Lombardy: towards North, towards the snow and the good wine ... Morbegno

During the first week-ends of October, Morbegno hosts a very well organized event: the old wineries of the town open their doors to public. It's called "Morbegno in Cantina" and it's a very good way to taste good wine that is produced with the grapes cultivated here near and the good plates!!!

 

Since you are going to drink a lot, be aware and reach the town by train directly from Monza or Milan: in two hours you can easily reach the city centre. Soon afterwards buy the ticket of one of the tours you prefer and then start tasting.....

Morbegno is a town in Lower Valtellina and it is found at the mouth of the Valgerola, at the point where the Bitto streams merges with the Adda. Its location has allowed a notable expansion thanks to commercial exchanges with Lake Como, Po Valley and Bergamo area.

I have been there for 3 times in the past years and tried always different routes: the first one, the one I preferred thanks to my friends Fabio and Cristina, was in Traona on a saturday afternoon... we were enjoying the atmosphere so much that we lost the last available bus to get back to the centre of Morbegno and, at night, we have had to walk about 3 hours!!! Please don't forget to coordinate your time... The second one was in the centre of Morbegno on a Friday night but it was not so funny and the latest and the most different was Gustosando: we ventured in the wineries of Dazio and Civo.

From the main square of Morbegno, every half an hour a bus leaves to take you to the first village where you can reach the oratory from where the tour is gonna starting.

Don't forget to take out your glass to be filled in by the host and the dish on which you will be served different typical plates.

The first one we tasted was the so called

LOW-FAT SOUP

Sincerely I don't know why it is so called, have a look at the ingredients with me:

1 stale loaf;

1 liter meat broth;

100g casera cheese;

50g Parmesan cheese;

1/2 onion;

butter.

Break the loaf into pieces and put them into a tureen, pour over it the boiling broth and add diced casera. Sprinkle over Parmesan cheese and finally add the onion that you have previuosly sliced and cooked in the butter.

Enjoy it!!

  

But if it is cold and you eat it with a good wine glass...it's delicious.

Then the tour goes on and following the directions you can find the other refreshment points and taste the different wines they propose and the different plates.

Another one I liked really very much was the Lasagnette with bresaola and casera cheese even if, at first sight, you cannot think they are very light! In this version of the lasagne you substitute the ragout with bechamel and diced bresaola and cheese.

I think that Morbegno in cantina is a very nice event that allows you to deeper know Valtellina and amaze your taste.

Lombardy: Do you know where to pick up capers in Milan?

It's 6.30pm - sunset: our tour is starting from the main courtyard of the Castle.

We meet our guide who will take us to discover the underground of the castle even if they are not under the ground but it sounds so interesting. I am not going to show you most of the pictures you can find on the web but I think that these can be quite more beautiful because taken from some spots where no everybody can enter!!!!

The visit starts from the upper part of the castle, from the Rivellino, a terrace from where you can have a view on the surroundings and the nearby Park. It has a square plant and was built in the middle of the moat; it was linked to the defence system of the city and to the undergraounds we are going to discover right now...
There are still a lot of inhabitants in this part: it's full of cats everywhere and this terrace is characterized by different types of plants that grow spontaneously here and there. One of the oddest plant are the capers, from Pantelleria...so strange but so true!
From here the tour is goona starting and we will go out to discover the covered route of the Garland, a route through protected tunnels that allowed soldiers to reach, even riding a horse, the outer defensive outspots or the nearby countryside.

It is possible to walk along the outer perimeter of the castle under the ground level of Sempione Park and to discover its architecture. Our route is enlighted by several windows that overlook the moat itself and that allow us to observe the outer walls of the castle.
We pass through several parts of the castle where there were dedicated rooms that during the II World War were transformed into hiding places for citizens and some of them have been destroyed because of the building of the underground.....it's something ashaming and that's the reason why you should not loose the opportunity of visiting these parts of the castle, at least before they may disappear!!!


If you are interested in such a tour, get in touch with http://www.adartem.it and you will discover how to organize the visit.

