Whilst I’d like to start this post with “nestled on top of a picturesque mountain in Italy’s illustrious Liguria, lies the sleepy, ancient hilltop village of Apricale, known for its breathtaking views, rich history and fine cuisine”, I just can’t, because, well, that’s not really my style and I feel there are FAR more interesting details to divulge. Whilst it is all those things; quaint, picturesque, charming, it’s just, well, the cats, they’re everywhere, what’s their deal? They run rampant around the village, fornicating, defecating, purring manically, they're TOTALLY out of control. Why, I wonder, are there SO many cats? Did some old lady lose the plot and start a breeding scheme to ward off insanity and loneliness in her old age, is there a surplus of rats, is there some kind of a “buy one, get fifteen free” special on cat food that NO one can resist so they lapse into a cat food buying frenzy and then feel they need to have enough cats to justify buying all that cat food? I don’t know, but seriously, something needs to be done, the place even SMELLS like cats.
The friendly, somewhat eccentric, villagers are OBSESSED with their furry feline friends, as if having them lurking around every nook and cranny in the village (and of these there are MANY) wasn’t enough, they paint them onto their beautifully hand-made wooden letter boxes…
They sell CAT postcards, handmade wooden cat magnets, they’ve even invented little wooden gate contraptions to put in front of their doors which, REALLY, just seem to me like another canvas for them to paint CATS onto…
I walked into their only grocery shop, the alimentari, and what was the first things I saw, yeah, four shelves of CAT food, there was more cat food in that shop than human food, you think I’m joking, but I’m NOT. The old lady at the museum/garden/look-out point/excuse to take 3.50 Euros off of tourists at the very top of the village was sporting a lovely, wait for it, hand knitted, it’s coming… CAT jersey, HELL YEAH she was. I went to the restaurant in the beautiful little piazza and WHAT was on the menu? Haha, scared you. No, it wasn’t cat, but it WAS rabbit, the most delicious (and only) rabbit I’ve ever eaten, served Ligurian style with olives, potatoes and tomatoes. A quick lesson in Italian, a “primi piatti” is a first course, which I soon realised after my miniscule, albeit extremely tasty, bowl of ravioli arrived so, really, I had no choice BUT to order the rabbit.
Crazy cat situation aside, Apricale is truly worth a visit. It’s a short bus ride away from Ventimiglia train station and the views really are quite exquisite. Sit in the piazza at A Ciassa, dabble in a bit of red wine, rabbit, ravioli or ALL of the above, log on to the village’s free wi-fi and enjoy some of Italy’s finest coffee with a packet (yes I said PACKET) of beautifully wrapped amaretti biscuits. Admire the very avante garde bicycle protruding from the charming church tower (can you spot it in the picture below? Oooh I like this game, can you spot the CAT, the Italian flag and the medi-evil folk made out of cardboard too?)
Here’s a closer look in case your eyes aren't QUITE as sharp as they should be…
How bizarre, I love it.
Get lost in the ancient, winding, cobbled streets lovingly decorated with the spray of cat’s urine, kidding, with hand-painted murals depicting village life and marvel at the fact that people ACTUALLY live there, behind those tiny, cob-web covered wooden doors.
Join the locals in a gruelling game of tug-of-war and a free slice of freshly baked foccacia or a lovingly made cannoli in the piazza as the sun sets and the local music guru does his thing on the guitar. End your day off with a walk down to the very bottom of the village, admiring the view along the way and catch the bus back to Ventimiglia, leaving with a few more pictures of cats than can be deemed entirely necessary, a few hundred calories you really didn’t need and the hope that one day you will return to this wonderfully strange little hilltop village that is Apricale.
