares the same glittering sea and glorious houses carved out of the caves and cliffs, piled siblings, Garda, Como and Maggiore, Lake Iseo Vesuvius views as Capri, but Ischia remains higgledy-piggledy on top of each other. The is where the Milanese retreat to. This is fishing very much an island for Italians, rather than southern Italian city was once considered a territory, and on Monte Isola (the island in the for the jet set. Its thermal waters have been national embarrassment, with its population middle of the lake, accessible by ferry) lies the popular for thousands of years, and you can living in dire poverty until they were evicted hamlet of Peschiera Maraglio, where villagers still take a dip today. Relax in the natural on public health grounds in the 1950s. But make their living either by hauling in the daily pools of Cavascura, as the Romans did, or, for today, Matera is fresh off its stint as 2019 catch or manufacturing the nets. something a little fancier, gently stew as you European Capital Of Culture and its sassi dangle over the Med at the Aphrodite Apollon (‘rocks’) are slowly being reinhabited. There You’ll find fish on menus all around the lake, thermal park. There are dinky villages (like are excellent small museums including Casa often paired with hyper-local wine from the Sant’Angelo, a hamlet with almost more beach Noha, a clutch of chic galleries and shops Franciacorta region, whose sparkling whites than pavement) and glorious beaches, too and artisans’ workshops. Don’t miss the bear more of a resemblance to Champagne — don’t miss Maronti, a long strip of sand on rock-hewn churches or the Cripta del Peccato than Prosecco. Don’t miss the 40-mile Strada the south of the island, made famous by Elena Originale (‘crypt of original sin’), a 20-minute del Vino Franciacorta wine trail, which Ferrante’s Neapolitan novels. cavascura.it drive from town. criptadelpeccatooriginale.it whisks you from one vineyard to the next. miramaresearesort.it/aphrodite fondoambiente.it/luoghi/casa-noha WHERE TO EAT: Ristorante Le Margherite WHERE TO EAT: Ristorante Neptunus WHERE TO EAT: Osteria al Casale Tinca al forno (a baked carp-like fish, stuffed Frequented by many a celebrity over the At this swish trattoria in a former cave, with grated bread, cheese and spices) is years, this is the go-to spot for perfectly the only link to the past is the traditional the speciality of lakeside Clusane, and this grilled, caught-this-morning fish. Basilicata dishes on the menu. osterialcasale.it restaurant is one of the best places to try it. ristoranteneptunus.com/en WHERE TO STAY: Sextantio Le Grotte ristorantelemargherite.it WHERE TO STAY: Botania Relais & Spa WHERE TO STAY: Castello Oldofredi della Civita Get back to nature at this adults-only retreat, This porticoed, towered castle dominates where villas and rooms are dotted around This ‘scattered hotel’ comprises 18 cave houses Peschiera Maraglio, offering top-notch views the richly planted grounds. Doubles from converted into honey-hued, candlelit rooms. of the lake. Doubles from €79 (£70), room €150 (£135), B&B. botaniarelais.com Doubles from €153 (£128), B&B. sextantio.it only. oldofrediresidence.it 86 nationalgeographic.co.uk/travel

IMAGES: FRANCESCO LASTRUCCI; GETTY CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT: Maronti beach, ITALY on the island of Ischia; pasta con le sarde, a traditional Sicilian dish of pasta Sept/Oct 2020 87 with sardines; a fresh harvest of Sicilian round aubergines; olive tree in Sicily Cuisine A taste of Sicily Food is done a little differently on Italy’s largest island. Sicilian olive oil producer Giuseppe Trapani explains the principal flavours, and shares the restaurants not to miss Sicilian food is a pot pourri of Mediterranean cultures — we have flavours and products that mainland Italy doesn’t. It’s been influenced by the cultures that have come here: the ancient Greeks brought the olive tree; the Arabs brought aubergines, oranges and lemons; and the Spanish brought things from the Americas like chocolate and prickly pears (originally from Mexico but now