Castelli is a physically small town with a population of 1,530 on a hillside (elevation about 1,666 ft.) on the east side of Gran Sasso and fairly close to where we live (about an hour's drive). It is famous for the production of maiolica ceramics. Maiolica were extremely popular with Europeans 500 years ago and retain a substantial number of collectors and admirers today. The Russian Tsars were particular fond of Castelli maiolica and a large collection of it exists in the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg.
Castelli continues to produce maiolicas today but also has a thriving business in modern ceramics. It attracts collectors worldwide but primarily from Europe. We have been to Castelli on several occasions and never seen Americans, a rather unusual absence for a city that is a rather large tourist draw for Europeans.
It is a very small (I can't imagine how the Russian Tsars found it), pleasant hill town and easily walked (warning: to see the whole town, requires some severe up and down hill walking; however, it is possible to see a substantial portion of the town without any extreme walking). The area around Castelli is very beautiful, most of it being part of the Gran Sasso national park. The roads to Castelli are well maintained, offer great views and many twists, turns and switchbacks. It's worth the drive just to go there.
Shops selling the local ceramics are also located on the approaches to the city. The prices in these shops are as good as in the city and the selections are also good, though each shop, in the city and outside the city, carries some unique ceramics. The prices for Castelli maiolica are better at the city (both inside and near) than anywhere else we have found. Distributors sell Castelli maiolica throughout the Abruzzo and in many parts of Italy but always at a higher price.
While almost everyone comes for the classic Castelli maiolica, the modern ceramics are also very interesting and creative. Several shops are devoted exclusively to them.
As a side note, in a small local bar, we were served some of the best coffee we have ever tasted. Curiously, in an area where the going price for coffee is .90 euro per cup this bar charged us only .65 euro.
For another view of Castelli see this blog entry. I agree with all of it, especially regarding the restaurant but not with regard to modern ceramic work.
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Clean Freaks
Italians are clean freaks. Sometimes this doesn't appear to be true, especially in big cities that are tourist areas or in many public areas but in Italian homes it is immediately obvious. If you have the opportunity to visit an Italian home you will notice it is remarkably clean, not just ordinarily clean but like military barracks clean. There is no dirt, no dust and frequently the house and its belongings look like they are not lived in.
As a result three chains of stores flourish that sell nothing but cleaning products and things related thereto. Near us are one of each: The largest chain: Acqua e Sapone (Water and Soap); the next EuroPlanet Casa and a smaller chain Prodet. (There are web sites for each of these, I did not hyperlink them because I thought no one needs to see another retail website.) Essentially they each do the same thing: sell cleaning supplies and implements for the home, bath, body, car, jewelry, shoes, grill and anything else you can think of to clean and probably some you have not. So you get a store the size of an American drugstore that is stocked with nothing but cleaning supplies and implements.
It's obsessive compulsive heaven here. One frequent complaint of expats is the length of time it takes to do laundry. Older washing machines generally have minimum wash cycles of 60 minutes; newer ones will have one cycle where the wash cycle is as short as 30 minutes. Many Italians opt for 90 minute wash cycles with water at 90 degrees C (194 degrees F). Washers here have only cold water hook ups and use internal heating elements to heat the water to a designated temperature. On many machines, the coldest water cycle you can select is 40 degrees C (104 degrees F). When you explain to Italians that Americans use cold or warm water with much shorter wash cycles, they are shocked. We saw they same thing in some German friends of ours who bought a home in the US. They were certain their clothes were never well washed. In fact, there is no perceptible difference.
Here, Mr. Clean becomes Senor Lindo (same bald head). He does not come in just one type or several types of cleaners but in unique formulations for every type of dirt or surface imaginable. I gave up trying to count the number of different Mr. Lindo formulations the stores carry. There have been attempts to introduce all purpose cleaners here but generally they have not been well accepted.
So if you go in the store and look for stainless steel sink or counter top cleaners, you will not just find several brands to choose from but also several different choices from each brand depending on the type of dirt on your counter top and on the variety of stainless steel you have. This holds true for every imaginable cleaning situation. One of those quirks of another culture.
As a result three chains of stores flourish that sell nothing but cleaning products and things related thereto. Near us are one of each: The largest chain: Acqua e Sapone (Water and Soap); the next EuroPlanet Casa and a smaller chain Prodet. (There are web sites for each of these, I did not hyperlink them because I thought no one needs to see another retail website.) Essentially they each do the same thing: sell cleaning supplies and implements for the home, bath, body, car, jewelry, shoes, grill and anything else you can think of to clean and probably some you have not. So you get a store the size of an American drugstore that is stocked with nothing but cleaning supplies and implements.
