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Thursday, June 2, 2016

Volterra: Tuscany's Medieval City of Wind and Stone

Volterra's well-preserved medieval ramparts give the windswept town a proud, forbidding air that author Stephanie Meyer deemed ideal for the vampire coven in her wildly popular Twilight book series. On a rainy blustery day, the historic centre was damp and dreary as we wandered through the winding cobbled streets, but as the skies cleared, the dark beauty of Volterra shined through. The Etruscans founded the city more than 2800 years ago, when it's believed that as many as 25,000 people lived within the city's fortified walls. Partly due to the surrounding inhospitable terrain, the city was among the last to succumb to Rome, until it was finally absorbed into the Roman confederation around 260 BC and renamed Volaterrae. Perched high on a hill and defended by mighty walls, Volterra was once famous for its alabaster mined from nearby quarries, but nowadays it's home to the Museo Etruscan Guarnacci, one of Italy's most impressive collections of Etruscan artifacts. Found locally, they include more than 600 funerary urns carved mainly from alabaster and tufa, with highlights of the collection including the Urn of the Sposi, a strikingly realistic terracotta rendering of an elderly couple and the L'Ombra della Sera — Shadow of the Evening — an elongated bronze nude figurine that bears a striking resemblance to the work of the Swiss sculptor Alberto Giacometti.

The streets of Volterra on a rainy weekday

The Guarnacci Etruscan Museum in Voletrra

Famous for the thousands of funeral urns dating back to the Hellenistic and Archaic periods, the museum is treasure trove of 'l'urna cineraria'

Detail on one of the funeral urns

The museum's sculpted effigy 'Urna degli Sposi' of an Etruscan couple made in terra cotta

A Roman floor mosaic from a site in Volterra

A collection of Hellenistic coins and kitchenware

Ombra della Sera, or 'The Evening Shadow' from the 2nd century BC, bears an uncanny likeness to the later 20th-century sculptures by Giacometti

A leafy garden at the back of the museum held a few treasures

A modern sculpture by a local artist

Old stone graves

A moss covered cineraria

Roman archway from garden

View to the valley below Volterra

Nestled within the medieval walls of Volterra across from the Medicean Fortress near Porta a Selci, Osteria La Pace is a lovely little restaurant with a menu featuring traditional Tuscan and Volterran dishes. Originally an ancient tavern dating back to 1600, Osteria la Pace has been run by the same family since 1939, first by Mrs. Gina and now by her son "Geppo" Giampaolo and his wife Monica who runs the kitchen. Recommended by an Italian author who we met for lunch with our friend Paul, one of whose paintings was featured on the cover of her first novel, the afternoon was languorous and loquacious. Starting with a lovely Tuscan Sangiovese we sampled a generous Tagliere della Casa of local cured salumi, formaggi, paté di fegato, frittata, olives, marmaletta di zucca and array of other delectable spreads. All of the pasta and soups are handmade by Monica from the Pici al Cinghiale, Ravioli Rustica and Stracci di Cinta Senese e Funghi to the Antici Minestra di Farro and her signature Ribollita Tosana. Entrées include Cinghiale in Umido e Polenta, Bistecca alla Fiorentina to the rustic and delicious Salsicce e fagioli all'Uccelletto. At the end of the meal, a bottle of Limoncello labelled 'Vitamine C' and bottle of Grappa were left on the able for us to enjoy. With a three hour return trip to Umbria ahead of us, we bid adieu to Sylvie and made our way to the car under menacing dark and foreboding skies. Without a word of exaggeration, hail the size of ice cubes came pummelling down, thunder rolled overhead and bolt lightning crackled all around us. Then the rain came, in blinding sheets so ferocious it was almost impossible to navigate the winding roads down from dark and rocky Volterra, through Tuscany and back to Umbria. Given that Stephanie Meyer chose Volterra as the setting for her Twilight Series full of vampires, medieval magic and mayhem, the symbolism of our scary drive home was ominous to say the least.

Osteria La Pace

The old stone exterior of Osteria La Pace

The colourful barrel-vaulted interior

The Tuscan menu

Terre de'Pepi vino rosso

Slicing the Tuscan prosciutto for the Tagliere della Casa

Tagliere della Casa

Ribollita Toscana

Antica Minestra di Farro - Ancient Etruscan Soup

Stracci di Cinta Senese e Funghi

Tagliata di Chianina Mille Sapori

Salsicce e Fagioli all'Uccelletto

A bottle of house made Limoncello labelled 'Vitamin C'

A bottle of house made Grappa was also brought to the table for guests to pour as they wish

