Niccone Valley and Hill Towns of Umbria

“You may have the universe, if I may have Italy.”

– Giuseppe Verdi

After a maddening hour spent at the car rental counter in Rome’s Termini Station observing the tragicomic, yet friendly, staff bedeviled by the limitations of IT firmly affixed in 1982, we are released via Autostada to dwell amongst the grape and olive.

Umbria, neglected stepsister of Tuscany, reserves a special place in our heart. Medieval, bucolic, and less trendy than Renaissance Tuscany, Umbria calls us to the simplicity of life in the Italian countryside.

Our destination is a rustic retreat, La Chiusa, an unfussy agriturismo run by a welcoming family, headed by Masha and Luca, and 2 beautiful children – Mia and Valentino. The allure here is unspoiled beauty of the Niccone (as in nicotine) Valley, and delights of Masha’s farmed-based cooking.

Masha’s mother, who also lives on the property, is a chef on Italian daytime television and a talented painter of primitive oils. We were treated to hand-rolled pastas and ravioli fashioned with wild-harvested vegetables, crispy home-cured pancetta, just-gathered eggs, home-baked black sesame seeded bread, and slow cooked duck and pork (alas, former residents).

[Alert: poetic prose follows:] Winter’s dark embrace is just lifting to reveal verdant pastures and the first buds of spring. The colors of the countryside – studies in muted brown tweed – give way to granite towns that have sought the uneasy security of high ground above the vineyards and olive trees.

Each morning, after breakfast in the sunny, glass enclosed porch, we take off for a constitutional buona passeggiata above the fields that rise and fall amid valley farms. Our calculus is that this exertion keeps us about par with our Mediterranean caloric intake.

Afternoon destinations reunite us with hill towns of very different character.

Gubbio, a stone commune built above ruins of a Roman amphitheatre and historically controlling a key artery to the Adriatic, resists the incursions of modernity. At this point the prevailing industry seems to be hanging out in sleepy piazzas, playing cards, and smoking.

Assisi, a handsomely restored attraction, home to countless churches and monasteries is an easy commute for us that allows for energetic promenades among steep narrow lanes and entertaining cafe lattes studying the local customs and scandals.

After 3 relaxing days we are off to Tuscany via the rough mountains and forests that protect our favorite Umbrian destination – Preggio. We are invited to a classic Saturday lunch at the vineyards and country home run by our prior agriturismo hosts, Bruno and Elena.

They have opted out of running their appealing, remote inn, and now concentrate on maintaining their organinc wine and olive oil business. After having been guests for 4 previous years, we are moved to return to this intimate setting in the Italian countryside. We are treated to a warm and cozy meal featuring “nettle and potato fritters,” white wine, and other treats grown at Preggio’s kitchen gardens.

4 white Maremma shepherds, 2 turkeys and other farm denizens make it hard to say arrivederci, so abruptly.

All images taken on iPhone 6+

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