It's obsessive compulsive heaven here. One frequent complaint of expats is the length of time it takes to do laundry. Older washing machines generally have minimum wash cycles of 60 minutes; newer ones will have one cycle where the wash cycle is as short as 30 minutes. Many Italians opt for 90 minute wash cycles with water at 90 degrees C (194 degrees F). Washers here have only cold water hook ups and use internal heating elements to heat the water to a designated temperature. On many machines, the coldest water cycle you can select is 40 degrees C (104 degrees F). When you explain to Italians that Americans use cold or warm water with much shorter wash cycles, they are shocked. We saw they same thing in some German friends of ours who bought a home in the US. They were certain their clothes were never well washed. In fact, there is no perceptible difference.
Here, Mr. Clean becomes Senor Lindo (same bald head). He does not come in just one type or several types of cleaners but in unique formulations for every type of dirt or surface imaginable. I gave up trying to count the number of different Mr. Lindo formulations the stores carry. There have been attempts to introduce all purpose cleaners here but generally they have not been well accepted.
So if you go in the store and look for stainless steel sink or counter top cleaners, you will not just find several brands to choose from but also several different choices from each brand depending on the type of dirt on your counter top and on the variety of stainless steel you have. This holds true for every imaginable cleaning situation. One of those quirks of another culture.
Monday, March 21, 2011
Castel di Luco
We ate with some friends at Castel di Luco on Sunday. Please click on the hyperlink to the website, click on the English version and look around. The welcome photos of the castle in Summer, Winter and at night do not capture how nice the area around the castle is. It is about a thirty minute drive from us and about 12 miles from a major city in the southern Marche, Ascoli Piceno in the Gran Sasso and Monti della Laga national park. For more information on the very small area near it see, Acquasanta Terme.
While at the castle I picked up a brochure that gives a lot more information about it. The castle dates to at least the year 1052 when it is mentioned in some Papal documents stored in the cathedral in Ascoli Piceno. In some respects the castle is very small compared to other castles I have been in but inside has plenty of room. It is also remarkably well preserved perhaps due to the fact that substantial portions of it are actually carved from the Travertine rock that it sits on rather than being brick or stone set in place (that is to say, part of the castle is still part of the earth). The owners have been careful to preserve old Latin graffiti that were scratched into some of the walls at times. Like all good castles, it has rooms for wine making (the holding tanks being carved into the stone), a cistern, a jail, an oil room and a place to gather snow for preserving meat in the summer. The Via Salaria (the old salt path that played an important role in the establishment of Rome) passes by the castle and can easily be seen by it.
The restaurant and rooms are impeccably clean but well preserved areas that feature old murals (I do not believe they qualify as frescoes but I could be wrong) and original medieval architecture. I am happy to report the food is excellent and for a fixed price of 35 euro per person is a great bargain. The following is a catalog what each person got for 35 euro (that includes tip and tax): bread, water, wine, three plates of appetizers, two plates of first serving, two plates of second serving, desert, desert wine, liqueur, and caffe.
Appetizers included: a plate of meats and cheeses, a plate of appetizer pastas (such as ravioli stuffed with a chopped chestnut and honey filling) and a plate of deep fried herb seasoned ricotta, some balls and some fingers.
Firsts included: a plate of seasoned rice wrapped in leaves covered in a cream zuchinni sauce and a plate of cannelloni stuffed with ground mixed meat and covered with a tomato and meat sauce.
Seconds included a plate of roast pork and a plate of roast lamb.
Desert include a single plate with several small deserts on it including flan, cantucci (what Americans commonly call biscotti (in Italian biscotti refers to any cookie)), and several other small desert pastries; with desert came home made cooked wine must, which was some of the best I have ever tasted and following desert came Meletti anisette (a world famous local brand from Ascoli Piceno) and caffe.
As many Americans think Italian restaurants serve food on large plates "family style," I feel a need to explain that in the region where we live this is never done. When I write above that we received plates, it means each person received his or her own separate plate of the particular food.
Notes and comments on the food: All of the dishes were local specialties and included fresh local food and seasonings. Certainly something like meat stuffed cannelloni is not a local specialty but the particular stuffing and the sauce and seasoning of the sauce make it that. The same is true of each of the items on the menu. I thought each individual dish was excellent without exception. Of particular note, the roast lamb was probably the most tender and best tasting lamb I have ever eaten.
When you read this you must think, we ate a lot of food; and indeed we did. It was all excellent and the meal would probably be a bargain at triple the price. In fact, this same meal, in a similar setting, in tourist overrun Tuscany, would probably be 200 euro per person. A benefit of living in an area visited almost exclusively by European tourists, and mostly by Italian tourists, is that prices remain extremely low. If you ever want to eat at Castel di Luco, make sure you call first, they don't open for less than ten reservations. They are usually open but we have had to postpone one trip because of lack of reservations (that being during the dead part of winter). In the Spring and Summer, the probability is that not only are they open, they are completely booked.
