Fontesecca Wines, Citta della Pieve

 

To discover and uncover is one of the great delights of travel – as much today as in Marco Polo’s, Captain Cook’s or Vasgo da Gama’s time. Whether the discovery is in unchartered waters or close to where one spends much time, it is always a delight to unearth the unexpected. So, after drinking many bottles of a local biologically produced wine called "Fontesecca" www.fontesecca.it/en/ when we enjoy our countless meals at our favourite family operated restaurant own town in Citta della Pieve,  "Bruno Coppetta" www.en.trattoriabrunocoppetta.com/, we decided it was time to source the grower /producer!

Like with many hidden gems, it turned out to be in a place we drive past regularly, but just slightly off the main road out of vision. Paolo Bolla the owner of Fontesecca wines, has a 4 generational heritage in wine manufacture, and was originally from the Verona area where he learnt his trade in the family business. In search of new unspoilt terrain, he and his family moved to the Umbrian hills in 2004 and began an independent winery that today produces a limited quantity of excellent wines plus extra virgin olive oil, all grown on their land. The delightful part about their production methods is their organic farming approach, a respect for the land, nature & time which seems to be a recurring narrative in this part of the world.  

The wines we have previously tasted are a fabulous red wine called "Pino" (named after Paolo Bolla’s father), which is made from 100% Sangiovese grapes and exudes a spicy, slightly floral, full rounded taste with which as Australians, we are familiar. It is absolutely delicious and with a dark ruby red colour, it looks as good as it tastes. The white wine, "Elso" (named after the man who planted the original vines 40years ago) also has a wonderful 3 dimensional layered taste being a mix of local varieties of Trebbiano, Toscano, Grechetto & Malvasia grapes. With a colour of wet straw, we can testify it is a superb wine to enjoy with lunch during the warmer months.  They also produce several other wines and needless to say we purchased the whole range to be sure!

 

The terrain from millennia ago used to be sea and we were told that when ploughing the soil to plant the new vines they found many fossilised shells which is where the symbol on their label is derived. Today these shells are proudly displayed to show the geographical history of the region and Paolo mentioned that these crustaceans add to the saltiness of the soil and contribute to the grape's end taste for the wine production.  

Uncovering local gems like this, we feel are peeling back the historical layers that have shaped this Umbrian region for centuries.

 

 

 

 
 

 

 

 

 

Citta della Pieve seen from Fontesecca Vineyard
 

 

A Carpenter's Workbench gets a new lease of life as our kitchen table

A few months ago I posted a photo of a re-invigorated carpenter's workbench which we fell in love with at the Arezzo antique market. Well, here is a photo of a similar one which we also found recently at the same Arezzo monthly antique market, and, it has now become our 'new', but very old, kitchen table. A thick piece of glass has made what may have been an impractical bench into something completely usable, very comfortable, and indeed supremely beautiful. We love its character - the 2 timber vice that have tightly held hundreds of pieces of timber over the years, are still attached and working, and the visible recesses that held the tools of the carpenter's trade, bear the worn signs of their past life. It is a table that each time we sit at to eat a meal or drink a cup of coffee, it makes us smile thinking of its past history and new beginning. It looks very much at home in our beautifully imperfect ancient apartment! 

 

 

 

Lacole Casa Italiana - surely the world's best warehouse of repurposed Architectural elements

I love researching far and wide to uncover interesting and intriguing places in our local Umbrian/Tuscan community, places that excite my senses with the quality and depth of what they offer, well 'PORTE DEL PASSATO' Via della Liberta, Pistrino di Citerna (PG), and its sister store 'LACOLE CASA ITALIANA' a few hundred metres down the road, both fit this category.

 

Lacole Casa Italiana is an enormous warehouse with the most amazingly indepth product display of beautiful recycled architectural & interior design elements imaginable. Do you require a jaw dropping marble fireplace surround to finish your home?...or 70yr old majolica wear concrete tiles for that family room renovation?.....or perhaps a centuries old marble sink to complete your bathroom, or an antique stone archway - my list could go on and on, - well this is undoubtedly the place to find them, and not only will you find them, but you will also have a bevy of choice! I love these type of warehouses but never have I seen the quantity and quality of repurposed architectural items that this place has to offer - nor have I ever seen the items displayed and catalogued with such precision and attention to detail - this place is most definitely a labour of love by its owners and the photos I took below are truly just a fraction of what they offer - it did feel a little like an elaborate movie set, yet everything we saw was certainly available for purchase. 

 

I admit to seriously eyeing off the majolica ware concrete tiles - can definitely see them in my soon to be started house extension as an integral element of the kitchen/family room  - just currently working out how I can get them back to Australia, but where there is a will.....

 

Porte del Passato, its sister store down the road, cleverly uses these collected old materials and up-cycles them into useful and beautiful furniture/kitchen units/internal doors - in fact I have no doubt they could work around what ever you required to complete your space. Their craftspeople repaint and rework the pieces to rejuvenate them on a scale I have not seen previously and their attention to detail seem to know no bounds! 

Both places are inspiring and I feel certainly worth going out of your way to visit if these type of things interest you ....... you will definitely find unusual and exciting product, but just don't expect to find a bargain... though I have to point out that with the obviously enormous effort the owners have put into breathing new life into these old items, the prices are totally understandable.

 

Internal doors repainted and rejuvenated at PORTE del PASSATO

Old cupboard repainted & fitted with rejuvenated marble sinks in a Carrara marble
benchtop makes a beautiful bathroom unit for a refurbished ancient home

 

 

Fresh Porcini Mushrooms & Black Truffles directly from the farmer - Ahhhhh....... it's good to be back in Italy!!