If you want to taste something very typical of Milan, just try:

RISOTTO ALLA MILANESE or YELLOW RICE
350g Arborio rice
1 sachet safran
150g Parmesan Cheese
1 onion
1lt broth
1 glass white wine
125g butter

Finely chop the onion, then melt 80g of butter paying attention not to make it fry.
Add the onion and let it fry, constantly stirring with a wooden spoon. Add the rice and toast it, pour the glass of wine and let it evaporate. Start adding some spoons of broth and let the rice adsorb it; as soon as it gets dry, add more broth. Repeat this operation until the rice is cooked, it should take 15-16 minutes, not longer.
During the last 5 minutes of cooking, melt the saffron in the broth and add it to the rice as previously, mixing carefully.
When rice has reached the right cooking, melt the remaining butter and the parmesan, mix everything together and enjoy it!

Lombardy: Mantova, deep into literature

I had never been to Mantova before even if it is just 2 hours far from Milan but I am sure that I will go back again...

In 2008, together with Sabbioneta, it has been acknowldeged,  an Unesco World Heritage Site and I think that it completly deserves it.

During this week-end we are staying at the camping that is just out of the hystorical centre, after "the bridge of the mills" that crosses what I thought to be the river Mincio but it is not true. This was one of the access to the countryside, together with the Saint George Bridge. Mantova is surrounded by four different lakes in which the Mincio flows: these are the "Lake di Mezzo", "Lake Superiore" (Superior Lake), the "Lake Inferiore" (Inferior lake) and the "Paiolo Lake". Since in the past, Mantova was an island, these lakes that surrounded the city rapresented the defence system of the town itself.

We leave our tents in the camping and we walk towards the centre and you can see its skyline, so well defined, from far away: the castle, the cathedral, the different towers..it's so lovely! You can enter the town from different points but all the net of streets will lead you in the heart.

During these days, there is such a beautiful atmosphere: there are a lot of  events to take part to and a swarm of people; here and there you can find something interesting: so many people that stroll around to find what they like most and if you are not only interested in literature don't forget that Mantua is the craddle of the Gonzaga family with a lot of beautiful places to see and, last but not least, the cuisine.

Its origins date back to the Etruscan even if it reached its grandeur with the "Signoria dei Gonzaga", whose splendor is preserved in the Palazzo Ducale, one of the most extensive Italian holds with more than 500 sections including halls, rooms, plazas, internal courtyards and gardens.

Unfortunately one of the place that, alone, is noteworthy the visit of Mantua is still closed because of the earthquake that affected the nearby region last year. During one of the conference I take part to, with a famous Italian writer, we are said that funds have just been financed and so "We cannot spend another Christmas without Camera Picta!, please spread out the news because we want they to re-open it!". This family attracted in Mantua a lot of important artists such as Pisanello, Leon Battista Alberti, Andrea Mantegna, Titian, Perugino, Rubens and Giulio Romano, one of Raphael's pupils who designed Palazzo Te, an extraordinary Renaissance villa that was built between 1525 and 1535.

But the city itself is full of beautiful porches, churches, balconies and facades that you can walk around looking around and observing its grandeur.

Moreover, you can delight also your taste with the typical cuisine that is a mixture of the Gonzagesh kitchen and the popular one, as a matter of fact it is called "the Kitchen of Princes and of the folk!"

The typical lunch starts with an appetizer made of exquisite salami and cold cuts, don't forget to taste the "salame mantovano". Among the first course you can find the risotto made with sausage and, the must are

TORTELLI DI ZUCCA

Ingredients (6 people):

For the dough:
400g flour 00
4 eggs
2 teaspoons olive oil
salt

For the filling
2kg sweet, mealy and raw pumpkin
100g amaretti cookies
100g parmesan cheese
Nutmeg
Salt
Pepper

Cut the pumpkin in great pieces and cook it in the oven. Once it is cooked, take it out from the oven and peel it. Pass the pulp into the masher till you get an homogeneous pulp. Add the crushed amarettis, the grated parmesan, the salt and the pepper. May the filling be too soft or wet (it depends on the pumpkin), just add some more cookies.
Now start preparing the pasta mixing together the flour, salt, eggs and oil. Roll out the dough in order to prepare some raviolis that don't have to be too small and let them rest one night long. The most has been done, cook them in abundant boiling water. Drain them and season them with melted butter and sage leaves, finally add some poppy seeds and enjoy them with some grated Parmesan Cheese...they are delicious but you must like sweet flavours....and I do!