While at the castle I picked up a brochure that gives a lot more information about it. The castle dates to at least the year 1052 when it is mentioned in some Papal documents stored in the cathedral in Ascoli Piceno. In some respects the castle is very small compared to other castles I have been in but inside has plenty of room. It is also remarkably well preserved perhaps due to the fact that substantial portions of it are actually carved from the Travertine rock that it sits on rather than being brick or stone set in place (that is to say, part of the castle is still part of the earth). The owners have been careful to preserve old Latin graffiti that were scratched into some of the walls at times. Like all good castles, it has rooms for wine making (the holding tanks being carved into the stone), a cistern, a jail, an oil room and a place to gather snow for preserving meat in the summer. The Via Salaria (the old salt path that played an important role in the establishment of Rome) passes by the castle and can easily be seen by it.
The restaurant and rooms are impeccably clean but well preserved areas that feature old murals (I do not believe they qualify as frescoes but I could be wrong) and original medieval architecture. I am happy to report the food is excellent and for a fixed price of 35 euro per person is a great bargain. The following is a catalog what each person got for 35 euro (that includes tip and tax): bread, water, wine, three plates of appetizers, two plates of first serving, two plates of second serving, desert, desert wine, liqueur, and caffe.
Appetizers included: a plate of meats and cheeses, a plate of appetizer pastas (such as ravioli stuffed with a chopped chestnut and honey filling) and a plate of deep fried herb seasoned ricotta, some balls and some fingers.
Firsts included: a plate of seasoned rice wrapped in leaves covered in a cream zuchinni sauce and a plate of cannelloni stuffed with ground mixed meat and covered with a tomato and meat sauce.
Seconds included a plate of roast pork and a plate of roast lamb.
Desert include a single plate with several small deserts on it including flan, cantucci (what Americans commonly call biscotti (in Italian biscotti refers to any cookie)), and several other small desert pastries; with desert came home made cooked wine must, which was some of the best I have ever tasted and following desert came Meletti anisette (a world famous local brand from Ascoli Piceno) and caffe.
As many Americans think Italian restaurants serve food on large plates "family style," I feel a need to explain that in the region where we live this is never done. When I write above that we received plates, it means each person received his or her own separate plate of the particular food.
Notes and comments on the food: All of the dishes were local specialties and included fresh local food and seasonings. Certainly something like meat stuffed cannelloni is not a local specialty but the particular stuffing and the sauce and seasoning of the sauce make it that. The same is true of each of the items on the menu. I thought each individual dish was excellent without exception. Of particular note, the roast lamb was probably the most tender and best tasting lamb I have ever eaten.
When you read this you must think, we ate a lot of food; and indeed we did. It was all excellent and the meal would probably be a bargain at triple the price. In fact, this same meal, in a similar setting, in tourist overrun Tuscany, would probably be 200 euro per person. A benefit of living in an area visited almost exclusively by European tourists, and mostly by Italian tourists, is that prices remain extremely low. If you ever want to eat at Castel di Luco, make sure you call first, they don't open for less than ten reservations. They are usually open but we have had to postpone one trip because of lack of reservations (that being during the dead part of winter). In the Spring and Summer, the probability is that not only are they open, they are completely booked.
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Norcia
Norcia is a city in the Region of Umbria about 60 miles and an hour and a half from us. As good as seeing Norcia is getting there. For about half the drive, the road follows the very scenic Tronto river valley with high hills and mountains on both sides. Then to get over the mountains, you can choose to take the old road which is a well maintained but very twisty climb up, across and then down the mountains or the new road which is much straighter, partially by reason of a long tunnel, and quicker. The old road is the sort of classic mountain road that reminds me of scenes out of movies. The new road is much more convenient, not as scenic, but still a good drive. The old road does get a scenic road designation from the Italian Automobile Club.
Norcia sits in a relatively flat valley surrounded by high hills and mountains. It is famous for sausages and ham made from wild boar, for prosciutto crudo made from domestic pigs and for truffles. The area around Norcia is famous for mountain climbing, hiking and skiing and the city serves as a base for those activities. Not unexpectedly, what one finds in Norcia are meat stores, truffle stores, restaurants and sporting goods stores.
The meat from Norcia has a recognizable taste and is almost always designated as coming from Norcia. Most of the sausage shops hang sample of their sausages outside so a walk through Norcia is filled with the smells of the sausages.
An interesting fact about Norcia is that the old walls of the city have remained intact despite some severe earthquakes and that the walled in center of the city is essentially flat. Norcia is also the birthplace of Saint Benedict, the patron saint of Europe, and his twin sister Saint Scholastica. A functioning Benedictine monastery is in Norcia and it would be an unusual trip there not to see Benedictine monks walking through the city, always very quickly as though they are in a hurry to get somewhere.
