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Back to La Locanda di Alia
BACKGROUND
We have been to Italy before, but I had the urge to go to Calabria because I know and like some people that
come from there, because I love the Calabrian food we can get in Toronto and because I understood that Calabria
is not touristy. My expectations were therefore quite high and chances for dissapointment were great. However,
staying at the "La Locanda Di Alia" turned out to exceed my high expectations and the stay was the
highlight of our two week trip to Sicily and Calabria.
LET ME FIST TALK ABOUT THE PEOPLE
Our first experience was on the arrival. The restaurant was closed because it was an Italian holiday and so
the owner asked us to follow his car and he took us to a very pleasant restaurant in the old part of town.
Our orientation talents were limited, and so Mr. Alia repeated this tour one more time. When one of our party
was injured on a field trip and required an airlift to London, England, Mr. Alia, a busy man spent half a
day with us helping us make the insurance arrangement for the airlift, helping us to change our hotel arrangements
all over Calabria and Sicily. He gave us access to his phone, fax and computer and helped us navigate the
software in Italian and he offered to go to the hospital to see our friend and to help there in communicating
with the hospital staff. We did not need to have him do that as another local who served us food in a restaurant
spent his entire (only) day off in the hospital with us to make the arrangements there. We were overwhelmed
by the generosity of Calabrians in general and by the owners and staff of the hotel in particular.
THE FOOD
I love italian food and in particualar Calabrian food. I must say I never had better Italian food than at
La Locanda Di Alia. That includes my two trips in Italy and my experience with Italian food in Toronto. One
reviewer comments that the prices are high and it is true that a plate of secundi (second course) may be about
E16 or so and it high by Calabrian standard. However, I had difficulty finishing this single course and I
certainly did not need more. Also this is the kind of food which would cost in Toronto $ 30 or more and so
we did not feel that the price was unreasonable, given the quality. I found the food extremely fresh and flavourfull
without being heavy, ingredients are first rate and the cook has a flai for creativity and imagination and
so all the ingridients fit perfectly together. My wife is after me to try to recreate the great salad we had
there for lunch. Mr Alia puts his name on some of the wines served, so you know that the wine is good and
it was indeed first rate. I also liked thae staff which was not snooty as is often the case in prestigeous
restaurants, but instead casual, friendly and with a great sense of humour.
THE ACCOMMODATION
You stay in semidetached villas featuring front and back (!) patios, a bathroom including whirlpool bath,
living room bedroom. The villas are surrounded by a well kept, very green subtropical garden and there is
a swimming pool. From everywhere there is a view of beautiful mountains nearby. The old town is within a walking
distance.
THE SITES NEARBY
Because of the injury to one of our party, we had much less time to explore than we would have liked to. Hower
the medieval towns clinging to the hilltops look unchanged for centries, In Morano Calabro for example, all
the tourist amenities, such as they are are at the bottom of the hill. The old town itself has, as far as
we could see one vegetable stand serving the residents. In September, we were the only couple that look like
tourists that we encountered. Big difference from say Erice in Sicily, which is a shell of a beautifull old
mountain town surrounded by a nice countryside. All houses in Erice seem to be restaurants, hotels and souvenir
shops. People in Morano Calabro were not yet tired of tourists and thy frequently geneerously volunteering
the direction to the top. The combination of old, living and unspoiled towns and beautifull mountains and
friendly people will likely always stay in your mind.
IF YOU COME IN THE SPRING OR AUTUMN, YOU MAY FIND ME IN MR. ALIA'S KINGDOM. IF YOU DO, COME AND SAY HELLO AND TELL ME IF I EXAGERATED EVEN A LITTLE BIT.
Pavel M.
Dear In Italy,
We loved our stay in Calabria at La Locanda. It was the best dinner we had our entire trip. The hotel should have a sign at its entrance, because if we had not paid attention to #55 we would not have found it. Service and room excellent.
Bonnie H.
Dear In Italy,
I have several comments regarding our trip. First of all, we had a marvelous time- anyone who doesn't make time for Calabria and Basilicata is really missing out, especially Matera and the Sila region in Calabria.
