Il Ponticello - APRILIA

Il Ponticello Ristorante, Via dei Rutuli, 193, Casalazzaria di Aprilia, 04011, Aprilia, Lazio Wednesday early August and we had arranged a shared lunch with some friends south of Rome whom we’d not seen for a year. So, an easy slow morning with breakfast in the garden and an equally easy 30 km ride on the via Pontina through ‘Mussolini Country’ to Casalazzara. Live in Rome and you cannot not be aware of the Pontine Marshes that once were 80,000 km2 that were effectively canalized, drained and developed into productive agricultural lands in the 1930s. During the time of Ancient Rome the area was largely afforested and sparsely populated, but this changed as intensive agriculture and timber extraction took priority. Deforestation and raised water levels followed without the improved drainage required, and areas of swamplands and standing water developed. The malarial mosquito ‘Anopheles’ followed and held the lands for the next 1,500 years. Public works supported by the Mussolini government of the day undertook the drainage required and changed the marshes forever – a considerable achievement that reflected both the propaganda and reality of those days. At the height of the work an estimated 124,000 workers were employed. Travel through the region today and the rich heritage remains and so too the similarity of the small towns that were built – Pontinia, Aprilia, Pomezia, etc. that reflect their quazi art deco designed centres. (In fact, you find similar designed towns in Albania, Eritrea, Ethiopia, etc. – wherever the Italians were located before the mid 1940s. The architecture and layout of these towns remains – novel and atypical of ‘normal’ Italy. We collected our friends in Casalazzara and made for Aprilia to a favourite restaurant where we had last shared a meal with them, only to find it already closed pending the traditional mid August Ferragosto holiday. No issue … we headed back to Il Ponticello just a short distance from where we had started 30 minutes earlier. Our mistake. The restaurant is to one side of the road in open country of vineyards, cereals, trees and a scattering of individual houses along the ridge of the via Ardeatina/dei Rutuli*. You park outside in the large car park – the restaurant is housed in a single level building attached to a couple of houses with three levels and balconies that overlook the surrounding farmlands – new paint, clean, presentable, modern and prominent. Separate signs outside promote the Café and Il Ponticello. You access the restaurant through the Café – it’s behind the bar. Single compact dining room with wall television in one corner and dozen small tables with seating for about 50 diners. Glass wall to one side so plenty of light in the dining room. The place was about half full – mainly groups of men dining together. The friendly woman Maitre d’ directed the four of us to a table mid floor. Il Ponticello specializes in fish cuisine and there was no menu as such we were offered the four five six plates available for a single – and highly reasonable fixed price; a novelty for us and, in reality, eat as much or as little as you like. We ordered drinks – frizzante and una bottiglia di vino biancho and then the plates began arriving – either one/person or plates to share. Insalata di Mare (two plates was followed – plate each with small fried fish which was followed by mussels, then vongole pasta/rice, after which was a plate of mixed fried fish foods for three of us with an additional extra large plate of mixed foods for the forth member of our group – mussels, tomatoes, fried fish, etc. We finished our meal with a couple of dolce to share. We paid €80 for the four of us … we had eaten ourselves under the table. There … was … a … lot … of … food … provided! Great value. Food was well presented, hot and quick to appear at the table the plates arriving before we had eaten what was already there and more than sufficient. At times the table seemed to over flow with plates. By one of those coincidences that are not untypical of a small city/country in which people frequently bump into others whom they know – the four of us recognized a couple of people in a group of four eating at a table in the corner of the dining room people from the office doing what we were doing – entertaining friends over a meal. We’d arrived at 13.45 and finished our meal at 15.30 – before heading outside to share coffee together with the others. Rome – ever the international city – between us we covered half dozen countries from the Netherlands to Portugal to Peru to New Zealand; people never quite certain where they belong – except … they eventually find that they belong everywhere. Talking and talking … we watched the Maitre d’ lock her restaurant and leave for 16.30 … we followed half hour later. The selection of different plates made a delicious meal – and then the delight of that unexpected meeting with people whom we knew, and the pleasure of time shared. Peter Steele 24 April 2020 *The Rutulians were an ancient people from 600 BCE centred upon nearby Ardea – thought to be linked to the Etruscans and/or the Ligurians from further north in the peninsular they predated the rise of the Ancient Romans

Quiet place. fish cuisine performed very well. price quality ratio more than excellent. friendly and handy service. I recommend it.