Consumers' power? Dsl connection and vegetable oil.

During the last weeks my dsl connection has been working very badly: it usually disconnects (or works only for a few moments and then disconnects again) from 11 a.m. to 9 or 10 p.m. Apparently there's nothing wrong on my line... but it keeps disconnecting.

After working on it for days, the answer by my telephone company has been: downgrade your contract from 2 Mb to 800 Kb and everything will work again! ...strange answer isn't it? After asking a lot and listening to the workers that came here I now think that I have the answer: the wires that get here are old and there's a long distance from the box to the Locanda, so the conditions are not good. Moreover the company keeps signing contracts with new users (including dsl connections) without upgrading the system or changing the wires... so my dsl is being "stolen" the possibility of working normally.

The only answer they have is "downgrade your service" and I feel that, even if the people working on it have been very helpful and apparently they tried all they could, I will be obliged to do so.

I feel very frustrated, as a consumer I feel that my rights have not been respected or that, simply, I have no rights at all...
Of course, as I suppose in every other country, you're no longer allowed to talk to someone at the company who knows about your problem and maybe is willing to solve it, but you keep talking to some poor soul who has to fill in a stupid form asking quesions like: is your router plugged in? Did you check that your wire is working?
I just plainly hate it!

At midday, feeling angry and frustrated because of this (luckily I like working at night, otherwise I'd have serious problems with my bookings and marketing), I decided to make myself a prosciutto cotto, lattuce and mayo sandwich.... (summer comfort food) and, having no time to make my own mayo, I opened a jar of a famous brand here in Italy (yes, even us, organic farmers, cooks and innkeepers sometimes do things like this! :) ).

... Suddently I felt better... not much because of the comfort coming from the sandwich, but because I was tasting one of the few consumers' victories I know of during the last years...

This famous brand changed the mayo recipe months ago.. they started using not-better-specified "vegetable oil" in their recipe and the product changed completely: I mean, jarred mayo is not the best nor healthyest product in the world, but I promise that it was just bad.
I stopped buying the product and promised myself that I would write them.
A few months ago I started seeing ads of this brand advertising that the "traditional taste" was back!!!! I do not know if there were complaints or if just a drop in sales, but I feel that they would not have gone back if not pushed by consumers somehow.

It's so good to know that we, consumers, have some power over the producers!
And it's so sad to think that apparently we only make use of it when someone spoils our mayo...

Hertz Green Collection

Some time ago I posted about Green options to reach the Locanda. Today I read on Traveling the Green Way that Hertz has launched its Green Collection in Europe to meet increasing customer demand for eco-car rentals. A range of fuel-efficient cars across 70 major airport and downtown locations in Europe are now available.

The Green Collection offers eco-friendly models selected according to the company’s enhanced CO2 emissions policy. All cars from the Hertz Green Collection offer a CO2 output level of less than 140g/km, making more environmentally friendly than most other cars. Hertz Green Collection cars also have guaranteed make and model reservations, so you know the car you book is the one you'll be driving away in.

In Italy Hertz has introduced the Fiat Punto Natural Gas power model into its Green Collection. Gas is widely available in Italy and this is certainly the "greenest" rental you can be offered at the moment in Italy.

As for today the Green Collection is only available at Roma and Milan airports but I hope that the demand grows so that other locations can be added!

Lower your environmental impact when visiting Locanda della Valle Nuova by renting a green car!

Bread, roses, honeysuckle (and rain)

The season started. When you arrive at the Locanda everything smells like roses and honeysuckle (I LOVE honeysuckle!).
Once you're inside hot bread smell fills the air, I'm sorry the internet do not allow me to post smells.. but at least I can post this pic of the Locanda with all the roses in bloom (of course it was taken just before it started raining cats and dogs! :) ).



BTW, the rain stopped, the sun shines and everything is greener than ever!

Urbino Ducal Palace

Sometimes friends visit me here, I'm most grateful since they also give me the opportunity of re-visiting places and seeing them with "new eyes". During the last month I've been very lucky and some very good friend visited me: here's a small choice of photos taken during their visits.

The Locanda in Alastair Sawday's Green Europe

Green Europe, the latest Alastair Sawday's title is out, and the Locanda is included, of course!
"Our Green Europe collection features special places that go the extra mile to provide responsible holidays. You will find over 170 authentic, beautiful places to stay that champion organic food, use eco-friendly technologies, contribute to conservation, or have a positive impact on their community."

LOCANDA DELLA VALLE NUOVA
In gentle, breeze-cooled hills, surrounded by ancient, protected oaks and on the road that leads to glorious Urbino, this 185-acre farm is an unusual, unexpectedly modern place whose owners' motto, that "one should tread lightly on teh earth", colours every aspect of their lives. The cork-insulated farm, dotted with horses and two riding arenas, has been certified organic for nearly 25 years and nearly all of the delicious food and wine served by Signora Savini and her daughter Giulia is home-produced; the rest is sourced from local organic producers. In an area historically renowned for hunting, here it is forbidden, providing a haven for wild animals. Water is purified for drinking, showers are heated by the hot Italian sunshine, and prunings from the farm's woods, where truffles are gathered in autumn, feed a low-consumption wood stove to heat the house. It's worth asking for one of the bigger bedrooms, preferably with a view; all have bed linen and towels made from 100% natural fibres. With solar panels soon to be installed, La Locanda defines Italian eco agritourism.

Talking about "greenness"... here's a photo of the hills around the Locanda just a few days ago!

Cagli again (plus Giovanni Santi frescos)

The focus of the exhibition Raffaello e Urbino is not only on Raphael's own paintings but also on his influences, first of all Giovanni Santi, Raphael's father. Until July 12th the Church of San Domenico in Cagli will stay open to give everybody the possibility of seeing Giovanni Santi’s last work, the Tiranni Chapel, arguably his masterpiece.



In the same church you'll also be able to admire the Battista Tiranni funeral monument with a fresco of Christ in the Tomb between Saints Jerome and Bonaventure (1481).


Giovanni Santi is not the only reason why you should visit Cagli, a very lively tiny town with a nice Piazza where you can sit and sip a coffee while people-watching and "Alimentare", a very interesting food-shop that also serves yummy pasta courses, salamis and cheeses paired with the finest local wines in its small but light-filled backshop.
After the gastronomic stop walk down to the Francesco di Giorgio Martini Tower, remainder of the Cagli city-walls.



The Torrione only opens on Saturdays and Sundays and there's a 4000 steps tunnel that ends up the hill where a Castle used to stand.

ROF Rossini Opera Festival

Preliminary Programme

XXX Edition - 9-20 August 2009

Adriatic Arena
9, 12, 15, 18 August 2009, at 8 pm
ZELMIRA
Dramma per musica in due atti by Andrea Leone Tottola
Critical Edition Fondazione Rossini / Universal Music Publishing Ricordi,
edited by Helen Greenwald and Kathleen Kuzmick Hansell. Edition for Paris, 1826
Conductor ROBERTO ABBADO
Director and Settings GIORGIO BARBERIO CORSETTI
Settings and Costumes CRISTIAN TARABORRELLI
Lighting Designer GIANLUCA CAPPELLETTI
Interpreters
KATE ALDRICH, MARIANNA PIZZOLATO, ALEX ESPOSITO,
JUAN DIEGO FLÓREZ, GREGORY KUNDE, MIRCO PALAZZI
ORCHESTRA E CORO DEL
TEATRO COMUNALE DI BOLOGNA
New Production

Teatro Rossini
10, 13, 16 August 2009, at 8 pm
18 August 2009, at 11 am
LA SCALA DI SETA
Farsa comica in un atto by Giuseppe Foppa
Critical Edition Fondazione Rossini / Universal Music Publishing Ricordi,
edited by Anders Wiklund
Conductor CLAUDIO SCIMONE
Director DAMIANO MICHIELETTO
Settings and Costumes PAOLO FANTIN
Lighting ALESSANDRO CARLETTI
Interpreters ANNA MALAVASI, OLGA PERETYATKO, PAOLO BORDOGNA,
ALDO CAPUTO, CARLO LEPORE, JOSÉ MANUEL ZAPATA
ORCHESTRA HAYDN DI BOLZANO E TRENTO
New Production

Teatro Rossini
11, 14, 17, 19 August 2009, at 8 pm
LE COMTE ORY
Opéra en deux actes de Eugène Scribe et Charles-Gaspard Delestre-Poirson
Edition Universal Music Publishing Ricordi
Conductor PAOLO CARIGNANI
Director, Settings and Costumes LLUIS PASQUAL
Lighting Designer LLUIS PASQUAL, WOLFGANG VON ZOUBECK
Interpreters NATALIA GAVRILAN, MARIA JOSÉ MORENO, LAURA POLVERELLI,
ROBERTO DE CANDIA, LORENZO REGAZZO, YIJIE SHI
CORO DA CAMERA DI PRAGA
ORCHESTRA DEL TEATRO COMUNALE DI BOLOGNA