Norcia has changed to accommodate tourists; however, it is not as swamped with tourists as many other Italian cities. It remains a pleasant place to wander about and the scarcity of vehicles in the central part of the city allows you to imagine life without the automobile. Large parking areas are located outside the city's two main gates and this is where most people leave their vehicles. Inside the gates things range from touristy to residential areas that appear to be unchanged by the modern world. Certainly inside the buildings plumbing and electricity have been added but a walk down the narrow streets today is probably much like it was when most the buildings were constructed. The tourist shops, for the most part, specialize in sausage, mountaineering equipment and antiques. The sausage shops, while touristy, are also genuine, in the sense that they attract many locals and other Italians who make the trip to buy the unique sausages and meat products of Norcia. Besides these shops Norcia has a full array of shops one would expect to find in a medium size city.
While there is some art to see in Norcia, for the most part, the thing to see in Norcia is the city itself. An ancient city, it is a pleasure to spend a half a day learning the city and then eating in one of the local restaurants. Being flat, walkable and walled, you can never get too lost and are constantly exposed to how the residents live. It is not a Rome or Florence but you will probably learn more about how Italians live by spending half a day here than either of them.
Norcia sits in a relatively flat valley surrounded by high hills and mountains. It is famous for sausages and ham made from wild boar, for prosciutto crudo made from domestic pigs and for truffles. The area around Norcia is famous for mountain climbing, hiking and skiing and the city serves as a base for those activities. Not unexpectedly, what one finds in Norcia are meat stores, truffle stores, restaurants and sporting goods stores.
The meat from Norcia has a recognizable taste and is almost always designated as coming from Norcia. Most of the sausage shops hang sample of their sausages outside so a walk through Norcia is filled with the smells of the sausages.
An interesting fact about Norcia is that the old walls of the city have remained intact despite some severe earthquakes and that the walled in center of the city is essentially flat. Norcia is also the birthplace of Saint Benedict, the patron saint of Europe, and his twin sister Saint Scholastica. A functioning Benedictine monastery is in Norcia and it would be an unusual trip there not to see Benedictine monks walking through the city, always very quickly as though they are in a hurry to get somewhere.
Norcia has changed to accommodate tourists; however, it is not as swamped with tourists as many other Italian cities. It remains a pleasant place to wander about and the scarcity of vehicles in the central part of the city allows you to imagine life without the automobile. Large parking areas are located outside the city's two main gates and this is where most people leave their vehicles. Inside the gates things range from touristy to residential areas that appear to be unchanged by the modern world. Certainly inside the buildings plumbing and electricity have been added but a walk down the narrow streets today is probably much like it was when most the buildings were constructed. The tourist shops, for the most part, specialize in sausage, mountaineering equipment and antiques. The sausage shops, while touristy, are also genuine, in the sense that they attract many locals and other Italians who make the trip to buy the unique sausages and meat products of Norcia. Besides these shops Norcia has a full array of shops one would expect to find in a medium size city.
While there is some art to see in Norcia, for the most part, the thing to see in Norcia is the city itself. An ancient city, it is a pleasure to spend a half a day learning the city and then eating in one of the local restaurants. Being flat, walkable and walled, you can never get too lost and are constantly exposed to how the residents live. It is not a Rome or Florence but you will probably learn more about how Italians live by spending half a day here than either of them.
Monday, March 7, 2011
Updated Fuel Cost Calculations
It wasn't long ago that I posted with regard to fuel costs but after recent price increases I thought I would run the number again and here is what they look like now taking into account changed fuel prices and currency exchange rates:
Assuming a US premium gas price of $3.73/gallon and Italian diesel prices of 1.435 euro per liter or $7.69 per gallon, I did the following calculations:
In the US we typically drove 18,000 miles per year at 20 MPG and used 900 gallons. At $3.73/gallon that would cost $3,357/year.
In Italy we drive 11,000 miles per year at 42 MPG and use 262 gallons at $7.69/ gallon for a total cost of $2,015 per year.
The effect of urban living and lack of suburbs combined with high mileage vehicles is remarkable.
Correction: In an earlier post I discussed a fuel efficient BMW 3 series diesel (163 hp, equivalent to about 205 hp gasoline engine, that does 0-62.5 in 8.1 seconds) and cited the mpg in British gallons instead of US. The correct fuel mileage is 4.1 liters per 100 kilometers or about 58 mpg US. Still not bad for a peppy, good handling vehicle. I notice it is not sold in the US but if you look at the BMW UK site, or any European country site, you will find it.
