Art and Barb Live in Italy! (House for Sale in Umbria!)
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
A PEFECT DAY IN AUGUST
Once again we combined friends and food with stunning views and mild temperatures for the perfect summer's day in Umbria! Although JANE, Ken and Casey have been in Italy for two months (as opposed to last year when they spent a full twelve months!), we hadn't yet had a chance to get together with them. We were so glad when we found out that their last few days would be spent in Umbria, and best of all, at the GENIUS LOCI INN, run by our good friends MARY, Maurizio and Michael.
JUDITH drove down from Citta di Castello, RITA and LINO drove over from Tuscany, and including Michael's friend RHIAN who was visiting from London, we had quite a diverse group. Lunch was simple....fresh tomatoes, sliced meats and cheeses, eggplant, bread, more tomatoes, great wine from Tuscany, then more great wine from Genius Loci (good work Maurizio and Michael!), finished off with some all American treats for dessert.
The time seemed to fly, and just watching the sun change the hills in the distance was fascinating. Art said if he lived at Genius Loci he'd never have to turn on the television...just watching the view was entertainment enough! We skipped the wine tasting since we'd done that in June, so while everyone else went to learn about the fabulous Sagrantino, Art and I enjoyed the breeze and the view. We also bought some Sagrantino to take home....some lucky person will be getting a special gift this Christmas!
I'm so glad we had the chance to see Jane, Ken and Casey this summer....Casey's gotten so tall! As always Michael and his parents were the perfect hosts, and we're looking forward to our next visit to GENIUS LOCI, hopefully sooner rather than later!
The medieval town of MASSA MARTANA, just across the E45 from Todi, is a town we discovered back in 2002 when we came to Italy to find the perfect place to live. Most of the walled city was destroyed during the earthquake of 1997, and only recently was the restoration complete. The town now looks like a medieval jewel, retaining its character, but with completely updated facilities like new plumbing and wiring, and anti-seismic protection built into the structures.
For whatever reason we'd never visited Massa Martana during it's annual Sagra del Gelato, and we decided it was about time we did! We met up with our friend Shelly and her friends Milena (and MIlena's husband, whose name I don't remember!). Dinner was simple, and since the feature of this sagra is gelato, simple is a good thing. We had our choice of torta al testo with sausage, prosciutto, pancetta or cheese. We each made our choices, ordered a bottle of wine, and went to our table to wait for delivery. Becquse we were there pretty early in the evening the food arrived quickly and we all savored our food. Once again, the simplest of foods are the best!
After dinner we took a stroll around town. Many of the shops stay open during the sagra and we found quite a few realy nice art galleries, as welll as a muscc museum set up in an old church. The moon was nearly full, the temperature was perfect, and off in the distance we could hear music....that polka/accordian music that could be Italian...or Swiss/German/Austrian. At the end of the street we found the band, and of course swirling dancers filling the piazza.
Eventually we made our way outside the city walls for the main event" GELATO! There were several types of sundaes listed, and I found one that I liked...except it was made with gelato. When it was my turn to order I asked if I could have it made with gelato instead of yogurt and with a puzzled look the woman told me that it was made with gelato. I told her that the sign said it was made with gelato, and after a pause she told me that "yogurt" was a flavor! Oh...okay. I explained that in the states we have frozen yogurt, but I'm not sure they really 'got' it. Anyway, we each ordered our gelatos and once again waited at our table for them to arrive. Within minutes we were happily slurping away, lost in the decadence of a warm summer's evening and a bowl of gelato.
The festa in ROTECASTELLO has undergone some changes in the last few years. Previously the dinner had been served on the soccer field which sits below the town. There was a kitchen and a giant grill for preparing the food just above the field, and the young people who served it didn't seem to have any problems running back and forth between the kitchen and the field.
Last year things changed. Apparently there were new health regulations in force, or someone decided to enforce the existing ones...here in Italy it's hard to know. We were told that the food couldn't be served on the soccer field, but perhaps the problem was with the cooking facilities. Whatever the reasons, Rotecastello eventually got around the problem by saying "okay, we won't have a traditional festa, we'll just have a dinner for the members of our association", which must have meant that different rules apply. Again, things work mysteriously in Italy. Still, the food was not served on the soccer field, but up in Rotecastello itself.
Everyone who came to Rotecastello last year for dinner was required to join the "Friends of Rotecastello" association. You didn't have to pay a membership fee, although that was certainly appreciated if you felt like contributing. Each 'member' was issued an official membership card, and even though everyone still had to pay for their dinner, things were now legal.
The one good thing to come out of this was that people got to be up IN Rotecastello for a longer period of time. Previously if you came late to dinner then walked up into town for the entertainment, chances were that it was already dark and you wouldn't be able to see much of the town....not that there's much to see, but still, it's cute and takes less than ten minutes to see the entire village.
