After Cantine Aperte ended, we all sat down for a family-style feast. One of the meat courses was spit-roasted rabbit bathed in rosemary, garlic and white wine. The cooks used a giant stalk of rosemary as the “mop” to baste the meat.
Archive for May, 2008
Spit-Roasted Rabbit
Saturday, May 31st, 2008Infiorata di Spello
Saturday, May 31st, 2008Already one of Umbria’s most beautiful towns, Spello celebrates the Feast of Corpus Domini each year by laying extravagant floral carpets (infiorate) over the streets. Floral artists, young and old, create larger than life depictions of religious themes, or recreations of sacred art using only the petals of flowers. The townspeople labor all night on the eve of the Infiorate to map out their designs and apply the petals, most finishing between 7:00am and 10:00am on Sunday. In these early morning hours, people come to admire the floral masterpieces before the bishop of Spello carries the host on a procession through the streets at 11:00am. As the church leaders work their way through the streets of the town, only the bishop actually walks on the carpets of artfully laid petals.
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| Infiorata di Spello |
Multi-year slide show of the Infiorata
Photo of the Week
Tuesday, May 27th, 2008
Olivo di S. Emiliano — Trevi
Pictured above is the olive tree of Saint Emiliano — the first Bishop of Trevi. An historical record from the 9th century tells the story of Emiliano’s martyrdom in the 3rd century – he was tied to a young olive tree and decapitated. This tree, also from the 3rd century, is said to be the one where Emiliano met his demise and has, since that time, continued to grow and flourish despite numerous deadly frosts over the centuries — the most recent in 1956. The “gelata di 1956″ hit after an unusually warm winter and killed almost all of the olive trees in the area. The Olivo di S. Emiliano is presently a protected landmark, tree number 102, and measures 5 meters high and 9 meters in diameter.
Le fave con la barbotta
Tuesday, May 27th, 2008
Fava beans with “barbotta” or “barbozza”. Springtime is the right time to eat favas in Italy and these were prepared perfectly with a “healthy” dose of fried pig cheeks. The pizza that came with them was soft inside and crisp outside and there was a hint of rosemary in the oil. A truly great plate of food.
