Cartoceto

Leaving our last Italian hotel, we went  38km to Cartoceto, to visit Gastronomia Beltrami. This is a family establishment making extra virgin olive oil and cheese by traditional methods. The 118 year old granite olive grinder is impressive, as is the press.

The family matures pecorino cheese in cloth bags filled with dried herbs in holes in the caves beneath the house.  The holes are then cemented over and the cheese is left to mature and develop for 100 days.  The holes had also been hiding places during bitter defensive action by the occupying Germans near the end of World War II.

We had a beautiful lunch,  tasting the two ages of pecorino, and then lasagne hand-made by Nona.

 This was characteristic of our hosts throughout the tour, genuinely pleased to offer hospitality and loving to explain their way of life.

I cannot imagine that any of the arrangements with families could be effect otherwise than by personal attendance in advance; and before that the research to discover what may be experienced. Marc Millon brings very admirable passion and expert explanation and overview. He has made a complete list of every wine we tasted, the majority being grape varieties grown only in Le Marche, or even a sub-region.

We ate too often and too much, but hey, this is hospitable Italy.

Our bus took us 183km to Bologna airport to meet our evening plane to Heathrow. BA gave us no hassles (though we had steeled ourselves to make a fuss if necessary). Since we were flying steerage it was long trudge through passport control at Heathrow, with signs all along the way saying Australians should pre-register with UK border office to get fast track, no landing card required, through passport control. Why don’t travel agents advise this?

This last post for this trip is written from Sofitel Heathrow 5, a really good and convenient stopover. Several of our group also stayed overnight.

The Ducal Palace

Very near our hotel, the Palace has a fine collection of medieval art and Islamic carpets, despite major looting by Napoleon. There seems to have been a limit to baggage handling in those days too.

There was good English commentary on works showing particular developments such as perspective.

The truffle hunt

Our truffle hunt, i.e. our trailing after the hunters and their dogs, was a lot more successful than that in Piedmont some years ago. This area has at least 3 kinds of truffles, of which the white is the most prized ( expensive). It was interesting to find whites, which Piedmont claimed were unique to that region.

The principal hunter is very purposive about his truffling, planting trees, irrigating,  spreading spores on the ground strategically. This seems about as intensive can be for an essentially wild organism. Talk of inoculation is somewhat artificial by comparison.

Urbino and John the Baptist

After lunch, the bus took us on 60km to stopping place for the night. Urbino is a university town on high. The bus halted at  a car park and we walked to a public lift (50 cents, included in tour fee) up four stops. 

The Albergo san Domenico, our hotel, was then a 10 minute moderately steep walk . An immediate tour to the Oratorio di San Giovanni was a rewarding travel into another age to see the high place held by John the Baptist in the pre-reformation church.

In this remarkable early comic strip fresco of which I have captured only a part, the artist shows there is a lot of things going on besides the main story. In most frames a small dog is shown in various cavorting poses, and in the crucifixion frame below two boys are brawling under the cross, with one delivering a well-aimed kick to the other who is down.

The frescoes are byLoenzo & Jacopo Salimbeni completed in 1416

Senegallia

Moving right along from the Loreto plane (pun), we went 70km to Senegallia, a major seaside holiday town, for lunch at Uliassi, 2 Michelin stars. This is the big one. The restaurant was featured in a magazine given to us, which had a helpful map.

The menu was seafood oriented . The waiters were plentiful.  We had a table of 8 lunchers, with four food servers and four liquid pourers. Warm plates came with covered lids, which in splendid choreography were simultaneously lifted in a foursome  for the delectation of the 8 eaters.The glassware was the finest I have ever lifted to my lips. The alcohol began with a  ruby kir royale, and progressed from white to red to the bright iridescent yellow of dessert wine.

 1000 pictures cannot capture these words of the successive courses:

Table decorations

A dessert 

Outside the wavelets of the Adriatic beckoned a paddler or 2, and further along the beach an army of beach umbrellas stood in serried ranks, with (as I think Lord Byron said of the army of Sennacherib) cohorts of purple and gold.

Loreto

The bus took us 6km to Loreto to visit the Santuario della Santa Casa. This is the most highly decorated basilica I have ever seen, including St Peter’s in Rome. A multitude of nations compete to paint on its walls. It is crowded full of pilgrims. Why? Because the centrepiece is the house of Mary in Nazareth that has been transported entire.  No photos allowed, inside the house, but its single window through which Gabriel arrived has a sturdy iron grill. The house is built of simple Roman style bricks, presumably plentiful in Nazareth under Roman occupation. A relief shows the house being transported by angels, but our guide said that they were probably crusaders. There was a black female statue which was getting much supplicatory attention and I saw a picture of it in the next town, Urbino. 

So this Santuario must be the source of all those Loreto convents and schools around the world.

Outside there was even a tribute from McDonalds though the significance is mystifying .

