Naples, you guys. Have you been? I’m totally obsessed with Italy’s beautiful, decaying, lively metropolis. I won’t dwell on the city’s bad rap, which is largely undeserved, but I will say that if you visit the city with someone who truly loves it (Fiorella from Vesuvius vs Pompeii, for example, is such an awesome guide that friends of mine named their daughter after her) you will be physically incapable of disliking it and will defend Naples’ tarnished reputation to all who will listen.
If you have been to Naples, you probably popped into a pizzeria in the centro antico (Attilio in Pignasecca is my fave) and wandered the cavernous halls of the Archeological Museum (truly Italy’s coolest collection of antiquities). What you probably missed was a stellar cheese and salumi shop a short walk uphill along Via Salvator Rosa. There, at this sunken stretch of kiosks in Piazzetta Pontecorvo, Caseari Cautero sells and serves cheeses and cured meats mainly from Campania, Abruzzo, Calabria, and beyond. Proprietor Salvatore Cautero is a fourth generation food purveyor–the family was in the stockfish business–and just last month transformed part of his retail space into a small dining room with a large communal table surrounded by wine bottles, as well as some outdoor seating overlooking the Neapolitan theatrical performance that is Via Rosa.
Salvatore Cautero is the city’s foremost ambassador of fine Italian food and wine. His gastronomia is unrivaled in Naples for quality goods sourced from small producers, especially from Campania and the surrounding regions. Look for conciato romano, an herbaceous and pungent cheese aged in terracotta jugs from Le Campestre, piquant salumi from Calabrian ‘nduja genius Nicola Romano, and goat cheeses from I Filadelfi in Cilento. And if you’re lucky, Salvatore will have some sheep’s cheese from Gregorio Rotolo, a farmer and cheesemaker from Abruzzo pictured below slicing his pecorini in front of Caseari Cautero.
You can buy stuff to take away, but I love sitting in the shop and ordering a plate of assorted cheeses and cured meats. Salvatore is obsessed with Champagne and you won’t find a better list in town. There are plenty of bottles from all over Italy and if you want to stay local, there’s plenty to choose from from the nearby Phlegrean Fields and interior Campania. Now go plan your next trip to Napoli!
Caseari Cautero
Piazzetta Pontecorvo
+39 081 1917 9449