Tables were set up in several different spots, all near the town oven. We thought the system worked well, and were surprised when it was changed again this year. We later found out that the people who owned some of the land where the tables had been set up were unhappy with the mess that was made/left on their property. Our friends who live in Rotecastello say that there was no mess, that everything was cleaned up promptly, so maybe the landowners were just looking for an excuse to deny the use of their land. That seems a little strange to us since the entire festa is manned by volunteers, many of whom are in Rotecastello for a short time....on their vacation. It must be a labor of love, but perhaps this particular family just wasn't feeling the love.
This year tables were scattered throughout Rotecastello, a few here, a few there...a few more just around the corner or up the stairs. Food was also prepared in a variety of locations, and the servers were kept busy running from kitchen to kitchen, then table to table, and in the end there were quite a few complaints about poor (or even non-existent) service. Yes, I know it's a new system, and problems were inevitable, but this new system seemed like a disaster waiting to happen.....and it did, to quite a few people we know. I hope next year the system is a little more efficient.
On the final night of the festa, the night of the medieval procession, the dinner was a set menu, and after paying for your meal and selected drinks, you then took your ticket to a table that was set up outside the kitchen of Rotecastello's wonderful restaurant, LA LOCANDA DEL BORGO. After a short wait your name was called and you received your entire meal at once....how very un-Italian!
For €12 we received generous portions of panzanella (tomato bread salad), beans with tomatoes, farro salad, foccacia bread, loads of porchetta, veal, and to end the meal, cantucci with vin santo. Jugs or bottles of wine were available along with water and soft drinks. We ordered two jugs of the red wine )€5 each!) for our table of seven and several bottle of water.
After dinner we walked to the piazza to see if there were any seats left. Luckily, we found two seats on the side, and settled in. We've discovered that the only thing that ever starts on time is lunch, and knew that the 9:30 start time for the procession wouldn't happen. As usual Anna welcomed everyone to Rotecastello and gave us a brief history of the borgo, so we knew we wouldn't be waiting too much longer.
Sometime after ten, we heard the drums, signalling the arrival of the procession. The drums faded away as the group marched around the city, then came booming around the corner as the group approached on our right. As usual every class of people was represented from the peasants on up to the nobility.
Once everyone had arrived in the piazza the main characters made their way to the stage and presented a short play. Jesters filled the piazza with music and laughter, and eventually everyone marched back down the hill, led by the drums steady beat. Everyone we spoke to agreed that the medieval procession is a wonderful way to end the festa.
This past weekend was the festa in ROTECASTELLO. We didn't go on Friday night, but were there for Saturday's festivities. The menu listed lepre (hare) on the menu, so our friends in Rotecastello extended their drinks-before-dinner invitation to include dinner itself.
Our flight attendant friend (that's her on the right) was flying into Rome on Saturday morning, and after a flurry of emails we convinced her to come to Umbria for the day and join in the fun with us. We picked her up in Orvieto, fed her lunch, then sent her off for a nap so she wouldn't crash during the festa!
As usual, Keith and Janine's terrace was the perfect place to enjoy some drinks and good company. Many of the people who only come to Rotecastello during August were there, so it was nice to catch up with them and to meet a few new friends as well.
After dinner we walked around Rotecastello, and ended up marching into the main piazza right behind the PERUGIA FUNKING BAND. It was clear from the beginning that the entertainment would be lively!
As I wrote PREVIOUSLY, keeping up with the bureaucracy required to live in a foreign country can be complicated and confusing. Now that our permits of stay are renewed through the mail, it's even more worrying, wondering if all the documents were acceptable, and wondering if everything arrived safely.
Luckily Italy is slowly coming into the digital age and it's now possible to check the status of renewals online. I checked after a week but found no information. I checked after two weeks and read that no irregularities had been found in our documents, and hoped that was good news. If it was just another way of saying that our documents had been received but hadn't yet been examined, then we'd still have to wait to see if anything changed. You know me, why wait to worry?!
Today, just three weeks after we mailed our renewal packets to Rome, I discovered that we have appointments for the next step! We're scheduled for September 1st, and even better, we get to go to Orvieto for the renewal! This will be six weeks after we mailed in our packets! What a relief! We were hoping that we'd be able to complete the renewal in Orvieto and not have to drive all the way to Terni. Although the drive might not be much longer, we enjoy Orvieto so much more than Terni, so we'll have a nice day out.
When we go to Orvieto for our appointment we'll have to take copies of our documents just in case they want to verify something. We'll also have to take four passport size photos, our original (ready-to-expire) permessi, and our passports. We'll also get re-fingerprinted, this time digitally, which won't be messy like the FIRST TIME, when our hands were covered with black ink.
I'm not sure if we'll receive our new permessi that day or if we'll have to wait until our fingerprints/photos are processed, but for now I'm just relieved to be one step closer to completing the process. The new permessi will be good for two years, so hopefully this will be the last time we have to go through this process! (Rumor has it the the system will change yet again, and that in the future each commune will handle their own permessi, but who knows when or if this will ever happen?)