We stayed at Locanda di Alia which we discovered through In Italy. The hotel is quite nice, the staff were friendly although their English was minimal to nonexistent (not really a problem), and the grounds were beautiful and well-kept (although the trees along the walkways could've used a trim- I was constantly ducking to avoid branches going to and from our room). Our room was nice and spacious with a front and back deck/terrace. It was quiet and peaceful. On the down side, the ceiling in our room had water leaks in the bathroom and bedroom sometime in the recent past and both had mold/mildew growing in the ceiling/wall. Not what I expected from a 4 star hotel. It wasn't really a problem for us but someone allergic to mold or with asthma might have had problems. Also, breakfast, which was included, was disappointing- it consisted of a pound cake and some assorted cookies, plus cappacino. Hardly worth the time and again below my expectations- I've stayed in plenty of "lesser" Italian hotels and agriturismos which put out a better spread.
Their restaurant was also wonderful. Contrary to the information on your website, the menu is not prix fixe but was a la carte, which made it more expensive for 3-4 courses than 50 euro/person. Of course, we had more choices so I guess it’s a fair tradeoff. The wine list is outstanding and fairly priced for Italian wines, with lots of excellent Calabrian wines. Service was impeccable- we had the same waiter both nights and he was a gem. Since the Locanda restaurant was closed on Sunday, he suggested a restaurant in a nearby village and then called and made reservations for us. While we found the food to be of outstanding quality and well prepared, I'm not sure it qualified as one of the best restaurants in Italy. I have dined at several Michelin 3 stars (Georges Blanc, Buereheisel, Auberge d'Ill- admittedly all French) and Locanda did not live up to the experiences I had at those restaurants. However, dinner for my wife and I both nights combined with wine was less expensive than one dinner at any of the Michelin 3 stars mentioned. Overall, we enjoyed our stay and the restaurant. There isn't much else in Castrovillari but the location was good for exploring northern Calabria by car. Also, Locanda was not easy to find- the thrid gas station is a Tamoil, the sign for Locanda is small and hard to see, and the entrance to Locanda is not well marked and easily missed.
We spent a day driving up to the Sila region of central Calabria, which was breathtaking and unexpected. Mountainous and heavily-forested, it reminded us more of Bavaria or Switzerland than Italy (including the roasted pork shank I had for lunch!). We also toured the Greek ruins at Sibari, which was fascinating although not well-organized.
The second part of our trip was spent in Matera. I must take issue with your suggestion that Matera is "a long but doable" daytrip from Castrovillari. Anyone who has spent some time driving in rural Italy (we live in Sicily) knows that you can inevitably count on delays you never even thought of, as well as marginal and poorly marked roads. Our trip from Castrovillari to Matera, which is a little over 100 miles and ideally at moderate speed should have been 2.5 hours took 4.5 hours due to traffic, road construction delays on the SS 106, and a traffic stop by the provincial police which backed up traffic for over an hour. Anyway, we were glad we didn't try it as a daytrip from Castrovillari. Plus, one day is not enough time to take in the full splendor of Matera and the Sassi. Its hard to really adeqautely describe it- you have to see it for yourself. If you've seen Mel Gibson's movie The Passion most of it was filmed in the historic sector of Matera. While the local cuisine was good but somewhat unimaginative (grilled steak and lamb is the regional specialty, and Italian chefs don't seem to have learned the concept of seasoning the meat prior to grilling it), the wine of Basilicata- Aglianico del Vulture- is superb, reminding me of Barbaresco from Piedmont in weight, structure, and aromas. Hire an English speaking guide for touring the Sassi- it wasn't cheap (50 euro) but it was well worth it. Our guide showed and told us things we never would have seen or known without him. Finally, be aware that touring the Sassi is physically demanding- lots of walking and going up and down stairs, so bring good shoes and if you have small children leave the stroller behind and be prepared to carry them most of the time.
All said, it was one of the best trips we've had in Europe and we enjoyed it thouroughly. If you're visitng Italy and have already seen the major sites ( Rome, Florence, Venice, etc) I highly recommend Calabria and Basilicata. While a little off the beaten path and not mentioned in any of the major guide books, there is plenty of information via the Internet (starting of course with In Italy Online!).
Sincerely,
Carl and Renee
Dear In Italy,
We enjoyed our stay at La Locanda di Alia very much. The Pollino National Park was wonderful and though it was difficult to find out the walking routes, we did eventually find mapped routes and could do a couple. It was the fact that there were no tourists around which made the time there great!! La Locanda was very quiet.