Do you want to buy home made raviolis? Go to the Casa del Pane, in Via Verdi, 65 and you will find a lot of delicious plates to delight your palate.

Liguria: Sestri Levante

Sestri Levante is also known as the city with two seas since its hystorical centre overlooks two different bays: the one of Silence and the one of the Fairytales.

LIGURIA the closest sea for people living in the Northern regions of Italy: in 2 hours you can delight both your eyes with breathtaking landscapes overlooking the sea or your taste with fresh fish, focaccia or pesto... 

Hallmarks:

- Caròggi: very narrow and dark streets;

- Focaccia: one of the best produced in Italy; locals are used to      have it in the morning with milk and you can taste it in multiple variants;

- Pesto: sauce for pasta made of basil, oil and pine nuts;

- the succession of a plenty of little towns that overlook the sea and reflect their brightul colours in the water of the sea;

- Beaches, most of which with stoned instead of sand, but this is a warranty for clean water!!!

- Fishmongers' carts on which fresh fish is exposed for sale;

- The peaceful atmosphere of the streets that are full of tourist but that are not so chaotic as a seaside city should be in summer.

Sestri Levante is a little pearl of the coast and looks like a strip of land surrounded by the sea: Silence bay is very little and short and if you want to find enough place where to stay, it's much better to get there early in the morning so that you can also observe the dinghies that transport people from the land to spots nearby but that can be reached only by sea. This part of the town is charcaterized by these coloured houses that reflect themselves in the water of the sea where boats are moored. 

On the other side, opposite to this you can find the Bay of Fairytales where equipped beaches alternate themselves with free ones. Beach on this side is much longer and the seafront is characterized by authority buildings. 

The hystorical centre is located among the two bays and the isthmus and is characterized by soaring roofs, bell towers and the tower of Fascie Rosse Palais, that faces one of the main square. Every corner is full of flowers and bouganville, that is one of the most widespread flower of this region. 

Reach the seafront and look for Pelagica Pescaturismo, an organization that plans excursions aboard fishboats to let you experience the life of fishers and taste delicious food, freshly caught. 

For further information check www.pelagicapescaturismo.com/escursioni/

Don't leave this region without having tested:

PASTA COL PESTO


Ingredients:
Leaves of basil, 50g
Pinefruits, 15g
Parmesan Cheese or Pecorino, 100g
Salt, a pinch
Garlic, 2 pcs
ExtraVergin Oil, 100ml

Pasta, like Trofie or Bavette, 400g
Peeled potatoes

Prepare the sauce by mixing basil leaves, oil, salt, cheese, pinefruits, garlic together. It should be much better to use a mortar but, if you haven't got it, you can use an electric blender; may the sauce become darker, don't get afraid, it's something natural. In the meantime let water, where you have thrown in some pieces of potatoes, boil, salt it and cook pasta. As soon as it's ready, dress it with the sauce that you have previously tasted.

May you want to eat a delicious ice cream go to:
- Baciollo, Piazza Matteotti 55 - Sestri Levante;
May you want to buy some fresh made pasta or pesto go to:
- Pastificio Moderno, Via XXV Aprile, 58 - Sestri Levante.

Umbria: Orvieto

By approaching Orvieto you will notice that it stands on a cliff, a large mass of tufa rock that seems to be dued to a volcanic eruption of the big crater that now is filled in by the nearby Bolsena Lake.  The consistency of this rock is characterized by different textures and this allowed man to mould and modify it in order to create cavities and caves that are still visible. We reach the city along Viale Crispi that conveys in Saint Patrick square where you can leave the car and look around the town.

Quod natura munimento inviderat industria adiecit 

what nature stinted for provision, application has supplied

First stop: Saint Patrick's well... that allowed the transportation of water from the buttom of the valley up to the town, avoiding to pass on the only available way. It's more than 5o meters deep and with a diameter of 13 m, just 248 steps to reach the buttom and to restore breathing the fresh air.
Access is granted by a system of two one-way helical stairs: you enter from one door and you exit from the opposite one ... if you get out ... since the name was inspired  by medieval Irish legend according to which Saint Patrick's purgatory in Ireland gave access to Purgatory.
All around this site you can enjoy of the beautiful view on the valley and Albornoz Fortress.
Walk along Corso Cavour and you will find yourself in the historical centre; follow the touristic route and reach the square of the Dom: an authentic Gothic masterpiece. Because of its position it conveys the idea of dominating the entire city and the valley: you can see it from far away, while reaching the town. The facade is characterized by very beautiful mosaics and with a large rose window that enlights the interiors where two chapels and important paintings - among which some from the Judgment Day - are still preserved.
Next to the Cathedral you can visit also the Palace of the Popes that was built at the end of the XIII century when the Popes moved to Orvieto to escape conflicts in Rome.