Just a reminder for those of you who are in Umbria this weekend and beyond....the medieval festa in ROTECASTELLO begins on Friday the 8th and runs through Monday the 11th. Details can be found by clicking on the link. Food is available from 7:30 and each night's entertainment starts (around) 9:30.
Also beginning this Friday is the weeklong SAGRA del GELATO in Massa Martana, not far from Todi. The poster for this festa is just a little more eye-chatching than the poster for the medieval festa....
Whatever you do this weekend, I hope you have as much fun as we plan on having!
Here's a picture of one of the more unique birthday presents Art received this year....a piece of chocolate from SANDRI’S, the wonderul pasticceria in Perugia.The scene is from Perugia, of the famous fountain and beautiful buildings in the centro. Almost too pretty to eat......almost!!
Art's birthday fell on a day when most of our friends were out of town. Although we really enjoyed our lunch with those who were able to come, we also wanted an excuse to get everyone together, and and excuse to try out a pizzeria in Fratta Todina that we'd heard about.
By some miracle everyone was free to meet for pizza on Friday evening, and Belinda had even invited the Canadian girls to join us. I hadn't been sure if they'd want to spend an evening with the 'old folks', but either they were too polite to say no, or didn't find the idea too disagreeable.
In all there would be ten of us, and we'd given general directions to everyone to meet at the pizzeria. We didn't know the name of the place, but the location was pretty easy to describe, along with the words "Pizza" in large letters on the building. We were the first to arrive, and the building looked closed....maybe even deserted. Hmmm, not good. Maybe they were closed for vacation. We called Belinda and Giacomo who'd told us about the pizzeria, and they made a few suggestions for alternate locations. After phone calls to Keith and Janine, Wendy and Shelly, we eventually settled on Wendy's suggestion to drive up to the restaurant in Motecastello di Vibio. There was sure to be a breeze and a view, so as long as this restaurant was open, everything would work out.
In August it's hard to know if places will be open or closed. To our American way of thinking, being open in August is a great time for a restaurant, gift shop or other tourist related business to rake in the bucks. Of course the Italians don't look at things the same way Americans do, and the almighty dollar, or euro in this case, doesn't always rule. Our first two choices had been closed, but hopefully this next restaurant, LO SCUDIERO, would open since it was connected to a hotel, il CASTELLO.
Yes, the restaurant was open and we had a wonderful dinner....a great mixed antipasti platter to start, then pizzas all 'round. The breeze and the view were both wonderful as expected, and of course the company was the best! During the course of the evening someone asked the Canadian girls how they were passing their time, and when it was discovered that they had no television Wendy offered to lend them one of hers, along with a DVD player and some movies. I'm not sure how much time the girls will spend indoors watching television, but at least they have some options now during the heat of the day or after their evening passiagiata.
On Sunday Wendy delivered the electronics, then she and the girls came to our house for lunch. When the girls rang the bell, Art and I were both surprised to see the beautiful flowers they'd brought as a gift! Of course here in Italy you NEVER go to someones house without some sort of gift...a bottle of wine, flowers, a plant, maybe some sweets...but we certainly didn't expect a gift from two teenage girls, even ones as mature and thoughtful as these two!
Lunch was simple: a pasta salad to use up the last of the peppers, tomatoes from Armando's garden with fresh mozzarella, and grilled eggplant, again thanks to Armando. Dessert was Sicilian pastries that Giacomo and Belinda had brought back from their last trip. Nothing too fancy, but delicious none the less. Once again, simple food and good friends made for two very enjoyable days...but such is life in Italy. It's a tough job, huh? ; )
Yes it's that time again, time for the annual medieval festival in ROTECASTELLO, located just outside of San Venanzo. Beginning on Friday, August 8th and ending on Monday, August 11th, each night will feature different entertainment. The last night, Monday, will have the medieval procession and play recounting the story of Rotecastello. All the info is on their new and improved WEBSITE, which unfortunately, isn't in English any more! I think you'll probably be able to figure out the details anyway. Hope to see you there!
After writing about the grand opening of il POGGIO del LUPO, it seemed only fair that I write something about an agriturismo on the other side of San Venanzo. heading up towards Ospedaletto, just past the public pool. We've been talking about checking out OLIVASTRELLA for months, but we just never seemed to get there. Our friends had told us that this agriturismo had more than rooms, they also had exercise facilities. These facilities, including an indoor as well as an outdoor pool, could be used by anyone willing to pay a fee, just like a health club.
The other day we drove up the white (gravel) road just off the SS317, and before we knew it we found the pool and the panoramic views of San Venanzo and beyond. The housekeeper was kind enough to show us around the public spaces: a large meeting/cinema room, a chapel, a game room, the indoor pool, hot tub, sauna and an exercise room complete with treamill and all the other machines you'd expect.
The restaurant was large but still felt cozy thanks to the comfy-looking couches near the stone fireplace. The restaurant opened out onto a huge terrace, again with panoramic views.