FESTIVAL GIOVANE

Teatro Sperimentale
23 July 2009, at 8 pm
Accademia Rossiniana
Closing Concert

Teatro Rossini
12, 15 August 2009, at 11 am
Il viaggio a Reims
Cantata scenica - Words by Luigi Balocchi
Critical Edition Fondazione Rossini / Universal Music Publishing Ricordi,
edited by Janet Johnson
Conductor TRISDEE NA PATALUNG
Director and Settings EMILIO SAGI
Costumes PEPA OJANGUREN
Selected Interpreters from Accademia Rossiniana
ORCHESTRA HAYDN DI BOLZANO E TRENTO

Auditorium Pedrotti
13, 14, 17, 19 August 2009, at 5 pm
Concerti di Belcanto

Teatro Rossini
16 August 2009, at 11 am
Concerto Sinfonico
Music by Franz Josef Haydn for the bicentennial of his death
Conductor GUSTAV KUHN
Alto EWA PODLEŚ
CORO DA CAMERA DI PRAGA
ORCHESTRA HAYDN DI BOLZANO E TRENTO

Teatro Rossini
20 August 2009, at 9 pm
Petite Messe Solennelle
For soloists, chorus and orchestra
Conductor PAOLO CARIGNANI
Interpreters KATE ALDRICH, ANNA BONITATIBUS, FRANCESCO MELI,
MIRCO PALAZZI
CORO DA CAMERA DI PRAGA
ORCHESTRA DEL TEATRO COMUNALE DI BOLOGNA

Information, prices and more here

Nocino (Green Walnut Liqueur)

Would you call a liqueur "preserve"? Actually alcohol is a great way to preserve things, but in this case you're throwing away the "ingredient" and keep the alcohol (the "preserver")...
Whatever you call it I will post this anyway!
Nocino is probably one of the very few Italian recipes that are prepared in most regions from the far North down to the South. I heard people from Veneto, Modena and Naples claiming that THEIR recipe is the one and only original one.. This one comes from a Neapolitan family friend, I hope that the rest of Italy will not feel offended! ;)

NOCINO

24 green walnuts
1 litre alcohol (95%)
4 cloves
2 cm cinnamom stick
300 gr sugar

First: the green walnuts... Traditionally the walnuts should be collected between Midsummer's eve (June 23rd) and Saint John day (June 24th) Witchy night, when wild herbs used for potions reach their maximum power... if you do not want to meander and stumble around the fields at night any of the two days will do!
The walnuts should be green and should not have formed their wooden case, but not be too mushy inside.
Cut the walnuts into two or three pieces (use gloves if you do not want your hands to turn a nasty shade of brown... green walnuts were also used for hair dyeing!).
Put in a glass jar (airtight) with the alcohol, cloves and cinnamom stick.


Leave in the sun for 2 months shaking a few times.
Boil 1 litre water with the sugar and let cool.
Filter the alcohol, mix with the syrup and filter again (I use paper filters, but any cloth or very fine filter will do).
Bottle and cork up.
Now wait patiently until next year's Midsummer's eve and enjoy!

No knead bread

The idea was posting recipes of preserves... but I keep thinking of other recipes I would like to share, so here's my version of the famous "no knead bread"!


NO KNEAD BREAD

Flour 1050 gr
Water 750 gr
Yeast 25 gr
Salt 3 1/2 tsp

Warm up the water (not more than 40º C), add the salt and yeast and mix until undone.
Add the flour and mix (no need of kneading.. that's the point, isn't it?). It should be very sticky. (Next time I make bread I will take pictures and post them!)
Let rest for approx 3 hours (or until the bubble formed by the rising of the dough starts to collapse). Put in the fridge in a closed (not airtight) bowl.
You can start using the dough after 24 hours in the fridge, but it gives the best results between 3 and 7 days. ..Yes, you can leave the dough in the fridge for as long as 7 days and more (bread savys say 14) but it never lasts that much!
When you want to bake bread take some of the dough and form some rolls (50 gr) or long buns (200-300 gr) and lay them on baking paper. Let rest until when you lightly press the dough, the surface doesn't spring back quickly and you leave a small indent in the bun.
Put a baking stone or the oven's dripping pan in the oven and heat it (240º). Put a small bowl with about 100 gr water in the oven.
Brush the rolls with milk and cut them with scissors or a very sharp knife (deep is good!) and, when the oven is hot and steamy, let the baking paper slip with the rolls on it on the hot baking stone or dripping pan (this takes some experience but I'm sure you'll master the wrist-flip fast!)
Let bake until golden (10 to 20 minutes depending on size of the rolls and your oven).
Try and resist the gorgeous smell and let cool a bit before cutting and enjoying!
This photo: © lucy Pope 2009

Urbania "vs." Urbino

Do not mix up Urbino and Urbania..
Urbino is where Raphael was born, famous for the Ducal Palace and it's Torricini (it's the first example of a Renaissance Palace) and Federico da Montefeltro, the guy with the "interesting" profile.
Urbania is a pretty little town, 20 minutes drive west of Urbino, surrounded by the river Metauro and it's known for its pottery.
Yes, it is quite weird having two places with such similar names nearby... the fact is that the two places' names have nothing to do with eachother!
The name Urbino comes from the Roman name Urvinum Metaurense while Urbania was called Castel delle Ripe until 1284 when it was called Casteldurante (name that still appears in Museums where Urbania pottery is displayed). In 1638 the Pope Urbano VIII thought that his name was so pretty that it was worth sharing so he changed the town's name again and called it Urbania.
Of course he could not imagine how confusing this would be to foreign travellers visiting the area almost 4 centuries later!
Anyway.. Urbania is a really interesting little town (by the way, there are a couple of nice restaurants, and a great gelateria and pasticceria with tables in the main square to sit and watch the world go by) and you should not miss it if you visit Northern Le Marche.




If you visit Urbania, do not miss the stunning everyday-use pottery collection inside the Ducal Palace (yes, there's Ducal Palace in Urbania too... you didn't want things to be too easy, did you?).

Old and new

If you ever travelled to Italy you will know Ape car... maybe you will not know its name, but you'll have seen hundreds of them "darting" around Italian roads (very common in rural Central Italy), usually with an elderly man at the wheel (well... rather at the handlebar), and probably driving you nuts because they rarely exceed 30 km per hour (approx 18 miles per hour) and tend to stay right in the middle of the road. Ape Car are those three weels little mix between a car and a motorbike with little space for people and a big open boot.
They are used as tiny vans carrying things around the countryside and villages.


If you drive around Le Marche you will not only see the "normal" ones sometimes carrying cages with truffle or hunting dogs inside or with husband and wife squeezed in the tiny passenger compartment, but you'll also see modern, cool ones driven by teenagers. In Italy you can pass your driving test and thus drive a car when you're 18, but many kids living in the countryside get a "motorino" when they are 14... if you're lucky you get an Ape instead, but of course you would not want it to be old and dull looking!


This photo was taken on a Saturday night in Urbino and the building that you see is the very same Ducal Palace! Old and new always blend in funny ways in this country!

I'm grateful (warning: this post is only partially serious!)

Today is a cloudy and grey day, it's cold and windy outside and the only thing I would really love to do is cuddling up like one of my cats and let the day pass, it's not a bad day, it's just that I've had better days.
... but I'm grateful... Thank you Gloria, Letizia, Diana and Megan (fellow professionals and friends) to be there and a double thank you Gloria for sharing something that, once more, makes me remember how grateful I am for the wonderful guests I have... have a look at this and share this good laugh with us!

Vet photography

Our vet is an artist. He's an artist because of the human and caring way he takes care of our big and small animals, but he's also an artist because of the great photos he takes. Those of you who stayed with us in 2007 enjoyed his photos as part of the decoration of the Locanda that season, and those of you who stayed at La Casina dei Tordi had the possibility of looking at some of the surrounding landscape from a different angle in the photos that we have there.

For all who weren't lucky enough to see his works (yet) I'm posting a few photos here for you to enjoy.






Yes, the first picture was taken at the Locanda, it's the small hill that stands just in front of us.
If you want to see more of his works click here.

Urbino: Raffaello degusteria

Are you in Northern Le Marche and you're looking for gorgeous local food?
You have different options: one is staying at the Locanda and enjoying our home grown and home made goodies and the yummy things we buy from local organc producers such as an amazing orange-peel flavoured pancetta, pecorino di fossa and the best sheep ricotta cheese you've ever tasted, one is running up and down the province and Le Marche region to buy those products directly from the producers (Doriano Scibè in Grottazzolina (AP) for the pancetta and Luca Pala in Tavoleto (PU) for the cheeses).

... if you find this a bit too strenuous during your holiday, than go to Raffaello degusteria in Urbino and you will find first quality gorgeous local organic products!
They share the aims and philosophy of the Slow food movement, support local and organic producers and they sell great wines, oil, pastas, preserves, ham, salamis, great variety of cheeses and much more: they definitely know their products!
Hope you'll enjoy.

Go Slow Italy

Go Slow Italy (by Alastair Sawday and Jackie King) is being released today!

"Italy, the birthplace of the Slow movement and the home of Slow Food, is the second destination in our new Slow series. We have handpicked 46 exceptional places to stay – places where attention is lavished on some of the most important things in life: convivial meals, community, friends and family, a respect for the environment and a celebration of regional distinctiveness. From the mountainous north, through cypress-dotted Tuscany and on down to the gutsy, colourful south, you'll discover an unmatched passion for Slow Food and Slow Travel. You will meet farmers, literary people, wine-makers and craftsmen – all with rich stories to tell.
Go Slow Italy celebrates fascinating people, fine architecture,history, landscape and real food."

