They did not imagine that, just when their plans to adopt travel as a new way of life were born, the pandemic was going to arrive. “We did not know what was coming to us, or how our lives, habits and customs were going to change. The only thing we knew at the time was that we had gathered a large amount of photographs, memories and advice from years of travel meetings that we wanted to share”, they tell us Claudia and Sofia , founders of @eratomediterraneo, an Instagram profile dedicated to inspiring and creating a community.
"The idea and concept of Érato was born on Claudia's sofa days before confinement," she tells us. “In the beginning, it was our friends who always asked us tips for planning your vacation itineraries and this inspired us to create a more personal space in which to post and recommend everything that we had been discovering on our escapades and that follows our definition of ‘beauty’”, she explains.
The name emerged as a way to encompass the personality of both in a single entity. “ erato She is one of the nine muses of the Greek mythology and, in particular, of romantic poetry, perfect to identify with it since we always try to narrate our stories using a poetic and artistic filter , fueled by an unconditional love for our roots. In the end, Italy is a living poem ", they tell us.
Currently, Érato is looking for ways to expand beyond social networks with a Web page . "We want it to be a platform for artists and their works . But we also want it to be an e-commerce for our first travel Guide (independent) dedicated to the island of Pantelleria , which we will launch next spring", they tell us.
Sofia and Claudia they met dancing and, since then, everything flowed both inside and outside the borders of her native country. "We have followed a career as dancers for more than ten years – now they are dedicated to marketing – and we met working on some of the same productions," they recall.
After realizing that they also shared the same tastes and way of seeing life, they began to travel, their first adventure together being a trip to Naples ("bellissimo!"), where they searched for vintage earrings in boutiques and visited the Archaeological Museum of Naples . “We felt all the time like in the Ozpetek movie, Napoli Velata”.
Thus, they used to plan their "big trip" every summer and then several getaways throughout the year. "When we travel within Italy we usually go to places like Florence for a weekend to visit our friend Daniele, owner of the Numeroventi artist residency –one of her favorite hotels in Italy along with Ca' P'a (Praiano), Albergo Posta Marcucci (Bagno Vignoni), Chapter Roma, Masseria Borgo San Marco (Fasano) and L'Olivella Palermo ("Elena serves the best stuffed cake of gello di melone in the world")–. Or let's eat some delicious sea urchins with individual bottles of white wine Taverna del Porto, in Tricase , Puglia. Or to Milan, since a bit of avant-garde inspiration never hurts," they reveal.
Just a few days before the lockdown, they had just been in Matera, in Basilicata. "It was February so we were out of season , which made it possible for us to enjoy the city without crowds. Only in this way can you admire and remember the fact that it is carved into the stones and that a very mystical and more magical atmosphere reigns than we thought. There we stayed in Il Palazzotto Residence & Winery and we had dinner at Restaurant La Gattabuia . Please, if you ever go you have to try their cannoli made with pane di Matera and fresh ricotta".
Both Sofia and Claudia they live in rome , the place where they were born and which has shaped their aesthetics, as well as their love for art and local folklore. "We live in a residential neighborhood 15 minutes from the center", they reveal to us, so we take the opportunity to get their ideal route through the city.
THE ROME OF THE ROMAN WOMEN
"If one day you are around here we would be your guides. We would do it on a Saturday morning and we would start by having a maritozzo and a cappuccino in the Pasticceria Regoli –They also love Panella's and her zabaione, (coffee with eggnog); the Caffè Sant' Eustachio; Caffè Tazza D’Oro and the coffee granita with panna at Caffè Barberini–, followed by a walk through the Monti district , in the direction of the Jewish quarter".
"Later, Trastevere would be the next stop to see which photographer is exhibiting in the Museum of Rome . When you get hungry we would go eat some impressive polpette al sugo in Da Enzo at 29 . Later, and waiting for the snack time , we would walk through the center. We would probably buy fresh flowers at the Campo de' Fiori Market and we would look for antiques in the boutiques of the Via dei Coronari. In the Piazza di Pietra we would take the first (and the second) at Salotto 42, to close with a flourish with a dinner at rocco".
The founders of Érato dominate like nobody else knowing which are the best corners and places to visit in their own city, but it is precisely with their platform that they show that they do not miss a single one. Wherever. Let's say we are talking about an Italian island like Ponza , very close to Rome.
"We love going in the month of June, when there are not so many tourists and it's already hot enough to take a dip and rent a boat. We usually eat in the La Marina restaurant , in Cala Feola", they confess to us. "Remember that in Ponza after each meal the liqueur al finocchietto , a liqueur made from dill seeds," they advise.
another one of his favorite islands it is Pantelleria , in Sicily, very close to Tunis, and the place where they stay is Parco dei Sesi , an artists' residence run by Massimiliano and Margot. "The hotel is inside an archaeological center and the nature that surrounds it is impressive, with a very special energy."
And where do you plan to travel as soon as possible? "We were just talking about it the other day, pisco sours through, in the reservation restaurant , here in Rome. We would love to be able to take a road trip through Cote D'azur, in France . It is a very special place to reconnect with everything we love. There is the sea, there is art (we love everything related to Matisse or Le Corbusier), cheeses, wines... And we have a huge list of places to visit: Hotel Plein Large, Hotel EPI, Les Roches Rouges, Hotel Le Collatera, Le Colombe D'Or... If all goes well and we can travel soon, we would also love to return to Morocco . It's beautiful in the spring and the weather is perfect. In Marrakech we would rent a room in the Riad Danka and we would spend our days eating wonderfully in Nomad or Le Jardin , we would go to Ziani hammam , shopping around the souks and finally we would end the day drinking mint tea in the square jamaa el fna".