A Day Trip to Pizzo from Vibo Marina - July 7, 2018

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Another day in Vibo Marina waiting for our part to come from Canada so we took the afternoon bus to a nearby village of Pizzo. Many told us it was a pleasant place to spend some time and that we MUST go to try their claim to fame, the tarufo. Just a short bus ride along the coast took us to this hillside village. When you first come up to the village you see the castle located on the point overlooking the sea. It was quite a hot afternoon so we first wandered into the main square which was lined with places selling their famous tartufo. After walking past all of them we decided to stop at the one with the longest history. The story is that the tartufo originated in 1952 which was made by forming two flavors of ice cream (hazelnut and chocolate) and putting melted chocolate in the center of it. Since that time other flavors have been created with fruit as well as pistachios which are grown in Italy. We were going to share one, but we splurged and each had our own – Bob went with the original and I tried the pistachio – both were delicious! Shortly after sitting down to partake of our dessert, the place was overtaken by Swedes as there were numerous TV’s around with the World Cup showing and with Sweden playing it became the focal point of almost everyone there.

After finishing our treat we wandered around the village and enjoyed the views. We didn’t bother going into the castle as we had read about it and decided it wasn’t something we wanted to do. The castle was actually built in 1492, but it was renamed after Murat later. The interesting fact is that Murat was one of their most famous prisoners. He was the brother-in-law of Napoleon and for a short time was the King of Naples. He was captured in Pizzo and sentenced to death by firing squad for treason in 1815. Interesting to name the castle after him!

It was a pleasant way to spend the afternoon and gave us a chance to see another neighboring village. Tomorrow is the day we are expecting the package from Canada so that will tell us if we will be able to move from this area the following day. We will see…

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Photos

Castello Murat Built in 1492 But Named After Murat
- Napoleon's brother-in-law who was killed here

A Couple Views of the Streets in Pizzo
love the amount of plants at the one place!

The Church of the Immaculate Built in 1570
by traders and farmers in Pizzo

This Cafe Was Taken Over By the Swedes
watching the World Cup when they were playing

Pizzo Is The Home of the Tartufo
original is chocolate, but I had to try pistachio!