Third Time in Sabina

As we head south after two weeks in Sabina (an area about an hour north of Rome in the province of Lazio), it is time for a review of our break in paradise. After an initial few days of thunderstorms and occasional torrential rain it has been dry, hot and sunny every day. Perfect weather. Our biggest disappointment was that we didn’t get enough work done (!), just mowed some lawns (which stopped when I hit the mains water pipe which is plastic and only half buried in the long grass), collected and burnt some olive tree prunings, tidied up the carport (including discovering and re-housing a couple of black scorpions, spray-painted some huge metal rings we'd discovered in the 'jurassic' brambles on our last visit here, rescued a small snake from the swimming pool, picked spoilt olives from the trees, did some strimming, removed a small patch of brambles from a near vertical slope, and did some work on Pauline’s iMac and iPad (why do people buy Apples??).

Corrado serving his squid-ink pasta

Gelato by the kilo

Eating, drinking, socialising and playing cards occupied most after-dark hours, with eating, drinking and sightseeing occupying the daylight hours. See what I mean about paradise? Of the former here is an example of a typical night: Our friend Corrado decided to cook so he brought over all the food and the local plumber (who also helped with the cooking), though his main role was to be a blind date for our other friend Gabby who was also present. Clearly a success as we’re expecting naming rights on their first children. Anyway, sitting outside on a balmy evening, the first course consisted of mussels along with an octopus side dish and a tuna and barley salad. The mains were “black pasta” – squid ink. Dessert was gelato – bought by the kilo. And finished off with Pauline's homemade limoncello (lemon liquer).

I read in a NZ travel article recently that Italian food is very regional and you shouldn’t expect to find pizza everywhere. Rubbish! Everywhere we’ve been from the north to both coasts and Sicily there are pizza restaurants. The style does change a little, sometimes thicker crusts, other times very thin bases. Top tip: cut them with scissors like the locals. So much easier that trying to hack through with a knife.

takeaways - too big for the box

yes - there is a dinner plate under there!

The church floor

A few good days out to report. The first being to Civita Castellano, a large nearby town we’ve been to before. It dates from Etruscan times (the major tribe in the region prior to when Rome became all-powerful). Lots of old buildings and ruins and a wonderful cathedral.

Church (steps) mouse

More floor

Very small bar in Civita Castellano

Calcata

Calcata is an interesting little town. It was virtually abandoned until the hippies moved in a few decades ago. Now it is full of restaurants and art and craft shops. Very pretty. We spent some time with one lady who had been there for 30 years making puppets. Her workshop is delightful as is her nativity scene – each puppet represents a  villager and includes a piece of fabric from their clothing.

Puppet workshop

Village nativity scene featuring "real" villagers

More doors

Bedroom at left of chapel, cave at right.

Where the monks ate in the 13th century

On our way to Spoleto (this will be the subject of another post) we stopped at a remote sanctuary - Speco di San Francesco. Three or four monks and nuns live here permanently and, as it was a Sunday, there were lots of walkers there for a service. Just above the church was another much older one, this was around to host St. Francis of Assisi who lived near there in a cave until they built a room onto the back of the church for him. It is all still there including, in a glass case, his original bed (possibly). Plus the well where a miracle occurred when the monks brought him water which turned into wine. Sadly there was no way of testing if this was still working. But there is a real sense of history given he died in the early 13^th century.

view from the sanctuary

Beats sandy sandwiches!

And last, but not least, was our visit to the beach on the day before our departure. It doesn’t look far on the map but is still nearly 2 hours away. Partly that is due to the very hilly nature of the area and the badly maintained roads, but there are worthy distractions like driving alongside the well preserved remains of a Roman aqueduct. The beach was quiet and it felt very end-of-season though the temperature was in the mid-20s and the water nice and warm. Like most beaches in Italy it is often better to go to the private ones as they offer loungers and umbrellas, keep the beach clean, and have toilets and showers. And, in this case, a great little restaurant run by a friendly family. More mussels, large prawns, pasta, ice cream and litres of wine. Perfect.

Random Italian loveliness

Pauline writes a regular blog and this recent one covers a little more about what we've been up to ..... Casale Benedetti News