Weekend: crossing the boot

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This is a thumbnail because the photo, by Gloria Capelli, is enormous.

I went away without telling you. I went to a big, friendly meeting of hospitality providers in Italy who are connected with Slow Travel and that took place in Civitella Marittima, a place I’d never heard of or seen before. It turned out to be a tiny hill village where everything is straight up or straight down from you, and at the very top is a restaurant/B&B called Locanda del Cassero. At the foot of the hill lives Gloria and Marcel of Casina di Rosa, a lovely rental that you can take by the week for your vacation in the Maremma, which is the cowboy part of Italy. Gloria is a fascinating linguist as well as an organized and terrifically calm hostess.

All of this is in southern Tuscany, so I had to drive across Italy from my eastern position almost to the Mediterranean. I was reminded again that except in the north, East-West highways in Italy are a bit of a joke on the traveler. A strip of road with a name that conjures quick travel from Grossetto to Fano peters out and leaves you on a country road that winds through towns, where you must travel not faster than 50 km/hr or 30 mph. I can’t decide if this is a good thing or a bad thing. In the usual way to travel nicely, one wouldn’t need to get coast to coast in a flash, and we do have some challenging mountains that effectively divide the country lengthwise, and so I understand my neighbors’ resistance to the new E-W road until I have to make that trip.

This trip was worth it. Attending were people I know electronically, people I know for real and people I didn’t know. Not a one of them was anything but a delight. Whatever the individual offering each of them makes, it would be worth finding out if you can go there, use them, tag along.

If like many of us you start or end in Rome, Melissa has the Nicolas Inn for you. As she described the things they take on for guests besides giving them a place to sleep, I was amazed to hear that there is someone who cares that much that you enjoy Rome. Rome is usually considered enough of a draw in itself, and like many others I tend to think that if you cannot enjoy Rome you’d better stay home. Aren’t you lucky that there’s a place like Nicolas Inn!

For something completely different, Deborah of Shop Around Tours takes you shopping. She knows where everything is and how to get it. She takes care of all the niggling details of where to stay, where to eat and how to get there and you just bring your money and buy the splendid Made in Italy things that everyone wants.

Megan in Liguria plans other kinds of trips, any kind of trips in Italy. Her agency is Bella Vita Italia, and she makes it her job to see that you and yours do find the bella vita here. She is as sunny as Liguria is reputed to be– a region which holds the sunniest place in Italy.

Diana Baur of Baur B&B in Piemonte has been sitting on the right hand side of this blog for a very long time. It’s a gorgeous place and among the people I know has the best word of mouth advertising I have ever heard, with many saying it is the most fun they’ve ever had in public.

But then, there is Giulia of Locanda della Valle Nuova in le Marche! The rooms are stunning, the surroundings are an organic farm and Giulia is so hands on that she even grows organic wheat, mills it into flour and then makes bread of it. It’s near Urbino, a treasure town not far from me that contains unforgettable art and a history that changed the face of Italy. No one can say they know Italy until they’ve experienced Urbino, and of course staying with Giulia is the way to do that.

Letizia and Ruud are people I know and have an affection for. They own Agriturismo alla Madonna del Piatto, which is near Assisi, on a hillside with panoramic view and every comfort. Letizia is not the madonna in question, she is painted on a plate, but she can also teach you cookery so that when you go home you can continue to have a plateful of Italian love everyday.

Mary and Maurizio own a new inn at Bevagna called Genius Loci. It’s a lovely place, an interesting town that is beginning to excite quite a lot of interest in central Umbria, and I am already looking forward to a booking I have to teach and to cook there in 2009. The advance booking will tell you something about the desirability of both the accommodations and the location.

It’s difficult to tell you exactly what Mary Jane Cryan does, because it seems that she does everything! Have a look at her website, Elegant Etruria. From writing books to leading tours, Mary Jane reaches out from northern Lazio to do it all.

Chris and Meg may only have one home to rent you, but it is a very special one indeed. Il Sogno means the dream and they allow you to share their dream place in Casperia among the Sabine towns only an hour north of Rome.

And then there is my friend, Cyndi. Cyndi and her husband, known to the world only as “The Italian” would be good companions for any reason and any season, but Cyndi has an irresistible talent for retelling history which delights me. I tolerate her other writings very well, because they are always worth reading, but in reality I am impatiently waiting for my next history lesson. Sometimes I whine at her to get at it already. Cyndi and her mother are now Esperia Travel, and although she has licensed guides to take you through the magical places she knows, if you are lucky, she’ll tell you her version of what really happened, too.

It was a lot of fun to hear different people’s takes on dealing with visitors in their various ways. I really think that these people are the cream of the crop and recommend any of them if you are planning a visit here. Oh, and yes, we did eat! We had an antipasto plate of Tuscan specialties, a lasagna made of crepes and porcini, wild boar with polenta and sformato of vegetables and then homemade (by Fulvio of the green sweater above) dessert wine with cantucci or biscotti. I don’t think anybody was capable of finishing the feast, but we gave it a really good try.