o en associated with Sicily). Recently, there’s been a Tunisian influence, too, thanks to the exchange of fishing in Mazara del Vallo, on the southwest coast. We use a lot of aubergine and artichokes in Sicily; Cerda, near Palermo, is famous for the latter. Couscous is popular as well, and every September there’s a dedicated festival held in San Vito Lo Capo, near Trapani. Sicilian oranges are very intense and the olives here are big — we have a lot of autochthonous varieties, like the nocellara I grow in Poggioreale. Pistachios from Bronte, near Catania, are also famous. Then there are the islands: we have capers from Pantelleria, tuna from Favignana and salt from Mozia. We tend to use our ingredients very differently from the rest of Italy. Our national dish, pasta con le sarde, combines wild fennel, sultanas, pine nuts, toasted breadcrumbs and sardines; it’s a very special flavour. We’re also famous for our street food, like arancini (rice balls), which can be filled with ragu, butter, prosciutto or even fish. There’s also panelle (chickpea fritters), sfincione (like a spongy pizza — but don’t call it that, or you’ll cause offence) and pani câ meusa (rolls filled with deep-fried offal and topped with cheese). As for my favourite restaurants? Antiche Scale in Castellammare del Golfo is run by a fishing family — I love their pasta with sea urchins. In Scopello, Bar Nettuno serves traditional food with a fancy twist. Then there’s Le Gole in Calatafimi, where they make ragu with maialino nero (a local breed of pig). It’s incredible — and there are no tourists. Giuseppe, the owner of Ogglio, produces organic olive oil to sell in the UK, where he now lives. ogglio.org MORE INFO: anticafocacceria.it facebook.com/antichescale facebook.com/legoleristorante

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ITALY IMAGE: THILO WEIMAR; FRANCESCO LASTRUCCI Cuisine TOMMASO CHIARLI DISCUSSES LAMBRUSCO Learn to cook A sparkling resurgence like an Italian If the idea of Lambrusco fills you with “But Lambrusco is a fantastic grape. It has PIZZA IN NAPLES images of over-sweetened, bubble-heavy a lot of sugar, but also a lot of acidity. Even The Associazione Verace Pizza Eighties wine, then think again. When the sweetest wine can be good — the acidity Napoletana exists to promote drunk on its home turf of Emilia-Romagna, means you can enjoy it.” and protect ‘real’ Neapolitan Lambrusco is a different thing entirely: pizza. As well as training red wine with a hint of fizz that cuts Tommaso is the fifth generation of his professionals, it also offers four- through the fat from the cured meats and family’s wine-making business, which was hour courses for amateurs. Make cheeses typical of the region. And the started in 1860 by Cleto Chiarli. “He was the the perfect pizza, then eat your reason? UK law. Between 1958 and 1965, first to understand Lambrusco’s potential handiwork. €84 per person (£73). tax on low-alcohol sparkling wine was cut and to commercialise it — he was like Dom pizzanapoletana.org by around five times as much as that on Pérignon,” says Tommaso. normal wine. STREET FOOD IN GENOA By encouraging this revival of Lambrusco’s Genoa is the home of street “So, by the end of the 1960s, everyone reputation, Cleto Chiarli hopes to secure a food favourites like focaccia was sending light Lambrusco (essentially, place for itself at the forefront of the industry. and farinata (chickpea pancake), partially fermented grape must) to the UK,” “There are still very few wine tours in Emilia which you’ll learn how to explains Tommaso Chiarli, export manager Romagna compared to Tuscany, but last year make at food blogger Enrica’s at Cleto Chiarli, Emilia-Romagna’s oldest we had 5,000 visitors,” Tommaso says. With immersive market-to-table winery. “Even we did it; we used to sell 13 Lambrusco’s standing on the rise, it’s safe to class. From €110 per person million bottles a year. From there, we got say he’ll be seeing a lot more in the future. (£100), minimum two people. into a vicious circle. People now realise they asmallkitcheningenoa.com were drinking rubbish that