Franco’s favourite ... Umbrian delights
Apr 29th, 2006, 10:16 AM
#22
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Amazing: of all my "favourite" threads, I supposed those on Venice would get most responses/questions - but no, it's Umbria! Obviously, people are discovering it; and it's certainly worth it!
twoblueshoes - if you want to stay in a city, I can't recommend any of the places you've mentioned! None of them is a city; Orvieto and Cortona are towns, and the rest are big villages, Spello and Montefalco not even big ones. The one and only "city" around is Perugia, which is in fact not more than a big town, either, but with such an urban flair that it definitely gives you a city feeling - and it's one of the greatest of Umbria's medieval places, so I'd strongly recommend to stay there, anyway.
Btw, for those who don't know yet, I might add that Montefalco Rosso is a blend of Sangiovese and (a smaller portion of) Sagrantino, so it's smooth like a good Sangiovese, and yet full-bodied thanks to the Sagrantino grapes.
twoblueshoes - if you want to stay in a city, I can't recommend any of the places you've mentioned! None of them is a city; Orvieto and Cortona are towns, and the rest are big villages, Spello and Montefalco not even big ones. The one and only "city" around is Perugia, which is in fact not more than a big town, either, but with such an urban flair that it definitely gives you a city feeling - and it's one of the greatest of Umbria's medieval places, so I'd strongly recommend to stay there, anyway.
Btw, for those who don't know yet, I might add that Montefalco Rosso is a blend of Sangiovese and (a smaller portion of) Sagrantino, so it's smooth like a good Sangiovese, and yet full-bodied thanks to the Sagrantino grapes.
Apr 29th, 2006, 12:10 PM
#23
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Hi franco!
It is lovely to see you posting....as always, more questions...all I have left of what we brought back is a Caprai Sagrantino and a Madonna Alta Sagrantino.....is the Montefalco Rossa a blend, as you have described, and these are 100%?????
It is lovely to see you posting....as always, more questions...all I have left of what we brought back is a Caprai Sagrantino and a Madonna Alta Sagrantino.....is the Montefalco Rossa a blend, as you have described, and these are 100%?????
May 8th, 2006, 10:00 AM
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In case that anybody hesitates to ask just because of my currently scarce presence on Fodor’s, I’d like to repeat that if you’d like me to answer any questions related to the topic of this thread, just post them here – I’m checking rarely, but regularly, but only my “own” threads due to work pressure.
Jun 18th, 2006, 10:05 AM
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StCirq - no, purtroppo. No chance that I'll make it to Umbria this year... which is all the worse since I have almost nothing left of Nunzi's incomparable oil... heavy seas are about to surge against my kitchen!
Jun 20th, 2006, 04:16 PM
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Franco,
Once again THANK YOU! for taking the time to tell your story here. We chatted about Venice.
We'll be staying in Cortona for 4 nights in September and I was thinking of taking a ride to Orvietto (AM) and Todi (PM).
I'm trying to keep us within about an hours drive from Cortona. I'm thinking small town vs. more touristy and congested. Is Todi the right match or is there lesser known gem nearby?
I like the way you think about food and wine! Any suggestions for lunch (we plan to be back in Cortona by dinner time).
Mille grazie,
Terry
Once again THANK YOU! for taking the time to tell your story here. We chatted about Venice.
We'll be staying in Cortona for 4 nights in September and I was thinking of taking a ride to Orvietto (AM) and Todi (PM).
I'm trying to keep us within about an hours drive from Cortona. I'm thinking small town vs. more touristy and congested. Is Todi the right match or is there lesser known gem nearby?
I like the way you think about food and wine! Any suggestions for lunch (we plan to be back in Cortona by dinner time).
Mille grazie,
Terry
Jun 26th, 2006, 04:05 AM
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Terry - of course, Todi is no longer a "hidden gem", but a gem nevertheless, and certainly worth visiting, though you won't be the only one... I wouldn't want to skip it, though. Nor would I suggest to skip Orvieto, though I must admit that I never fell in love with it. The Duomo is a great piece of art, and the town is pretty, but somehow it always failed to make me feel "at home".
