‘The hills are alive……..’ (Italy Pt II)

Lake Iseo - an overnight stop en-route to Castelrotto in the Alps

After a week or so in ‘Italy’, we found ourselves in Alto Adige (after an overnight stop at Lake Iseo in the lake region). Located in the North East of Italy on the border with Austria, it is a place which while being Italian (since it was ceded to Italy after World War I, formerly being part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire) feels distinctly Swiss/German/Austrian. The geography is dominated by the steep snow covered Italian Alps, complemented by rolling green hills in alpine valleys dotted with wooden huts/houses – the sort of scene that makes you want to belt out songs from ‘The Sound of Music’ – and at times, suffering from weather induced cabin (or car) fever, I am sad to admit that we may have done just that.

The hills are alive..... (the view from our hotel)

You come to Alto Adige for two reasons – in the winter to ski and in the summer to hike/climb. We were on the cusp of Winter/Summer and due to unseasonably cold weather, there was too much snow for the hard core walkers in the area. For less adventurous walkers such as us, conditions underfoot were fine, and we took advantage of a break in the wet weather to do a short walk from an alpine lake to a clearing and back. What we did not appreciate when we set out is how suited we would be to ‘walking’ in this part of the world. After a 40 minute (fairly steep) walk up we found ourselves nestled by the fire in a wooden alpine hut/bar – me rewarded in my efforts with a large German beer and bowl of the best soup I can recall ever having and Michelle tucking into a big bowl of apple strudel with ice cream. In the summer at times they have an Oompah band up on the roof and in 2007 it beat off 359 other contenders to win the award for ‘best alpine bar’. The fact that they celebrated with a staff trip to Oktoberfest in Munich gives some insight into how ‘un-Italian’ it feels here.

That man deserves a zuppa

The other highlight here was a trip into the picturesque town of Bolzano - a pretty place with nice cafes and food markets. It is home to Ortzi – a frozen early human from the copper age found by a couple hiking in the Alps in 1991 thawing out of ice where he had lain perfectly preserved for 1000s of years. Despite the fact that this man and his belongings were incredibly well preserved and offering much insight into life at the time, much remains unknown about him – including who shot the arrow that may ultimately have lead to his demise and why. An hour or two exploring the museum largely dedicated to him here was well worth it.

Church in the Alps

The area is well known for its wood carvers. We did think we might leave with a wooden toy for the little one, but as it turns out, the carving, while undeniably beautiful, tends to feature religious figures or scenes heavily and we decided a half metre figure of the Madonna and child was not really what our nursery needed….

The blend of cultures here was intriguing and we really enjoyed the novelty of it all (in addition to the breathtaking geography!). The blend was most evident when eating with the cuisine on offer a mix of typical Germanic foods (you could count on sausage with sauerkraut) and typical Italian (pizzas/pastas) - often with a bit of one culture influencing the other. Beer drinking was more commonplace, in contrast to the sight more often seen in Italy of a table of wine drinkers.

Hills on the drive from Lake Iseo to Alps - it was pretty chilly up there...

It is not just about beer and bratwursts here though. Sud Alto is a famous wine region (particularly for whites) and Tramin (the town after which Gewürztraminer is named) is located here. I have always found this strange – that such an un-Italian sounding wine can have its home here and it was a bottle of Italian Gewürztraminer purchased in London that first sparked our interest in visiting here. On our way south to Verona we stopped to do a couple of quick tasting – at the Co-op in one town small town we were joined by the local traffic officer – strange to see him tucking into a few wines with the locals in full uniform, car parked out the front at 10am on a Saturday morning!


Verona - the home of romance


After weaving up a very narrow and winding road to the top of the hills on the edge of Verona (which at this stage we had still not seen) and being greeted by a very hippy/alternative looking young Italian guy at our B’n’B we did wonder what we had got ourselves in for – but it all worked out fine…. in fact Christian’s breakfasts, especially the fresh juices which seemed to be a mix of whatever he had which was fresh (pineapple, apple, carrot) mixed with a healthy dose of fresh ginger root, will be a lasting memory of the trip!