didn’t respect the The Cleto Chiarli winery has 150 hectares across traditional characteristics of Lambrusco. the Emilia-Romagna region and produces 15 wines. FISH IN VENICE chiarli.it Take a private class with Venetian chef Marco Scarpa, who’ll walk you through creating a seafood feast, including cicchetti (traditional bar snacks) and mains such as squid ink risotto. €300 (£273) per group (max 4). experience. veneziaautentica.com SPICE IN CALABRIA Calabria is known for its chilli- infused cooking. At Cantina Masicei, you’ll be taught how to make dishes including Tropea’s famous red onions in sweet-and- sour sauce, courgette blossom fritters and frittata with nduja. From €69 per person (£63). calabriacongusto.co.uk Sept/Oct 2020 89

ITALY History The fortress in the ancient Etruscan city of Populonia, Tuscany, looking Before the Colosseum out towards the Gulf of Baratti Elisabetta Govi, an archaeology professor at the University of Bologna, discusses Italy’s ancient Etruscan civilisation and its most impressive remaining sites Lesser-visited ancient sites If I had to pick anywhere area, but the Etruscans were also found in IMAGE: GETTY to visit, it’d be Cerveteri the north, around the Po river, the Adriatic BARUMINI, SARDINIA and Tarquinia in coast and Bologna, and in the south, around Sardinia’s Iron Age people Lazio, both known for the Gulf of Salerno. Most Etruscan cities littered the island with their necropolises. At were built over by the Romans. nuraghi (conical towers). At Cerveteri, there are Su Nuraxi di Barumini, tours underground chambers For an idea of what an Etruscan city would take you up internal stairways that show you how aristocratic houses must have been like in its entirety, try Marzabotto, and across the ramparts. have looked. Walking through is incredibly near Bologna, where I’ve worked for years. fondazionebarumini.it moving. And the tombs in Tarquinia have Sadly, only the foundations remain, but as extraordinary frescoed walls, with still- there was never a successive occupation, HERCULANEUM, bright colours. The dead are brought back you can walk on streets built by Etruscans, CAMPANIA to life in the paintings, mainly in banquet see their urban planning and view the Pompeii’s neighbouring town scenes where they’re eating and drinking foundations of houses, temples and tombs. was also wiped out in the with dancers and musicians. I’d also AD 79 Vesuvius eruption. recommend Populonia on the Tuscan Our exhibition in Bologna, which brings Its ruins are more complete coast, which has spectacular views from the together 1,400 Etruscan objects from across and better preserved, acropolis in the archaeological park. Italy, was due to end in May, but has happily from doors and frescoes to The Etruscans lived in various areas of been extended into the winter. upper floors of buildings. the Italian peninsula from around 900 BC ercolano.beniculturali.it to AD 100 (what we call the ‘Romanisation’ ‘Etruscans: Journey Through the Lands of the Rasna’ is phase, as the Romans progressively at the Archaeological Civic Museum of Bologna until SEGE STA , SICILY conquered them). Modern Tuscany and 29 November 2020. This breathtaking Greek northern Lazio make up the best-known MORE INFO: etruschibologna.it necropoliditarquinia.it temple stands in a field an archeobologna.beniculturali.it/marzabotto hour’s west of Palermo. cerveteri-tarquinia-sitiunesco.beniculturali.it It’s perfectly preserved, with Doric columns dating back to around 420BC. segestawelcome.com 90 nationalgeographic.co.uk/travel

A MOUNTAIN-TOP RETREAT THAT’S YOUR GATEWAY TO THE DOLOMITES Situated at over 9,000ft in the Cortina 4.5-mile Armentarola ski run. At Rifugio Lagazuoi, d’Ampezzo mountains, Rifugio Lagazuoi is a cosy private rooms, and dormitories are on offer, traditional, family-run refuge. Open in summer along with a restaurant serving hearty Ladin and winter, it’s on the Alta Via 1, a trekking trail cuisine. Elsewhere, visitors can relax in the highest that combines nature, history and gastronomy. sauna in the Dolomites. Built in the Finnish The Lagazuoi Open Air Museum is found here style from larch, it offers stunning alpine views. — complete with First World War trenches. Skiers Accessible by cable-car, the mountain summit can and snowboarders will want to tackle the area’s be reached by people with reduced mobility. PHOTOGRAPH: STEFANO ZARDINI TO FIND OUT MORE, VISIT RIFUGIOLAGAZUOI.COM