In the same square of the Cathedral you can enter a labyrinth of grottoes, hidden in the silent darkness of the rock and where you will find out something marvellous...
Discover it at: www.orvietounderground.it
I just tell you that one of the most famous dish of Orvieto is the pigeon and after having visited the underground it will be easier for you to understand why.

Orvieto, as many other Umbrian town, is beautiful to observe in every details a great city has to offer. 

Don't miss it!!!

Umbria: One morning at La Scarzuola

At the Scarzuola, when someone points out that it was not built in accordance with franciscan rules, I answer saying "of course it isn't, it rapresents the whole world, my own world, the one in which I had the fortune to live and work in, the Worlds of Art, Culture, Mondanity, Elegance, Pleasures (vices, wealth and powers included) where I made room for my oasis of meditation, study, work, music and silence, Grandeurs and Poverty, of social and hermit life, of contemplation in solitude. It's my Realm of Fantasy, Fairytales, Myths, Echoes and Reflections out of the time and space because all of you can find the own echoes from the past and some notes for the future"... Tomaso Buzzi

It's an experience everybody should make and even if it is out of the most well known tourist routes and very few people know it, please visit this place that ... will astonish you!

This is a Franciscan convent that dates back to 1218 when St. Francis of Assisi planted here a but of bay and roses. Scarzuola derives its name from Scarza, a marsh plant the Saint used to build himself a shelter with. We started our guided tour in the Church where an earlt 18th century fresco depicting the Saint in levitation is still preserved.

In 1956, the convent complex was acquired by the Milanese architect Tomaso Buzzi and, between 1958 and 1978, he planned and erected his own "Ideal City" conceived as a theatrical machine.

This city inclueds 7 different theatres and culminates in the upper part called Acropolis, a piled-up wealth of buildings comprising numerous archetypes, empty inside and provided with as many compartments as a termites' nest, that provides many surprising vistas.

An iniziatic relationship is thus estabilished between the Convent that rapresents the Sacred City and the theatres that stand for the profane one; both laden with symbols and screts, references and quotations.

The source of inspiration for this place and its building was Francesco Colonna's "Hypnerotomachia Polyphili" and the prevailing style is neo-mannerism: stairs used in all directions, the deliberate disproportion of some parts, a few monsters, the heaping together of building and monuments, amounting to surrealism, something of the labyrinth, something evocative, geometric, astronomic, magic.

But, apart for the place and its architecture, also the owner of this place, the nephew of the ancient architect will leave you stunned... but I don't want to spoil you the surprise.

Book your visit at least one day before calling +390763837463 - www.lascarzuola.com

After the visit you can enjoy one of the most breathtaking views: you are surrounded by green hills and not far away from Scarzuole we found a little bar with a terrace and so we enjoyed our chopping board of cold cuts and cheeses ... delicious.

Emilia Romagna: The Riviera Romagnola

In the summer there is a place where Italians like spending a week-end, a week or the whole holiday because it provides you with all the services you may need even if the sea is not very beautiful and clean. 

It's nice to visit this part of Italy during the first week-end of July when everything gets PINK!!!

LA NOTTE ROSA, it is called and Rimini, Riccione, Milano Marittima, Cervia, Cesenatico, Bellaria, Cattolica, Milano and Gabicce transform themselves... It's just one night during which a lot of events of whatever type are going to be organized, beach parties, concerts, music everywhere....

But during the day, these beaches are very well furnished: they have very well-functioning bathhouses that provide visitors with umbrellas, deckchairs, swimming pools, bars, games for the children, entertainment,....so on and so forth.

You just have to choose the one you prefer. I visited both Cesenatico and Riccione on this occasion but, of course Riccione is the destination for the youngest, Cesenatico is much better for families and children.

Days pass by beach life while during the night you can choose between a lot of alternatives, depending on your own needs.