We spent our first evening in this area exploring some of the less touristy parts of Verona and it was a place that really captured both our hearts. Nice cobbled streets, lots of little cafes, bars and gelateria, colourful and romantic – and on a Saturday night – bustling with a mix of students and trendy young couples. We selected a place to eat, pretty much at random, and I quickly learned that this was a town in which they take their wines seriously. I asked for a glass of wine – only to have the waiter suggest that we order our food and he would then be better placed to suggest which wine I might enjoy! We ate antipasti here while people watching and I was treated to several very nice wines – with the size of the glass (but not the pour) increasing with each. Not only did they take their wines seriously – but without exception it was served in beautiful glasses.


In Verona we were also introduced for the first time to the Italian concept of the ‘aperitivo’. Between around 5:30-6 and 7-7:30 the locals seem to congregate in cafes and wine bars to enjoy a drink which comes with a small selection of nibbles – a bit like the ‘pinxtos’ concept in San Sebastian but without the scrum to reach the bar. We tried it on our second night at a place Christian had recommended – yum!

Spot the Fiat 500 in the top LH corner.....

We had one day to see as much of Verona as we could and with our Verona cards in hand (a €10 card that gets you into most of the main sights) we had a pretty intensive day of sightseeing – the Roman arena, made of pink marble and still in active use today, ‘Juliet’s house’, complete with the balcony which is said to have inspired Shakespere’s balcony scene, climbing the 350 odd steps to the top of Torre di Lamberti, which offered great views of the city and a piazza filled of classic cars below, and the Castelvecchio, the city’s main castle and the museum inside it. We also managed to see the Duomo there during service – so sat at the back as one of the many priests up on the alter delivered a very animated sermon (not a word of which we understood – despite attempts to pick up a bit of the language!).

Our short stay in Verona was great and although it was not one of the places on the itinerary which we were really excited about – it was a place that we really took to.


Experiencing rural Italy - Emilia-Romagna


A short drive south (by now having covered about 2000kms in our once brand new Peugeot 207) and we found ourselves sitting outside a house in the country with a dog the size of small bear glaring at us. After a quick call to Paola (the owner of the house we were to be staying in) we determined we were on the right driveway – but at the wrong house…. Further down the dirt drive we found another house – this time with a dog that looked more like a sheep (and which was much friendlier) to greet us.

A couple of friendly faces

And so it was we found ourselves on a farm/winery/orchard/hobby zoo which would provide our base from which to explore this region over the next week. We had hired a small house built in the top half of a converted barn situated just out of Monteveglio near Bologna. Out our back window we could monitor the activities of half a dozen pet rabbits, from our bedroom we can see small groups of school kids arriving most days to explore the farm or learn how to make bread in a wood fired oven, and from the kitchen come dining room (where I am sitting right now) we look out to trees, with vines beyond. Chickens roam free, we have two pigs (a big one and a little one) which benefit from our scraps and next to the vines live a pony, a mule and donkey (a miniature pony is expected any day now). As we drove up the drive last evening, Michelle spotted a wild young deer in the undergrowth and just further up the drive a long black snake (not poisonous we are assured) slithered across the drive in front of us. One does not get lonely here.

Slow food and fast cars


Emilia-Romanga is famous for food (it is home to Parma ham, Parmesan cheese and traditional balsamic vinegar the production of which all involve significant aging periods) and fast cars – the Ferrari factory is here as are factories making Maserati, Lamborghini cars and Ducati bikes (I am sure there are more, so apologies to any petrol heads if I have missed any).

You can't help but draw comparisons with the Yellow Datty can you?

