I used to like Fall. After living in a small Tuscany village, I learned to love fall. After the sun had done it’s work, the late summer showers provided the final dose of energy for the vineyards. Now that 80% of the garden has been either eaten or canned, the upcoming grape harvest (vendemmia) was on the mind of many. As Jill and I walked Montanare’s gravel one lane road …
In the northern most reaches of Umbria, rest the beautiful agriculture village of Castiglione Fosco. From a half dozen miles away, the 12 story brick clock tower guided us through the valley to this small borgo of 200. The area looked vaguely familiar, in part, because we traversed this land looking for a place to live in 2004. About half way between the hilltop villages of Paciano and Tavernelle, our …
Daniela was intrigued by an onion yesterday. We had all the ingredients to make a favorite salad mix, a recipe gifted to us by our very special British friends Bill and Tina more than a decade ago. Although they have simplified their lives by letting someone else care for Villa Donata in Ossaia (five miles from Montanare), what they left behind for us is a beautiful set of memories. Many …
Under the giant olive tree, tonight ended in a roundtable of misty eyes, mine included. Although we bring a green version of the native tongue to Montanare each time, Larriano gets the job done. Sometimes, like tonight, our pigeon brand of Dante’s words come through crystal clear. Amedeo, Rosy, Luisa, Piero, Laura (all locals) and myself share similar passions. Many of mine began in this country: Formula One, industrial and …
Piero stood from 50 feet wondering who was passing the large gate in an unknown Renault. As we came to a rest, his simpatico smile met the one I was showing. He and I have done this exchange more than a dozen times and I love it more every time. We are home. Not because the area is familiar. Not because the 650 square foot, restored apartment hasn’t changed. Not …
It’s June 21st, the final day of school for Daniela. Our normal course in the next 48 hours would be three middle seats on a Delta A330 for Rome via Amsterdam. This year is different and I can feel it. Over the past week, my pile of goods to pack include several tropical medicine prescriptions, a gigantic collection of donated soccer gear, and a sore right arm from a set …
One of the first questions Piero asked us when we surveyed the well cared for acre around Ca D Maestro in March of 2004 was if we liked to garden, as in growing Italian vegetables of nearly every variety. With our language skills as green as the lawn under our feet, we did what continued to come natural when we didn’t understand the proposal and said Si, Si! On April …
Although our one year stay in Montanare was a dozen years ago, certain physical reminders take me right back . Today, as I leave my native-soil garage, this yellow For Sale sign places me in a dark parking lot outside Perugia, awaiting the arrival of a mystery man named Pedro. As an American, trying to sell someone else’s car I’d been driving for a year, at nearly any sum a …
Looking back, our very best memories in Montanare always include at least one table under the giant olive tree. Rosy, Amy, Luisa, Piero, Francesca, and many more have created some of the best food we’ve ever put to our lips at this table. Rarely is it a single table. It usually begins with two rectangular wood tops and at least two round metal tables on either end. Piero would never …
It would take me nearly a day to acknowledge the dozens of special family and friends in our midst. Although there isn’t a formal holiday on the Italian calendario, I’ve unilaterally decided that May 8th is Thanksgiving Day in Italy. One of my important friendships was born on that date. On that fateful Sunday, I was learning to become a Montanarese-Contadino, Italian farmer. Ca’ D Maestro owner Piero was demonstrating …
