You know you’re near Antrodoco, Latium mountain town in the Rieti province, if the wispy clouds hugging Mount Giano lift and you can see “DUX” etched out in fir tree forests on the mountain slope. Mandated by the local Fascist government in 1939, the forest of twenty thousand firs avoided deforestation with a regional law in 1998, declaring it as “patrimonio artistico e monumento naturale.” And not without contestation, of course; but like it or not, the Fascist period is part of Italy’s history. The forest has lost its political connotations: it’s now simply a tourist attraction.
As the wispy clouds lift off Monte Giano, you can see “DUX” etched in fir trees on the mountaintop.
On the many trips into L’Aquila with Pino, that forested DUX signaled proximity to Antrodrodco – and sometimes, a lunch-time stop.
Antrodoco, Latium hill town on the slopes of Monte Giano
We’d lunch at Ristorante Il Vecchio Mulino, (“The Old Mill”), once a mill for the grinding of wheat (you can see it on the menu and on a wall mural inside). For thirty years il Vecchio Molino has been a family-run restaurant where brothers Marcello and Marino serve up tasty dishes of Latium and Abruzzo (only about 20 km further on) to travelers and local families.
And although in the center of Italy, the restaurant also serves up fish dishes: Pino never passes up their steamed mussels. And at one lunch there this spring, a pause before his next course, grilled sea bass: to watch Gran Premio on TV with a few local signori.
That time, I’d opted for pasta with spring vegetables and then grilled cuttlefish.
…and white Pino watched the finale of Gran Premio, I took a few shots of co-owner Marcello with just-made fresh pasta and at the burners with assistant Teresa while his brother Marino took customer orders in the dining room. Marino’s wife Patrizia was happy to smile for me as she prepared desserts.
Marcello with fresh pasta
Marcello and Teresa at the burners
Marino takes customers’ orders in the dining room
Patrizia prepares desserts
That forested DUX up behind Antrodoco might bring in the tourists. And before leaving the area, I wonder how many visitors discover the goodness cooked up at Ristorante Il Vecchio Mulino?
Read where we headed that day we stopped in Antrodoco
Read about Pino’s other cultural offering to earthquake-damaged L’Aquila
See the astounding performances of both Elena and Simone here
Read about L’Aquila devastation due to the April 6, 2009 earthquake
Click here for more on the Abruzzo earthquake
Read about Abruzzo’s ties to a California mission
See bewitching Simone Zanchini perform
All you need is a cinematographer… and you’d have a hit TV show: “Eating with Pino and Annie”. 😉
Is there no end to the interesting places you find with Pino, Anne? This looks like another gem with an unusual history!
Thanks, Jack and thanks, Judy for your notes.
And yes, the places to discover and foods to try are never-ending!