By: Stella L. Harvey
Vineyards and olive groves stretch out for miles giving the landscape different hues of lush green and providing dark contrast to the golden fields of wheat. Poppies scattered in meadows as though their seeds were dropped carelessly add a red velvet tint. Medieval hilltop towns with ancient names and architecture hang in balance and look down from above as if to say we’ve been here for centuries and we’ll be here long after you’re gone. The colour of the stone structures is more a shade than an actual colour. Shadows of brown, black and gray contrast the clear light blue sky. And, just when you thought your eye couldn’t accept any further contrasts, bright, screaming yellow surprises as you come over the brow of a hill. Sunflowers. Fields and fields of sunflowers, their dazzling faces pointed like many a sunbather towards the warmth and light of the sun. This is Umbria – the region Italians call Cuore di Verde, the Green Heart of Italy.
Rich in history, Umbria is a short two-hour drive from the frenetic pace of Rome. Around the 8th century, the Umbrians, a peaceful farming tribe, settled the region. The Etruscans and the Romans followed suit and colonized Umbria. By the 13th century AD much of Umbria was scattered with independent city-states. It remained this way until Giuseppe Garibaldi brought Italy and its separate states together in 1860 (the only exceptions remaining today are San Marino in the Emilia Romagna region and the Vatican which has its own post office and government).
Today the old hill top towns of Umbria, which once provided protection from invaders, open their doors to a variety of sights and sounds, giving the visitor a glimpse into what life must have been like. Perugia, Gubbio, and Todi boast numerous Romanesque churches, civic palaces and medieval streets – and host a number of summer jazz and folk festivals. Spoleto, renowned for its summer arts festival has some of Italy’s oldest churches. Assisi, the birthplace of St. Francis, contains the Basilica di San Francesco (recently given a facelift) along with a number of other medieval churches.
The city has seen a great deal of restructuring since the 1997 earthquake that nearly destroyed it. Orvieto, situated on a volcanic crag, has a number of Etruscan remains and one of Italy’s finest Romanesque-Gothic cathedrals, as well as one of the nicest woodcraft studios in the region, Patris on Via Dei Magoni. And if churches and woodcraft aren’t your bag, you can visit vineyards in Torgiano and Montefalco, hike in Monti Sibillini in eastern Umbria, see the Cascate delle Marmore near Terni, (one of Europe’s highest waterfalls) or go shopping in Deruta for artigianato (Italian handicrafts) ceramics.
Further afield you can explore Civita di Bagnoreggio, la citta che muore, the city that is dying. This city sits on a hilltop, is accessible by foot and has 18 inhabitants. It is a dying city because the hill it sits on is crumbling and people have over time left it empty. You can get one of the best bruschette in the world here. Bruschette con Prodotti Locali is a tiny cave-like structure that looks more like a dugout bunker than a restaurant. It has a few tables and a fireplace at the end of the small room where the young woman who runs the place and lives just upstairs makes the bruschette, the only item besides wine on the menu.
There are a number of hotel options available in every price range in these Umbrian cities (even in Civita di Bagnoreggio) but to really experience the Italian culture, hospitality, and uniqueness I would suggest booking into an agriturismo. These establishments, generally located outside a town or city, are working farms that provide either apartments or bed and breakfast to travellers seeking accommodation for a night, several days, or several weeks. Breakfast is usually included in the deal and arrangements can be made for both lunch and dinner at an additional cost. The food and wine is usually produced on the farm or by a close family member who happens to be the local butcher or vineyard operator. But be wary; not all agriturismos are the same. Some are simply glorified hotels that happen to be in the countryside.
My own experience with an agriturismo, I’m happy to report, was excellent. Casale dei Frontini , located eight kilometres from Todi is centrally located to all there is to see and enjoy in Umbria. The word Casale means farmhouse and Frontini is the name of an ancient Roman family. Casale dei Frontini is a 17th century convent renovated into a tranquil country home with the same devotion it was originally built with more than 300 years ago. Today it is a successful working farm and country guesthouse open to all those who seek tranquility and simplicity. Owned and operated by Corrado Trippetta, his wife Silvana and their two sons, Michele and Gabriele, Casale dei Frontini boasts three apartments and five rooms with ensuite, beautifully furnished with antiques and objects typical of the Umbria region. In addition to the pool area that looks out over Todi, there is a bocce alley, a ping-pong table, and arrangements can be made for horseback riding and mountain biking.