Assuming a US premium gas price of $3.73/gallon and Italian diesel prices of 1.435 euro per liter or $7.69 per gallon, I did the following calculations:
In the US we typically drove 18,000 miles per year at 20 MPG and used 900 gallons. At $3.73/gallon that would cost $3,357/year.
In Italy we drive 11,000 miles per year at 42 MPG and use 262 gallons at $7.69/ gallon for a total cost of $2,015 per year.
The effect of urban living and lack of suburbs combined with high mileage vehicles is remarkable.
Correction: In an earlier post I discussed a fuel efficient BMW 3 series diesel (163 hp, equivalent to about 205 hp gasoline engine, that does 0-62.5 in 8.1 seconds) and cited the mpg in British gallons instead of US. The correct fuel mileage is 4.1 liters per 100 kilometers or about 58 mpg US. Still not bad for a peppy, good handling vehicle. I notice it is not sold in the US but if you look at the BMW UK site, or any European country site, you will find it.
Saturday, March 5, 2011
Salsicce sotto strutto and AgriService
Salsicce sotto strutto is literally sausage under lard (using a "secondary" word for lard, in Italian "lard" is "lardo") and it is truly sausage under lard. Sold in large clear glass jars, the jar appears to be all white with only an occasional spot of something pink pressed against the glass. The jar states the indredients as: carne suina, sale, pepe, aromi naturali, strutto and olio di semi di girasole or pork, salt, pepper, natural flavorings, lard and sunflower oil. It comes with the advice to store it in a place cool and dry. Inside the jar are 3 to 4 inch long sausages surrounded in the lard. Note: Sometimes the sausages are smaller or larger but these medium sausages represent the most common.
This is raw pork sausage cured by air drying it. Once fully cured, it is placed in containers, today usually large glass jars but it is also possible to use ceramic pots, and hot lard is poured over it. It is usually eaten raw by peeling the sausage, mixing the meat with some fresh seasoning and spreading it on bruschetta. Of course, first you have to extract the sausage from the jar, scrape off the lard and then wipe off the lard. A lot of work to eat pork sausage but it tastes great.
Since salsicce sotto strutto is not usually made commercially it has to be gotten from a farmer you know or purchased from a local AgriService or a specialized deli. An AgriService is a farmers cooperative store that only sells produce and meat from the local area. They exist in most part of Italy, frequently receive some government support from the regional government and help preserve foods and types of food preservation and preparation that might otherwise be lost. The foods sold in them are fresh, organic and very high quality. Some AgriService, and ours is one of them, have a restaurant that serves only locally grown food and specialize in traditional foods and traditional preparation.
Our friends, who I mentioned with regard to making prosciutto, used to make salsicce sotto strutto but have stopped because it was too much trouble. I should mention that they have a whole second "kitchen" in the barn that is used for processing meat such as this. Our friends still make the same sausage but now they either air cure it or cook it and eat it fresh. We had a meal of grilled fresh home made pork sausage at their house a few weeks ago and it was very good.
We went to some friends' house Saturday to celebrate the purchase of a new car (people celebrate new car purchases with a meal with friends and sometimes take the car to a local shrine to be blessed). We took with us two jars of salsicce sotto strutto we had purchased at the local AgriService. This was not a surprise, this celebration had been planned at pension celebration (people celebrate when they receive their first pension check) and everyone volunteered to bring some specific food. In addition to salsicce sotto strutto, we had home made ravioli stuffed with ricotta cheese, first with a butter and sage sauce and a second serving with a seasoned cane sugar sauce and then, served salsicce spread on bread and also a plate of speck, a northern Italian cured ham product. The ravioli with cane sugar sauce was interesting as it is traditionally served only near Carnevale, which is Tuesday. Maybe because you only get it once a year, the ricotta stuffed ravioli with this sweet clear light syrup sauce is very enjoyable.
This is raw pork sausage cured by air drying it. Once fully cured, it is placed in containers, today usually large glass jars but it is also possible to use ceramic pots, and hot lard is poured over it. It is usually eaten raw by peeling the sausage, mixing the meat with some fresh seasoning and spreading it on bruschetta. Of course, first you have to extract the sausage from the jar, scrape off the lard and then wipe off the lard. A lot of work to eat pork sausage but it tastes great.
Since salsicce sotto strutto is not usually made commercially it has to be gotten from a farmer you know or purchased from a local AgriService or a specialized deli. An AgriService is a farmers cooperative store that only sells produce and meat from the local area. They exist in most part of Italy, frequently receive some government support from the regional government and help preserve foods and types of food preservation and preparation that might otherwise be lost. The foods sold in them are fresh, organic and very high quality. Some AgriService, and ours is one of them, have a restaurant that serves only locally grown food and specialize in traditional foods and traditional preparation.