The most common thing is to go and walk several times along the main street of the town that is full of shops, bars and attractions for the children.

Cesenatico is very little and towards north-west, it ends with the little harbour from where many fishing boats leave every night for the fishing of the certified mussels this town has become famous for.

It's really very nice to walk and to eat something along this little river that leads to the open sea and is characterized by little coloured houses, very pretty bar and restaurants and the sea atmosphere. Here you can find a lot of places where to taste the best Piadina. Do you know what it is?



PIADINA ROMAGNOLA
500g flour
1 little cup of olive oil
2 teaspoons of salt
a pinch of baking powder for salted cake
1 glass water

Work all the ingredients together until you get a smooth dough and then start rolling it out but without using more flour and cut out some circles with the circumference you prefer.
Cook them in a non-stick pan until it start getting a little bit boloured.
You can fill it with whatever you prefer: cheese, ham, sausages, tomatoes, salad,....

Not so far from Cesenatico, just 10 km northwards, you can visit Cervia also known as the City of the white gold, an ancient production that goes back to 1274 when salt was firstly produced in Cervia and then sent out to Venice from where it was shipped all over the world.
A very nice shop where to buy typical products: "Gust'appunto", Corso Garibaldi 51 - Cesenatico www.gustappunto.com

This salt is known as Sweet Integral Salt which preserves its salting quality because it is not artificially treated and keeps its natural humidity and all the elements the sea water is rich of.
So, before leaving this part of Italy, remember to go and visit the ancient plant of production of salt.

Umbria: in the South

From Spoleto we said that we can pass by very beautiful landscapes that convey relax, quiet and peace...

Terni is a big city, not so big Like Milan or Rome but in comparison with such beautiful villages, suburbs here around, it's the so called big city. It's famous all over the world because of the presence of the Thyssenkrupp steel mills and probably it's much better to have a stop here for the spots around than for the city itself, even if the centre is really very pretty. But Terni itself is the homeland of Saint Valentine that is known all over the world as the protector of the lovers and, here, every year on the week end of 14th February, great festivities are held. Since it was acknowledged as an indipendent district, beautiful and important buildings were built: Palazzo Spada, the Bank of Italy, the Government Palais. Because of the presence of the steel mills, here and there you can find a lot of steel monuments, as for example, The Press in front of the train station or the Light lance that was designed by Arnaldo Pomodoro and rapresents on one hand the technological achievements and on the other hand the warnings towards them.

The city skyline is really very high and massive characterized by very high buildings that were built to host the workers of the near factories.

So Terni is completly different from the Northern part of this region and takes the shape of the biggest cities of the border region.

But this district comprehends also beautiful natural spots: the valley along the Nera river, Piediluco Lake, Carsulae and San Gemini that are all noteworthy.
If you want to spend a nice morning and maybe going picnic somewhere follow the directions to Carsulae, an ancient archaelogical site that dates back to 300BC even if its development was dued to the building of Via Flaminia that passed nearby and Carsulae became a rest stop and watering place for travelers, traders and soldiers. During the age of Augustus, it became an ancient municipium and major works were built such as the amphitheatre, most of the forum and the marble arch of Trajan. During its golden age Carsulae, supported by agricultural activity in the surroundings, was prosperous and wealthy and because of its bucolic setting it became destination of the Roman middle class. Not far from here you can visit San Gemini, that is in the list of one of the most beautiful Italian villages. It was an important linking point to the city of Rome and it became an important artistical, cultural and religious centre. As a matter of fact you can find some noteworthy churches and buildings. San Gemini is also well known for its water springs and you can spend a relaxing afternoon in the Park of the thermal mineral water surrounded by the Mediterranean spot where there is a health spa. 

Next stop: a place you must see if you are in this part of the region, quite unknown but something so single that is a must! See you then....

Rome is Vatican Museums and not only

Every last sunday of the month the entrance is free so the queue is much longer, please take note of this and try to get there as soon as possible in the morning because the last admission to the Sistin Chapel is at 1.30p.m. and if you don't get there on time, you run the risk not to see it and it is not allowable.

We booked the guided tour with a cultural association that was really very satisfactory.