Locanda della Valle Nuova is one of the 46 "exceptional places to stay" :)


"The Savinis' commitment to organic farming and to the environment is almost unequalled. In 1980, while living in Milan and running a tiny farm in Piedmont, Augusto and Adriana decided they should search for a bigger farm further into the countryside in Le Marche. Northern Le Marche then was some way behind much of the rest of Italy and that attracted the Savinis. That the farm was within sight of Urbino delighted them, for being close to the city would add a cultural dimension.

"In the early 80s certified organic farming was in its infancy," says Giulia, their daughter. "Our beginning was not easy. We arrived with a deep respect for the soil - we didn't want to break the surface more than we had to - and we were regarded as townies who were nuts!" Undeterred they pressed on and are now respected for the dynamic farm they have created.
...
There are DOP cheeses, lamb, their own beef, prize-winning extra virgin olive oil, excellent salamis and a "heavenly" pancetta. All are paired perfectly with local wines: sangiovese from their own grapes, or maybe a bianchello, a rosso piceno or the visner dessert wine made with morello cherries. They make bread, pasta, cakes, pastries, salamis, jams and jellies and grow many herbs for the kitchen and for home-made liqueurs. They mill their own grain and forage for nuts and white truffles. They are a dynamic threesome: Augusto with his knowledge of architecture, local history and culture, Adriana with her love of gardening, cooking and herbalism and Giulia with her gift for communication."

The book, with gorgeous properties and great photos, is available for sale from Sawday's.

Photo by Lucy Pope.

Raffaello e Urbino: the exhibition

The exhibition Raphael and Urbino: formative years and ties with his home town will open on April 4th. Now the official page has an English version!


Urbino was more than just Raphael’s city of birth; it had a profound influence on his development as an artist and remained an essential reference point for him throughout his life. For this reason, the great exhibition being put on in the “Palazzo Ducale” (Duke’s Palace) in Urbino seeks to rediscover and celebrate this close bond between Raphael and his home town. You can read more and see the complete list of works here or read my previous post about the expo here.

I'll be at the official presentation held on April 3rd and will post more.

The Locanda on The Observer: Observer Escape

On April 2nd a new Alastair Sawday's book will be released, the title is "Go Slow Italy" and it features "forty six places to stay where attention is lavished on some of the most important things in life: convivial meals, community, friends and family. It celebrates fascinating people, fine architecture, history, landscape and real food."
An article was out today on The Observer Escape featuring 10 out of the 46 places in the book, the Locanda was one of them.
Read the article: A slow travellers' guide to Italy.

Green transport: how to get to the Locanda in a greener way

The Locanda is applying for the European Ecolabel, I've been checking eco criteria and thinking about how to be even greener (we already respect all the compulsory criteria and sum 26 points (19 required) among the voluntary criteria).
Transport is one of the major issues that our eco-conscious guests raise... unluckily there's no public transport to the Locanda, you can get to Pesaro by train (easy access from Milano-Bologna and from there to anywhere in Europe) and then take a bus to Fermignano... but Fermignano is 5 km away from us and, unless you are fit enough to bike to here (it's not terribly strenuous, but you need to be fit!)... a car is a must.
At the moment the greener way to get here is get to Pesaro by train and then rent a car there (the greener the better). I discovered that Hertz rents hybrid cars in the US and in Sweden but apparently not here yet...
I already contacted some rental agents, but I'm afraid that we're not big enough to be considered an interesting business.
I'm now considering carbon offsetting as an alternative until greener cars will be available, Europcar teams up with ClimateCare to give you the possibility to offset your CO2 emissions when you rent a car... I'll keep searching!

Home made "prosciutto cotto"

I promised that I would post recipes of my preserves soon...
today I was looking for recipes to post and I came across a recipe for "coppa di testa" (headcheese)... in spite of the weird name it's a really yummy terrine-like cold cut, but preparing it is really timeconsuming and I think that it would not suite everybody's taste (not the final product, but the preparation itself!).

My mind was set on salumi (cold cuts, "charcuterie") so, when I found my "Salamoia" recipe I decided that I would post that instead. This is the recipe for the brine that I use for curing pork meat that I cook and serve for breakfast at the Locanda (kind of home made "prosciutto cotto").
Of course the quality of my cured pork is high mainly because of the organic pork I use (we raise our own with organic fresh grass, barley and corn adding some acorns by the end of the process), but I'm sure that most of you can find good naturally raised or organic pork.

For about 1.2 kg of pork you need:
100g Salt
50 g cane sugar
1 pinch ground black pepper
1 Juniper berry (crushed)
1 very small garlic clove
1 whole clove
1 whole laurel leaf
1 lovage (levisticum, maggikraut) leaf or a few celery leaves

Mix all the ingredients for the cure and spread evenly on the meat (bits about 400/500 g, not too high (7/8 cm) give a good result).



Pack in a small tupperware and leave in the fridge for 3/4 days. The meat will release some of its juices, turn the meat once during the curing time.
Extract the meat from the brine and leave in cool water for 18 hours (change the water 4/5 times).
Boil the meat (insert the meat in boiling water for a juicier result) until done. Let cool.
Enjoy!

The Locanda on Tachydromos.

An article about "Eco retreats" featuring the Locanda will be published this coming Saturday on "Tachydromos", magazine supplement of the Greek newspaper TA NEA.
I will post something more as soon as I can get someone to translate it! :)

The Mouth Revolution

One more brilliant Free Range Studios video about real food: Viva la Mouthvolución.. if it aint real, spit out your meal!

Photovoltaics

I'm so excited that I needed to share this!
We just signed a contract to install a total of 13 KW of Photovoltaic panels serving both the Locanda and the farm. It will cover 90% of the needs of the Locanda and the horse stables and 100% of the needs of the cow-sheds, mills to produce our feed, granary etc.
After more than 25 years working for sustainability, producing organically, supporting local (organic) produce, producing our own heat and hot water with renewable energies (sun and wood), recycling, reusing, saving energy, this is a great moment for us! We'll be able to produce most of the energy that we use at the Locanda and the farm (everything except gas for cooking, since we do not want to switch to electric cookers!).
Next step will be applying for the EU Ecolabel certification for accommodation services. "Greenwash" is becoming a serious issue and it's no longer enough to be a self-proclaimed "green accommodation"... as we did with organic agriculture years ago, we want an official certification to let everybody know that we're serious about sustainability.
This is a long process and we need our solar panels to be installed before starting, so I think I'll wait until the season ends this coming winter... I'll keep you posted!

Preserves

When it's snowing and deadly cold there's not much you can do in the countryside... one of the nicest things is chatting with friends, both "live" or through skype, facebook, etc.
This evening I was chatting with my friend Letizia, from Agriturismo alla Madonna del Piatto in Assisi, who keeps a beautiful blog mainly devoted to her great recipes (she also runs a cooking school at her place).
She suggested that I add more recipes in my blog, specifically preserves recipes... I was thinking about some interesting recipe to post when I came across a list of all the preserves that are currently in our storeroom at the Locanda, waiting for guests to arrive in June. It looked that it would make everybody understand why Letizia suggested Preserves instead of, let's say, cakes or pastas...

So here it goes:

Fruit in syrup: yellow “cherry” plums, prunes, sour-cherries, apricots, peaches, pears.
Compote: apples, plum, peach, pears, quince.
Juices: yellow “cherry” plums, apple, pear, concord grapes, white bianchello grapes, quince, apricot, peach, sour-cherry, “sorbus domestica”.
Jams: parsimmon, peach, white peach, apricot, cherry, apple, sour-cherry, red berries, sloe (blackthorn), strawberry, Angelica pear, Williams pear, plum, apple lemon & sage, white peach, mellon, white watermellon, figs.
Marmelades: orange, citron, tangerine.
Jellies: elderflower, quince, blackberry, concord grapes, bianchello grapes, sour-cherry & sangiovese wine.
Reductions: sloe, green walnut.
Sour-cherry syrup.
“Chutneys”: plum, green tomato, red onions.
Caramelized figs
Strawberry sauce
Violet jelly
Rose petals jam
Sauces: tomato, mixed vegetables, porcini mashrooms
Ketchup
Stock concentrate: beef chicken & vegetables, vegetables
Baby artichokes in OEVOO (organic extravergin olive oil)
Stuffed baby peppers in OEVOO
Sweet and sour pickled cornichons
Pickled cornichons
Zucchini in OEVOO
Aubergines in OEVOO
Green peppers in OEVOO
Pickled mildly-hot green chiles
Mixed peppers spread
Liqueurs: green walnut, mint, balm-mint, camomille, lemon-verbena, orange & balm mint, orange & anis, sloe (blackthorn), “sorbus domestica”, yellow “cherry” plum, apple pips, honey & coriander, elderflower, elderberry, bay berry, quince, anis, cherries & spices, fennel, sour-cherry, grapefruit, apricot, pear, tangerine.


