In the international guides, the inevitable chapter “for those traveling alone” is always a little sad, as well as the series of restraints and prohibitions, from not hitchhiking to never be too late in the evening.
“For those traveling alone”, Hotel Signum is instead a great opportunity. I recommend it as an ideal first stop in Salina, the greenest and most agricultural of the Aeolian Islands, to take a breath and orient yourself before discovering the rest of the islands. A holiday of two, preferably three days, more times in life.
SNAV brings you directly from Naples to Salina in about six hours. Inside the hydrofoil, you cannot hear how the breeze of this archipelago changes. The sea is there at your arrival, but it is especially the green to welcome you as in an amphitheatre. The green of the small cultivated plots, the beautiful flowering of capers on the walls, gardens with forgotten scents, the vine that peeps out among the houses and along the road that goes up to Malfa. Here, where in summer only electric vehicles are allowed to circulate, the idea of a “green island” was born and the committee for the protected marine area is based. A kaleidoscope of ideas ranging from Martina Caruso’s ethical cuisine “in respect of nature and suppliers “, says the young starred chef, up to a sustainable fishing tourism, with didactic itineraries on land and sea promoted by various hotels and insular realities.
During your stay at the Signum, you breathe and listen to this buzz of ideas, even if you are there for a detox. You look at the trees of this buen retiro at 4 stars and in a moment you want to taste a lemon granita. The next day, at breakfast, there are those who ask you if they should pick a fresh lemon from the tree for your granita. They already know what you drink and that is nice; but they are also ready to amaze you with the gastronomic breakfast proposed by the Chef Martina Caruso. Standing still, on a table that is perhaps too small, a flavourful journey of all of Sicily is outlined: Nebrodi cheeses, cured meats, Etna honey, homemade jams, and tomatoes from the garden cut at the table with the Chef’s scissors. Instead, the flavours of Salina explode in the evening at dinner, with Luca Caruso who generously fills your glass and creates links between one table and another, bringing dream wine labels and champagnes for tasting.
The day passed quickly, also because the caper oil massages are a uniqueness to try, but also because at home, the Signum, there is the world. “Isn’t he the writer Alessandro Baricco?” Of course, and tonight you can hear her partner playing in a concert promoted by the forward – thinking mayor, Clara Rametta. “Are the photos on the walls those of Giò Martorana who I see seated at the bar?” Yes, going between the swimming pool and the hall in a crossroads of international chefs, actors and above all lovers of wine and of the most authentic cuisine.
Born in Rome, is an expert in Communication and Food and Wine Journalism. Today, she is a professional journalist working for Ansa. She is the author, together with the economist expert in the food sector Denis Pantini, of the book “Chefs will save us. The contribution of Italian cuisine to the growth of the agri-food system”.