Vatican Museum means a circuit that is 7km long and that requires at least 2 or 3 hours for visiting.
After security controls, we reach the main entrance where white marble is the dominant material that surrounds us. We start our visit with the picture gallery: all the pictures that are preserved here were taken from the rooms of the Pope buildings and are proposed in a chronological way. There are a lot of holy pictures of some of the most important artists of the past Giotto, Raphael, Tiziano, Leonardo da Vinci, Caravaggio...
One of the biggest room contains huge tapestries of Raphael that had to be put in the Sistin Chapel. 
From the windows and all around we can admire the accuracy of the gardens, the austerity of the buildings. We reach the so called "Courtyard of the pine cone", that dues its name to the presence, in the middle, of a bronze  fountain with the shape of a pine cone that was taken from the Pigna district. In front of this idle fountain, on the opposite site, there is a sculpture of Arnaldo Pomodoro called "Sphere in the Sphere".

 The visit will take you in some of the most important rooms, hallways and galleries of the building where you will have the possibility of admiring such a plenty of art of works that you will be amazed of:

- Gallery of tapestries and geographical maps;
- Raphael's rooms;
- Borgias' apartment;
... to emerge in the Sistin Chapel, where the elections of the Pope take place and where you can look at some of the most important masterpieces of Italian art.

After having observed all these works in its grandeur, we decide to leave this part of the Vatican city to try to go up to the dome of the Saint Peter Cathedral, painted by Michelangelo. It is one of the biggest example of masonry covering ever built and it conveys to the whole church the height of 130 meters. It was built in correspondence of the intersection of the main nave and the transept. Under this, in the inner part of the Cathedral, Bernini's baldachin stands. The interiors of the church are so big, so majestic and full of surprises that the whole visit could take you some hours. One of the most impressive sculpture still preserved, is "The pity" by Michelangelo that you can admire, just entered the Church, on the right.
It's getting late and our stomachs are asking for pity, so we decide to reach Trastevere, full of nice restaurants and bars. There is such a wide choice even if you have to pay attention not to be captured by traps for tourists and the choice is hard!!!
It's really very nice to walk here around, to observe street artists painting, making bubbles, playing instruments and all this conveys an idea of..magic.
We sit for lunch and we order

PASTA ALLA CARBONARA
Ingredients:
350g spaghetti
4 red eggs
100g pecorino cheese
150g bacon
salt
pepper

Dice bacon and pour it in a pan and cook it for a while until its fat has melted. In a bowl apart, beat eggs and add cheese and pepper and finally the bacon.
In the meantime boil pasta in hot salted  (don't use too much salt because the dressing is already very tasty) water for the cooking time indicated on the box. Drain it and pour it in the bowl. Mix everything up and enjoiy it. May you prefer, you can add other cheese.
Soon after lunch we pass the Tevere and we stop on the bridge to observe the Tiberina island and we reach Piazza Argentina: in Rome wherever you go, you can run across ruins from the past and also this square extends itself around ancient ones. 
From here, you can reach both the Altar of the Homeland or, as we prefer, the Pantheon.  This monument dates back to the II century A.D. thanks to Emperor Adriano and it was built as a temple dedicated to the Gods of Olympus. The structure of this monument is really trustworthy: both the interiors and the outer part were decorated in a very precise way. On the side of the Pantheon you can taste a delicious ice cream at Cremeria Monteforte and savor it while walking around and reaching Piazza Navona....
This is Rome: a plenty of wonderful places where to taste the past at every single step.

Rome: a week-end in the Capital

"The Colossaeum or amphitheatre built by Flavius Vespasian, is the most stupendous work of the kind which antiquity can produce", "Travels through France and Italy" T. Smallet 1765

Rome is an endless source of pleasures, wonderful views ... of whatever might impress your mind. It's beautiful even just to stroll out between streets, traffic, people and...the past that is still here and well preserved. Wherever you go, you can find something that will catch your attention. Rome, is full of Churches: I was walking downhill towards Via Cavour and my attention was caught by a wall completely green with an arched door, completly blue, the blue of the sky. I climbed up the stairs and found out, on a square the Church of San Pietro in Vincoli... but wherever you go you can find plenty of cathedrals, churches, and if you go in, you can find nothing but a big surprise.
I go on and reach Via dei Fori Imperiali:  all this area, that was built on the Palatine, Quirinal and Capitoline Hills where the first settlements date back to the 2nd millennium B.C.,  is full of ruins of the ancient administrative-political centre of the town called Forum. To walk among all this ruins is something magical and to think how long they have been here and how they have been built and they have survived up to now. Have a look at the Forum of Caesar, Trajan and Nerva...the ancient market, the temple and also some examples of ancient domus (homes). 