Although we didn't see any of the guestrooms, judging from OLIVASTRELLA’S WEBSITE they look a little larger than the rooms at Il Poggio del Lupo, and the whole property has a much more luxurious feel.
The owner returned home and came out to talk with us. He explained about their organic products: the olive oil and honey, the Chianina beef, and the pigs, sheep and goats they raise.
As I wrote previously, I really think that San Venanzo and the surrounding areas are really up and coming as more and more businesses open and more and more tourists discover the joys of 'the green heart of Italy"....Umbria!
Last night we drove down to Marsciano to watch a movie. I guess I should have posted about this sooner, but anyway, better late than never, right? For all of July and August, on every day but Monday, you can watch a movie under the stars in Marsciano at 9:30 each evening. "Sex and the City" and "Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull"have already been shown, but coming up are "The Incredible Hulk" and "The Dark Knight", as well as other recent movies. I expect they'll all be dubbed in Italian, but last night's film, "Shine A Light", a Martin Scorcese film about a benefit concert the Roling Stones did back in 2006, didn't need any translation at all!
The other day while getting my hair cut I happened to mention that my favorite band of our three night festa had been the one from the last night, LA MACCHINA DEL KAPO . Everyone in the shop chimed in approvingly....it seemed to be a given that LA MACCHINA DEL KAPO was far and away the best band, the most energetic and the most fun. The young woman who was sweeping up told me that they were going to be back in San Venanzo in September. When I asked if we were having yet another festa, the answer was yes! I commented that it was amazing how much San Venanzo was growing, but of course everyone there is well aware of that fact.
Later in the week I stopped by to ask our neighbor Adamo about his vacation. I knew he'd gone to the sea for a week, but then he'd left for another short vacation. His housekeeper wasn't sure what cities he was visiting, only that they were north of Florence. Adamo is very well educated and very interested in history, so I was hoping he'd visited some interesting places (as if there are places in Italy that aren't interesting!).
Adamo told me he'd visitedPARMA and MANTOVA (aka MANTUA).He told me about the Farnesi palace and the fact that Montova is a medieval city, home to the famous Gonzaga family. He told me it was an easy drive straight up the A1, and recommended that Art and I consider a visit. This area, Emilia Romagna, is known for it's food. Parma, not surprisingly, is home to Parma ham...and Parmesan cheese.
I told him that at the moment the dollar was continuing it's downhill slide, and the conversation turned to the economy. As we discussed the mortgage disaster in the states and rising costs in Italy, Adamo pointed out to me that San Venanzo was less affected by the recent price increases. Of course San Venanzo is a farming community, and everyone or their brother has an orto, or vegetable garden. People raise chickens and someone in the family makes wine, or cheese. If a family member doesn't raise their own cows, or sheep or goats, then a neighbor does, so the supply is not only close, but also cheap.
When I told Adamo how much we loved San Venanzo, and how we were hoping someone who loved it as much as we did would buy our house, he nodded in agreement. He said one of the things that makes San Venanzo so strong are the families. Grandparents are here, if not in the same house, then just around the corner, offering childcare for the grandchildren while the parents work. The children of San Venanzo are also an indication of the town's life...a town with no small children is a dying town, and San Venanzo has plenty of children to keep it lively and interesting.
We talked about how new businesses are springing up in San Venanzo...the news agent has just move into a larger shop, the ironmaker opened his new shop last year, the bakery is expanding, and soon Giacomo's real estate office will be open across from the church. The restored palazzo that houses our comune is now surrounded by the restored park, a place where we can once again hold town functions with room to spare. (During the restoration of the comune and it's park the functions were held in the church hall and adjoining church yard, but space was definitely at a premium.)
I did tell Adamo that we'd love to explore the area around Parma and Mandova, and shared with him our idea of making an extending vacation once the house is sold. He asked if we preferred to sell to Americans, but of course I told him it didin't matter to us, and that because of the dollar perhaps the house would sell to Europeans. We have lots of Dutch and German tourists in this area, and of course the English discovered Umbria many years ago.
Anyway, in the meantime, we'll continue to enjoy our life here, and look forward to yet another festa in September. I"ll post the specifics when I know them, and if you're in the area, check it out!
We get our information about local events in a variety of ways: from notices posted in the bar or at the comune, from billboards posted in towns and along the roads, from other expats, or message boards, or simply from internet searches. Getting information about local events is still difficult at times….people just seem to know, maybe from word of mouth or maybe it from years of years of tradition. Anyway, whenever we find out about a local event before it happens rather than after. A few days ago I found another unexpected source for information: the local beauty shop.
I’d stopped in at Orieta’s shop to make an appointment for a haircut. Roberta, Orieta’s daughter, who usually cuts my hair was there, and she told me she was Had something to take care of on Thursday but that she could cut my hair on Friday morning. We set the time and I turned to leave when Roberta handed me a flier. A new agriturismo was opening near San Venanzo, just by Civitella dei Conti, and they were having a grand opening celebration complete with food and wine. The festivities were set to begin on Wednesday evening at five o’clock, so we thought, “why not?”
