Italian Culinary Adventure 2003 ~ Day Five ~ Umbria

View Of Umbrian Countryside Seen From Spello

Once again we were on the road quite early since our plans included visiting a few of the towns in neighboring Umbria on day five of our trip. We didn't have any set plans apart from starting in Spello, as I hadn't been completely sure how long the drive would be from Asciano to Umbria. I had thought that we should simply see how we were doing for time as the day progressed, and decide what we wanted to do from one point to the next. Umbria has always been one of my favorite regions in Italy, and although I was disappointed that I would only have one day there on this trip, I was determined to make the most of it!

The towns in southern Umbria, including Spello, Spoletto, Todi and Assisi to name just a few, are small enough that by simply wandering through each for a few hours you get a good feeling for what they are about. Although they do not have the vast wealth of art or architecture you will find in such cities as Florence, Venice or Rome, they are quite charming, and in fact have lots to offer if you take the time to look. Although Assisi and Perugia tend to be a little more crowded, most of the other Umbrian cities and towns are still all but undiscovered by tourists, and you can experience them nicely without having to push your way through masses of tour groups, or to wait in long lines to get into every church or museum. Apart from its scenic beauty, and its unspoiled tranquility, one of my favorite things about Umbria is its food. There is nothing fancy or foreign to Umbrian cuisine. Rather it is generally quite hearty and straightforward, focusing on the areas local specialties such as truffles, olive oil, and pecorino cheese.

We arrived in Spello mid morning, and started to meander through the sleepy town up and down its steep streets. The first written records of Spello, one of Umbria's most picturesque and unspoiled hill towns, date back to the year 40 B.C. It was very quiet in Spello that morning, and we actually only came across a few people the entire time we were there. We found a bar in one of the larger piazzas, and enjoyed our daily cappuccino with a local pastry. We then worked our way up to the top of Spello, admiring the medieval alleyways and narrow streets which were surprisingly immaculately kept. Flowers cascaded out of window boxes from almost every home, splashing the beige and pink toned rocky walls with a vibrant flash of color everywhere you looked. The following week, Spello would be holding its special flower festival, where huge canvases would be "painted" with flower petals of every color creating intricate designs. The festival, called Corpus Domini Flower Scenes, is held on Corpus Christi day, normally 40 days after Easter. I had hoped to be in Spello at that time this year, but unfortunately our plans did not allow that.

High at the top of Spello which is built on the side of Mt. Subasio, you can look out across the countryside and admire the patchwork of fields and farmhouses. We took a break up there, and sat for a bit under shady trees, taking in all the landscape before us. It was soon time to head back down, and we wove our way through the narrow streets, stopping in to browse through a few shops including one gallery selling artwork by Norberto, an Umbrian artist I have long admired. We finally arrived at the car park, and we all piled in to drive to our next destination which we decided would be Spoletto, a walled city built on a slanting hillside. Our plans that day included dinner at a seafood restaurant recommended to us by our hosts, so we decided a light lunch of pasta and salad would be in order. Since it was already past 1pm when we arrive in Spoleto, we felt we had better find the restaurant before exploring the city. We had chose Pecchiarda, a restaurant where we had read the Spoletini go to eat located just on the outside of the city. The restaurant was barely marked, but once we finally found it we were seated at a table in their pretty outdoor garden, and informed of that day's specials. Our choices that day for lunch were varied, including Stringozzi alla Tartufo, a fresh, tasty pasta dish simply sauced with oil and shaved truffles, Tagliatelle alla Ragu, which was a rich, hearty dish full of flavor, and Gnocchi Ripieno, which was ordered by two others, and was presented as good sized pillows of homemade potato gnocchi stuffed with ricotta cheese and topped with a nice tomato sauce. I chose Agnoletti, which were small, round pasta shapes stuffed with veal, and topped with an amazing browned butter and onion sauce. We each had a mixed salad to accompany our pasta dishes, and after lunch we headed out to explore the city.

