Varigotti, A Slice Of Morocco In Italy
In some places time passes more slowly than others. In these places the people who were grannies and grandpas already when you were a kid haven’t changed a lot even after twenty years, they just have few wrinkles more. Crumbling houses are still there and cars that are not produced since long keep on frolicking in the town alleys. People who love big cities and their chaos, or just can’t stand living away from them, won’t resist more than two days in such small, lonely places. But it can happen that the sight of the fresh fish in a wicker basket and the old lady sitting with a cat on his lap, together, make some usually silent inner chords resonate even in a metropolis-addicted person. Have you ever heard about Varigotti?
Italy has hundreds, thousands of small villages unchanged after the second world war, when the so-called economic miracle began that transformed Italy from rural to an industrialized country. Varigotti is one of them: a niche seafaring venue, part of the small commune of Finale Ligure with a beautiful, enigmatic seafront. The colored little cottages on the shore, so near to the sea that water almost touches the stair-steps, call to mind the bright Moroccan casbahs. Nevermind if the hot nights in Tangeri here are just lukewarm and anonymous. You are here for rest, aren’t you?
A November weekend in Varigotti didn’t cost a lot: 70 euros per head a day. Forgetting thai massages and spicy mud baths, to relax we chose the Inn and Restaurant Muraglia-Conchiglia D’oro (Via Aurelia 133), one of the best in the area. The restaurant shows an ingenuous and retro look, but the real treasure lies in the details: fresh fish lay on wicker baskets, waiting for being cooked on embers. You can choose between a variety of sea recipes such as mullet sauce or a whitebait fritter. Let’s not forget the Inn. Rooms overlook on a garden of trees full of oranges ripe and ready to be picked by anyone. On the shore, especially during winter, you probably won’t be finding many tourists. Small and colored, overturned boats just wait to be photographed. Not far away, on a curved alley, an Ape-car takes supplies to the restaurant.
