A group of us lived a bit of history today when we visited our rural friends in the Assisi countryside, hearing their stories of life on the land. And when Peppe – over eighty – retires his pitchfork and no longer raises cattle, goats, sheep, pigs, rabbits, fowl and cultivates his vineyard and hundreds of olive trees, an era has ended. A chapter of Umbrian rural life will come to a close.
Ann and Fred, Deborah, Robert and Jacob, good to share rural memories with you today and introduce you to “ living legends” like Peppe.
[lcaption]Peppe proudly shows his guests from the USA and Canada his prized prosciutti[/lcaption]
Peppe assures us his prosciutto is the best as his pigs are acorn-fed:
[lcaption]Deborah takes a whiff of the enticing perfume of Peppe’s olive oil[/lcaption]
[lcaption]Ann and Fred sip Peppe’s vino rosso[/lcaption]
[lcaption]Salute, Peppe![/lcaption]
From Peppe’s farm, on to the home of his niece Chiarina and her husband Marino for a rural banquet lunch. But before lunch, a visit to their cellar to see their aging prosciutti and Marino’s wine-making equipment.
[lcaption]Marino, proud of his prosciutti – and not only[/lcaption]
[lcaption]Marino shows us his wine-making equipment[/lcaption]
…and then time for lunch, cooked by wife Chiarina and their daughter Rossanna.
[lcaption]A tasty antipasto to start[/lcaption]
..and Marino wants us to be sure to taste his capocollo:
Rossanna serves up her mother Chiarina’s lasagne[/lcaption]
[lcaption]Deborah and son Jacob savor the lasagne[/lcaption]
[lcaption]…..and then Chiarina brings on the multiple meat courses (veal raised by her uncle Peppe!)[/lcaption]
[lcaption]Rossanna serves up the pineapple/cherry jam cake her mamma Chiarina made[/lcaption]
Mille grazie to all for opening homes and hearts to us……and thanks to you, too, Deborah, Robert and Jacob, for the notes you wrote me:
“Dear Anne,
Thank you for our wonderful tour of the ‘rural life’ -we enjoyed the stories, visit with your neighbors and the lovely lunch. Our stay on your form was a peaceful respite and we are sorry to go. Thank you for your hospitality and our delicious meal with you on the first evening-we marvel at how you put together such a feast in such short order. Best peaches ever. Many thanks!”
Deborah and Robert + Jacob
Toronto Canada
“Dear Anne,
Thank you very much for your warm hospitality and kind words the night of our arrival. Umbria has been a beautiful and historically rich interlude in our time between Rome and Venice…….Thank you also for the world tour. I am grateful to have had the opportunity to witness firsthand a way of life on which the curtain is closing and of which few of my generation will ever get see.”
Sincerly, Jacob Watkins-Strand, Toronto Canada
Read more about our treasured rural friends
Read more about our apartment guests
Read more about Chiarina and Marino’s warmth and our other rural friends
Read more about Umbria’s treasure: the rural people
Click here to see – and read about – the rural people, rural banquets
Click here for more on the “Rural Life Revisited” experience
Read more about Peppe, Peppa and other rural friends here
Meet our farm friends, givers of the greatest gifts
Click here to read about “memorable moments” or our rural visits
Read about – and see – our first years on the land in Umbria
Read more about treasured rural friends
Read more about indefatigable Peppe
Click here to read about an “Auntie Annie” rural tour
You really can’t miss a rural banquet cooked by Chiarina
Read about the “regal welcome” Chiarina and Marino give to their guests
Read about our rural friends – and their “green gold,” olive oil
Read about why a visit with our rural friends makes any Umbrian stay unforgettable
Click here to see how a visit to rural friends can make your stay “the experience of a lifetime”
Click here to read about a treasured Umbrian rural winter tradition
Click here for many more insights on our rural friends
Read about Chiarina and Marino – and the use of broom
Read about making wine with Peppa
Click here to read about – and see – why rural visits offer “unforgettable moments”
Click here for more on treasured rural friends….
It’s always a treat to see Peppe. And his wife? I miss her sweet face.