Monday, June 9, 2014

Nemi: The Town of the Wild Strawberries

“But don't forget, in the meantime, that this is the season for strawberries. Yes.”  Clarice Lispector



Last weekend I was looking for a destination near #Rome and my #Italian friends recommended I visit #Nemi, the town of wild strawberries or "fragoline".  I was so lucky my visit coincided with the town's annual strawberry festival.  Every town in Italy has some kind of special day for their culinary specialty, called "Sagra" so you have the Sagra of the Truffles, Sagra of the Ricotta, Sagra of the Roses, you name the food item, there is a Sagra somewhere for it.  If I could, I would go to all of them!

Nemi is a small town overlooking a lake of the same name, a volcanic lake located 40 minutes south of Rome.  The lake is small compared to others in the region but was favored by Emperor Caligula who built two luxurious vessels that after his death were sunk into the bottom of the lake.  For three euro you can visit the Museum of Roman Ships opened daily from 9am to 6pm except on Sundays when it closes at 2 pm.

But what brought me there were the wild #strawberries!  Small in size but full of flavor.  Of course I had to try the wild strawberry tart, the crepes with wild strawberry toping, the strawberry liquor....

Next time I will go on a hike in the forrest near the lake, and that will be my reason to go back to Nemi.

Arrivederci,










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