Narni, Estd. 299 BC
A typical day in Italy involves coffee in the morning, an activity, a huge lunch, an afternoon rest, (most shops close for a couple of hours; in fact, Italians have a word, abbiocco, for the somnolent state one enters after a large, rich meal), more activity, and a late dinner. For natives and tourists alike, it’s a pleasant pattern. However, If you don’t like to read about other people’s meals, you can stop now, and generally just avoid reading travel notes about anybody’s trip to Italy!
The food is, of course, spectacular. Certainly in Umbria, close to 100% of the ingredients are local. Throughout Italy, the dishes are very simple, uncluttered, clean, with each region having its specialties and regional favorites.
An Umbrian salumeria
Sunday, we slept until noon (!), showered and dressed, and drove to Narni for lunch. Many of the ancient towns do not accommodate visitor automobile traffic, so in Narni we parked in the new town and rode a short funicular up to the old city for lunch. I hadn’t eaten a square meal in a couple of days, so it was much needed. There were crostini, mozzarella ravioli in pomodoro, and a local specialty, braised wild boar with polenta.
Faciendo la passeggiata
After lunch, we did our own version of the passeggiata, the traditional Italian walk through town, seeing and being seen. Naturally we stopped for espresso and gelato. Like everywhere we visited, there were Roman buildings and ruins scattered about.
In the grand Roman tradition of re-purposing every stone and every building when it is no longer needed for its original purpose, even Narni’s town hall was situated in an old Roman-era building on the medieval piazza.
Window plantings in Narni
So back to house for a nap, an Umbrian thunderstorm, and the promise of pizza from the house's wood oven that evening. Our host Michael, owner of the villa, started a fire in the oven around 3 in the afternoon and at about 8:30 in the evening, he and his wife Catherine showed up with 28 pizza crusts, herbs, tomatoes, sauce, and sausage. The first couple out of the oven were topped with just olive oil and rosemary. Fantastic. As he rolled each crust paper thin on a slab of white marble, Michael would add a couple of ingredients, slide the pizzas onto the floor of the oven and bake them for at most a minute or two. They came out crispy and delicious. We cut them into pieces and ate until we were stuffed.
Michael and his pizza station.
Notice the peels on the wall over his right shoulder.
Ravenous travelers
