Wednesday 6 August. Just a few days until the final Ditirambo Night at Caruso, Belmond Hotel Amalfi Coast
By Emilia Filocamo. Ph Federica Giordano
Every journey eventually ends. That’s how beginnings work, they quietly carry endings within them. So it goes with the Ditirambo Nights: a beautiful odyssey that made solitude nearly impossible.
Across two seasons, I carried not just luggage but a mosaic of memories: winding roads, hilltop villages in Cilento, sea air, spice aromas, slow cooking, joyous reunions, creative chefs, relentless heat, lively stories, folk songs, percussion, dreamy melodies, vintage labels, heirloom crops, fishing nets, ancestral tools, grandparents’ recollections, unwavering resolve. I never felt alone.
Saturday 9 August at 7:00 PM marks our farewell to this series, under the themed title “The Diet You Don’t Expect.”
This summer belonged to three worlds colliding: Cilento, the Amalfi Coast, and the Picentini Mountains. We journeyed under starry skies, followed lunar rhythms, now at last, the moral of our tale arrives, the map leading to treasure. And this treasure is here.
As Chef Armando Aristarco and his team craft the final menu, showcasing Donatella Marino’s menaica anchovies and Francesco Vastola’s Maida preserves, I take a moment to reflect on the meaning of this project.
It’s about more than bridging two coasts; it’s about building harmony through flavor, about making Caruso not only a place of beauty and relaxation, but a creative space where well-being becomes actual. From plate to land, from land to inspiration.
Today, I won’t ask Aristarco to reveal the pairings. His “simple virtuosity”, a contradiction that fits a tradition richly nuanced, is too precious. And this final stop deserves a surprise. We’re unhooking luggage, keeping a promise to the land. A promise made, a promise kept.
Because where determination and passion exist, even grand projects can rise and flourish.
Here’s what I’ve learned along the way: bold combinations often elevate flavour.
You can feel how “Italian spirit” pulses in our veins, thank you, Mayor Maria Scarpa. Ancient ballads still echo in village hearts, thank you, Maestro Angelo Loia. A smile is a wide-open door, thank you, Director Iolanda Mansi. I don’t say “Maida tomatoes,” I say “Franco’s tomatoes.” I don’t say “Ferrante’s beans,” I say “Michele’s beans.” Thank you, Chef Aristarco.
And thank you to Adolfo, Vincenzo, Daniela, Tony, Eleonora, Pietro, Giulio, Pasquale, Enza, Antonio, Giovanni, Vittorio, Mafalda, Christian, Alfonso, Marco, Tommaso, Gregorio, Serena, Raffaello, Michele, Milena, Giustina, Sergio, Nico—and everyone else who helped along the way. You are the partners, the heart, the most important companions. Because of you, love for the land becomes something beautiful.
And now, real luxury is having time, unhurried, soulful time, to let the land speak… and to truly listen.