Our friends, who I mentioned with regard to making prosciutto, used to make salsicce sotto strutto but have stopped because it was too much trouble. I should mention that they have a whole second "kitchen" in the barn that is used for processing meat such as this. Our friends still make the same sausage but now they either air cure it or cook it and eat it fresh. We had a meal of grilled fresh home made pork sausage at their house a few weeks ago and it was very good.
We went to some friends' house Saturday to celebrate the purchase of a new car (people celebrate new car purchases with a meal with friends and sometimes take the car to a local shrine to be blessed). We took with us two jars of salsicce sotto strutto we had purchased at the local AgriService. This was not a surprise, this celebration had been planned at pension celebration (people celebrate when they receive their first pension check) and everyone volunteered to bring some specific food. In addition to salsicce sotto strutto, we had home made ravioli stuffed with ricotta cheese, first with a butter and sage sauce and a second serving with a seasoned cane sugar sauce and then, served salsicce spread on bread and also a plate of speck, a northern Italian cured ham product. The ravioli with cane sugar sauce was interesting as it is traditionally served only near Carnevale, which is Tuesday. Maybe because you only get it once a year, the ricotta stuffed ravioli with this sweet clear light syrup sauce is very enjoyable.
Prosciutto
Most Americans are familiar with prosciutto, the flavorful Italian salt cured ham. The prosciutto we are familiar with is "crudo" though it usually is just called prosciutto in the US. In Italy prosciutto comes as "crudo" or "cotto." Cotto is just like boiled ham and comes in as many variations as in the US. The designation "crudo" indicates that the ham is a raw product that has been cured with salt and hung to dry. Similar, though very different tasting, hams are made in Virginia and Kentucky in the US. While cotto may be flavored as in the US, crudo is almost always salt cured and then hung to dry and finish for various, usually extended, periods of time.
There are also many types of crudo but they depend on flavor and texture differences from what the pig was fed or ate and the conditions of the curing. Some of the best prosciutto comes from Norcia, a city and an area, famous for its sausage and truffles. Much of the sausage from Norcia comes from wild boar that have fed on wild truffles. It has a unique, and I think, very good taste. Prosciutto from Norcia has a special flavor from the local mix of things to eat. The pigs are allowed to roam a bit so as to get a mix of food and also a few truffles but they are not wild pigs. There is a conflicted relationship between the sausage industry and the truffle gatherers, who are often the same people, because while the wild truffles give the wild boars their exquisite taste, the wild truffles are much more valuable when found by people and sold at the market.
Another extremely good prosciutto is from Tuscany. It has a more mild, delicate and refined taste. Very similar, and considered the best generally available prosciutto is San Danielle. It has a taste almost identical to Tuscan prosciutto but is extremely soft and moist. Equal quality prosciutto is always cheaper here than in the US but is still expensive. San Danielle goes for about 30 euro per kilo or about $18.50 per pound and Norcia sells for about 24 euro per kilo or about $15 per pound.
Many stores also offer the option of having their best prosciutto hand cut. Usually, it is San Danielle that is hand cut and then the price rises to 40 euros per kilo or about $25 per pound. When the hand cut option is available, you will see a large prosciutto locked into a specialized sort of vise and a knife and sharpening steel resting on the vise. A skilled clerk, curiously usually not a butcher, will cut the amount you request. The cuts are slightly thicker than the thinnest machine cut but still very thin. There is no taste difference that I can discern (though many Italians would disagree with me) but there is a texture difference that is substantial. If you buy hand cut prosciutto it is usually to be used as appetizer or with melon and not for sandwiches.
We have friends who make their own prosciutto from their own pigs (that are completely organic). It is deceptively simple, first the ham is buried in salt on a slanted rack that allows juice to drain into a sink. After about a week, most the salt is scraped off and the ham is hung in their cellar, amidst their fruit, wine and oil, for about a year. (I have read long articles that go into great detail about how to cure a prosciutto ham; apparently our Italian friends forgot to read them.) That's it. Taste varies from pig to pig and year to year. Always at least very good, sometimes exceptional. Best smelling cellar I've ever been in.
Next: Salsicce sotto strutto.
There are also many types of crudo but they depend on flavor and texture differences from what the pig was fed or ate and the conditions of the curing. Some of the best prosciutto comes from Norcia, a city and an area, famous for its sausage and truffles. Much of the sausage from Norcia comes from wild boar that have fed on wild truffles. It has a unique, and I think, very good taste. Prosciutto from Norcia has a special flavor from the local mix of things to eat. The pigs are allowed to roam a bit so as to get a mix of food and also a few truffles but they are not wild pigs. There is a conflicted relationship between the sausage industry and the truffle gatherers, who are often the same people, because while the wild truffles give the wild boars their exquisite taste, the wild truffles are much more valuable when found by people and sold at the market.