This area is surrounded by a lot of important monuments: first of all the Colosseum the Anphiteatrum Flavium, built in the 72 A.D. by the Emperor Vespasiano. This was the scenery for gladiators fightings and exhibitions and it has preserved its grandeur and its majesty. Nowadays it is still possible to visit it and its interior spaces and from the arches it offers beautiful gashes of Rome. It is a monument to itself and to the human intelligence that has survived the passing of time. I run through Via dei Fori again to reach Piazza Venezia where the Altare della Patria (Altar of the Fatherland) previously known as Vittoriano stands.

This monument was built in honour of the King Vittorio Emanuele at the beginning of the XX century to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the Italian Freedom. At the end of the I World War, inside, the tomb of the unkown soldier was built and so the complex is better know as Altare della Patria.  

For lunch, I decide to go to Monti district that is not far away from here and is full of very good trattorias and wine bars where to taste some of the best Roman dishes... 

I stopped at "Ai tre scalini" in Via Panisperna, 251 - http://colosseoorg.wix.com/aitrescalini/home and order something with cacio, that is a typical cheese of the region and a good glass of wine!

CARCIOFI ALLA ROMANA

Ingredients:
10 artichokes;
2 cloves of garlic;
oil (as much as you like);
some parsley;
some leaves of mint;
1 lemon.

Take away the outer and harder leaves of the artichokes, cut the stems and put them apart. 

Put the hearts of the artichokes in cold water with slices of lemon for one hour and let them rest.

In the meantime, prepare a mix of garlic, oil, parsley and some leaves of mint and of the middle of the stems that you should have already peeled.

Then take the artichokes and start opening them from the outer so that you can pour some of the mix in them, between leaves. 

Put them in a casserole upward, where you have put some water and oil, cover it with the cap and let them cook for an hour.

Just serve them ...enjoy your meal!!!

Umbria: along Via Francigena from Monteluco to Marmore Falls

Spoleto can be considered a good starting point from where to explore the plenty of beautiful places all around.

In the morning, our destination is Monteluco: the name is composed of Mount +  Latin word lucus that stands for Sacred Woods for Jupiter to witness the religious importance of  this place since ancient times. At the entrance of this wood you can find an inscription that is a typical example of wood standards to prevent desecration of holy sites.

Here you can find an ancient monastery that has been handed down from different orders of monks. At the beginning of the XIII century, Saint Franciscus estabilished the Chapel of Santa Caterina. 

This destination is very nice for picnicking and for doing a nice walk in the wood of evergreen holm oaks that is so atypical of places far from the seaside. By walking you can meet also a lot of hermitages and caves, among which the one of Saint Antonio from Padova. 

From the side of the wood and the monastery you can admire the whole valley that Saint Franciscus remembered as a mosaic of cultivalted Spoleto fields "Nil Iucundus vidi valle mea spoletana".

There are some bars and a very wide lawn on which to lay down to observe the blue sky and, why not, eat something! Italy is known all over the world and wherever you go, you will be offered "Anything to eat?!"

BRUSCHETTA 

It's something really very simple. Bread in this part of the region is unsalted because it is said that under the Pope, salt had to be bought directly from the Church even if it was much more expensive. Citizens were forbidden to go on buying salt from their habitual supplier and so they decided to stop using it and the tradition is still preserved.  

Going southwards, from Spoleto you can find a little village called Strettura where a special bread is produced using the crystal clear water of the near springs and cooked in bricked ovens fueled by scented wood of the Mediterranean area.  The result? A very long shaped loaf of bread...deliciuos.

Ingredients:

Some slices of bread;

Garlic;

Extra virgin oil.

Cut the bread in slices and toast them on the fire. Rub a clove of garlic on the surface, add oil and if you cannot do without it, some salt.

Otherwise you can dice some tomatoes and season them with oil, salt and oregano. Pour them with a little bit of the sauce on the toasted slice of bread.