On the drive up to the agriturismo, called il POGGIO del LUPO, I found an answer to a question I’d had for several years. On the road up to Civitella dei Conti we had seen stations of the cross along the road, but I had counted less than fourteen….so where were the rest of the stations? Now that we were on the other road that led up to the castle, I saw the rest of the stations. We’d never driven up this road, not really knowing where it went, thinking that it might just be long driveway to a private home.
Once we arrived at il POGGIO del LUPO we were stunned by the almost 360º views! Beautiful sunrises AND sunsets were guaranteed, and on a clear day you can see forever. The owners, Fabrizio and his wife Elena greeted us and encouraged us to have a look around.
The table inside was groaning with food, beautiful food, and so of course I had to ask: who’s the chef? Fabrizio claimed the honor, and I complimented him on the variety of summer salads…faro and orzo salads and bean salads, as well as cheeses with marmalades or honey, some breads, and of course, some sweets. A sommelier was there to help with the wine, and later we’d also enjoy bread with Fabrizio’s own olive oil and tomatoes from the garden.
Fabrizio showed us the rooms and told us a little about the history of the house. It had once been used as a church, and the chapel still remains, although now it’s equipped with surround sound and internet connections. There are three guestrooms, all ensuite. They’re small and simply decorated. One room has an antique cast iron bed and overlooks this beautiful oak tree.
The beamed ceilings are something we love.
The later it got the more crowded it got, and eventually the tiki torches were lit and everyone ate and drank and talked…then bottle of vin santo were passed around, along with plates of cantucci to dip in the vin santo. The kids ran around while the adults talked….in Italian, English, German, Dutch and French…yes it was quite an international event!
In addition to the three rooms for rent, il POGGIO del LUPO will also have space for campers, and will also operate a restaurant! Dinner will be by reservation only, and because of the small size of the room, I’m sure every dinner will be quite intimate and special. Fabizio is certainly an imaginative and talented chef.
We wish Elena and Fabizio the best in their new business! What’s good for them will be good for all of San Venanzo!
See all the photos onOUR FLICKR PAGE in the folder named....Il Poggio del Lupo.
Those who know me will agree that I'm impatient, and I'll readily admit it. Now that our house is for sale and we've made the decision to return to the states, I have to admit that I'm having a hard time. I feel stuck in between two worlds, and it's not that I don't enjoy our life here in Italy, but now that we've decided, I'd like to start planning, because in addition to being impatient, I'm also a planner.
Planning a trip has always been as much fun as the trip itself. I love leafing through guidebooks, searching the internet, asking questions, and often discovering places that I never would have known about without a good deal of research. I love trying to maximize my time, to figure out what to do on Sundays, or on days when most of the museums are closed. I like figuring out what route makes the most sense...sometimes you want the most scenic route and other times it makes sense to take the overnight train. I do try to have several options when traveling, knowing that unexpected surprises, some good, some bad, often require last minute adjustments.
So, now that we've made the decision to return to the states, we had to decide where. After much discussion and thought, we've decided to return to Louisville for many reasons. Of course if money were no object I'd live in the Big Apple, but that's not quite in our budget. Louisville has always had a reasonable cost of living, which works to our favor now that we're retired. Of course Art still wants to work at Churchill Downs from time to time, as much for the social aspect as for the money.
Living in Louisville will also allow us to relax a little, in that we won't have to learn our way around, find the shortcuts, or know which store is best. After five years of having to learn our way around Umbria, the mostly straight roads will also be a pleasant change from the windy, windy roads here in Italy.
So what's the problem, you might be asking. Well for me, there's just not much planning or preparing I can do right now. I don't really have a place to store boxes, so I can't start packing stuff. At least if I were packing I'd feel as if I was doing something productive. I also can't plan much for our move, or for our travel plans after the house is sold.
We thought that once the house was sold we'd take some time...4 weeks, 6 weeks, maybe even longer, to do some of the traveling we haven't been able to do. Since we now have a car we planned to drive north, visiting the Piemonte region, stopping in Switzerland, a country we both love, maybe even getting to Belgium for some waffles, beer and french fries with mayo! Unfortunately, our itinerary will be determined to some degree by the time of year. If we're going to be traveling in January, perhaps we'd go south towards Puglia and on to Sicily instead of going north. Depending on the time of year maybe we'd drive to Ancona and take the ferry over to Croatia. If I tried to plan for every contingency I'd be up to my ears in print-outs and brochures, so I really need to wait until things are a little more settled.
We also thought it would be a cool idea to cruise back to the states, but ships from Rome to the states aren't as common as ships between England and the U.S., and are limited to the times when the ships are repositioning. If this works out, great, but again, it's a matter of timing.