I promise I will start posting recipes soon! :)

Locanda della Valle Nuova on Yedioth Ahronot

Yedioth Ahronot, Israeli newspaper, published an article about sustainable accommodation a few days ago מלון אקולוגי להתארח and the Locanda is included along with other six establishments around the world.
Of course I don't understand a word of it!

New Locanda della Valle Nuova page on Facebook

I just added a page on Facebook about Locanda della Valle Nuova. You can find it here. Become a fan of Valle Nuova, write your opinions, leave us a review telling everybody about your stay with us, post your pics, we'd love to hear from you!

Green. Sustainable architecture and landscape design

La Locanda has been included (with other 3 properties) in an article in the December-February issue of the Australian magazine Green. Sustainable architecture and landscape design.
Unluckily you have to subscribe to be able to read the whole article, but the other properties included look great (and there's a link to their web page) and I will hopefully receive a copy of the magazine (it's on its way...). I'll write more once I've seen the magazine.

How to reach Valle Nuova

I was checking flights for a guest and I thought that a list of low-cost (seasonal or year-round) flights to the nearest airports from different places in Europe would be useful.
So, here it goes!

To RIMINI (1.10 hour drive to the Locanda)

Berlin Tegel TXL Airberlin
Köln/Bonn CGN TUIfly
Hannover HAY TUIfly
München MUC TUIfly
Stuttgart STR TUIfly
Stockholm S. Skavsta NYO Ryanair
Bristol BRS Ryanair
London Stansted STN Ryanair
Nottingham East-Midlands EMA Ryanair


To ANCONA(1.10 hour drive)

Weeze (Düsseldorf) NRN Ryanair
London Stansted STN Ryanair


To BOLOGNA (FORLÌ) (1.40 hour drive)

Brussels Intl. BRU Windjet
Prague PRG Windjet
Paris CDG Windjet
Berlin Tegel TXL Windjet
Riga RIX Windjet
Amsterdam AMS Windjet
Krakow KRK Windjet
Bucharest Otopeni OTP Windjet
Timisoara TSR Windjet
Moscow Domodedovo DME Windjet
St. Petersburg LED Windjet
Barcelona BCN Windjet


To BOLOGNA (2 hours drive)

Brussels Charleroi CRL Ryanair
Brussels Intl. BRU Brussels Airlines
Prague PRG click4sky
Paris Beauvais BVA Ryanair
Paris CDG Myair
Berlin Schönefeld SXF Germanwings
Köln/Bonn CGN Germanwings
Frankfurt Hanh HHN Ryanair
Weeze (Düsseldorf) NRN Ryanair
Reykjavik - Keflavik KEF Iceland Express
Dublin DUB Air Lingus or Ryanair
Oslo Torp TRF Ryanair
Katowice KTW Ryanair or WizzAir
Warsaw WAW WizzAir
Fuerteventura FUE Meridiana
Girona GRO Ryanair
Granada GRX Ryanair
Palma de Mallorca PMI Germanwings
Valencia VLC Ryanair
Birmingham BHX Ryanair
Edinburgh EDI Ryanair
London Stansted STN Ryanair

Of course if you want to go green and you have the time you can reach Pesaro by train from almost everywhere in Europe!

Kitty change

One of the kittens from last season's litters has an umbilical hernia, her belly button isn't closed yet (it doesn't until kittens are 6 months old) and, since she's a fatty, she has a little puff (walnut size) sticking out of her belly button. This is not a serious condition but she may need a tiny operation in a couple of months (she's now 4 months old) if the thing doesn't go back to its place.
The kittens are running wild around the farm now, so yesterday I had problems catching her for the vet to visit, so I decided to keep her at home for some days (or weeks?) for her to get used to humans again.... she's doing really well!
Can you believe that the following photos were taken only 24 hours apart?


Day 1: there she was, yesterday, hiding under a cabinet in my kitchen


Day 2: yes.... the orange thing where she's quietly resting after a huge dinner on catfood and a bit of sausage is my sofa! :)

Day 2,5 UPDATE... I guess this means that she's settled down and "used to humans" (the black and burgundy thing is me!) and even to dogs! ;)

"White" Porcini mashroom lasagne

It's about 4 p.m. approx and I just finished eating my lasagne... No, I'm not having lasagne instead of bisquits with tea, I'm just getting ready for my forthcoming trip to Madrid by adapting to Spanish eating times! :)
I just wanted to share a super easy recipe and some pics of it, it's about time that I go back posting recipes!

LASAGNE BIANCHE AI FUNGHI PORCINI

150/200 gr dry lasagna
300 gr fresh (or frozen) porcini mashrooms
2 garlic cloves (whole)
Bechamel sauce (if you're using "cook in the oven" lasagna you need 1 litre of soft bechamel, 1 litre milk, 50 gr butter, 50 gr flour, otherwise about half the milk)
30 gr butter
Parmesan cheese
Mozzarella (I use mixed bufala & cow)

Cut the porcini in smallish lices and sautee them in a pan with the butter and garlic, leave them a bit saucy. Reserve.
Make the bechamel sauce. Reserve
Cut the mozzarella in small cubes. Reserve
Grate the parmesan. Reserve

Make the lasagna (as you usually do or read the instructions on the package!).


Preheated oven 200C for 20/25 minutes.



Let rest for 5/10 minutes (it makes it easier to cut it without it going messy and anyway you don't want pure hot lava in your mouth!).
ENJOY!

Loom weaving

My latest adventure is loom weaving! This is one of the things that I do during my long winter "holidays".
I have a 2 shaft loom



and I just finished preparing a beautiful warping basket... isn't it beautiful? And, I promise, it's also very useful!



Next steps will be finishing more balls for my warp, warping the loom (it takes forever!) and starting my first independent project!
... after all, I think I hope it snows so that I'll have an excuse to lock myself in and weave!

Raffaello e Urbino

This morning the expo “Raffaello e Urbino” was presented at the Palazzo Ducale in Urbino.
Urbino is Raphael’s hometown and his art is strongly determined by his town, his father Giovanni Santi and the cultural and artistic environment he grew in.
Together with paintings of Giovanni Santi and more painters that worked in Urbino during the last decades of the XV Century, the expo will show 20 paintings and 19 drawings by Raphael himself, all of them masterpieces of his early production.
One section of the expo will show pieces of one of the most important artisanal productions of the area: majolica. The pieces reproduce images by Raphael.
The expo begins on April 5th 2009 and ends on July 12th 2009: do not miss it!
Some of the works that you'll be able to see in Urbino that are not usually here:

Maddalena (usually in Berlino, Kupferstich Kabinett)


Autoritratto (usually in Firenze, Galleria degli Uffizi)


San Michele (usually in Paris, Louvre)


Busto di angelo (usually in Brescia, Pinacoteca Tosio Martinengo)


The full list of the works (in Italian) can be found here.
I will post more as soon as I can get more information!

La Locanda on Facebook

There's a group on Facebook about Locanda della Valle Nuova, you can find it here.
I'm not very sure how it will develop, but you're welcome to post anything you wish there: comments, reviews, stories, photos, anything you wish to share with us and with other guests (past or future). And remember: the best way for us to keep having great guests at the Locanda is that they know about us from other great guests... YOU!
We'd love to read from you on our page!

The end of the season once again... N. 10

October is about to finish, we only still have a few days and the season will be over once again, this time it is a bit more special since it's the end of our 10th year at the Locanda!
Following some guest's advice (thank you!) I'm browsing through our guestbook looking for some entries to scan and add to our webpage. We have a guestbook only since 2002 (but we also remember some of the guests from the first years quite well!) so it's not really like going 10 years back, but the experience has been great!
It's amazing how guests enter in our lives (for good or for bad, 99% of the times for good!) and how I remember many many of them and how I love to remember them.
I chose few special artistic entries and would like to post them here now starting with the very first entry in our guestbook.







Thank you thank you!

... and again

On October 31st a 2.80€ stamp celebrating Urbino, UNESCO Heritage since 1998. Here it goes.

Urbino again

I promised I would post more photos of Urbino, so here's another couple of them.




And some fruits from the farm and neighbours. The colours are amazing! The landscape is also changing colour, I'll post some pictures of the woods below the Locanda soon.

This is a great job

I have a great job indeed, even when I'm always about to doze off during breakfast because I'm so tired, even when I spend my evenings off sleeping on the sofa in front of the tv, even when I feel that I have no social life at all... I have a great job.
This job is great because it allows me to live in a great place, because I do not have to drive to work (well, actually I do but it's 500 metres!) in the traffic or take the underground every morning, because I know that I did my bit for the environment by growing organic, cooking organic and wearing my guests out by telling them once and again that this ORGANIC cheese or salad is very good, because I like to cook and experiment, because after 8 years my bread now tastes like the real thing, because I love the sound that my guests emit when they try what I cook (mmmhhhhhh!) most of all because of the amazing people I meet!
This year, somehow because of my job, I met Diana (I've been chatting with her for a long time and she almost saved my life with her suggestions and love, but we had never met), she runs Baur B&B a beautiful, stilish B&B in Southern Piedmont and is a very gifted potter. I also met Gloria, she's a brilliant teacher, writes books with stunning titles ;) and runs Casina di Rosa, a very nice rental in Maremma (fascinating and unknown area of Tuscany), I also met innkeepers and other travel related professionals that are regulars on a very useful site called Slow Travel.
During the summer I was lucky enough to be chosen as one of the stops in Anna and Matt's amazing trip along Europe and Africa in search of typical foods and great experiences, they write about their trip at Culinary Anthropologist, I also met Lucy Pope a talented photographer that was even patient enough to deal with my family's aversion to being photographed and Richard Hammond, the Guardian's eco-travel correspondent, guidebooks editor and manager of Green Traveller, a very interesting guide for those who want to lessens their impact on the environment when travelling.
Of course these are just a few of the very important people that I met this year because of my job, the others are my guests, the ones that were willing to share a bit of themselves, the ones who were interested in what we do, the ones that loved our cats, our dog and our job with us.