The Amalfi coast however was so busy in comparison, but it was good to see - although a shock after the quiet of Pollino. The Cilento coast however was very quiet. No one around Palinuro at all - completely on our own!! And the coastline there was very scenic.
Paestum is well worth a visit - Pompeii too - but the crowds get on your nerves a little after a while. Paestum on the other hand is much quieter and you get a feel for how it must have been all those years ago.
The Royal Palace at Caserta is also well worth a visit - that was very interesting and wonderful fountains and gardens.
Many thanks for organising La Locanda.
We had 2 excellent meals there and the staff were very friendly and helpful. Our only small point was that the bathroom seemed a little tatty compared to all our other accommodations (the bath was marked/stained for instance and the around the bath looked like they needed checking) and there was no proper shower over the bath (or separate shower) - there was no shower curtain or bracket to fix the hand held shower head to. We prefer showers to baths, so it would have been nicer for us to have had the option of a shower. But it was no big deal - although I think when I booked it I said we would prefer a shower. Maybe they don't have rooms with just showers. I only mention it as some of your customers may be a lot more fussy than we are!! And it's not that cheap a place to stay if you do somehow feel let down by something!!
Thanks again - we really enjoyed Italy.
Laura H.
Dear Jessica,
My husband and I were very pleased with the accommodations and service at both the Inn and restaurant.
We made the trip to Calabria to visit the villages my Nonna and Nonno were born in. Civita is a wonderful little village to spend time in. We stayed in Il Belvedere in Civita, treated like a King and Queen. We had two wonderful dinners at Kamestra in Civita. A trip to San Lorenzo Bellizzi affords beautiful vistas. We traveled to Cosenza for two nights. Great city to tour. Had lunch in Diamante and Sibari.
Calabria is a beautiful region. I was busy with research for my family tree, so my time was limited. I will definitely return to Civita and San Lorenzo during the Easter Holiday. I look forward to spending a month so I can see more of Calabria.
Thank you for your professional and attentive service.
Sincerely,
Joanne K.
Cara Ms. Scheible -
La Locanda di Alia is a great place. We loved it. Wonderful restaurant!! A real oasis between Sicily and Naples.
Salute!
Paul S.
Jessica,
We really enjoyed our stay at La Locanda di Alia. All of the staff were welcoming, gracious and highly professional. We expected the food at the restaurant to be very good. The meal was far beyond our expectations. It may have been the best meal we ever ate.
But let me start at the beginning. We had some difficulty finding the hotel. The directions on the website would have been perfect, but for one thing. The IP gas station is now a TAMOIL station. We thought we had miscounted the number of stations, so we kept on driving and got almost hopelessly lost. It eventually took us almost 45 minutes to find the hotel. Also, the directional signs for La Locanda di Alia were not easy to spot. Moreover, once we made the turn off the main street in Castrovillari toward the hotel, we had to drive much further than expected before we got there. In sum, better directions would help a lot.
The hotel rooms were a bit better than we expected. We thought they would be "rustic" at best. Instead, they were well appointed. And the room we were initially given was quite spacious. Unfortunately, we encountered a plumbing problem -- the tub drain got stuck closed. It could not be quickly repaired, so we had to move to another, smaller room. It was annoying but not a big problem, since we were only staying for one night.
Perhaps because of the inconvenience with the room, we were treated like royalty at dinner. If we liked something, they brought us more of it. We were served some wonderful flat bread -- a local variation of focaccia. We asked if we could have some olive oil for the bread. Pinucchio Alia went into his treasure chest for a bottle of oil that he proclaimed as "benissimo olio d'oliva in tutto l'Italia." Then he proceeded to carefully split pieces of the bread and lovingly dress each piece with olive oil for us, serving us until we had to say "Basta! Finito!" "We won't have any room for our meal." [We learned the next morning that we could purchase a selection of olive oils right at the restaurant, and we wound up buying all that they had. They also had some delectable marmalades, jams and sauces for sale on-site.]
Everything we were served was simply prepared, yet exquisite in the blending of flavors and textures. The wine list shows almost 900 different selections, but we opted for the house wines, a very fine vino bianco and an equally good vino rosso. The highlight was the phenomenal desserts, which I won't even attempt to describe.
Everywhere we went for the rest of the trip, we raved about the meal at La Locanda di Alia. To use an analogy that golfers will understand, La Locanda di Alia is like the Pebble Beach of dining experiences, but at municipal golf course prices!