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Snaking down the western coast of Wales from the windblown Llŷn Peninsula in the north to the city of St Davids in the south, follow a path of Arthurian myth and Bronze Age mystery along the Coastal Way, a 180-mile road trip taking in ancient standing stones, deep slate caverns and petrified prehistoric trees WORDS JULIA BUCKLE Y PHOTOGR APHS RICHARD JAMES TAYLOR Sept/Oct 2020 93

WALES CLOCKWISE: Sheep graze near Port Simdde at the very tip of the Peninsula, Bardsey Island in the distance; wild flowers at Port Simdde; signpost on the Wales Coast Path, Llŷn Peninsula PREVIOUS PAGES: The ancient remains of the Ynyslas forest in Cardigan Bay THEY STAND LIKE SEALS ON THE BEACH AT YNYSLAS, AS I PULL OVER, READY TO WITNESS A 5,000-YEAR-OLD STANDOFF. I see their dark shapes squaring off against exist somewhere beneath Cardigan Bay? Or a the sea, heads curling attentively into the slightly more run-of-the-mill archaeological sky, long bodies spilling behind them. There discovery? Here on Wales’ myth-steeped west are hundreds lined up along the sand like coast it’s hard to untangle fact from fancy. soldiers. Tensed for action, waiting patiently for the enemy to arrive. Coastal lore is in my blood. I grew up in Cornwall, amid megalith-wreathed moorland And so, it does. I hear it coming before and clifftops thrumming with Arthurian I see it. It’s the wind that gives it away legend. So, it’s no surprise that my five-day — pulling on the waves as they bend back Welsh road trip along the Coastal Way and forth, playing with the dark specks — snaking 180 miles along the entire length like a cat with a mouse. To start with, it’s of Cardigan Bay, from the Llŷn Peninsula in far off, the noise a gentle swooshing. But as the north to St Davids on the southern tip I watch, it gets hungrier, the waves surge a — still somehow feels familiar. little faster, pound a little heavier on the dark shapes, slurp a little louder as they circle Actually, I’d come for prettiness: genteel round them. The tide is on its way, and once Portmeirion, with its artsy houses stacked it comes, these seals, these soldiers, these down the cliffside; Aberdyfi and Aberaeron, amorphous dark shapes will be no more. their teeny harbours laced with pastel cottages, a far cry from the rough-and-ready Five thousand years ago, this wasn’t fishing villages I grew up around. But while a beach. In the Bronze Age, the village searching for the twee, it’s the wilderness of Ynyslas was a forest, thick with oak, that’s captivating me: the ragged green birch and pine trees. But then something coastline abloom with wildflowers, medieval happened. Maybe it was rising sea levels; castles crumbling into the landscape, and maybe, legend says, it was the day a local the tree stumps of Ynyslas, waiting stoically priestess allowed a fairy well to overflow. for the tide to bury them each night. With Either way, the forest was swallowed by its tales of mythical Welsh fighters and fairy the sea. It reappeared in 2014, when winter wells, this foreign land, where they speak storms stripped the sands from Cardigan a language I don’t understand, feels like Bay, unearthing phantom trunks that had coming home. been slumbering for thousands of years. BEAUTY & THE BEAST Close up, they swim into focus. No longer “Oh, poor you!” says the woman on the sleek seals, these are real trees, their trunks clifftop at Porth Simdde, outside Aberdaron. whorled with age (I can even count the rings); their roots like octopus tentacles, It’s not the usual reaction I get to revealing finding purchase in the sand. Some are my roots — normally, any mention of wreathed in seaweed, others have been Cornwall provokes melty eyes. But not here scoured clean by the sea. All have their on the Llŷn — a very Cornish-looking claw trunks lopped off at knee-height, as if a giant reaching out 30 miles to sea on Wales’s had scythed through them before drowning northwest tip. them in the bay. “We have the same coast, but you get all Is this, as some say, part of Cantre’r the tourists,” she says, leaving me alone on Gwaelod, the mythical Welsh Atlantis said to the headland, drizzled with neon foxgloves 94 nationalgeographic.co.uk/travel