Art still looks at the real estate listings in Louisville, and even the used car ads, but honestly that just drives me crazy! Yes, we have a general idea of the areas we'd like to live in and what type of car we'd like, but until we're actually there, cash in hand, it doesn't really do much good to see what's available today.
So yes, I am trying to enjoy my time in Italy....if you've been reading the blog recently you'll know that we have been having lots of fun, but still, the next phase of our life is just around the corner and I'd like to be planning for it, dreaming about it, making some decisions, but I can't do anything...and it's driving me crazy!!!
With the slow housing market we know we could be here for a while, and that's fine. Although we don't have tons of money it's not as if we have to sell quickly, so we'll just wait for the right buyer. The fact that I love Italy, Umbria and especially San Venanzo makes it soooo frustrating that we haven't yet found the person who will recognize our house and our town for the gems they are! For me, the impatient planner, these are trying times!
Yes, I'm sure many of you know that our house is for sale, and clicking on the picture in the right hand column will take you to everything you ever wanted to know about the house and the area. For those who might be stopping by the blog for the first time, or who might be Googling, I thought writing about our HOUSE FOR SALE IN UMBRIA might be a good idea. Just scrolling through the blog will also let you know what life is like in central Umbria, what we do for fun, and what's going on in San Venanzo. In the past year or so I've started posting videos of various things here in Umbria...sometimes they're of festivals, sometimes just a field of sunflowers. Stop by OUR YouTube PAGE any time to get a taste of small town Italy!
I know the dollar is weak, but I also know that there are many Americans who are still searching for that perfect second/retirement home in Italy. The British pound does better against the euro, and of course for Europeans the euro is still the euro. The fact that Ryan Air now flies into the Perugia airport from both London and Barcelona makes access to Umbria easier than ever. Read THIS ARTICLE by James Martin, who has some thoughts about property in Italy.
No matter what currency you use or what your reasons are for wanting a home in Italy, we propose that Umbria is a beautiful choice, and that our HOUSE FOR SALE IN UMBRIA, in the hilltown of San Venanzo is certainly worth a look! After you've read all the information on the HOUSE FOR SALE post, please contact us at: umbriahouse4sale@hotmail.com to let us know when you'd like to see the house!
Last fall we celebrated the re-opening of the building that houses our comune (city hall). The Villa Faina underwent a three year restoration and the end result was stunning...restored frescoes, beautiful woodwork, and at last, the public garden surrounding the villa was once again full of life. Except for the area behind the villa, which remained locked away behind a tall fence. I wasn't sure what continuing work was going on, but was afraid that it would continue for three more years. What a pleasant surprise to find out I was wrong! Suddenly one day the fences came down, revealing a new dance floor and areas for tables and tents....San Venanzo was back in the festa business!
Even a small town like San Venanzo can hold some surprises. One night on our way up to the festa we stopped to ask the workman about this new archway. The tiny room connecting the two buildings has been there for as long as we've been here...five years...but the man told us that the arch was simply "phase two" of the project. Apparently funds weren't available for the archway when the connection was added. We asked if the comune was paying for the arch but were told no, the casa dei anziani (the old folks home) was paying for everything. What a charming addition to the neighborhood!
At the festa I asked our neighbor Franco if I could snap a picture of him at the grill...
Someone in San Venanzo decided to try a progressive dinner for Saturday night's festivities. Each course would be served in a different area, and accompanied by wine from a differnt area cantina. The antipasto course was the only one I remembered to take a picture of! We had panzanella ((tomato bread salad), a farro salad, and two slices of bruschetta, one topped with fave beans and the other with truffles. The wine for this course was provided by the cantina Colli Perugini.
For the next course we moved to the courtyard of the villa for two incredibly delicious pastas and again, red or white wine from Cantina Giovagnoli, which I'd never heard of before.
For the meat course we moved to the area in front of the volcano museum and received a platter of assorted meats and cheeses, and wine from one of our favorite cantinas, Busti.
After all the food and wine, dessert was simple: watermelon and cantoloupe, the perfect ending to a great meal....and all this for only €15!
The region of Umbria is divided into two provinces: Perugia and Terni. For us, the fact that San Venanzo was in the region of Terni meant shorter lines and fewer delays when we first arrived here and had to apply for our permits of stay. Now that the provinical offices are no longer handling this procedure, the benefits of being in the province of Terni are less clear.
I couldn't find a map showing both the two provinces AND some key cities, so I'll do my best to explain the map above. The green part of the map is the province of Perugia, and the blue section is the province of Terni. I'm going to generalize and say that each city sits in approximately the position where it's name is printed. San Venanzo sits at the northeastern edge of the province of Terni, and is separated from it's closest provincial neighbors by mountains and winding roads. The closest city to us, the one we frequent most often, is Marsciano, just over the border into the province or Perugia, but much closer than any other city in our own province.