Corrado and Silvana are the consummate hosts, giving good advice on things to see and do, checking how your day went and ensuring, like the good Italians they are, that you’re well fed at the beginning and end of each day.
A typical day begins with a breakfast of cappuccino and home made cakes. No bacon and eggs here. "First thing in the morning, eggs, impossible," Silvana says. "How can anyone eat like that?"
She leaves me wondering the same thing.
"And the coffee some people drink," she says and makes a funny face. "Aqua sporco."
This is her description of perked or filtered coffee – literally translated, dirty water . I assure her I don’t drink the stuff and never have. She gives me a reassuring look, the kind that only a good Italian mother can give. Then she sits down, talks about my plans for the day and makes suggestions. The other guests chime in with ideas of their own and pretty soon a pleasant hour has passed, looking at the scenery, talking to Silvana and the other guests, exchanging stories and laughing. I realize in moments like this that the here and now is the only thing that really counts.
After a day of exploring Assisi, Todi, Deruta or any one of the numerous sites nearby, it’s back to the Casale dei Frontini for a dip in the pool or a round of bocce. Dinner begins at 8:30 with appetizers, followed by pasta, followed by roast meat or sausage, followed by vegetables, fruit, and dessert. Wine throughout the meal and grappa or limoncello (two typical liquors) after the meal provide the finishing touches. All the products are farm-grown and Silvana takes pleasure in telling you what is in each dish and how to prepare her specialties.
"This mozzarella was made at 3 o’clock today. Can you taste how fresh it is?" she asks.
"Three o’clock today!" I exclaim. "Wow."
I want to tell her fresh for me is going to Nesters and buying cheese at 3 o’clock, but the words in Italian escape me. All the better since I’m sure the concept of having food trucked in from far away places like Mexico and California would escape her – thankfully.
Dinner slows down to a trickle of liquors and coffee around 10 p.m. but the night is young. Corrado has now finished feeding his cows, horses, and geese, and he and his friend, Bogdan (who operates the local design shop and makes clocks based on various erotic themes) have just finished dinner. Corrado stops at each table to ask if dinner was enjoyable and if all is well with his guests. Now is his time. He sits at a table on the porch, with Bogdan and Silvana to enjoy the night air and a cigarette. He invites his guests to join him at the table. When I give him my North American anti-smoking speech, Silvana agrees with me, but he coyly says, "I have no other vices. I need one, don’t I? I’m human after all."
And with that smile I’m disarmed. We discuss a number of different topics, from the state of the world to the quiet peacefulness of country living. From Italian politics to the problem with young people today – there are no sacred topics, just good discussion and people listening to each other, and to me even if I grammatically destroy the Italian language with each sentence.
Some nights Corrado turns out the outside lights so we can see the stars and the fire flies that look like mini Christmas lights strewn throughout the garden and fields making up the property of Casale dei Frontini. Other nights we have entertainment, including singing by Corrado, his brother and another friend who lives down the road. Whatever the event, Corrado, Silvana and their sons strive to make a guest feel comfortable in their home. They do it effortlessly. Customer service isn’t something these people have learned or taken training in, it’s something that comes naturally, something that comes from loving what they do.
The day ends around midnight. As I lay in bed listening to the sounds of crickets in the field, I know I’m in love. In love with these people, in love with this country, in love with Casale dei Frontini, in love with a culture that seems to know what’s important in life.
Casale dei Frontini enjoys a number of guests each year, mostly from April through the end of September. They are also very busy around the Christmas period. The April to June timeframe is a good time to go because the weather is mild (i.e., not too hot) and there are few tourists. September through November is also a good time for the same reasons. Most of the guests are Italians, or other Europeans. They’ve had guests from as far away as Japan and Australia but we were their first Canadian guests. I know we won’t be their last. If you go, tell them Stella from Canada sent you and have a glass of wine for me.
The rates for Casale dei Frontinis:
41 Euro in the low season to 67 Euro in the high season for a room with bath and breakfast; 36 Euro in the low season to 57 Euro in the high season per person for a room with bath, breakfast and dinner; Apartments rent for up to 109 Euro per night, including breakfast.
You can reach Casale dei Frontini either by telephone at 39-075-8852174 or by e-mail at casale.frontini@libero.it Or you can check out their Web site located at http://www.casaledeifrontini.it
Patris Wood can be reached by e-mail at bparris@tiscoinet.it or can be visited at Via dei Magoni, 11, Orvieto, Italy.