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WALES and coconut-scented gorse. In the sun, the cliffs. At Nefyn, I walk onto a sheer-sided Irish Sea flashes mackerel-silver, and the promontory, the track squeezing through coastline stalks into the distance: green-iced waist-height undergrowth. Winding round to rocks with emerald, mustard and mole- the ‘mainland’ — Cardigan Bay’s stretched- brown fields etched on top. croissant of coast unfurling into the Irish Sea — things get more refined. At least, Right now, the weather is deceptively they do on the surface, but the wilderness perfect. Across the teal sea is Bardsey Island, is never far away. Portmeirion — the art where monks lived and the sick sought deco, pseudo-Italian fishing village, an hour healing in medieval times. east from Aberdaron — is tweely gorgeous. But 20 minutes inland, in the mountains of But only a few hours ago, things were Snowdonia, is Blaenau Ffestiniog, a former different. I’d woken up to find the wind slate-mining town where the hillsides ripping across the bay, and my boat to Bardsey bristle with friable stone. At Llechwedd cancelled. I could see why: the night before, Slate Caverns, 650ft underground, the air I’d arrived in Aberdaron to a squall so bad that hangs heavy with damp as guide Freya the staff at my hotel were shepherding a flock shows us how the men worked, feeling their of ducklings blown off the beach. I’d spent the way around the mountain’s bowels in the evening warming up with seaweed-flavoured dark. Up above, Brian — or ‘Rat’, as he calls local gin (Dà Mhìle’s organic seaweed gin — it himself, as a former quarry worker — drives had a tang of the sea); the only English-speaker me into the quarry, which closed in 1978. “I in the bar. Bardsey was known to medieval spent 10 years under there,” he says, pointing pilgrims as ‘the Rome of Britain’, and the at the rock, voice echoing in the hollows. journey to get there was just as treacherous as any quest to the Italian capital. Up here, the mountainside looks stripped to the muscle, great chunks gouged from Like Cornwall, the Llŷn is a wild land of billowing jade hills and path-riddled FROM LEFT: View across the Italianate-style village of Portmeirion on the North Wales coast; Brian, a former mine worker who now leads quarry tours in The Slate Caverns, Blaenau Ffestiniog Sept/Oct 2020 97

WALES its flesh over the decades. Standing on a “We’re waiting for him to lead the Welsh 25-ton rock, Brian points out the chambers into independence.” I can almost feel the where they worked — some huge clefts in expectation humming in the air. the rock, others narrow slashes looking barely big enough for a real rat. Viewed Glyndŵr chose Machynlleth, on the River from above, the quarry’s peaks make a mini Dyfi, as the town was traditionally considered Snowdonia. On a clear day, you can see as far the boundary between North and South as Harlech’s skeletal medieval castle, but not Wales. It’s here he was crowned Prince in today’s mist. of Wales, and the building in which we’re standing is the late 15th-century rebuild of his The next day, I’m heading into the original. It’s a forbidding, thick-walled barn of real thing — an hour-long drive through a place with low-slung windows and a soaring Snowdonia National Park on my way to roof, crisscrossed with hulking beams. Machynlleth. The road cleaves through moss-coloured foothills, low-hanging slate- But what’s more fascinating is the grey clouds swallowing the peaks around exhibition on Glyndŵr — “Wales’s David Tal-y-llyn, a glassy ribbon of glacial lake versus England’s Goliath,” says Rhiain, in the south