Stephanie Meyer chose Volterra as the setting for her Twilight Series,

the perfect setting for medieval magic, mystery and mayhem

Wednesday, June 1, 2016

Todi & Ristorante Umbria: A Journey Through Time

One of Umbria's most beautiful hill towns, Todi, is perched high up in the mountains with spectacular views in every direction. Reached by an exciting drive through winding roads and hairpin turns, this ancient city is an unexpected delight. Described as one of the 'most liveable towns in the world', Todi has retained much of the original features and charming character of the town's diverse historical periods in the face of passing time. Like rings around a tree, Todi's history can be read in layers. With a rich history dating back to around 1300 BC, Todi was settled by the Umbri, an ancient pre-Etruscan people who gave it the name Tudere. According to legend, one night the new conquerors were eating their meal which was placed on a red cloth, when suddenly an eagle descended upon them, seized the cloth with its talons and flew away, dropping it high up in the hills. This was interpreted as a divine sign, and the new town was built exactly where the eagle had shown. Tudere later became absorbed by the Romans in the 1st century BC, expelling the Etruscans from their new land, and the town became known as Todi.

Roman rule is still evident in many of Todi's architectural features, as are many of the town's Mediaeval buildings that were developed during the 13th century, such as The Piazza del Popolo, one of Italy 's most beautiful medieval squares, as well as the Palazzo del Capitano del Popolo. Todi's Duomo, the 12th century Cathedral of Santa Annunziata, which sits at one end of the square, was built on the ruins an ancient pagan temple, but was never been finished although additions were made over the centuries. The simple facade is approached by a broad sweep of stairs that lead up to magnificent wood carved doors. Looking back, the Duomo commands an impressive view over the sunny Piazza, which is where we enjoyed an early morning cappuccino and pastry at a lovely Gran Caffé Serrani — sweet compensation for making such an early start from Villa Boronia.

Breakfast at the Gran Caffé Serrani on Todi's Piazza del Popolo

Brioche alla Crema

Cappuccino

The statuesque sculpture of Giuseppe Garibaldi, the famous general, politician and nationalist who played a very large role in the unification of Italy

A Roman arch from Todi's illustrious past

Stone plaque to Vittorio Emanuele II on the Palazzo dei Priori on the south side of the Piazza del Popolo

Above the plaque is the big bronze eagle by Giovanni di Gilliaccio from 1347

The 11th-century Gothic Duomo

The Papal seal of Pius III who was head of the church when Todi was annexed into the Papal States in 1367

The spectacular double door entry of 1521 by Antonio Benicivenni from Mercatello

Detail of one of the panels of the door

Fresco of The Last Judgement (1594-99) by Ferrau Fenzoni with great rose window above added in 1513

The central aisle with high altar and apse with a crucifix painted on panel dating from the 13th-century

Chandelier with double headed eagle above the apse

Todi has no less than five patron saints, but her most famous spiritual resident wasn't a saint at all, he was a writer — Jacopo de' Benedetti, universally known as Jacopone da Todi. A prosperous merchant, Jacopone turned to God after the death of his devout wife, dedicated his life to a higher calling by serving others in the Franciscan Order of Spirituals. When he died in the 16th century, Bishop Angelo Cesi had Jacopone's relics preserved in the church of San Fortunato, high on the hilltop of Todi.

The Franciscan Church of San Fortunato which holds the remains of Jacapone da Todi

The Gothic central portal of the church with richly decorated spiralling pilasters with leaf and animal details plus depictions of saints and apostles

The interior with tall Gothic-style lancet windows and carved choir stalls from 1590 with intaglio by Antinio Maffei

The crypt of the tomb of the locally revered 13th-century poet and mystic Jacapone di Todi

The ornate Chapel of the Assumption by Andreas Polinari (1586-1648)

The bright interior of the Church was made even more inviting with choir music playing in the background through discrete speakers positioned on some of the columns

View over the valley as we came out of San Fortunato

Glorious view through one of Todi's hilltop walkways as wandered to Ristorante Umbria for lunch

A symbol of culinary excellence and custodian of the traditions of the real tuderte cuisine, Michelin-starred Ristorante Umbria is simply the finest restaurant in Todi, and the oldest. After visiting the Duomo and San Fortunate, we wandered through the steeply winding streets that lead to small hidden entrance of Ristorante Umbria. With reservations made months earlier, we had a beautiful table waiting on the gorgeous outdoor terrace with spectacular views over the Tiber valley. Started by Sabatino Todini and his wife Ida over 60 years ago on a small farm located on the site of the restaurant where they used to sell wine in bulk, the property was slowly transformed into the beautiful gastronomic paradise we enjoy today. With a menu highlighting regional recipes and traditional Tuderte cuisine, we enjoyed a glorious lunch of local delicacies with a bottle of dark and delicious Sagrantino di Montefalco by Lungarotti, Umbria's best known winery. Keeping with the moment, we finished with Ciambelline and Vin Santo, a sweet amber dessert wine known as the "wine of hospitality". Fortified with a sumptuous lunch and hot frothy macchiato, we wend our way back on the hairpin turns of SS448 through Parco Fluviale del Tevere towards Orvieto and then home to our villa for a nap before dinner — "la vita è bella".