Monthly Archives: February 2013

Ascoli Piceno – Le Marche

25 Monday Feb 2013

Posted by in Ascoli Piceno, Castelraimondo, Italy on Budget, Language Schools, Monti Sibillini - Sibillini Mountains, Pievebovigliana, Rent a house in Italy, The Road Trip

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I have visited Ascoli Piceno twice.  The first time was on the road trip with Liane after we left the school in Castelraimondo.

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Ascoli Piceno is a town and a commune in Le Marche region of Italy.

The town lies at the confluence of the Tronto River and the small river Castellano and is surrounded on three sides by mountains. Two natural parks border the town, one on the northwestern flank Parco Nazionale dei Monti Sibillini and the other on the southern  Parco Nazionale dei Monti della Laga.

Piazza del Popolo

We stopped for coffee in Piazza del Popolo (“Square of the People”) . Piazza del Popolo is considered to be one of the most beautiful in Italy. It is a pleasure to sit in one of the many cafes around the square and people watch.

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The central historical part of the city is built in marble called travertine,  a grey-hued stone extracted from the surrounding mountains.

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Ascoli has good rail connections to the Adriatic coast and the city of San Benedetto del Tronto, by highway to Porto d’Ascoli and by the Italian National Road 4 Salaria  to Rome.

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Everything inside the fortified town can be reached on foot.  There is a tourist office on the ground floor of the Palazzo dei capitani in the Piazza del Popolo where they will explain to you where to walk to and what to see.

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One year later, while staying  in the house in Pievebovigliana, our friends Malcolm and Maureen took us to Caldorola, Sarnano, Amondola and then Ascoli Piceno. We arrived in time for an hour or so of exploring and then lunch at the Café Vittoria where I enjoyed the most superb salmon pasta.

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Then for some more exploring till early evening before driving back to Sarnano.

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Ascoli Piceno is a small town, well worth seeing as it is lovely! We had a great time here,  we enjoyed the magic of the place and the architecture is amazing.  There are many chic restaurants and cafes.

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Truffle “Tartufi” Hunting – Pievebovigliana

18 Monday Feb 2013

Posted by in Language Schools, Pievebovigliana, Rent a house in Italy, Truffle Hunting

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 While staying at the house we actually went truffle hunting .

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We were just leaving to go out early one evening when Mario, the local truffle hunter, arrived with his 3 dogs

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We dropped everything and joined them running through the woods.

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Those dogs were just amazing how quickly they found the truffles. It was important that  Mario took the truffles from the dogs immediately before they enjoyed eating them.  They were so excited

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In the world of gourmet foods, there is one treasure that is literally and figuratively worth its weight in gold. Truffles, usually too expensive for most consumers

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What are Truffles?

All types of truffles are related to mushrooms but unlike mushrooms, truffles never emerge from the surface. Instead truffles are formed below the soil close to a tree’s root system, truffles are the “fruit” of another fungus/tree relationship. The fungus that makes truffles can only survive in certain soil conditions such as those created in stands of oak, willow and linden trees. Once attached to a root, the fungus will produce one truffle per year, with each type of tree lending a distinctive aroma and flavour to the truffle.

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Italian Truffles

Truffle hunting with Mario and the 3 dogs – One of the most fun things I have done.

Later we prepared a pasta dish using these delicacies.

Spaghetti with truffle

10 minutes preparation + 12 minutes cooking Servings 4

Ingredients

  • 3 oz black truffle
  • clove of garlic
  • 1 salted anchovy
  • Extra virgin olive oil
  • Fresh basil leaves
  • Spaghetti

Clean the truffle by brushing it carefully.  Slice then put it into the oil with some basil leaves.
In a pan with little oil sauté the garlic.  Add the desalted chopped anchovy and allow to dissolve. Remove the garlic and add a ladle of pasta cooking liquid.

In a large casserole, cook the pasta in boiling salted water.  Drain the spaghetti while still “al dente”. Toss in the anchovy sauce and then add a little of the truffle crushed in oil. Flavor with the basil, sprinkle with a little oil and decorate with slivers of black truffle and fresh basil.

