Italy and the Arctic

Aurora stole this blog post.

This time, I was planning to write about the Egadi islands off the coast of Sicily. But I’ve just seen the most incredible northern lights of my life, so the islands have to wait.

If you would like to experience Italy at its best, travel in spring, when the countryside is bright green, full of wild flowers, or in the fall, when Italian kids go back to school in mid-September, beaches become quiet again and the sea is still wonderfully warm.

For me, Italian summer is the perfect time to travel. NORTH. This summer I was guiding a group around the Lofoten Islands and I can say that the two extremes of Europe are my favourite places: Northern Norway, above the Arctic Circle and the southern part of Italy.

While you might think they are completely different, there are actually lot of similarities between the Arctic and the Mezzogiorno: mountains and turquoise seas, white sand beaches, small islands, hidden fishing villages, colourful houses, pure nature and delicious seafood, just to mention a few. Hygge (a concept that originates in Denmark) and the idea of slow life are both about enjoying the small pleasures of life. Northern Norway is also a perfect destination for slow travel. So while I love guiding small groups around Southern Italy in spring and autumn, I am just as excited about working on the Lofoten Islands under the midnight sun in summer and chasing the northern lights in Tromsø in winter.

Tromsø: a gateway to the Arctic

Tromsø is an important cultural and Arctic center located 350 km north of the Arctic Circle, and it is one of the best places in Europe to see the Aurora Borealis.

The city is full of Italians working there who – just like me – have fallen in love with the magical atmosphere of the Arctic. But there is an even more important connection to Italy. It was Galileo Galilei the Italian scientist who first used the name Aurora Borealis for the natural phenomenon in 1619. Aurora was the Roman goddess of dawn, while Boreas was the Greek god of the northern wind.

I was simply standing in awe, but luckily some of my clients managed to film the northern lights on their phones, and my husband was happy to edit this video for you.

YOUTUBE VIDEO

A famous Italian polar explorer

The Italian explorer Umberto Nobile and the Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen were connected through early Arctic airship expeditions. In 1926, they flew together over the North Pole in the airship Norge, departing from Tromsø, which served as a key Arctic gateway for polar exploration. Two years later, when Nobile’s airship Italia crashed during another Arctic expedition, Amundsen joined the rescue mission. He disappeared while flying from Tromsø to search for Nobile, making the city an important historical point in the story of both explorers. Nobile and several crew members survived the crash on the Arctic ice and were saved later.

You can learn a lot about life in the Arctic and polar expeditions in the fantastic Polar Museum of Tromsø.

Cafe culture in the Arctic?

Yes, of course! Norwegians love their coffee and the cold weather does not stop them from sitting outside. Tromsø is full of cosy cafes, many of which have outside tables and chairs with pillows and warm blankets.

And of course, Arctic cafes are also the perfect places for slow working.

Because of the Gulf Stream, the climate of Tromsø is actually quite mild and even during the dark winter months the town is full of life. It was Sami Week while we were there, and people were enjoying concerts in the local square. I have also seen people watching movies outside in winter during the Tromsø International Film Festival.

Cold is not something to survive, it is something to enjoy.

Husky dogs and Puglian beaches

My group went on a husky ride in the mountains, through forests and across a frozen lake. Two people share one husky sled, and I didn’t have a partner, so the local guide paired me with an Italian man from another group.

We had a lot of fun and ended up talking about Italian beaches. He was from Rome but had traveled all over Italy and was very confident in saying that the most beautiful beaches can be found in Puglia. While I personally haven’t been to Sardinia yet - and I also love Sicilian and Ligurian beaches - I had to agree with him.

A "lucky" shipwreck

This story is about the Venetian captain, Pietro Querini. In 1432, his ship was wrecked near the Lofoten Islands, and he and a few surviving sailors were rescued by local fishermen.

While staying there, Querini discovered dried cod, known today as Stockfish, which the fishermen preserved in the cold Arctic air. When he returned to Italy, he helped introduce this fish to Venetian cuisine, where it later became famous as baccalà.

According to legend, on the island of Røst some locals still have Italian features today.

Fishermen’s life

In a local bar of Nyksund on the Vesterålen islands, I saw this painting of an old fisherman. I loved it so much that I still regret not buying it. A few months later, in Abruzzo, while cycling along the Trabucco Coast, I came across this mural. That sparked our curiosity, so we started researching and discovered that the original work was painted by the German artist Harry Louis Haerendel. In Scandinavia, the painting is known as The Old Fisherman, and it is a beautiful, timeless portrait of maritime resilience.

Primitivo zero

And to finish, here is a photo of a non-alcoholic Primitivo from Puglia. I took this photo at the Vinmonopolet store in Tromsø. Vinmonopolet is the state-owned chain of stores in Norway that has the exclusive right to sell most alcoholic beverages to the public.

I’m off to Puglia in a few days, and while I truly love the Arctic, I can’t wait to sit in my favourite seaside bar in Otranto and enjoy a glass of Primitivo.

A real one.