Umbria

We travelled to Umbria from Tuscany, to a hill top castle in Montegiove, that has been there since round about the 13th century. It was very imposing with huge walls rising from the very top of the hill , fortress like.

Turns out that we were the first visitors for this season (many accomodation venues and restaurants close over the winter) so our hosts were very fresh and enthusiastic and we think, glad of a little company.

They were Lorenzo and Rikke, blue haired and blonde eyed Danes who live in the castle with their two teenage daughters. Lorenzo has an Italian parent and a Danish parent and grew up in Denmark, knowing that he would inherit the castle, which has been in his family for centuries. As well as the accomodation side of things they grow grapes and make wine and olive oil, keep cattle, and manage their forests.

Lorenzo took us round the estate in his work vehicle and he and Jock talked trees to their hearts content. They have only three varieties, two types of oak and the Cyprus pine and none of them tall. They keep a few cattle and have a wild boar problem, we could see their diggings everywhere. In fact Lorenzo shot one while we there and brought it over in the back of the vehicle to show us. He was taking it straight to the butcher.

They also showed us through the wine cellar and the interior of the castle itself which was pretty amazing. Cold and vast with many paintings and wall hangings from centuries ago. Strange way to live…………..

Our little cottage was in the numerous outhouses and was beautifully fitted out, though not everything worked, which we are finding to be a common thing here. Looks and style are more commonplace than function! But we were very comfortable and enjoyed the whole experience. At night we could hear an owl hooting and we were just above the village church where the bells struck every half hour (though thankfully stopped overnight)!

We explored the local area and one day did a longish round trip to another hill top walled village called Deruta, which is famous for its ceramics. It was very quiet as its so early in the season but we did find enough open ceramics workshops and I bought myself one of the wine jugs I have been admiring everywhere . Most restaurants use ceramic jugs to decant the wine into , many purely functional, some beautiful, and each area has its own style apparently. Mine is fancy more than rustic, as I wanted to buy one made by the woman we saw working that day. The ceramics are really another whole art form, and exquisite. I could quite happily collect them I think.

We went to the next town along from Montegiove for Sunday lunch and enjoyed seeing families getting together, sharing large tables.

We went to the village lookout most evenings to watch the sun go down. It was a tiny village , immaculately clean and well kept. We are finding lots of villages and towns like this in the country.

While there I suffered terrible hay fever, which was a surprise as I only ever have the slightest hint of it at home. But the Cyprus pines were shedding their pollen en masse and it was windy, so I think that caused it. We went to the local pharmacy where you line up to speak to the pharmacist. She then chooses a box from behind her counter and hands it to you. No reading of the box or browsing the shelves here , but I did double check with her that it was an antihistamine!

So we had a quiet day resting before heading to Ubruzzo. Onwards!