This is a great job indeed!

Raffaello Ritratto di dama con liocorno in Urbino

The "Portrait of Young Woman with Unicorn" by Raphael (normally kept at Galleria Borghese in Rome) can be seen at Urbino Palazzo Ducale until October 4th.



The painting was of uncertain attribution for a long time but, Raphael is nowadays considered the author of the work (probably finished around 1506).

The expo somehow prepares Urbino and Raphael's fans for the big expo to be held in 2009 in Urbino: "Raffaello e Urbino: la formazione di Raffaello e i suoi rapporti con la città natale" (Raphael and Urbino: Raphael's education and his relationship with his home town). You can read more about the expo here.
So if you like Raphael it's time to plan a weekend here to discover all the beauties of this area and begin planning your 2009 holidays!

Omnivore's Hundred

I just found this “Omnivore’s Hundred” list on the very good taste blog and I gave it a try! I ate 52 out of 100, not bad considering where I live (no Spam nor S'mores for miles around) and my income (no Kobe beef nor 120 $ bottles for me).
Here it goes!

Here’s a chance for a little interactivity for all the bloggers out there. Below is a list of 100 things that I think every good omnivore should have tried at least once in their life. The list includes fine food, strange food, everyday food and even some pretty bad food - but a good omnivore should really try it all. Don’t worry if you haven’t, mind you; neither have I, though I’ll be sure to work on it. Don’t worry if you don’t recognise everything in the hundred, either; Wikipedia has the answers.

Here’s what I want you to do:
1) Copy this list into your blog or journal, including these instructions.
2) Bold all the items you’ve eaten.
3) Cross out any items that you would never consider eating.
4) Optional extra: Post a comment here at www.verygoodtaste.co.uk linking to your results.

The VGT Omnivore’s Hundred:
1. Venison
2. Nettle tea
3. Huevos rancheros
4. Steak tartare
5. Crocodile
6. Black pudding
7. Cheese fondue
8. Carp
9. Borscht
10. Baba ghanoush
11. Calamari
12. Pho
13. PB&J sandwich
14. Aloo gobi
15. Hot dog from a street cart
16. Epoisses
17. Black truffle
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes
19. Steamed pork buns
20. Pistachio ice cream
21. Heirloom tomatoes
22. Fresh wild berries
23. Foie gras
24. Rice and beans
25. Brawn, or head cheese
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper
27. Dulce de leche
28. Oysters
29. Baklava
30. Bagna cauda
31. Wasabi peas
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl
33. Salted lassi
34. Sauerkraut
35. Root beer float
36. Cognac with a fat cigar
37. Clotted cream tea
38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O
39. Gumbo
40. Oxtail
41. Curried goat
42. XXXWhole insectsXXX
43. Phaal
44. Goat’s milk
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more
46. Fugu
47. Chicken tikka masala
48. Eel
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut
50. Sea urchin
51. Prickly pear
52. Umeboshi
53. Abalone
54. Paneer
55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal
56. Spaetzle
57. Dirty gin martini
58. Beer above 8% ABV
59. Poutine
60. Carob chips
61. S’mores
62. Sweetbreads
63. Kaolin
64. Currywurst
65. Durian
66. Frogs’ legs
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake
68. Haggis
69. Fried plantain
70. Chitterlings, or andouillette
71. Gazpacho
72. Caviar and blini
73. Louche absinthe
74. Gjetost, or brunost
75. Roadkill
76. Baijiu
77. Hostess Fruit Pie
78. Snail
79. Lapsang souchong
80. Bellini
81. Tom yum
82. Eggs Benedict
83. Pocky
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant.
85. Kobe beef
86. Hare
87. Goulash
88. Flowers
89. Horse
90. Criollo chocolate
91. Spam
92. Soft shell crab
93. Rose harissa
94. Catfish
95. Mole poblano
96. Bagel and lox
97. Lobster Thermidor
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee
100. Snake

Correcting this... it's 56! There was a few things I ate but didn't know the names of...

Amazing July sunset

We see amazing sunset quite often in September. The sky is blue but there are often some small clouds that at sunset time create the most spectacular effects in the red light of the falling sun.
Yesterday we had one of those amazing sunsets and I couldn't resist the temptation to interrupt my guests' dinner to show them this:





Don't you think that this "see of clouds" is just out of this world?

Our new apartment: La Casina dei Tordi

Haven't been posting for too long... but as usual I have some good reasons! The season started, we found 3 beautiful kittens in a box near the supermarket in Fermignano (and brought them home, of course!) and we finished our second self-catering apartment!



In our big organic farm in sight of Urbino (northern Le Marche region) enjoy the breathtaking views of the Montefeltro hills from your own fully equipped self-catering apartment for two.
Comfortable sitting/dining room, full gourmet kitchen, terrace to enjoy your meals al fresco, toilet (with washing machine), bathroom (we have a tub with a view!) and double bedroom with romantic sunset views.
When you arrive you will find some items from our storeroom: home made organic bread, juices and jams, free range organic eggs and vegetables from our kitchen garden when available. A (shared) swimming pool is available 500 metres away.
We speak very good English and we're always available to help you plan your dream holiday in unspoilt Le Marche.

















The views from all the windows of the Casina dei Tordi are quite amazing


And from the bedroom window you can enjoy some stunning sunsets over the hills of the Montefeltro.



...
I can't help it... I have to post a photo of two of my beautiful three new kittens! Aren't they just perfect?

Natural Wool Dyeing 2-Day Courses

Natural Wool dyeing courses will be held this season at Locanda della Valle Nuova.


The teacher Marion from Cerquetobono (Urbino) will explain everything about local plants for dyeing, including the tradition and history of natural dyeing in Italy and Europe. Natural dyes are especially rich in this area where, during the medieval times and the Renaissance, guado, the common name for isatis tinctoria (dyeing woad) known as "the blue gold" for its economical importance back then, is a local plant used for producing the blue color that we see in Piero della Francesca paintings and most Renaissance textiles. Class includes hands-on dyeing of spun wool, and tuft if you are interested in felt production. Bring home your own kg of wool in the basic colors red, blue and yellow.
Marion speaks fluent Italian, English, and German.

Class dates are:
June 11 - 12
July 16 - 17
September 22 - 23

Minimum 4, maximum 10 participants.
The price of the course is € 250/person for the two days, including all materials.
Your dates and longer courses available upon request. Five day class includes herb collecting, further knowledge of all the parts of the process, and creation of different shades of color.

Urbino!

I just realized that I posted photos of many nearby villages, towns and hilltop-towns but that I never posted photos of Urbino... so, here they are!
This is a picture taken from the Albornoz Fortress where you can see the Cathedral (on the left), the Ducal Palace and, at the right, below, the Rampa, built by Francesco di Giorgio Martini to allow the Duke to climb riding his horse (protected from the rain and the sun) up to the Palace from Borgo Mercatale below. Nowadays you can climb the very comfortable steps (they were made for horses to climb).


This is the Duomo (Cathedral) from via Barocci.


One of the statues on the Duomo façade.


Another of the statues on the Duomo from via Valerio, the tree is an enormous plane tree that stands in the nursery school garden.



I'll post more photos of Urbino soon!

San Vincenzo al Furlo

Near Furlo Gorge stands the beautiful Romanesque church of San Vincenzo al Furlo (XIII century).




The crypt contains a IX-X century altar



And there are beautiful frescos

FAI Giornate di Primavera 2008

On April 5th and 6th the FAI (Fondo per l'Ambiente Italiano) will celebrate its XVI edition of the "FAI Spring days" with the very special opening of 550 monuments, villas, gardens, churches, etc. that are not normally available for visits.
The FAI volunteers will be helped once more by over 10.000 "Apprendisti Ciceroni", young (10-14) students that will guide the visitors around the properties.
The complete list of monuments that will open can be found here.
Enjoy!

Ornatissimo Codice Part 2

I visited the Ornatissimo Codice expo (in Urbino Ducal Palace until July 27th 2008, read the previous post for more info), the books are really impressive but, of course, I could not take photos...
What I could photograph is the permanent new multimedia expo of the Federico da Montefeltro Library. When you enter the Ducal Palace, the first tiny door on the left is the Library, step inside and you'll find yourself surrounded by "shelves" of books projected on the library walls.


You can "take out" the books from the shelves and browse through them by miming the gestures of picking them and turning the pages.