Spoleto all but closes down in the afternoons for the traditional "siesta", so we seemed to have the city all to ourselves as we explored. We walked up into the older area, winding through more narrow streets, many with steps cut into the stone. Like most Umbrian cities, Spoleto is best explored by foot, but the steep steps do make traveling with an infant in a buggy quite exhausting! As it was soon getting on towards late afternoon, and we had one more stop to make before we headed back to Asciano, we decided we had better depart from Spoleto and get back on the road to Deruta which was a fair distance away.

What visit to southern Umbria would be complete without a stop in Deruta to buy ceramics? A 14-century medieval hill town, Deruta has become famous for it's ceramic craftsmanship since the 16th century. Once we arrived, we visited a few of the shops in the newer part of town before heading over to the larger factory stores on the other side of the highway. We had planned on buying a small ceramic table for our garden, so we looked through all of the choices before picking one painted with a typical pattern famous in Deruta. The rest of the group also purchased a few things, and we then made arrangements to have everything shipped back home.

It was then late afternoon, and time to head back towards Asciano. The traffic was heavier than it had been that morning, so we didn't arrive back at the farmhouse until after 7pm. We all relaxed a bit, showered and changed, and then once again climbed back into the van to head to Ristorante Da Antonio, recommended to us by our hosts. The restaurant is located in Castelnuovo B.GA, a small town about 20 minutes from Asciano. Strangely enough, located in the heart of Tuscany it specializes in seafood, having in fact no meat dishes on it's menu. We were told the owner and chef drives every day to one coast of Italy or the other to purchase fresh seafood for the restaurant. Since the final game of the soccer championship (Coppa del Mondo) was on television that night, and both teams playing were Italian, the restaurant was deserted apart from our party of six. We were seated, offered a nice glass of sparkling wine, and although we were expecting to see menus, the dishes simply started coming from the kitchen to our table. Apparently our host had called ahead and told the restaurant's owner to take care of us, because course after course arrived until I felt I could not possibly eat another bite. Although the servings were small as you might imagine, by the time we had finished our meal almost 3 hours later, we certainly had our fill of seafood for a while, delicious as it was. Our meal included;

Seafood Carpaccio - Thin slices of very fresh raw tuna and scampi served with a drizzle of lemon oil.
Scampi Sautéed with Zucchini Flowers - Extremely tender, two scampi were arranged on a bed of sautéed zucchini, with a small serving of shaved, raw porcini mushrooms next to it.
Polpi - Barely cooked, tender pieces of octopus were served on a bed of sautéed baby peas.
Baby Calamari - Tiny squid served on a bed of wild asparagus.
Gamberetti - Small, moist, pink shrimp served on a small scoop of tender Borlotti beans.
Papparadelle - A serving of fresh strands of egg pasta topped with a sauce made with razor clams.
Arogosto & Langostino - The main course or entrée was an amazing display of grilled lobster and large prawns served on two trays. It was as delicious as it was colorful!
Dessert - We were finally offered a choice, and half of us chose crème brulee, while the rest of us ordered homemade lemon sorbet with fresh, wild berries.

Since it was so late, we skipped our usual post meal espresso, and completely satisfied after our amazing meal we headed back to the farmhouse. Although we had all had a very long day after an early start, it had been a wonderful one visiting some of my favorite hill towns in Umbria, and our seafood feast for dinner helped to make the day even more memorable. We all headed to bed late, knowing we could sleep in the following day.

Pecciarda
Vicolo degli Eroi 1
Spoleto
Tel: 0743/45598
Closed Wednesday and last two weeks in January
Reservations Recommended
Overall Impressions: We only had pasta and salad for lunch here, but all the dishes ordered were homemade and delicious. Ask what the daily specials are.

Osteria del Teatro Da Antonio
Via del Chianti 28/32
Castelnuovo B.GA
Tel: 0577/355321
Reservations Recommended
Overall Impressions: As I stated above, this restaurant serves only dishes made with seafood and vegetables, but considering it is located in the heart of Tuscany, the freshness of the seafood was amazing. I would highly recommend this restaurant if you like seafood, and are prepared for a real treat. There is a seafood tasting menu which apparently was what we were served.

Continue to view more photos of Umbria

Continue on to Day Six spent in San Gimignano.

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Buon Appetito!
Deborah Mele 2003
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