Disappointingly we discovered that to visit the Ferrari factory one must be the owner of a Ferrari. While we will shortly be in the market for a new car, I was not sure that Ferraris would be compatible with an ‘Isofix’ baby car seat (of which we are the proud owners) and therefore we did not investigate the acquisition of one of these vehicles any further. Fortunately there is an alternative option for the 99% of the world’s population who like us do not have the pleasure of owning a Ferrari – and that is the Ferrari Gallery – located in Maranello (also the location of the factory) – administered by Ferrari and home to a mixture of historic (and recent) F1 cars as examples of the Grand Turismo roadsters. As you enter you are greeted by a shop featuring an extensive range of Ferrari merchandise (with prices pitched at the hard core of Ferrari fans), but this place proved interesting for both of us – even Michelle left with a soft spot in her heart for yellow Ferraris – perhaps there is hope for me yet that one day I will find a replacement for the Datsun and at same time qualify for entry to the factory here (which is said to be one of the best places in Europe to work).

On the food front, balsamic vinegar seemed to be our focus (although more by accident than design). We visited a producer for short tour and tasting and also a small, but very good, museum in Spilamberto which is run by the association which controls and certifies production of the ‘traditional’ balsamic. Throughout these experiences you have it drilled into you that in a traditional balsamic there is nothing but grape must (no sugar or other additives are included) and that following the initial ‘cooking’ of the must it is simply left to time in small barrels (made of various types of wood – oak, cherry etc) to give the vinegar its distinctive flavour and consistency. The aged product is delicious and can be served on a grilled piece of meat, with fresh parmesan cheese, on ice cream and strawberries or even by itself as a digestive! At about €70 for 100mls of the 25 y/o variety it has to be special – and it was.

Don't you wish we all got better with age?

We saw less of the production of Parma ham and parmesan, but did ensure we partook in trying it whenever the opportunity presented itself! It is not hard to see why they call Bologna the capital of this region La Grassa ('the fat one').

For the first time we also had the opportunity to cook for ourselves. We enjoyed the chance to buy fresh veggies and goodies from the delis in the market before taking them home to whip something up. The highlight would have to be fried zucchini flowers – something we had tried and loved at La Famiglia in London, and which, as it turns out, aren’t too hard to recreate at home. We are having another batch for our final supper before heading on to Lucca from here tomorrow!

Flower arranging in the kitchen

While exploring the foods of the region, we also took in the sights of the main towns each of which we saw on separate day trips from our ‘base’ – Parma, Modena and Bologna. Of these, Bologna stood out as our favourite – a nice historic city centred around a grand piazza, great little food markets off the piazza and plenty of nice cafes, restaurants and gelateria. The gelatti we had from La Sorbetteria Castiglione here rates as Michelle’s best so far (mine was yet to come in Rimini….).

The coast and San Marino

From the farm we did a round trip out to the coast taking in San Marino, Rimini and Ravenna.

San Marino is Europe’s third smallest principality. Set on a hill overlooking the coast it has always remained separate from Italy (and was neutral during World War II). While it was interesting to visit here (and gave our child to be another flag in its passport) it was a bit of a non-event – tacky souvenir shops lining the streets. They seemed to have a strange fascination with weapons here – with numerous shops selling large (imitation?) automatic guns and knifes of all descriptions – perhaps to appeal to patrons of the museum of torture located here.

Mosaics of Ravenna

After San Marino, Rimini was a welcome return to Italian sophistication. We saw it during the afternoon siesta and out of peak season, so it was very peaceful – although in summer Italians flock here and its beaches are said to be packed with flesh by day, with the clubs being packed with flesh by night. Our flesh featured in neither of these places, which is probably for the best, but we did treat ourselves to a great gelatti (this time my favourite) – mine being a coffee flavoured one bearing the Slow Food seal of approval!


En-route home we visited Ravenna. This proved to be a slightly unanticipated highlight from a touristic perspective – with mosaics being the key draw card. We visited 4 separate sites all of which features mosaics featuring from early Christian times. The colours and detail in these huge mosaics are incredible – even today – many of them looking as if they had been made yesterday, rather than centuries ago. Although we were a bit rushed as we tried to get around the sites here, we were awestruck by the mosaics and if you are ever in this region and have the opportunity to spend a day/half day in Ravenna we would certainly recommend it.

Parmasean aging.....