One of the books is a manuscript of Apicius "De Re Coquinaria"



The page displayed (the one on the left in the photo) gives the recipe of a spiced wine from the Roman times called Conditum Paradoxum that goes: "conditi paradoxi compositio: mellis pondo XV in aeneum vas mittuntur, praemissi[s] vini sextariis duobus, ut in cocturam mellis vinum decoquas. Quod igni lento et aridis lignis calefactum, commotum ferula dum coquitur, si effervere coeperit, vini rore compescitur, praeter quod subtracto igni in se redit. Cum perfrixerit, rursus accenditur. Hoc secundo ac tertio fiet, ac tum demum remotum a foco postridie despumatur. Tum [mittis] piperis uncias IV iam triti, masticis scripulos II, folii et croci dragmas singulas, dactylorum ossibus torridis quinque, isdemque dactylis vino mollitis, intercedente prius suffusione vini de suo modo ac numero, ut tritura lenis habeatur. His omnibus paratis supermittis vini lenis sextarios XVIII. Carbones perfecto aderunt duo milia."

I'll ask some friends to translate it and give it a try... well, maybe I will, depending on the ingredients... the Romans used to consider absolutely fantastic food that we would at least consider "strange". The most known example is Garum a sauce made of fermented fish intestines...

See more photos of the expo here.

The MEATrix

Another wonderful Free Range Studios video (see Grocery STORE WARS).

The MEATrix is the story we tell ourselves about where our meat and animal products come from. Family farms are often a fantasy: take the blue pill and stay here in the fantasy take the red pill and I'll show you the truth...

Ornatissimo codice

350 years after the relocation of the Library of the Dukes of Urbino to the Vatican Apostolic Library, the Soprintendenza per il Patrimonio Storico Artistico ed Etnoantropologico of Le Marche, promotes the first return of 15 volumes belonging to the library of Federico da Montefeltro to its original location. The whole collection was moved to Rome's Vatican Library in 1657 after the Pope Urban VIII definitively incorporated the Duchy into the papal dominions.

The duke’s library of 900 manuscript volumes, by the leading scribes and illuminators of Florence, Ferrara, Mantua and Padua, was assembled in 1464-82. The collection, that will be exhibited in the original library in the Ducal Palace and in two large adjacent halls, allows the visitor to plunge into the unique context created by the Duke in Urbino in the second half of the 15th Century, the first Renaissance Court.
The exhibit is a faithful reconstruction of the original library and it displays what has been considered as the most wonderful collection of 15th century manuscripts.

The expo will open on March 15th and end on July 27th 2008.
After writing this, on March 22nd I visited the expo, see photos here

Maialino Day in Barchi

Last Saturday Jürgen Michel (born in Süd Tirol/Alto Adige, that's why the German-looking name), a friend and fellow organic breeder, organized the "3rd Maialino Day" in Barchi. My friends from Agriturismo alla Madonna del Piatto in Assisi (Umbria) were visiting so, joined by three joung and resolute Americans who are beginning a great adventure in Sant'Angelo in Vado (little town near Urbino) La Tavola Marche, we spent the afternoon and the evening in Mondavio and Barchi (I already posted about Mondavio here).
Barchi is a beautiful walled hilltop town




We took a walk around both towns and we ended the day eating "all things pig" at the Maialino Day, since I did not take any pictures you can read the whole experience from an American's point of view and see some pics here.
It was a very very enjoyable day and I hope that we will do this again before the season starts!

By the way, this is the view of Assisi from Alla Madonna del Piatto (I took the photo last summer when I visited them!)

Cesenatico

My granfather (my dad's dad) was born here, it's a nice little town on the Adriatic coast, just a bit north of Rimini and about 1.15 hours away from the Locanda.
I'm not a great fan of most of the Emilia Romagna and Le Marche coastal areas in general and Cesenatico in July and August can be hell! Loads of tourists invade its roads, beach, restaurants and bars and the music can be heard all night long... but Cesenatico in mid seasons can be great! May, June and September are my favourite times but last week, on a beautiful winter day I was there and it was just fine!
The canal was designed by Leonardo da Vinci


and it now hosts the "Museo della Marineria" with gorgeous old boats in the canal and a nice expo of sea related documents and objects.





The canal sides are full with life in every season of the year



This is the "Traghetto", a tiny "boat" tied and moved by ropes that helps people cross the canal even if there's no bridge... I used to LOVE it when I was a little girl and went for walks or bike rides with my grandad (they had different prices for adults, children and bikes!).




Walk around the old centre by the canal with its tiny roads and the "Piazza delle Conserve" where you can see the old containers (called "conserve") excavated underground which were used to keep fished products under ice before selling.

Autumn walk

There's two great walks that you can take starting from the Locanda's gate, I already posted photos of the 7 km (4.5 miles) walk. Last autumn I took the other walk, that is about 14 km (9 miles) long.
Off we go!
This is one of our fields, just near the road above the Locanda


Sagrata church from the road with the Montefeltro hills behind it. The church is no longer used for services except during the celebration for the Madonna del Giro.


The scenary is very varied: the next two photos are taken from the same place, looking left and right of the road.



In Autumn colours are quite amazing!



And have a look at this tiny house.... wouldn't you want to spend a few weeks in this hideaway?


Isn't the contrast beautiful? Red and yellow grapes leaves, the greenest grass, yellowish leaves on the trees and white flowers!

HAPPY 2008

I wanted to post this at 12 but, quite unexpectedly, I do have plans for tonight!
So you'll have to stand receiving my New Year photo and wishes one and a half hours earlier than 12!

WE WISH YOU A GREAT 2008 FULL OF LOVE AND HAPPINESS


and we hope to see you (again) sometimes!

Internet reviews

It's been a long time since I do not post... Holidays started and we kept working and working (the house needed repair and the farm keeps us quite busy all over the year), now I'm really on holidays, spending a few days with friends in Madrid!
I'll be back soon and will start posting photos that I had no time to post during the season, including some great shots that guests sent us.
Year after year we notice that we love our job and that most of the guests who come and share our house with us are great people with whom we love to spend time with. We've been thinking about this and we understood that the main reason is that word to mouth (either "live" or through the web) became our first source of new guests.
This is why we really would like you to write a review about your stay at the Locanda on the internet and of course talk about it (the old way) with your friends. This way people coming to the Locanda next year will be just like you: a group of lovely, interesting and caring people.

You can read what past guests wrote about their stay with us at the TRIPADVISOR.COM website and visiting this page from SLOWTRAV.COM (great resource for travel information and hugely helpful and friendly travel forum).

By the way... MERRY CHRISTMAS to those of you who celebrate it!!!

Just a couple of shots of Urbania

Austria Farmers Markets

I'm leaving tomorrow for Austria, I'm going with a group or organic farmers from Le Marche and we're going to visit organic farms in southern Austria and farmers markets over there...
I'll be back soon with photos!

September means beautiful sunsets

In September days are cooler, the sun is not so strong and there are always some clouds, expecially in the afternoon. This makes sunsets quite spectacular most of the times...

Eyes open!

A new litter

This is the first photo of the new litter, born last night.

Domus del Mito

I finally visited the Domus del Mito in Sant'Angelo in Vado!
I was allowed to take pictures inside, and I took a lot! so here are some of them:
This is the entrance, the mosaic represent the god Neptune on his cart pulled by hippocampus.


A view of the central court of the house:


The room where men used to meet:


Room near the baths (tweezers and make-up and cosmetics were found here):


Part of the Triclinum room (where meals were eaten):

Urbino Synagogue's photos

I finally received some photos from the guests with whom I visited the Urbino Synagogue a few weeks ago.
So, here they are!
This is how the Synagogue looks like from the outside:





This is the inside:

This is the court of the old Synagogue:


And this is the Jewish Cemetery near Urbino:

Domus del Mito

The Roman domus "del Mito" in Sant'Angelo in Vado can be visited until August 31st (5-7 p.m), it's the ruins of a beautiful house with mosaics floors.
Here are some photos, I'll probably go there on Tuesday (if it doesn't rain as it did las Wednesday when I planned to go....) and post more (that is if I can take pictures inside!).

Urbino synagogue

Not many people know that in Urbino there's a synagogue, less people know that in Urbino there are actually two, I was lucky enough to see both (well, see one and lurk at the other one from a window in a building under restauration) a few days ago.

I went with some guests from the Locanda to meet Mrs Moscati - she has the keys of the "new" synagogue (it was built in 1633, when the "old" one was abandoned because, after Urbino passed from the Della Rovere family to the Pope, the Jewish population in Urbino was relocated into the newly established ghetto).
The Urbino synagogue is a quite anonimous building just inside Porta Valbona.


I spent a most beautiful morning visiting the "new" synagogue and then looking for the place where the "old" one still stands and trying to have a look at it. The University of Urbino recently bought the building and is renewing it and we had to sneak into a nearby building to take a glimpse of the courtyard.
I didn't take any picture of the synagogue but I will ask the guests that were with me to send me some so that I can post them here.

The synagogue can be visited but the visit has to be arranged with Mrs Moscati.


The torah ark of the old Urbino synagogue is currently the oldest existing in the world and it's one of the highlights of the Jewish museum in New York.