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ps I apologise for the quality of some on these photos, but the actual hunting was so so fast.

Monti Sibillini – Sibillini Mountains

11 Monday Feb 2013

Posted by in Ancona, Monti Sibillini - Sibillini Mountains

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While staying in Pievebovigliana, our friends took us to the Sibillini Mountains National Park – Parco Nazionale dei MontiSibillini

Sibillini Mountains taken from Camerino

Sibillini Mountains taken from Camerino

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Monti Sibillini are a mountain group and are part of the central Apennines, situated between eastern Umbria and Le Marche encompassing the provinces of Macerata, Fermo, Ascoli Piceno and Perugia

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The area is paradise for anyone interested in outdoor activities and wildlife. Walking trails crisscross the area. Rifugi (mountain huts) welcome hikers every few kilometres with a restaurant and a warm bed (most open summer only; maps are available at local tourist offices).

There’s a good driving-circle around the mountains, which you can easily reach from Norcia (in Umbria) or Ascoli Piceno, Macerata or Ancona.

Cascia

Our first stop was Cascia where we visited the beautiful Shrine to Santa Rita.

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Then it was coffee and some shopping in some of the many stores offering gifts, souvenirs, clothes, foods and much much more. DSCF1926-1

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Then we drove to Rocco Piceno, where we walked up to the church at the top of the mountain.

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We then drove on to Norcia, simply gorgeous. You could easily spend a full day or stay over in Norcia.

We ate the best pasta in one of the many restaurants.

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Then watched Medieval festivities in the main piazza.

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Norcia is known for its air and scenery, and is a base for mountaineering and hiking. It is also widely known for hunting, especially of the wild boar (cinghiale), and for sausages and ham made from wild boar and pork, to the point that Norcia has given its name to such products: in Italian, norcineria.

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From there we drove over more mountains to Castellucio. A very quaint village needing a little attention.

Trees planted specially in the shape of Italy & Sardengna

On the way, Trees planted specially in the shape of Italy & Sardengna

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Then we returned to Varnelli’s bar for a wine or gelato to recap the great day that we all had.

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Pievebovigliana – Renting a house in Italy

04 Monday Feb 2013

Posted by in Castelraimondo, Pievebovigliana, Rent a house in Italy

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Since my last post on Pievebovigliana I have been asked –

Where is Pievebovigliana.

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Pievebovigliana is located about 70km southwest of Ancona which is on the Adriatic Coast, and about 40km southwest of Macerata.

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We visited  Macerata many times, both when we were staying in Pieve and when we were going to school in Castelraimondo.  We took the train from Castelraimondo and drove from Pieve to Macerata.

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Pievebovigliana is between the towns of Camerino, Caldarola, Cessapalombo and Fiastra.  It is formed of a number of small hamlets, and lies in the very picturesque valley of the Fornace stream.

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There are forests of chestnuts and oak trees in the area around the hamlet called “Isola”, a pinewood at Quartignano and at Boccafornace a Karst spring originating a spectacular lake. The territory has an age-old, still lively traditions of cloth-making on hand-looms, wood carving and honey production.

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To arrive in Pievebovigliana, we took the train from Roma Termini to Foligno  railway station where we were met by our friend Malcolm who drove us to the house in Pievebovigliana.  It was only a 2 hour train trip from Rome.

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On the way from Foligno to the house we stopped at a restaurant in a little village for a prosecco and pizza. Very pleasant.  This is when I was introduced to my favourite pizza. Quattro stagione – 4 seasons

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There are many versions of this compartmentalized pizza, since local ingredients are used.  But, all reflect the ingredients one can find fresh in each of the four seasons.  Spring features artichoke hearts and Fontina cheese. Summer has tomato, basil and mozzarella cheese.  Look for the colours of autumn in mushrooms and red peppers and in winter it is traditionally with onion and potato.

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