Inside

The most recent wall picture, from USA, features JFK( and other recognisable notables) , but my pic cuts him out in favour of the front astronaut, the only one I have seen on church wall.

Beer tasting at Colmurano

We were conveyed to Agriturismo Agra Mater, who sat us down with a small tasting glass, a wine glass, and a 500ml glass as well as pen and paper. Our host explained the principles of his firm in making craft beer, and 3 successive approximately  equal sized tasting samples were successively supplied. The first in the tiny glass had a distinct rouge tint and subdued bead. It was explained that it had been brewed with grape must and hops. Bread and sausage were commended as an accompaniment and supplied. The second taste went into the wine glass- it was a typical ale and the accompaniment was a strong goat cheese. Into the 500ml glass went a powerful stout, consumed with some warm melted cheddar on crusty bread.

We then adjourned to lunch, al fresco, which was a hearty vegetarian repast supplied from their garden, until the main course of pork lamb and beef lasagne followed by fig and almond strudel...there was that overstuffed feeling again. On our return a walk through the city was preferred to dinner.

The scenery to accompany the meal was of course appealing.

Abbey Frescoes

Reference preceding blogs, here are some of the frescoes from the Cistercian abbey church

Recanati

Although we had 2 nights in the Recanati hotel  there was time only for a short walk on the second evening. It is located in the old area with narrow curved  medieval streets, but handsome civic structures.

Near Urbisagalia

The day started with a drive to the Abbazia di Fiastra  (Cistercian) we began a 7km walk in the Riserva Naturale and into the surrounding hills.  T opted out of the walk because of a sore knee but spent a happy couple of hours in the very beautiful surrounds of the abbey.  Before leaving the abbey we looked  inside and found some wonderful frescos.  

The views were spectacular and the walk, while not as challenging because of the topography as yesterday, was challenging because there was less shade and more exposure to sun....but it was worth it.  The hills in this area are undulating and very picturesque as most of it is farmland used for mixed farming so the colours are varied and very beautiful.  

To Recanati

A reflection on the walk in the gardens: I don’t know what a Principessa signifies, but it must be related to the Latin princeps- chief of tribe. However in Principessa Giulia I discerned beneficent royalty: grace, knowledge - especially botanical and some engineering, passion and determination to restore the depredations in way true to history but adopting modernity in amenities.The ancient hunting lodge (which we were told was for hunting with nets.  And fell into disuse because it required three beaters and ceased to be economic), will be converted into another luxury suite during the restoration.

Next day the bus took us onwards 114 km to Badia di San Pietro.

The first walk was scheduled after a coffee break, 5+k (the manager always underestimates distance) with a 500m + rise. Most of the rise was on a well kept paved military road but the installations seen (bunkers) could have belonged to defensive works for either of the big 20th century wars. Nothing recent. The mountain top views of the Adriatic were partially  obscured by haze, but the hang gliders were exciting. The descent was on loose gravel and a bit treacherous for my orthopaedic shoes, and a final 300m ascent back to the road did something to my right knee.

The bus descended steeply to get close to the shore at Portonovo, and we walked past a duck filled lagoon to get to our lunch stop, which had absolute frontage a large-pebble beach and fishermen’s launching point. The starter was suitably Adriatic, chopped octopus, fresh anchovies and other things that can be observed:

This was followed next, and importantly by a large bowl of smallish (6cm we were assured) local wild mussels. These are gathered from submerged rocks by  divers with an oxygen line to the boat at depth of 3 - 10 metres, between April- September, and ours were almost the last of the season. The autumn-winter sea then becomes too wild and water too turbid.

The last 2 boats of the season

Looking in the other direction from our restaurant seat. The owner greeted users of an inflatable by blowing through a conch shell with a sounder loud as fog horn.

After lunch we had a long (translated) conversation with a senior fisherman from the co-operative. It appears the wild mussels grow only in this bay because only it has appropriate underwater rocks, and supply is sold locally. It is a traditional cottage industry, which gives meagre returns, and although he did not admit it the catch is harvested young and if left unmolested would over several years grow on twice or perhaps three times the size.

In winter they fish for various molluscs. I would have liked a detailed chat about the workings of the co-op (a past specialty of mine) but this was not the time or place.

The bus conveyed us on to Castelfdardo, where we visited Garifoli Winery, a big time international business. Here too minor snacks were supplied, which we wisely resisted. The main grape is Verdicchio, a white endemic to this mini- region, and we introduced to various styles- spumante, young and aged. This being our third Martin Randall tour led byMarc Millon,  I can now observe his strategy, a rollicking good time spent  at family wineries, and then the  visit to the big pro, which will be instructive but restrained.

The bus took us to our Recanati hotel situated on a mountain-top with proverbial breathtaking views of the countryside. This accommodation was up to date  modern capital city 4 star, in contrast to the faded glory of our previous palazzo.

Half of the view from our 1st floor window.