In Europe, autumn begins tomorrow and the produce markets in Italy are brimming with the most beautiful looking, and delicious, tasting fruit & vegetables. So our arrival to our home in Citta della Pieve at midnight last night, was perfect timing to fill our baskets at this morning's Saturday market. Although our town's market is small in comparison to many others in the area, it still has food stalls that always deliver exceptional quality seasonal products which we stock up on in large quantity.

 

In addition to innumerable fruit & vegetables, today we purchased some huge fresh porcini mushrooms which I prepared for lunch by thickly slicing them, then frying in a little garlic infused olive oil and served with fresh thyme and cracked pepper. Simple, quick and incredibly delicious - couldn't be better really! As L would say, all knowledge is acquired, and I discovered this method of cooking them a few moths ago when we ate at our favourite restaurant in Arezzo, "Antica Osteria L'Agania" - the strong but delicate taste of the Porcini mushrooms shines through and delivers a meal so delicious it belies the simplicity of its preparation.

 

Then later in the day in another quest to uncover some more local knowledge, we were out driving in the Arezzo area when we came upon a little hut selling freshly gathered large black and white truffles. The aroma in the little timber cabin which is open Saturday only, was overwhelming and their product - only white or black truffles in varying sizes, had been collected directly by them the previous day - hard to beat buying directly from the farmer, particularly in the case of truffles where the length of time out of the ground diminishes the strength of the taste. We chose 2 of the large black truffles for only 15Euro, then bought fresh pasta which we simply grated the truffles over for the most amazingly delicious dinner - now that is what I call fabulous fast food! The remainder of the truffles currently sit in a jar with our eggs as we are told the aroma will seep into the porous egg shell and give us truffle tasting eggs for our omelette tomorrow morning - though with the cost and availability of fresh truffles I think we will just shave them into the omelette instead!  

 

 

 

 

 



Opera House in Citta della Pieve, Umbria

In our Italian village, Citta della Pieve there is a theatre which until last week, we had only seen photos of, as our visits had not coincided with its opening. Constructed between 1830 - 1834 to the design of Giovanni Santini, a well known Umbrian architect, this little gorgeous opera house underwent a 10year renovation beginning in 1990, by local artisans Antonio & Mario Marroni. So we were thrilled to be able to glimpse its interior recently when a local band was performing. It is absolutely delightful with beautifully intricate painting on the ceiling and upper walls and 4 levels of private balconies around the perimeter. The mood of the space is "Allegro", in the true sense of the word - lively and happy. If you happen to be in this area and there is a production performing in this gorgeous opera theatre, definitely visit as it is quite astonishing that a town of this size has such a jewel of a public space.

Our Home in CITTA DELLA PIEVE is completed & ready for rental!!

After 4 months, driving thousands of kilometres and searching in countless markets, shops and little known villages, we have finally arrived at the completion of renovating and furnishing our home on the Umbrian Tuscan border. We are thrilled with the outcome and have thoroughly enjoyed the process of transforming our dream to a reality. The exceptionally comfortable beds are made, the wine glasses ready and now we are keen to have our first holiday renters enjoy the delights of this house and the atmospheric village in which it is situated. There is much to do in and around Citta della Pieve - all the well known towns in Tuscany and Umbria are within easy reach - Orvietto, Siena, Cortona, Montepulciano to name just a few. Rome and Florence are within a 1.15hr fast train trip from Chiusi (which is 15mins drive down the hill from our village), and of course the sumptuous produce for which this area is renowned, is at the doorstep - so what are you waiting for??

The original palazzo this apartment is a part of, was built in about 1650, and divided into 6 apartments about 25years ago. It has many of the original architectural elements, very thick stone walls, ancient timber beams and cotto floors that over the years have become quite uneven. We bought the apartment from the gentlemen who had owned it since it was divided 25yrs ago, and as artists they had painted many of the walls and ceilings with great detail. We chose to retain a portion of this work, removing the brighter of the colours they had painted, but our biggest change to the interiors has been to make them feel more in context with the age of the building and its Italian heritage. We have also gone to a great deal of effort to source beautiful chandeliers for every room as when we bought it there was no overhead lighting at all, and the addition of these makes the places feel significantly more sumptuous. The remainder of the furniture is largely market finds, some antique, some more recent, but the mix is what makes it interesting and extremely comfortable and relaxing. There is also a beautiful loggia - an outdoor covered space which has lovely views to the valley below and a perfect place to enjoy a glass of local wine. 

Here are the first photos of our house - we are in the process of completing the website, but the house is ready for rent, so if you are contemplating a holiday in this part of the world, send us an email, we will delighted to hear from you! info@educationcpe.com 

View from the loggia to the valley below

Living room with view to Main Bedroom on right and Loggia on left

Living room with view to Entry room. The fireplace is in working order but with central heating it is only required for ambience, not warmth

All of the artworks, in their original frames were found in markets across France and Italy. This wallhanging on the right, was bought in Morocco and is an old wedding blanket handmade by a woman from the Berber tribe.

We bought this beautiful handmade Beni Ourain (a Berber tribe) rug, on our recent trip to Morocco and it is superbly soft underfoot and gives a lovely texture to our living space. 

Entry with view to 2nd bedroom

Gorgeous candelabra 

These beds were sent all the way from UK as we wanted beds that could be either 2 King singles or convert to a Queen bed by zipping the mattresses and locking the bases in place - so this can be another Queen bed if required

These furniture pieces were found in Antique markets across Italy and France

This large map of Europe enables you to plan the rest of your journey while enjoying a meal 

Kitchen with view to the loggia

The Main Bedroom has an exceptionally comfortable Queen size bed and french doors opening to the covered loggia 

There is plenty of space in the bedrooms for all your luggage 

View from living room to kitchen

The Loggia 

View from the loggia

Citta della Pieve