The next stop is the southern part of the region, we want to reach the Marmore Falls and it would be nice to follow the Via Francigena* that is very well signalized. Otherwise you can go by car and admire landscape always beautiful and relaxing. I think that one of the deepest feeling that these natural spots convey to me is peace and serenity... the green hills that silhoutte themselves against a blue sky is something so ... enchanting!!!
By the main road you can admire little towns perched on the hills, a river flowing nearby...
There are a lot of beautiful spots with Medieval characteristics to stop by: the ancient abandoned Umbriano that can be reached walking through the wood; Scheggino with its medieval church or Ferentillo with its Museum of mummies, that were discovered in the crypt of the ancient church. The last one is in the district of Terni, in the so called Valnerina, that is the valley of the Nera river that divides the town in two parts. This river originates from Sibillini Mountains and crosses this part of the region to flow in the Tevere, by Orte.
This area is really very green and naturalistic and here you can find also associations that can let you discover the beauties of nature from another point of view: from the water. 
We reach Marmore and the Marmore Falls: a men-made water fall created by the Romans that appear like a roaming water column distributed on 3 drops in a 165 meters high game. It has been considered one of the greatest phaenomena of nature and it has attracted a lot of intellectuals along the routes of their Grand Tour in the past centuries and streams of tourists nowadays. The right time to get here is when the falls are opened in order to attend to the release of the water. For further information, have a look at their home site: http://www.marmorefalls.it/indexen_GB.php

*This is a part of the ancient path that from Perugia takes you to the Piediluco lake passing by Assisi, Spello, Foligno, Trevi, Ferentillo and Arrone.

Umbria: to get up surrounded by green hills...

For breakfast you cannot renounce to one o the delighs of Italian pastry... Go to Tebro in Via Minervio, 1 or to Zampolini, Viale Trento e Trieste, 24 to taste one of the best maritozzo of the town... It seems to be so big but never mind it will finish in a hurry.

After having restored yourself with so many calories you can face the ascent to the fortress, La Rocca. Our tour today is downhill but we must start from the upper part of the town: Sant'Elia hill. The building goes back to the XIV century when the Pope, who lived in Avignon, wanted to build some mansions in the lands belonging to the Church. Later it became the residence also for the Lords of the town and its walls were painted with many frescoes. Nowadays you can visit the interior even if you won't find them completly preserved since in the XIX century it became a prison and most of the decorations were covered. After going out of the fortress you must make a tour around it. The locals are used at doing it very often and it's so nice because from here you can see the whole town, and you can reach the entrance of the Tower Bridge that you can cross. After this you can start your descent, you will cross a little park and you will and take the street downhill.

On your right you will see a difference in level that will lead you to the Dom of Spoleto also known as Cathedral oh the Holy Mary. It's a typical example of Romanic architecture built in the XII century, apart for the Renaissance porch and the interiors. Inside you can admire some masterpieces from Pinturicchio and Bernini. After going out, turn right and get off the stairs, follow the street and you will reach the Church and Cloister of San Nicolò that in the past were acknowledged as one of the most important Italian cultural centres.
Spoleto is known all over the world for the 

Festival of the Two Worlds (www.festivaldispoleto.com), an international musical, artistic and cultural show that attracts visitors from all over the world. It takes place every year in the second half of June and lasts  3 weeks. One of the most famous event is the final concert held on Dom Square.
Spoleto is the right location because you can find a lot of theatres and places where artists can perform. Hereafter, you can find some exapmles:
- The Roman theatre we visited yesterday: the right location for ballet;
- Theatre Caio Melisso that is located next to the Dom: for prose performances;
- The courtyard of the fortress: for concerts;
- The New Theatre, the biggest Italian Style theatre in Umbria, dedicated to the patron of the Festival, Giancarlo Menotti. The interior of this theatre and the private rooms are something astonishing.

You can relax here and there and find out beautiful spots where to rest and to absorb the peace that this place can offer you.
Moreover you can taste in all trattorias the typical products this land can offer you.

OMELETTE WITH ASPARAGUS
Ingredients:
2 eggs for each person;
a bunch of asparagus;
garlic;
chilli pepper;
oil.
Fry the garlic with the oil in a pan and add the chilli. In the meantime you will have washed and cut in pieces the asparagus; pour them in the fry, add some water until the vegetables are cooked. Pour the beaten eggs in the pan and cook the omelett until both sides are golden.