Collemancio, Festa del Vino

As you head through the arched medieval entrance of hilltop castle-village, Collemancio, you’ll probably see an elderly lady in black, ubiquitous gold chains draped around her neck, sitting in her chair along the lane. Anna. She’ll want to tell you (no matter what your language!) about the Roman origins of her her town – and the ancient golden image of la Madonna, stolen along with a bounty of other treasures and never found. Yes, Collemancio’s origins are Roman – and the mosaics of the 1st-century AD baths of the Roman municipium, Urvinum Hortense, can be seen today in the museum of nearby Cannara.

Medieval arched entrance of Collemancio, castle-village

The massive fortified walls of Collemancio, once a castle

You’ll see Signora Anna (“Annetta”) as soon as you enter the medieval arch of Collemancio

Signora Anna

No traces of that Madonna, though: a village legend, the locals told us later that evening, “one of Annetta’s stories.” As Pino and I talked with elderly Anna, we heard another one: when out foraging for field greens not long ago, she’d met two women. While chatting (no one gets away from Annetta!), they told her they’d walked up to Collemancio from Deruta.
Anna told us gravely, “No one would walk that far..so I am sure one of the women was la Madonna – and maybe the other person was Gesu’.”

Signora Anna (“Annetta”) recounts the story of the golden Madonna to Pino

“I’m sure that woman was la Madonna,” Signora Anna tells Pino

We were in Collemancio for dinner at the Festa del Vino (46th year!) and as we left Anna to head to the village center, she solemnly assured us of buonissimo cooking. “Emanuele’s at the burners,” she told us. And Emanuele lived up to Anna’s plaudits. Pasta headliner that night was a homemade pasta with fava beans, pork cheek and pecorino (sheep’s milk cheese). Second course specialty was stuffed rabbit. I tried both. The rabbit was stuffed with the animal’s innards: a bit of a surprise for me – as was its goodness.

Emanuele cooks up that pasta goodness

Young volunteer, Riccardo, serves up my pasta

Tasty coniglio in porchetta for me as second course

Mention “lumache” (“snails”) to Pino – and you have him. Double dose that night: bruschetta topped with snails in a sauce, then snails on skewers. And we both shared a paper cone full of tasty batter-fried summer vegetables.

Snails on bruschetta for Pino

Pino relishes the bruschetta – con vino rosso locale

A Pino favorite: snails with vino rosso

We shared a cone of fried summer vegetables

All around us at plank tables, locales shared the goodness. And as at any food festival (sagra), the teens – and not only – served at tables while in the kitchen, local men and women united to cook.
Each one, proud and happy to be photographed…..

One of the volunteers, Signor Nello (retired heavy equipment operator) stopped to chat with us as we finished up the Collemancio goodness. And he wanted to be very sure that we had seen ceramicist daughter, Claudia’s Madonna, painted on a maiolica panel, hanging at the village entrance. I had – and photographed it as we arrived. He beamed when I told him.

Perhaps she fills in for the missing “miraculous golden Madonna” of Signora Anna’s tales…..