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Italy’s Embarrassment of Riches

Posted March 26, 2014 by Sharon 1 Comment

Martina Franca

Piazza Plebiscito in the Baroque centro storico of Martina Franca. The town hosts a summer opera Festival della Valle d’Itria.

A lifetime isn’t enough time to really know Italy. I feel I know a bit about Italy but in reality, I have so much more to know.

I’m fortunate to have traveled through 15 of the country’s 20 regions. The five I have yet to visit are: Aosta, Trentino Alto-Adige, Friuli Venezia-Giulia, Sardinia, and Calabria.

When I’m not in Italy, I’m thinking about Italy, a constant student learning about the magnificent cities, towns, history, art, cuisine, wine, and culture. I dream and scheme about places to experience and things to do the “next time.”

So how can it be that of the “10 Places to Downshift to Italy” post on Swide, I have only been to one?

That one selection—Martina Franca, Puglia—resonates enough to make me trust Elisa della Barba’s other nine choices. When Walter and I visited Martina Franca one breezy March evening a few years ago, we felt at home. “I could live here,” we exclaimed in unison.

So peruse these 10 enticing places—from a fishing town on an island in a lake in Lombardia to a hillside of dazzling whitewashed houses in Basilicata. Someday you may know them and make them your own.

Filed Under: Abruzzo, Basilicata, Culture, Le Marche, Lifestyle, Puglia, Sicily, Travel Tagged With: beautiful Italian towns, expatriate guide to Italy, live in Italy, places to live in Italy

On the Truffle Trail in Le Marche

Posted September 17, 2013 by Sharon Leave a Comment

This article first appeared in the November 2011 issue
 of the award-winning subscription travel newsletter Dream of Italy

By Sharon Sanders

Acqualagna truffle hunter Giorgio Remedia assesses his treasure.

Acqualagna truffle hunter Giorgio Remedia assesses his treasure.

Acqualagna, Italy–Two dozen miles southwest of the Adriatic coastal city of Pesaro, the placid plain morphs into picturesque hills near Acqualagna with 5,000-foot-high Monte Nerone and other peaks in the distance. The terrain gets rugged quickly.

Our bus struggled up a winding dirt road to deliver us to truffle hunter Giorgio Remedia’s azienda. Although we’d been advised to have proper footware, the sight of Remedia’s knee-high rubber waders gave some of us pause. He had a no-nonsense demeanor that could perhaps be attributed to his other job as chief-of-police in Acqualagna.

Remedia explained that this area is rich in truffles. He said that they’re a symbiotic fungus that grow on the roots of oak and poplar trees. The Acqualagna area yields different varieties of tartufo bianco (white truffle) and tartufo nero (black truffle) almost year round.

Following Giorgio Remedia on the truffle trail.
Giorgio Remedia and Chicca set out in the woods to find the province’s prized black truffles.
Chicca, the professional, poised for action.

The talent of the truffle dog is to find the truffle but not eat it.
Remedia and Chicca ready for their closeup.
Vista from the truffle woods of field, vines, hills, and mountains.

Truffle condiments sampling Acqualagna Tartufi shop.
Sformato di spinaci al tartufo nero.
Truffle sauce from Acqualagna Tartufi makes a tasty souvenir.

Polenta al tartufo nero.
Ristorante Osteria del Parco is all about tartufi.
Crostini al tartufo nero at Ristorante Osteria del Parco.

This community is seriously all about truffles. It’s said that one-fourth of the residents are qualified truffle hunters and 70 percent of Italy’s truffle dogs are trained here. The white truffle is celebrated each autumn with the Fiera Nazionale del Tartufo Bianco. This year’s event begins at the end of October.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Culture, Food, Italy restaurants, Language, Le Marche, Lifestyle, Markets, Miscellany, Travel Tagged With: Acqualagna, foraging for truffles, Italian black truffles, Le Marche truffle hunting, tartufi nero

Palazzo Donati Italian Holiday Tours

Posted July 11, 2013 by Sharon Leave a Comment

At Palazzo Donati, you'll experience the gracious architecture of a seventeenth-century palazzo with modern amenities.

At Palazzo Donati, you’ll experience the gracious architecture of a seventeenth-century palazzo with modern amenities.

By Walter Sanders

My friend Luisa Donati emailed the other day with delightful stories about a group of Texans whom she’d hosted at Palazzo Donati. I envy those Lone Star ladies.

Last autumn, I stayed at the seventeenth-century Palazzo Donati and felt instantly at home. Not because of any noble lineage but because the town of Mercatello sul Metauro, where the Palazzo anchors part of the main piazza, welcomes visitors while maintaining its own rich authenticity.  The town serves a thriving agricultural area in the off-the-beaten-tourist-track region of Le Marche east of Tuscany.  From Lina, the pasta queen who took down British TV chef Jamie Oliver, to the (not-so) amateur chefs who comprise the cooking club Academia del Padlot, good food and good times thrive in Mercatello sul Metauro.

Luisa works with small groups to create customized itineraries. No two groups have the exact same experience. Here’s a sampling of what she can create for you. Contact Lusia and tell her SimpleItaly sent you!

The rustic kitchen with open hearth.
The town of Mercatello sul Metauro.
Tabletop view of a cooking class.

Chiesa on the piazza.
Cheesemaking class.
Lina, the queen of fresh egg pasta.

The grand salone.
The town band.
The giardino behind Palazzo Donati.

The cooks of the Academia del Padlot.
Grand architectural details are refurbished.
The welcoming table in the dining room.

Palazzo Donati faces the main piazza in Mercatello sul Metauro.
Exposed wood beams in one of the bedrooms.
Inside the walled garden of the Palazzo.

Filed Under: Culture, Food, Hotels, Language, Le Marche, Lifestyle, Travel Tagged With: Italian villa vacations, private villas in Italy, small group tours to Italy

Palazzo Donati in Mercatello sul Metauro, Le Marche

Posted April 23, 2013 by Sharon 1 Comment

A version of this article first appeared in the October 2012 issue
 of the award-winning subscription travel newsletter Dream of Italy

By Walter Sanders

The giardino behind Palazzo Donati.

The giardino behind Palazzo Donati.

After we left Villa Pipistrelli, our small group journeyed to Le Marche, a region in east-central Italy nestled between Emilia-Romagna, Tuscany, and Umbria.

Our destination was the bustling village of Mercatello sul Metauro, located at the foot of the Tuscan-Umbrian Apennine mountains, only a couple of hours by car east of Siena.

The morning mists lifted to reveal soaring hills and sweeping views of verdant valleys. Downhill we passed towns that marked the progress of 15th Century artist Piero della Francesca who had literally painted his way to Urbino, the famed “Ideal City” of the Renaissance.

Mercatello sul Metauro is inviting. The gray paver-bricked main square is bisected by white paver stones that form lines converging from the far corners of the square straight to the center. “Follow the white stone roads,” to adapt the effect into Wizard of Oz parlance.

The square bustles. Much of the buzz is fueled by frothing cappuccino and steaming espresso provided by Franchino from his nearby bar, Caffe Rinaldi. Franchino knows everyone.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Culture, Food, Hotels, Italy restaurants, Language, Le Marche, Lifestyle

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