Of course I have no idea why or how the provincial lines were drawn, but as puzzling as it is, it can often be frustrating when doing business. Our friends in Todi and Massa Martana, physically close to Terni, must drive into Perugia to deal with any bureaucracy...and deal with larger numbers of people. We've never minded the longer drive to Terni to take care of business, because in the end the time we saved standing in line and dealing with various offices more than offset our drive time.
For our daIly lives though, most of our goods and services seem to come from Marsciano and/or the province or Perugia, and most of the events we attend are also within the province of Perugia...but getting information about goods, services and events can be quite frustrating! We'd love to have a phonebook from Perugia, and if it weren't for our friend Wendy, we probably wouldn't have one. Of course we have a phone book for the provice of Terni delivered, but aside from people and businesses in San Venanzo, we've never needed any of the phone numbers it contains. We want to have info about the local sagre and feste, but nothing from the district of Perugia seems to get posted in San Venanzo. At least we drive into Marsciano on a regular basis so that we can check out the billboards for information.
I doubt that the provincial lines will be redrawn anytime soon, but this summer common sense has prevailed and San Venanzo has joined the music festival promoted by the city of Marsciano. This festival, MUSICA PER I BORGHI, offers a series of free concerts set in the various 'frazione', or small towns that are part of the comune of Marsciano. This year San Venanzo participated, and on Friday night we played host to Fabizio Palma and Grazia di Michele, who apparently are well know from the Itaian show "Amici". (yes, that's "Friends"!) Clicking on the link in red to the "Musica per i Borghi" website will let you see what other concerts are still to come.
Due to the event being publicized all over the area via posters and newspaper articles, it was standing room only as the band finally began to play, nearly an hour after the schedule start time. Of course when did ANY concert ever start on time, then factor Italy into the equation.....
The group was interesting, funky, jazzy, with a great saxophone player. After the frist few numbers a singer came onstage accompanied by tow back-up singers. This singer...was HE Fabrizio?...talked as much as he sang, which I found annoying. thankfully he did have a great voice for types of cabaret/jazz songs he sang. And then he stepped over the line, doing a terrible, overly dramatic version of "Yesterday", that had me rolling my eyes and shaking my head.
I'm not sure what the many older residents of San Venanzo thought of the performance since we left before the concert was over. Early mornings and late nights are hard to do unless you take the tradtional Italian nap after lunch, and I'm just not a napper, so I was ready to call it a night before midnight. I hope the event was successful for all concerned and that San Venenzo will participate again next year...and maybe even join in other Marsciano/Perugia events as well.
A few years ago the field we can see from our bedroom window was filled with sunflowers, and now, once again, the sunflowers have returned! Crops are rotated so that we rarely see sunflowers in the same spot each year, and this year many farmers have chosen to plant wheat, given it's high demand. When I looked out the window and saw yellow here and there, I knew this would be our year!
My plan was to get up early this morning and drive over to the field to take pictures, but unfortunately the weather didn't cooperate. We woke up this morning to cloudy skies and strong winds. I'm not sure if we'll see any rain, but without the blue sky as a background, I won't be taking sunglower photos today. I will try to post some of the sunflower phots we took earlier in the week just as soon as I can.
In 2006 we received an email from a family in Canada who'd just bought a house in San Venanzo. They introduced themselves and told us they'd be arriving in the spring...would we like to get together? Of course we said yes, and from the moment we met Virgil and Jean, along with their two adult children Damon and Rachele and their families we've had so much fun.
Last year we missed the Canadians completely since they visited while we were in the states, but this year we're all here at the same time. Damon is a landscape architect, so we'd introduced him to Giacomo and Belinda who were just beginning their building project. Damon was thrilled with the idea of having a project in Italy....who wouldn't love to say to a potential client,"Yes, I've just been working on my design for some clients in Italy."????
The Canadians arrived at the beginning of July but Giacomo and Belinda were busy organizing activities for Larry and Shelly's guests, so we weren't all able to get together until Sunday. Giacomo was returning from Holland after picking up his two children, Santi and Mara, and Mara's cousin who'd come too, because after all, when you're a teenage girl you need someone to talk to and giggle with, right?
We'd been anxiously waiting to take Damon, his wife Jamie and their son Marcus up to our favorite San Venanzo eatery, Angelino and Peppa's. It's one of those places where you sit down and the food just starts arriving, course after delicious course. The wine flows and before you know it you're so stuffed you can barely move...but the food is so good you're still sorry you couldn't eat more!
Belinda called us on Sunday afternoon, and surprised us with her questions: did we have any birthday candles? Unfortunately we didn't, but whose birthday was it? Giacomo's!! We wished we had known, and I offered to bake a cake myself, but Belinda had already taken care of that, and just needed to find some candles.
The Canadians followed us up the road towards Ospedaletto until we came to Angelino and Peppa's, which sits on the side of the road. Our table was ready outside, surrounded by the pine forest. We sat down and the food began to arrive immediately. Our waiter was Stefano, the son of the owners, and he brought us bruschetta with tomatoes, crostini with chicken liver pate and with porcini. We had tagliatelle with fragrant truffles, so delicious and tender, yet we had to remind the Canadians (and ourselves!) to go slowly...there would be lots more food to come, including a second pasta dish.