Le Marche region has a long and interesting Jewish history and many towns still have a lively Jewish community, such as Senigallia and Ancona.
In Pesaro the Sephardic synagogue can be visited some Thursdays and Fridays in July and August.

The kittens are growing

They are growing fast!



Chicca is always suspicious when a kitten approaches...



Kittens LOVE Chicca...



... she makes a warm and cozy bed...



... but Chicca prefers it when the kittens choose a different mattress...

June in Le Marche countryside

I have no time for blogging, almost no time for anything.... I just took a few nice shots of how the countryside looks like now. Here they go!

New cancellation policy

SELF-CATERING APARTMENTS
Please note the following regarding reservations and cancellations:

We require your Visa /Mastercard number with expiration date at the time of booking.

If you cancel your reservation up to 14 days prior to your arrival, you will be charged 30% of the full amount of your reservation.

If we do not receive notice of your cancellation via e-mail or fax at least 14 days in advance or you don’t arrive at Locanda della Valle Nuova, your Credit Card will be charged for 50% of the full amount of your reservation.

The full amount of your booking will be charged in case of early departures.

By reading these terms and conditions, you accept them as part of making a reservation at the Locanda della Valle Nuova. Thank you.



ROOMS @ LOCANDA DELLA VALLE NUOVA
Please note the following regarding reservations and cancellations:

We require your Visa /Mastercard number with expiration date at the time of booking.

If you cancel your reservation up to 14 days prior to your arrival, you will be charged 30% of the full amount of your reservation.

If we do not receive notice of your cancellation via e-mail or fax at least 14 days in advance or you don’t arrive at Locanda della Valle Nuova, your Credit Card will be charged for 50% of the full amount of your reservation.

For early departures we charge 50% of the amount due.

By reading these terms and conditions, you accept them as part of making a reservation at the Locanda della Valle Nuova. Thank you.

La Locanda on The Guardian

Richard Hammond wrote this on May 26th Travel Guardian:

Urbino eco ... organic food, green power, it doesn't get better than this.

There are plenty of rural places to stay in Italy that offer local, organic produce, but La Locanda near the hilltop town of Urbino in Le Marche goes the extra mile to do its bit for energy conservation. Surrounded by ancient, protected oaks, the 1920s farmhouse has been converted into a well-insulated modern, smart country house with six double rooms as well as a self-catering apartment for two.

There's purified water, solar heating and a wood-fired stove fuelled by coppicing from the 185-acre farm woods where you can gather truffles in autumn. There's a riding school next door and a gentle afternoon circular walk around the farm that will help work up an appetite.

You can see the article here

2007 kittens

Here's the latest litter at the Locanda!
Aren't they just beautiful???







Isn't this last one the cutest thing you've seen in your life????

La Locanda on The Times

We were included in the article "Ten sexy eco breaks.
Private eco-islands, eco-country houses, eco-spas, eco-golf; Susan d’Arcy shows how ‘eco’ can be gorgeous too" this is the review:

Set on an impeccably organic 185-acre farm, where you can peek through the truffle woods to Renaissance Urbino, this hotel is smart but unintimidating – and the estate’s pets will adopt you for the duration of your stay as enthusiastically as will their owners, the Savini family. Signora might greet you with flour-covered hands from making that day’s bread and pasta. In the evening, after some authentic home cooking using the farm’s own produce, daughter Guilia will tempt you with dozens of homemade liqueurs. Oh, go on: they’re organic, so they won’t give you a hangover. Well, it’s a good theory ...

And this is the link to the whole article.

Valle Nuova walk

From the Locanda you can start a 7 km (4,5 miles) loop walk. The walk is on white road, quite easy and not very steep. We usually suggest this to our guests for them to have an idea of the area around the Locanda.
Yesterday it was a beautiful sunny day and I decided to take the walk myself (I never have time to do it during summer...) and these are some of the photos I took.








More in the "next/previous" post as there was something wrong with the original post and the photos couldn't be seen...
I hope that you're enjoying the walk!

Valle Nuova walk 2

This is now the second half of this Walk post as apparently there were too many photos to post in just one post... So, go on enjoying these fab landscapes of Northern Le Marche!

May

Yesterday and today it rained. The green of the fields is... well it's so green that it almost hurts your eyes.
This is how the hills around us look like.





Poppies are early this year, as every other plant and they succeeded surviving yesterday's storm. By the way, poppies grow in our weat fields because we don't use herbicides, organic farming is not only good for the environment but it's also more beautiful!

Raphael in Urbino

As an "entrée" to the big exhibition about the most famous painter from Urbino, Raffaello Sanzio (that is being planned for 2009), the Uffizi in Florence lent the painting "Ritratto di giovane col pomo" to Urbino. You'll be able to see the painting in Urbino until July 22nd.



This painting - as well as many others, the most famous being probably the Diptych portrait of Federico da Montefeltro and his wife Battista Sforza, by Piero della Frencesca - was taken from Urbino to Florence by Vittoria Della Rovere (last exponent of the Della Rovere family) before the Duchy of Urbino passed from this family to the Church in 1631.

Sassocorvaro

A few days ago I went to Sassocorvaro, the evening light gives a special feel to the Rocca, an amazing and very little known example of Francesco di Giorgio Martini architecture.

Furlo Gorge

Now spring is really here and I spent the day yesterday at the Furlo Gorge with some friends.




After a short walk along the Gorge (they are doing a lane for pedestrians only along the road through the Gorge) we sat on a tiny rocky "beach" near San Vincenzo al Furlo church (a tiny gorgeous Romanic church) with some Crescia (flat bread filled with cheese, veggies, ham or almost anything you want)... enjoying this beautiful spot.

March 21st: Spring?

This morning it snowed here... we had no winter this year, no rain, not to talk about snow... Today Spring officially started and here's how the area looked like!



And this is the result of having snowed after such a springlike winter...





At least Chicca had great fun running in the snow, even if, at the beginning, she was a bit suspicious, she had never seen snow before!



When I tried to dry her up I realized that big chunks of snow were stuck into her fur... I had to soak her in warm water to get rid of it, but she definitely enjoyed snow!

Mondavio

Mondavio is a beautiful hilltop-town that stands just a few km inland from the Adriatic sea. The "Rocca" (fortress) was designed by Francesco Martini and it's an amazing example of his style.

POTTERY!

I've been willing to take a pottery course for years, since my friend Patricia allowed me to try the amazing pottery-wheel-experience (she's a friend now, but this happened the very first time we met!).
Urbania is known for pottery, actually it was known for pottery under a different name, Castel Durante, that was its name until a Pope called Urbano decided to change its name after himself! Anyway, the "ceramica durantina" is well known and in Urbania you can attend courses on pottery: wheel, forming, decoration.... they have courses all year round, including summer courses and they tell me that they are going to organize more (I'll update here with any information that they give me).

Two weeks ago I started attending a course... the idea of the course is learning different techniques to form objects with clay, but Orazio, the teacher, allowed me to stay on the wheel as long as I need to... and, believe me, it will be a looooong time! Other techniques allow you to make a vase or plate in much shorter time even if reaching perfection is also difficult...

This is Terry working on a vase made with the "lucignolo" technique.



Orazio explaining how to work with "lastre" (sheets)



Me at the wheel



While we dirt ourselves with clay, nextdoor they paint gracefully ;)



And these are their first masterpieces



If you are interested in knowing more on the summer courses visit this page or contact me and I will try to help!

Cagli

Cagli is a lovely little town just 20 minutes south of the Locanda, I was there on Sunday with Chicca, my dog...

Deers

Here's a photo of two deers having lunch in the farm. It was taken by Gianni, a friend living nearby. Wild animals know that hunting is forbidden in the farm, so that they can linger around at their ease. Unluckily the photo is not very high resolution (it was e-mailed to me), but I will try and get a better one!

Grocery STORE WARS

The Market has been taken over by the Dark side of the Farm and Obi Wan Cannoli, Cuke Skywalker and Ham Solo lead the Organic Rebellion

Here goes the link: Grocery STORE WARS

This is one of the best things I ever saw about organic agriculture! It's a highly fun video and it gives great info too.

Cloudy day

Cooking experiments: cauliflower quiche

I'm experimenting with new recipes, I'm experimenting both for my own and my flatmates' pleasure and to increase my guests' pleasure next season.
Today's recipe includes cauliflower, winter vegetable, so it will probably not be included in my menus at the Locanda unless I can convince my cauliflowers to get ready in October rather than mid November. Anyway, I'd like to share the results anyway as it turned out really yummy!
Make your favourite savoury pie crust and half bake it.
You can use left-over cauliflower, cut it into small pieces or mash it and add it to 2-3 beaten eggs, half a cup of cream, one cup fresh goat cheese, salt and pepper to taste.
Put the batter inside the crust and, if you wish, add some slices of cauliflower florets to decorate.


Bake for 20-30 min, 180C until it looks nice and golden.


ENJOY!

BUON 2007!!!!!!!

Buon anno!
Happy New Year!
Feliz año nuevo!

Autumn view

Mu

Our cows stay in the wood downhill from the Locanda during summer, when you lay on the hammmok near the house you can meet them when they come up to drink water.



... Merry merry Christmas to those who celebrate it!