It was so good that we would plan any future trips to this part of Italy to include a mandatory dinner and overnight stay at La Locanda di Alia.
David F.
Dear Jessica,
We so enjoyed La Locanda di Alia!!!
1. Finding it can be a little hard, but I caught a little sign on the main street at the very last minute (the third gas station was not an IP -- we had 8 pairs of eyes on full alert). Just at the moment that I was ready to concede that I might have read the sign wrong, one of our group said "we're here!"
2. Location was quiet and relaxing and the food met all expectations (and we had high expectations). After enjoying their ravioli with anise, I was on a hunt for the rest of our stay for anise seed. My mouth still waters.
3. Leaving Castrovillari towards Rome, etc. we stopped at the Pertosa cave (called Grotto Dell'Angelo or Le Grotte Pertosa). You enter via the water by boat. The chambers are large and still active. Access is easy from/to the autostrada making it a perfect stretch break.
Kathrine B.
Dear Jessica,
I enjoyed my stay at Locanda di Alia very much. The restaurant was superb in every way - the decor, the food the wine and the service.
There had been a mix-up with the rooms and on arrival we were shown a room with just one large bed. Our booking clearly showed two separate beds, so they gave us the larger suite. The room they had selected for us was the furthest away from the main building possible (which we thought strange as the hotel was almost empty), so it was fortunate we had the other which was much closer and easier for our luggage.
Castrovillari is a strange place to find a hotel of such quality. There are only a couple of pizzerie to eat apart from the hotel, and the town doesn't seem to have a centre. It was also full of commuter traffic when we went for our walk about 5 p.m., and there seem to be a number of factories which rather belie the idyllic rural situation. The hotel itself is in a quiet part of the town so is very tranquil.
Thank you for arranging our booking. I will definitely recommend the hotel to my friends.
Regards,
Chris P.
Dear In Italy,
The people at La Locanda di Alia were very gracious. We enjoyed our one day with them, and I would advise eating there and letting them choose the meal. It was wonderful.
Mike R.
Dear Jessica,
This is just a note to let you know how much we enjoyed La Locanda di Alia.
The dinner that they prepared for us was delicious and just perfect. We had
a great
time there. The B&B rooms were adequate and clean, but not exceptional. The
meal made up for any shortcomings. The rest of our trip throughout Italy and
eastern Sicily was great, with the exception of Naples where we were mugged and
robbed. You should advise your clients to avoid Naples and vicinity at all costs.
Also the area around the central train station in Rome has become a high crime
area. But with it all, it was a most memorable trip. Favorite places were Sorrento
and Taormina – Guardini Naxos (Sicily).
Thanks for you help.
Best regards,
Jerry S.
Jessica,
Mille grazie for your email. Glad to answer same. Our visit to La Locanda di Alia was great, the food highlight of the trip. We are a 5 star Villa in Australia with an award winning chef and know about high quality food and accommodation. La Locanda di Alia is the BEST food we experienced in Southern Italy. This is our 9th trip to Italy and we were delighted with Calabria, the mountains and the people and the food was (surprisingly) good, better than Umbria and parts of Toscana for example. We feel Calabria is poorly represented in travel, most of the focus seems to be central and north Italy.
Colin
Hi,
What an absolute gem. We found it hard to find. In the end a wonderful man on his moped got us to follow him and we got there. The room was lovely, high ceilings air conditioned and spacious. The kids jumped in the pool with daddy and had fun. It was so peaceful. Dinner was incredible, dish after dish of excellent delicious food. The service was warm and friendly they couldn't of done better!
Thankyou so much .
And if you have any other places down in that region which you would recommend we would love to hear about it. We go to Italy for all our holidays.
Yours sincerely
Carolyn P.
Dear Julie
Locanda was great, the whole experience. the rooms are not much but they serve the purpose and the grounds needed some t.l.c. but we were really there before there season begins i think, and work was going on. the food was wonderful. we met the owner and he was a real treat. i will recommend this place to everyone.
Sincerely,
Peter b.
Dear Jessica:
We had a super trip! InItaly online came through for us again as far as rooms go. It was great. The first place we stayed was the in Isernia and was called La Tequila. The owner speaks English and the hotel is absolutely beautiful and reasonable. The food in the dining room was also excellent. This we booked on our own and it really was worth the visit. If anyone is looking in Isernia definitely make this a stop.