After the second pasta...this one with a simple tomato sauce, the grilled meats arrvied....fat sausages, chunks of grilled pork and pieces of grilled lamb. Spinach was served as a side dish, along with hot torta al testo, a local bread similiar to pita. We'd chosen not to have a salad knowing that we just woulnd't have enough room for birthday cake if we ate any more!
I'll admit I was lax in the camera department. My only excuse is that I was just enjoying the food and the company way too much, but I did mangage to get my camera out just in time to snap Giacomo's cake with sparklers on top! The cake was surprisingly good, and Belinda told us she'd had it made at the Coop in Marsciano. Umbrians aren't the best when it comes to baked sweets, but this one was really good.
By the end of the evening, after food, wine, water, cake, champagne, grappa and coffee, it was hard for any of us to think about ever eating again. Damon was so excited by everything...the food, the setting, the unbelieveable prices! I think we paid €18 euro per person for our magnificent feast...all made fresh that day, from the bread to the pasta. The meats had been raised locally, the fruits and vegetables grown right in our town. The wine was Angelino's own, served in bottles with no labels. Everything was served family style, and before you could say "basta!", your bowl was filled to overflowing...but we somehow managed to persevere!
We absolutely LOVE to bring guests to Angelino and Peppa's because it's so much fun to watch their faces as they taste the food, and as they realize how much food there is to sample! Maybe they've had good food before, but never in such quantities, never with such quality and freshness, and never served with such obvious pride and joy! This evening was no exception, and we had the added bonus of being able to celebrate Giacomo's birthday with him!
I'm betting that when the Canadian's return to Canada this evening will be one of the highlights...until tomorrow night's dinner when we all gather at Giacomo and Belinda's house for yet another fabulous dinner! Buon appetito!
Yes, it's that time of year, my very favorite time in Italy! Fields of sunflowers are opening all over the place, and it's so much fun to see the fields change from solid green to green sprinkled with specks of yellow, then eventually fields of blinding yellow. Yes, I probably have more than enough sunflower photos, but I'll still be out there, clicking away. Stay tuned......
Our friends Larry and Shelly host an annual 4th of July Texas-style BBQ, and as usual, this one was a delicious success. Let's talk about the menu first, since Larry and Shelly bring many tradtional American goodies packed in their suitcases, and with the lower weight limits on luggage, this is no small feat!
Of course there were hot dogs and hamburgers on the grill, and barbequed chicken bathed in KC Masterpiece barbeque sauce. We had our choice of dill of sweet pickle relish...items that are certainly NOT to be found on any Italian grocery store shelves! There was also potato salad and cole slaw, and baked beans....another item that's not typically Italian.
For me the highlight of the day was the tortilla chips....chips that Larry fried here in Italy, made of course from tortillas that had been brought to Italy, then cut into triangles and fried! Of course chips need something ON them, and miracle of miracles, we had QUESO! Velveeta cheese and Rotel tomatoes with chilies.....yes, it might seem decadent to some, even unhealthy to others, but to me it was like a taste of the states, a guilty pleasure that many of us found quite addicting!
I made brownies for the occasion, and Judith baked a peach cobbler and an apricot crumble that were both baked at Larry and Shelly's house right before they were served...meaning they were still warm! Wow!
In addition to the usual group of expats and visiting family members, this years group also included many of Larry and Shelly's friends from around the world who had made the trip for the anniversary party on Thursday. As a bonus, they were also able to share the 4th with us in Italy, and except for the lack of fireworks, I think we really had a very tradtional 4th of July!
If you're in Umbria next weekend, join us for three nights of food and music!If you can't read the poster, go to our FLICKR PAGE where you can view a larger version!
we hadn't yet had a chance to get together with them. We were so glad when we found out that their last few days would be spent in Umbria, and best of all, at the GENIUS LOCI INN, run by our good friends MARY, Maurizio and Michael.
JUDITH drove down from Citta di Castello, RITA and LINO drove over from Tuscany, and including Michael's friend RHIAN who was visiting from London, we had quite a diverse group. Lunch was simple....fresh tomatoes, sliced meats and cheeses, eggplant, bread, more tomatoes, great wine from Tuscany, then more great wine from Genius Loci (good work Maurizio and Michael!), finished off with some all American treats for dessert.
The time seemed to fly, and just watching the sun change the hills in the distance was fascinating. Art said if he lived at Genius Loci he'd never have to turn on the television...just watching the view was entertainment enough! We skipped the wine tasting since we'd done that in June, so while everyone else went to learn about the fabulous Sagrantino, Art and I enjoyed the breeze and the view. We also bought some Sagrantino to take home....some lucky person will be getting a special gift this Christmas!