Another extremely good prosciutto is from Tuscany. It has a more mild, delicate and refined taste. Very similar, and considered the best generally available prosciutto is San Danielle. It has a taste almost identical to Tuscan prosciutto but is extremely soft and moist. Equal quality prosciutto is always cheaper here than in the US but is still expensive. San Danielle goes for about 30 euro per kilo or about $18.50 per pound and Norcia sells for about 24 euro per kilo or about $15 per pound.
Many stores also offer the option of having their best prosciutto hand cut. Usually, it is San Danielle that is hand cut and then the price rises to 40 euros per kilo or about $25 per pound. When the hand cut option is available, you will see a large prosciutto locked into a specialized sort of vise and a knife and sharpening steel resting on the vise. A skilled clerk, curiously usually not a butcher, will cut the amount you request. The cuts are slightly thicker than the thinnest machine cut but still very thin. There is no taste difference that I can discern (though many Italians would disagree with me) but there is a texture difference that is substantial. If you buy hand cut prosciutto it is usually to be used as appetizer or with melon and not for sandwiches.
We have friends who make their own prosciutto from their own pigs (that are completely organic). It is deceptively simple, first the ham is buried in salt on a slanted rack that allows juice to drain into a sink. After about a week, most the salt is scraped off and the ham is hung in their cellar, amidst their fruit, wine and oil, for about a year. (I have read long articles that go into great detail about how to cure a prosciutto ham; apparently our Italian friends forgot to read them.) That's it. Taste varies from pig to pig and year to year. Always at least very good, sometimes exceptional. Best smelling cellar I've ever been in.
Next: Salsicce sotto strutto.
Friday, March 4, 2011
Sidewalks and Cell Towers
Our town has the worst sidewalks I have ever seen. When the present core of the city was developed, mostly after 1955, the city allowed individual owners to decide what, if any sidewalks to install on their property. The result is a potpourri of elevations, surfaces and slants. Also, many owners decided to install small elevated border markers between their sidewalk and the next. Today they act mostly as traps for the unwary, especially at night. Within a few yards it is not uncommon to encounter several elevations and an equal number of different surfaces including, tile, concrete, asphalt and marble. Many people just walk in the street.
This sidewalk situation is not a common occurrence in Italy as most cities have specific regulations requiring uniform sidewalks somewhat similar to American cities. Our city has done that in the areas that have developed more recently but the main business core remains a constant walking hazard. It doesn't seem to bother anyone much; my speculation is that a population that largely grew up in ancient towns with no sidewalks and cobblestone streets isn't concerned with a lack of sidewalks.
On the other hand, we have excellent 3G cell coverage including high speed mobile internet and not a cell tower in site. In the rural countryside you can find a cell tower but only rarely. In cities, technology has been used to provide excellent coverage without towers. I cannot recall seeing a cell tower along the approximately 60 mile stretch of coastline that I am familiar with. Sometimes what you don't have is a benefit.
This sidewalk situation is not a common occurrence in Italy as most cities have specific regulations requiring uniform sidewalks somewhat similar to American cities. Our city has done that in the areas that have developed more recently but the main business core remains a constant walking hazard. It doesn't seem to bother anyone much; my speculation is that a population that largely grew up in ancient towns with no sidewalks and cobblestone streets isn't concerned with a lack of sidewalks.
On the other hand, we have excellent 3G cell coverage including high speed mobile internet and not a cell tower in site. In the rural countryside you can find a cell tower but only rarely. In cities, technology has been used to provide excellent coverage without towers. I cannot recall seeing a cell tower along the approximately 60 mile stretch of coastline that I am familiar with. Sometimes what you don't have is a benefit.
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Virtual Tour of Sistine Chapel
It may be that everyone else has seen this but I just ran across it and thought it was as good a souvenir as you could possibly have: See this virtual tour of the Sistine Chapel.
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
La Locanda
One of the real joys of our area is a restaurant known as La Locanda though it is correctly called La Locanda della Tradizione Abruzzese. I assume the correct name is the full name because the name La Locanda is used frequently in Italy for restaurants. La Locanda translates to "inn" and in the traditional universe of Italian restaurants would be among the lower categories; however, it has become fashionable for upscale restaurants to adopt this word as part of their name. The first time I ever encountered this was probably more than thirty years ago when visiting the Cipriani restaurant, Locanda Cipriana, on the island of Torcello in the Venetian lagoon. Despite its name, the Locanda Cipriana is one of the nicest restaurants I have ever had the opportunity to eat in and well worth a journey, not to mention that the easiest way to get there involves walking through most of Venice to catch a boat to the island.