We next stayed at Locanda D'Alia in Calabria. The food lives up to its reputation and the rooms were very interesting! Very modern, we had a room with a loft bedroom. With the windows open it was heavenly! The food is to die for and the owner and his brother have definitely made this place a must stop in Calabria. The wine list and stock are unbelievable. We appreciated the fact that we could break up the drive from Amalfi to Sicily. We especially enjoyed our waiter in the dining room and the breakfast staff, they were wonderful. We took the ferry to Messina and didn't spend anytime there but went right to Taormina which was beautiful.
Thank you again so much for making us another wonderful vacation and if you are looking for east coast people to go and report on things in Italy for you sign me up!!!!!
Nancy D.
We drove the autostrada straight up to Castovillari (9-03) stopping only once to drive along the coast. We arrived around 3:30 and found our way to La Locanda di Alia. We were shown a lovely suite (not the loft arrangement that we reserved) that included a sitting room with table and chairs plus a private patio, again with table and chairs. The sitting room also had a desk with computer and internet connections. Of the two Alia brothers, Pinuccio is the front desk man while Gaetano is the chef. We enjoyed a couple of good meals at their restaurant. Especially a veal dish with an onion and strawberry sauce. Will have to try that at home sometime.
Calabria has the same history as Sicily with all the different groups of people coming, conquering and going. Castrovillari has Norman and Aragon ruins, a Sanctuary and a lovely town, nice people. My husband and I went into a small art gallery where music was blaring and a fellow was singing on a CD. On the way out I was swaying with the music and orchestrating with my hands. The ten men sitting in a row of benches in front of the shop all started to orchestrate with me. The owner, and singer, came up to me and invited me to a waltz. Well, needless to say, this got everybody in a jovial mood, photos were taken and shared. We all left good friends.
We travelled the northern area around the Pollino Forest and also from the Tyrenian coast to the Adriatic. The most interesting part of Calabria's history is the fact that in the 1400's many Albanians fled the Turks and settled in Calabria. Skanderbeg was their savior. There are many 'Albanese' towns with signs written in two languages. Their religion is Albanian Eastern Orthodox. Many of their churches have beautiful mosaics, icons and an iconostasis screen in front of the altar. Lungro is their 'Vatican' with a beautiful cathedral.
Another town we enjoyed very much was Rossano. They have a very interesting "Madonna not painted by human hands" and a codex library. We will have to return, though, as their 'pranzo' lunch hours are from 12:00 to 4:30- 5:00. We just did not have the time to wait. But, across the piazza from the duomo is a very interesting 'alimentari' vegetable store. It is very wide with four stall type doors advertising 'panini' sandwiches. We went in for a sandwich when I asked if there was a 'trattoria' restaurant here. The young fellow indicated yes and proceeded to carry outside one of their two tables so we could eat "al fresco". I did not see any kitchen. We were presented with quite an extensive menu and ordered pasta and a salad. Inside I heard sizzling noises and wondered "where is that kitchen?" The meal was absolutely delicious. Calabria has a love affair with 'picante' hot peppers. Their food is flavored with 'forza'. After satiating our hunger I had to satisfy my curiosity regarding the kitchen. The owner showed me his two-burner, propane-driven stove. That was it! We wanted to know the name of the restaurant for our journal. It seems that Vincenzo and his lawyer son, Natale, will soon renovate their store into a restaurant. Tourists are beginning to come to Calabria and since they own the property opposite the duomo, they feel this is a good investment. So, anyone who visits Rossano in another year or two, be sure to go to Vincenzo's Trattoria Duomo.
After Calabria we drove the Amalfi coast to Positano. We only stayed two days before heading to Napoli to return home. Just as well because we walked 75 steps up to reception and 42 down to our room. Yes, yes I should have known Kristin. What can I say. By the way, I gave your web-site address to several people as many want to know where to find place to stay for a week.
We did not have time to visit the southern part of Calabria or their beautiful coastal areas. We will have to save that for another time.
Another great vacation in Italy! I never felt I was far from home as my cousin from Pescia called almost every other day. He was planning to fly down for a day but heard about the bad weather. It was fine on the west coast but rained a torrent on the east coast flooding Siracusa. By the time we arrived everything was back to normal.
Alla prossima. Saluti da
Carol Ann N.