of Snowdonia. Not that there’s proudly — and Rhiain herself. A former time to stop — I’ve an appointment with university Welsh tutor, she plays the Welsh Owain Glyndŵr. triple harp and runs drop-in language sessions for Machynlleth’s ever-growing The last Welsh Prince of Wales, who population of non-Welsh-speakers, which, rose up against the English in 1400 and for today at least, includes me. Rhiain disappeared nine years later when his last makes me feel at home by whipping out stronghold, Harlech, was captured, is the a vocabulary list to prove that Welsh and stuff of both historical fact and legend. Cornish are similar. “Welsh is phonetic, Glyndŵr’s guerrilla-style tactics brought so once you’ve learned how to pronounce him victories — at one point, he controlled the sounds, you can speak it,” she says, most of Wales. And his disappearance (his encouragingly, and within a few minutes wife and children were captured in 1409, she’s transformed what two nights ago but he was never found) only burnished in Aberdaron was an alien language into his legend. “We say he’ll come back,” says an approachable one. I learn the subtle Rhiain Bebb, on the spot where Glyndŵr difference between ‘ch’ (the sound produced held his parliament in Machynlleth. at the back of my throat) and ‘ll’ (pushed out 98 nationalgeographic.co.uk/travel

WALES FROM LEFT: Sarah with from the side of my mouth), and suddenly properties, and, at most, to be the Holy Grail her Great Dane ‘Raven’ I can pronounce ‘Machynlleth’. We count itself (science dates it more prosaically to at Spellbound Herbals; from one to 10. By the time I leave, not only the medieval period). Today, barely half of it the hanging ram of can I say ‘diolch a hwyl fawr’ (‘thank you and remains — the result of generations of sick Portmeirion, designed goodbye’) but Rhiain’s given me a whole new believers gnawing away at it in search of a by Susan William-Ellis, respect for my roots. miracle. Even so, the deep age rings inside, adorns the Toll House blackened with centuries of healing potions, at the entrance to the Whether or not Owain is still slumbering, are powerful to behold. No wonder I’m away Italianate-style village; there’s a mystical feel to this part of Wales. with the fairies by the time I reach Ynyslas, locals prepare for a Near Owain Glyndŵr’s Parliament House, and those prehistoric trees, halfway down day’s fishing in New the deep-fried pizza and window-wide the Welsh coast. Quay harbour bara brith fruit bread draws me into Blasau Delicatessen, a tea room run by Sabrina, an MERLIN & MEGALITHS Italian who swapped Venice for Machynlleth The lower half of Cardigan Bay, south of because she’d nurtured “a passion for British Aberystwyth, feels more peopled, but even myth — King Arthur and the green man here among the fish and chip shops, there’s — ever since I was little”. Up the road, at the an edge. At New Quay, as tourists cram into Corris Craft Centre, is Spellbound Herbals, the sandy harbour to go dolphin-watching where — between a candle shop and a gin (Cardigan Bay is one of the top places in distillery — owner Sarah infuses soaps and Europe for spotting them), I climb the creams with medicinal herbs. They smell roller coaster hill to the Black Lion, Dylan so richly of the outdoors that back home, Thomas’s favourite boozer. The Welsh poet hungry for Wales during lockdown, I email and writer lived in the town from 1944 to her to order more. 1945 — the sleepy town of Llareggub (read it backwards) in Thomas’s 1954 radio drama West of Machynlleth, towards coastal Under Milk Wood is said to be based on New Aberdyfi, is Llyn Barfog, a moorland- Quay. From the beer garden, I watch paunchy wrapped lake where King Arthur is said green hills rolling down to the sea, and boats to have slain a dreaded monster. And at swivelling in the lapis water, circling round Aberystwyth’s National Library of Wales, flecks that could be either waves or dolphins. I find the Nanteos Cup, a wooden bowl that’s said, at the very least, to have healing Sept/Oct 2020 99

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