Of course, there are hidden gems, too. You'll pass by Città della Pieve on your way from Cortona to Orvieto, which is a wonderful medieval Umbrian town - the only one constructed in brick rather than stone, with a wonderful Perugino fresco in the tiny church of S. Maria della Mercede, and with no tourists at all. The second hidden gem within your reach (ok, maybe slightly more than one hour, but very rewarding) is Lugnano in Teverina, a village boasting one of Italy's best and most beautiful small Romanesque churches, and a gorgeous view over the Tiber valley.
As for restaurants, sorry, this is not "my" part of Umbria, and I have no recommendations for you.
Of course, there are hidden gems, too. You'll pass by Città della Pieve on your way from Cortona to Orvieto, which is a wonderful medieval Umbrian town - the only one constructed in brick rather than stone, with a wonderful Perugino fresco in the tiny church of S. Maria della Mercede, and with no tourists at all. The second hidden gem within your reach (ok, maybe slightly more than one hour, but very rewarding) is Lugnano in Teverina, a village boasting one of Italy's best and most beautiful small Romanesque churches, and a gorgeous view over the Tiber valley.
As for restaurants, sorry, this is not "my" part of Umbria, and I have no recommendations for you.
Jun 26th, 2006, 05:12 PM
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Franco,
One more question if I may... if I can manage to cover this as a day trip from Cortona... how much time would "you" allow for each of the 4 stops? Via Michelin says that it's a 4 hour and 15 minute loop (Cortona - Todi - Lugnano in Teverina - Orvieto - Città della Pieve - Cortona). Sound about right?
Grazie,
Terry
One more question if I may... if I can manage to cover this as a day trip from Cortona... how much time would "you" allow for each of the 4 stops? Via Michelin says that it's a 4 hour and 15 minute loop (Cortona - Todi - Lugnano in Teverina - Orvieto - Città della Pieve - Cortona). Sound about right?
Grazie,
Terry
Jun 28th, 2006, 02:28 PM
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Sampaguita - yes, of course I've been to Piedmont, and it's a marvellous region. This fact, however, does not justify that you're abusing this forum for promoting your region (look at Sampaguita's email address, and at the respective website - this is a hotel, guess where, in Piedmont!!). Especially if, in order to do so, you need to make silly suggestions.
GirlTravel, this is not a thread about the known and famed - on the contrary, it's based on the fact that most informations of the "everybody knows" type are wrong. I took for granted that "everybody knows" that Piedmont (and French Périgord, of course!) are "known and famed" for truffles, that's exactly the reason why I've made my remark about Umbrian truffle quantities. All of France is producing 20 tons of truffles in a year, most of which come from south-eastern France, and only a small (and decreasing) quantity from Périgord; and Italy is producing about 100 tons, but merely 5 tons (!) come from Piemonte - the rest is primarily from the Marche region, and from Umbria, as I told above.
Terry - I think it's doable to visit all the four of these towns on one day. Viamichelin is not driving as quickly as I do, and I'd calculate one hour each for Lugnano in Teverina and Città della Pieve, two for Orvieto, and maybe two and a half for Todi; I suggest to leave Città della Pieve for the late afternoon, so if you see that you don't make it all on that one day, you can assign more time to the three other towns, and you might want to make a second excursion to Città della Pieve, which isn't that distant from Cortona.
GirlTravel, this is not a thread about the known and famed - on the contrary, it's based on the fact that most informations of the "everybody knows" type are wrong. I took for granted that "everybody knows" that Piedmont (and French Périgord, of course!) are "known and famed" for truffles, that's exactly the reason why I've made my remark about Umbrian truffle quantities. All of France is producing 20 tons of truffles in a year, most of which come from south-eastern France, and only a small (and decreasing) quantity from Périgord; and Italy is producing about 100 tons, but merely 5 tons (!) come from Piemonte - the rest is primarily from the Marche region, and from Umbria, as I told above.
Terry - I think it's doable to visit all the four of these towns on one day. Viamichelin is not driving as quickly as I do, and I'd calculate one hour each for Lugnano in Teverina and Città della Pieve, two for Orvieto, and maybe two and a half for Todi; I suggest to leave Città della Pieve for the late afternoon, so if you see that you don't make it all on that one day, you can assign more time to the three other towns, and you might want to make a second excursion to Città della Pieve, which isn't that distant from Cortona.
