Italian Culinary Adventure ~ Day Six & Seven - Umbria

Umbria- Day Six
Thursday, June 27th. 2002

I was quite happy to leave Florence Thursday morning and to head on to Umbria, which has always been one of my favorite regions in Italy. We began the day with another good breakfast at our hotel, collected the car from the parking garage, and were on our way south. Driving along the autostrada, the scenery soon began to change into a patchwork of fields along rolling hills. No matter how many times I visit Umbria, it always surprises me how good it makes me feel. The worn, stone farmhouses, bright sunflower fields, and medieval cities that have been carefully preserved, are some of my favorite parts of Umbria. The region's cuisine of Umbria, and the lack of tourists here, are two of the other reasons. Unfortunately, we only had two days here, so I had to decide how we would spend them best.

It was my intention to visit Deruta during this trip, a small city renowned for its ceramics, to pick up a couple more pieces for my home. We arrived late morning, and knowing most shops would close for a couple of hours during lunch, we quickly made our way from store to store, checking out what was available. The selection was staggering, and I would have bought many more pieces if I could have, but I narrowed my choices down to four. I bought a ceramic encrusted wood mirror for my entrance way, and three large plates decorated with renaissance faces that would hang on the wall in my dining room. After we completed our purchases, and arranged shipping back to Canada, we decided to look around for somewhere close by to eat, since it was now quickly moving into afternoon. Unfortunately, the local pizzeria was closed, and the sandwiches at the bar across the street had seen better days. We finally walked a few blocks and came across a bustling rosticeria which looked homey, yet good. The selection was minimal, but we shared a couple of small plates of their daily pasta dishes, and had some vegetable side dishes to go with them. Click on photo for larger view!

After lunch, we decided to head over to Todi, a small medieval city typical of Umbria, situated on a hilltop, and surrounded by massive stone walls. Arriving at 2pm, the city was all but deserted, and after parking and walking into the center, it wasn't until we came to the main piazza, Piazza del Popolo, that we even spotted other people. The views from the main piazza looking out over the Umbrian countryside were really quite breathtaking. We checked out the 13th century old duomo, found in the piazza, and strolled around the quiet city for an hour or two before stopping for a cold drink at an outdoor bar before leaving, and heading out to our hotel in Foligno. It turned out, that we took the "scenic" route to the hotel, which turned out to be a very twisty road across from Todi. Although I thoroughly enjoyed the scenery, my husband was too busy trying to navigate the turns to enjoy it. I did convince him to pull over as we passed yet another field full of sunflowers, so I could take some photos. Finally, we arrived at Villa Roncalli late in the afternoon. The villa felt very comfortable to us as we had stayed there many times before, and it hadn't appeared to have changed much at all in the past three years since our last visit. We unpacked, and I laid down for a quick nap before I had to get ready for dinner. Click on photo for larger view!

Villa Roncalli only has 10 rooms it lets out, and is much more famous for it's restaurant, which utilizes the local Umbrian products in it's menu. When the weather is good, the outdoor patio is used which is in a lush green setting with overflowing pots of vibrant flowers everywhere. At 8pm, we had showered and changed, and were seated outside on the patio. Without thinking twice about it, we ordered the Menu di Degustazione, or tasting menu, and asked the owner, Maria Luisa to choose our wine. A nice glass of Prosecco was brought for us to begin our meal. this was accompanied by a plate of thinly sliced prosciutto, made in the kitchen two years before.

Soon the rest of the appetizers were brought out, including a puree of chick peas topped with a light sauce of baby shrimps and scampi. Next we were brought a tiny portion of Eggplant Parmesan, which was served with a meatball made from sirloin steak. Both were very tasty, and nicely presented.

The primi selection, or first course, began with small crespelle, or crepes, stuffed with a puree of vegetables and a sauce made of fennel. I found it had a very subtly flavor overall. A sampling or risotto made with mint was brought next, and it had a very light, fresh flavor, but the portion served was too large for a tasting menu. It was served with tiny diced zucchini that were sautéed just until tender. Our final primi selection was gnocchetti, or small potato gnocchi, served with a very tasty sauce made from porcini mushrooms, peas, and mussels.

By this point, I was reaching my limit, and we hadn't yet started on our main course. I asked to only be brought one small portion of meat. The choice was a small piece of poultry, served with oven roasted tomatoes and rosemary roasted potatoes. Our server seemed disappointed we couldn't try further meat or seafood selections, but both of us were completely full. We sat for a bit and enjoyed our wine, and then my husband asked for a small taste of local cheese, which was served with a dollop of locally produced honey, and a sliced peach.

We decided to forge ahead and share one of the restaurant's fantastic dessert, and chose one consisting of a small, warm spice cake nestled on top of apricot pudding or custard. The plate was drizzled with chocolate sauce, which provided a nice contrast to the other flavors. The wine chosen for us was a bottle of Cervaro di Antinori, which has a lot of flavor for a white wine, and went perfectly well with each course.

It was time to call it a night, and we were both very happy that we only had to climb the stairs to get to our room. It had been a long, but wonderful day, and we knew the next day would be just as full.

Villa Roncalli
Vlle Roma 25
Foligno
Phone: 390742391091
Only 10 rooms so book early. All are simple, yet clean, and decorated with antiques.
The showers are not great (Italian style), and there are no hair dryers in the rooms, but the price of the rooms is very low.
If you want to explore the Umbrian countrside, then this small gem in Foligno is very central.

Buon Appetito!
By Deborah Mele 2002
Email
Recipe Request
Newsletter Signup

Choose from these categories: