ischia – M's Adventures

Ruins of Baths of Diocletian, near the main train station in Rome.

Two thousand years ago, in Roman empire times, you would have gone to the baths for your daily toilette. It was a necessity but also a social venue. In Bath, England, the Roman bath still exists but one cannot swim in it. In Algeria, there is a Roman bath that is still in use today.

When I moved to Rome, I did not realize how much of a spa culture Italy had. It is a normal thing to retreat to a spa town to take the waters. Ischia is an island famous for its waters.

The modern spa and retreat are all modern day equivalents of the Roman bath system.

Clearly the Romans took their bathing culture to Germania.

Even today, one can get massages, treatments, food, drink, and socializing. All at the spa.

An digestif made from arugula. I can’t recall what the other one was made from.

As they say, what does not kill you, will make you better. I am always suspicious of things that are supposedly really good for you or things that will increase my sexual stamina. Usually these things are things that are terrible tasting.

Often, you are offered a limoncello at the end of the meal.

Italians have an obsession with their intestinal and gut health. Drinking a little digestif, digestivo, is something many of them are accustomed to.

Digestifs are usually an alcoholic beverage that you enjoy at the end of meal. It is not meant to be downed like a shot. As with many things in Italy, most of the Italian digestifs are bitter. Oh how they love bitter here!

I have tried a few. Some made from walnuts and some made from arugula. The one made from arugula is a specialty of Ischia, an island near Capri.

If they are not too bitter, then they are often too sweet. When I tried the Ratafia, I was delighted because while sweet, it at least tasted good.

Tag: ischia

Roman Baths Still Exist

The Digestivo Will Cure You