Jun 28th, 2006, 02:38 PM
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Many thanks Franco for all this valuable information. I was in Umbria for all too brief trip last Spring. I hope to return within the next 12 months - its a delightful region with so much to see.
Jun 28th, 2006, 05:14 PM
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Mille grazie Franco! I'm so grateful for your advice. Thanks for taking the time to answer each and every one of my questions, especially since I know that you are super busy. Hope your project is going well.
Ciao,
Terry
Ciao,
Terry
Jun 28th, 2006, 10:25 PM
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Franco,
I am disapointed that you see fit to abuse my posting when I pointed out to you about Piedmont truffles, when you were raving about Umbrian ones.
I don't know what's your beef, yes I do live in Piedmont and yes I do have a B&B, and I do love Piedmont and to let people know about it, but did I say you MUST come here for the best truffles in the world? Your response was a bit trucelent if I may say so, it looked like to me as if you like to post these long reviews but bristle at the hint of a critiscm, which in this case none was intended.
I was curiuos too as I have seen your postings many times with lengthy discourses, are you a travel writer? Or planning to be one perhaps. Or perhaps a famous food critic for some journal?
I look forward to when you do your review on Piedmont, we are very proud of our regions wine and cucina you know.
I am disapointed that you see fit to abuse my posting when I pointed out to you about Piedmont truffles, when you were raving about Umbrian ones.
I don't know what's your beef, yes I do live in Piedmont and yes I do have a B&B, and I do love Piedmont and to let people know about it, but did I say you MUST come here for the best truffles in the world? Your response was a bit trucelent if I may say so, it looked like to me as if you like to post these long reviews but bristle at the hint of a critiscm, which in this case none was intended.
I was curiuos too as I have seen your postings many times with lengthy discourses, are you a travel writer? Or planning to be one perhaps. Or perhaps a famous food critic for some journal?
I look forward to when you do your review on Piedmont, we are very proud of our regions wine and cucina you know.
Jul 1st, 2006, 09:42 AM
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Sampaguita - if I've got your posting wrong, I apologize. Maybe my perception of what you've written has been distorted by the following posting, but still, and reading it again, I have to admit that your original entry seems very unkind to me, not because of the "hint of criticism" but primarily because of your shouting at me (capital letters!). And I must admit (to add some self-criticism) that I'm somewhat impatient with "corrections" that are in fact wrong. As far as I'm concerned, my principle is to speak out exclusively on matters on which I'm 100 percent sure, and if, to give an example, an art historian tells me something about da Vinci, I'd never "criticize" him saying "but Dan Brown wrote...". Maybe I'm TOO impatient in this respect - if so, I'm sorry.
No, I'm not a travel writer, nor a food critic, I'm just a passionate traveler who wants to share some experiences.
As far as Piemonte, I don't know the region well enough to write about it (this would certainly result in "informations" of the Dan Brown type) - so far, at least. It may be, however, that my next work project will guide me to Piemonte in autumn or winter, and if so, I might well write another of my lengthy reviews on that region... maybe I'll manage to be less lengthy, that time (cause this is a criticism that I do accept - I, too, thought more than often it would be preferable if I could somewhat restrain my postings in size).
Terry, thank you, my project is going more than well. Hope that you'll enjoy your trip, and report here accordingly!
No, I'm not a travel writer, nor a food critic, I'm just a passionate traveler who wants to share some experiences.
As far as Piemonte, I don't know the region well enough to write about it (this would certainly result in "informations" of the Dan Brown type) - so far, at least. It may be, however, that my next work project will guide me to Piemonte in autumn or winter, and if so, I might well write another of my lengthy reviews on that region... maybe I'll manage to be less lengthy, that time (cause this is a criticism that I do accept - I, too, thought more than often it would be preferable if I could somewhat restrain my postings in size).
Terry, thank you, my project is going more than well. Hope that you'll enjoy your trip, and report here accordingly!