But back to La Locanda near us. If you have not already, I suggest you follow the hyperlink above to the home page and watch some of the photographs. While the restaurant is nice and the food very good, one of the most unusual things, for an Italian restaurant, is the front lawn and playground area for children. Since the pictures were taken the restaurant has made a major expansion that allows it to seat an additional 500 people for weddings and other celebrations. One of our Italian friends told us that the smallest weddings she ever saw here involved at least 200 guests so 500 is not an unusually large reception hall here and I have seen it filled on many occasions.
We tend to eat at La Locanda at lunch when it has specials that offer bread, bottled water, house wine, a choice of soup or one of three pastas, a choice of one of three meat or fish dishes, salad and coffee for 12 euro. In touristy areas of Italy such menus are common but unfortunately are frequently of low quality. La Locanda is located some distance from any tourist attraction and relies solely on locals, and at lunch, local business persons for customers. To attract that clientele it is necessary to have all the food be of very high quality and it is. We usually have some fruit for desert that adds another 3 euro to the bill but the opportunity to eat a large, high quality meal for 15 euros seems like a bargain to us.
At night La Locanda becomes a full restaurant and is particularly know for its steaks that are served on pietra da lava or, literally, lava stone. To me it doesn't look like lava stone but appears to be stone about the size of an American red brick that has been coated with a black enamel. The stones are heated extremely hot and the partially cooked steak arrives on top of the stone on a platter with various steak sauces. You cut up your steak and finish cooking it on the rock with the sauce of your choice. All this is a little unusual for Italy but the owner trained in France and worked in Canada for many years. The steaks are from Abruzzo Marchigiana beef and are excellent. These cattle are grown in the US.
The jewel of the steak at La Locanda is Chateaubriand with vegetables for two for 34 euro (17 euro per person). More than two people can eat, it only requires the addition of water and wine and desert to be a complete meal. It is served on a side tray so each person can take the meat and vegetable of their choosing to finish cooking on lava rock.
One of the joys of living in the Abruzzo (because of the lack of tourism) is that restaurants are generally extremely reasonably priced. La Locanda is my favorite example of that phenomenon, more to follow. I have compared restaurant prices between the Abruzzo and northern Italy, mostly Tuscany and Liguria, and persistently come to the conclusion that prices here for a similar quality restauarant are about 40% of the prices in Tuscany. Good for the pocketbook, bad for the waistline.
But back to La Locanda near us. If you have not already, I suggest you follow the hyperlink above to the home page and watch some of the photographs. While the restaurant is nice and the food very good, one of the most unusual things, for an Italian restaurant, is the front lawn and playground area for children. Since the pictures were taken the restaurant has made a major expansion that allows it to seat an additional 500 people for weddings and other celebrations. One of our Italian friends told us that the smallest weddings she ever saw here involved at least 200 guests so 500 is not an unusually large reception hall here and I have seen it filled on many occasions.
We tend to eat at La Locanda at lunch when it has specials that offer bread, bottled water, house wine, a choice of soup or one of three pastas, a choice of one of three meat or fish dishes, salad and coffee for 12 euro. In touristy areas of Italy such menus are common but unfortunately are frequently of low quality. La Locanda is located some distance from any tourist attraction and relies solely on locals, and at lunch, local business persons for customers. To attract that clientele it is necessary to have all the food be of very high quality and it is. We usually have some fruit for desert that adds another 3 euro to the bill but the opportunity to eat a large, high quality meal for 15 euros seems like a bargain to us.
At night La Locanda becomes a full restaurant and is particularly know for its steaks that are served on pietra da lava or, literally, lava stone. To me it doesn't look like lava stone but appears to be stone about the size of an American red brick that has been coated with a black enamel. The stones are heated extremely hot and the partially cooked steak arrives on top of the stone on a platter with various steak sauces. You cut up your steak and finish cooking it on the rock with the sauce of your choice. All this is a little unusual for Italy but the owner trained in France and worked in Canada for many years. The steaks are from Abruzzo Marchigiana beef and are excellent. These cattle are grown in the US.
The jewel of the steak at La Locanda is Chateaubriand with vegetables for two for 34 euro (17 euro per person). More than two people can eat, it only requires the addition of water and wine and desert to be a complete meal. It is served on a side tray so each person can take the meat and vegetable of their choosing to finish cooking on lava rock.
One of the joys of living in the Abruzzo (because of the lack of tourism) is that restaurants are generally extremely reasonably priced. La Locanda is my favorite example of that phenomenon, more to follow. I have compared restaurant prices between the Abruzzo and northern Italy, mostly Tuscany and Liguria, and persistently come to the conclusion that prices here for a similar quality restauarant are about 40% of the prices in Tuscany. Good for the pocketbook, bad for the waistline.
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