L' Aia Antica

Rooms? Yes, they are very large, newly refurbished, reasonably priced and have free, reasonably performing Wi-Fi. The bed is large and ok, other fittings are 1970, 2-star inn: four stringy coat hangers for a double room, no drawers for clothing at all, no coffee machine. Very basic shower, no soap, few, inconveniently-located hangers or holders for very clean towels. This I am happy to accept out of tradition. More importantly, heating is noisy, off until you get in, limited in power and little effective since it comes from a high up heat exchanger, located there for cooling effectiveness. This is the only drawback that might make me look for another place. Then, there is the restaurant. An obvious magnet for local families at least on a Saturday, serves local traditional fare in huge servings, tasty and light. We had "sagne" (fresh, irregularly cut maltagliati pasta) soup with beans and with chickpeas, and bucatini (thick pierced-through spaghetti) with codfish and tomato sauce, surprisingly light. Before, we ordered three starters that turned out as good and much more substantial than expected: a Roman-styled crostino con alici and Neapolitan-styled fried vegetables and dough. Fried food was less light than it could have been, still more than acceptable. We couldn't possibly consider main courses after this, even if what we saw served around us looked delicious, and even more plentiful. Desserts are home *cooked* from industrial preparations rather than truly home made as they state, leave them alone. Service is friendly and quick. It needs be a bit informal since the place is so packed, and noisy, your serves meanders around three tables to get near one corner of yours, then has to stretch and lean to hand over things to one of you... We welcomed and enjoyed this, may be awkward for a formal business setting or just the touch to break ice and build rapport. Food more than compensates room fittings, for us anyway. We will be back as life may bring us to Ciociaria again.