Hills

This is a view of the hills from the farm, in the distance, on the top of one of the hills in the centre of the photo, you can see Urbino. This photo was taken in October, some fields had already been ploughed and alfa-alfa is still very green and ready to be cut for the last time this year.
As this Autumn has been quite warm, most of the leaves are still green but some plants are already changing their colour.

Holidays

Yes, I'm on holidays... but I decided to post some photos for past and future guests to see more about the Locanda and the surrounding area.
Moreover I'm experimenting a bit with new recipes and I will post a bit about that too so that you'll know what to expect if you visit us!

So, here goes a photo taken last October on the road from the Locanda to Urbania, well, actually it's a dirt road across the fields that I only suggest to very experienced drivers that are not afraid of getting lost!

La prima neve

(The first snow)
It snowed last night on Monte Nerone, the mountain that you see right out of the Locanda windows. It's soooo cold today that I think that the kittens and Chicca will sleep inside tonight.



BTW.... my broadband connection works again!!!!!!

I'm on holidays!

The season is over... thank you to Alwena and Merfyn for being the perfect guests to end a beautiful beautiful season! Thank you to Lori, the lady helping us in the Locanda who has been a great help, a joy and a new found friend. Thank you to Bruna for being there when we need her (she's an old friend by now). Thank you to Giovanni who is a great neighbour, a wonderful person and is nice enough to take our guests truffle hunting. Thank you to all the wonderful guests we've had this year. Thank you to the not-so-wonderful guests that allow us to appreciate it even more when we have wonderful guests ;). Thank you to our returning guests: it's such a pleasure to see you year after year and to feel we're a bit part of your life. Thank you to our non-returning-guests-because-they-can't that keep in touch and tell us about their newly born children, job plans, just bought new houses, etc.
The sun shines, the cats purr in the grass, the dogs play in the fields... and I'M ON HOLIDAYS!!!!

Disappeared again

My broadband connection hasn't been working for the last three weeks... I'm getting histerical about it, but apparently at the moment there's nothing I can do.
The kittens are growing like weeds, two of them went to live with nice families in need of a cat in their life and the rest of us is trying to survive to the last weeks of work!
I cannot post many photos as this connection is very very very slow but here's a fab sunset we had a few days ago!

It rained

Today it rained a bit, so when we finally decided to move the kittens from the silly place where their mother put them, she accepted the new (covered) place and didn't move them back (she already did this once with another litter).
The kittens have their eyes open and they're growing fast! I'll post some photos soon (when the mother is comfortable with the new place and she will not be too bothered by the camera and myself).
Today two of our most loved guests this year went away, they must be safe at home by now... Julie and Penny: thank you for being so nice, for the laugh, for the help with the kitten, just for being you! A big hug from all of us.

Back home!

We finally found the mommy cat and the kitten is back with its brothers and sisters!!!!
The cat choose a quite stupid place for her kittens so we're having a look every now and then to make sure that they're all well (and dry!). At the moment everything ok!

Feeding kittens

Today's news about the kitten.
We couldn't find the place where the mother cat put the other kittens so we are feeding the baby kitty, but when she comes to eat she feeds the kitten and licks and cleans it a bit if I stay there with them and scratch her... so this was the scene this afternoon: Chicca was jelous because I was cuddling the cat and she also wanted cuddles...



I had to sit like that for more than 20 minutes!

Cats can't count up to 4

The mommy cat has moved the kittens this morning, but, she can't count up to 4... so she left one behind...
She has come back to the house this afternoon to eat and she has given milk to the lost kitten and has licked it a bit, but then she left leaving the kitten where it was. We're feeding it every 3 hours or less and we hope to find the rest of the litter and to put it back with its brothers and sisters soon.
A sweet and sour note: we found a home for the white puppy, a guy called Rashid took him yesterday and I was soooo glad when I saw them going and Rashid was talking to the puppy and cuddling him and it was really clear that he's really a sweet guy!
Look at these two very grown up kitties still taking milk from their mom



This September the weather is being just gorgeous, look at this beautiful view of Urbino in the distance from the farm!

Beautiful September

September began... well, it was almost one week ago but the season doesn't seem to be ending... Guests keep arriving and the weather is just gorgeous! Sun, breeze and it refreshes at night: perfect weather even for swimming in the pool and sunbathing (as you can see here).



There's a lot of news at the Locanda:
one of Chicca's puppies found a family, he now lives in Pole, just a few km from here with a lovely family who just lost their oldie dog.
This is the last picture taken at the Locanda by Lennard and Marsha (much loved Dutch guests)




In the meanwile the other puppy is growing up like a weed and he already looks pretty much like a "serious" dog....



And last but not least one of our cats, Righella, had 4 kittens 3 days ago!



Look at this one!

Frontone

We went to Frontone to have lunch with Juan Ramón and Mari Carmen, two guests/friends from Spain. The day was not sunny but Frontone is quite photogenic even if the weather was not perfect.
BTW, I tried my Bread and butter pickles today and they are soooo yummy, my dad who has a sweet tooth and doesn't generally like greens a lot just LOVED them!
So, here's the photos of Frontone

Frontone Castle



The "door" leading out of the fortified village



Stunning view from the Castle (even in a cloudy day)

More busy busy time and "pane col mosto"

The last week has been really busy, the house was full
Yesterday when most of the guests where gone I was sitting outside with Lennard and Marsha (wonderful returning guests from Holland) having a little liqueur and a chat. It was strange to see the house so empty and I was seriously missing the guests who had just left... and I thought: it's because of guests like this weeks' that I LOVE this job and this place. So a big THANK YOU to all the smiling guests (you know who you are) that make my job so nice and contribute in making the Locanda a warm place!

... back to huge amounts of fruit from the farm...
Uva americana (or uva fragola, Concord grapes in the US, I believe) is ready to be picked! We serve it for breakfast, make juice, jelly and I also use it for making Pane col mosto. Pane col mosto is a mildly sweet rich bread kneaded with fermented grape juice (not wine, just the juice when it starts bubbling).
For this recipe you need 270 gr "mosto" so you need 500 gr grapes approx, you squeeze them with your hands in a bowl, cover the bowl with a cloth and leave them there for two or three days. When it starts bubbling you filter the juice and this is more or less what you'll obtain



When you have the "mosto" you can start, you need:
500 gr flour
270 gr mosto
15 gr fresh yeast
2 tsp olive oil
1 1/2 tsp salt
100 gr sugar

50 gr raisins
50 gr almonds
50 gr walnuts
1 1/2 tsp anice seeds

Mix and knead the ingredients of the first group (make sure that the yeast doesn't touch the salt before it's mixed with the other ingredients).
Let rest until doubled.
Add the nuts and raisins



knead and form two loaves (use a bit of flour to make this easier)



Let double and bake (180º) for about 20 minutes



YUMMY!!!

This is some of tomorrow's breakfast

Busy busy time

The last week has been really really busy!
The house was full and the veggies and fruits are growing like crazy so we have to preserve, freeze, dry, prepare a lot.
My friend Judy from Divina Cucina, cooking school in Florence gave me the recipe of Bread and butter pickles that I've tried today (I'll post the outcomes as soon as I have some! you can find the recipe on her blog, my friend Paulina from Bulgaria (who lives in Denmark but whom I met in Madrid (!)) gave me her father's recipe for sweet and sour pickled cucumbers (I'm trying those too!).
Moreover I experimented a bit with a new recipe for sort of "erbazzoni". Erbazzone is a traditional savoury cake from Emilia ("half" of Emilia Romagna region) and I mixed a few different recipes and the ingredients I had from the farm and made these monodose erbazzone-like appetizers.
The filling is chicory sauteed with a bit of guanciale (pancetta-like but coming from the "cheek" of the pork) and the pastry is made with:
non-bleached organic white flour 250 gr
lard 70 gr
salt half tsp
enough water to make a non sticky workable dough
Here are some photos of the process



With about 40 gr dough make a very thin layer and put the filling on one half.



Close and press with a fork to seal



After about 15 min at 180º

Topolino trip along the Apennines

There is a series of fab articles by Paolo Rumiz on La Repubblica these days titled "Appennino, il cuore segreto": he's travelling along the Apennines with a Topolino (a great tiny old car) and he spent a couple of days nearby.
There's the links to the two articles regarding northern Le Marche (for those of you who can read Italian!) Nella Gola del gigante from Pennabilli to Fonte Avellana Monastery and Il suono del silenzio from Fonte Avellana down to Fabriano
For you to have an idea of the beauty of the places he's visiting, here's a photo of the Scriptorium of the Fonte Avellana Monastery.

Little ones growing

The countryside changes and the puppies and kitties also grow up!
Here's some new photos for those who saw them when they were tiny and for those who never saw them but would like to!



Aren't they just gorgeous???



Try to count the heads, the ears, the .... yes, you're right! There are 4 kittens.... and there were just 3 of them... The fourth kitten is an older one from another litter (different mother), his mom refuses to give him milk, she sais he's much too old and big, so he found this other mom that doesn't appear to notice the difference between her tiny 2 months old kittens and this big boy!
This is just the three of them

Ploughing time

I don't write because I have very little time but life goes on (!) and the countryside changes every day...
You should remember these photos...




And here's how the place looks like now