Last summer I decided to take my parents with me and my son for a short vacation in northern Lazio in the province of Viterbo also known as Tuscia. While we were getting ready for our trip, we were wondering whether there would be food festivals in the area in early June. My family and I are drawn to local festivals because they give us a taste of life of the area even if only for a day. That is why we were so eager to find out if there was something going on. We knew also that we would learn of the history and traditions of Tuscia in addition to taste new dishes - my father’s favorite thing to do. It turned out that in the small town of Vetralla, not too far from Viterbo, there was a festival that has been taking place every year for the last twenty five years; Fiori alla Finestra e Cene in Cantina. It roughly translates to Flowers on Window Sills and Dinners in Cellars.
What an intriguing name! The idea of creating the festival was inspired by the existence of cellars and ancient tunnels underneath the town of Vetralla, and by the desire of a group of local residents to bring back and preserve simple life norms and traditions of the past, such as for example ancient art and crafts, and simple dishes. Remembering how life was in the past is the focus of the festival. It is possible to tour old shops in the historic center where visitors are shown how weaving, baking, or sewing used to be done. These shops are part of a scattered museum or museo diffuso called "Le Botteghe de na Volta" - Shops of the Past. A scattered museum is not the traditional museum, where artifacts and exhibitions are in one building; on the contrary there are multiple buildings all over the little town. In the case of Vetralla for example you may visit the tailor's shop, the ceramic shop, or the baker's shop. The museum "Shops of the Past" is embedded in the town itself.
Since food is extremely important to Italians, simplicity and conviviality of the local cuisine play a big role at the event as well. It seems that the idea was to have people taste old dishes from the agricultural and pastoral tradition consumed in the cellars which are spartan rooms located underground but where people enjoy eating in one another's company like they used to do in the past, especially after a day of hard work in the fields. That explains the revival of the old cellars which have been used for centuries. They are seen as a place where people were and are brought together to relax and enjoy themselves, while eating and drinking. Interestingly Vetralla and the area surrounding it have been continuously inhabited for the last 2500 years.
Pleasantly surprised that there was an event to attend, off we went one evening to check it out. The chance to try local dishes was too tempting. We Italians care a great deal about food and prodotti locali; which translated would be local produced products, like for example cheese, meat, wine, oil, vegetables, fruit. . . in summary anything produced in the area and unique to such an area. So if you see prodotti locali on a menu or in a store, it would be a good idea to give it a try; savor cheese or sip wine new to you!
The "eat local" movement in the US isn't quite the same thing. . .Italians have never really ever stopped eating locally and what is in season because, my husband thinks, a greater percentage of the Italian population has a stronger bent toward fresh, healthy, well prepared, delicious food than the US population. Notice "non-GMO" community signs throughout Italy. Notice the smaller amount of "processed" or "canned" foods in Italian supermarkets. Notice the higher number of smaller specialty markets in every town and city - panetterie (bread, pastries), macellerie (meat), alimentari (produce, cheese, prosciutto, etc). This "fanaticism" toward good, fresh, healthy food. . .well, no wonder so many people all over the world love Italian food. In the US convenience and speed often steers the menu - not so much in Italy.
My family and I always keep our eyes open when we travel to hunt for prodotti locali; not being originally from Lazio we were not very familiar with the regional cuisine. However, we were aware of well known dishes from Tuscia, appreciated for their unique taste, and we were determined to try them.
The old part of Vetralla within the town walls on the top of the hill was decorated with flowers and multicolored man made decorations. We arrived around 7:00 pm but there weren’t many people on Via Roma, the main stretch that links to the ancient Roman Cassia way. We saw the cellars and excitedly looked at their menus. We were told by a couple of passersby that usually people make reservations, and of course we didn’t think it was necessary since it was a festival. In the menus we didn’t see anything that stood out for us, very simple dishes, more similar to appetizers than main courses such as salami, cheese, bread, and beans. Our excitement was starting to turn into disappointment. We were hoping to see some kind of first or second course; however, that was not the case. We then continued toward the area where the restaurants were situated. Tables were outside on the street waiting for their patrons, but we were not among them because - remember? - we didn’t make a reservation. The chances of sitting at a table and having a nice dinner were getting slimmer as the minutes went by, unless we would compromise for pizza - and of course that was not an option!
I would like to point out that we were very picky, maybe because we had dishes in mind that we wanted to try. My mom who is very hard to please sometimes, and we were tired of roaming around without finding a table available, so we took off and started talking to three senior ladies sitting on a bench under plane trees. Her mission was to extrapolate from them precious information about a good restaurant nearby - one not completely booked. They started a lively conversation and the next thing we knew, we were sent down the hill outside the festival area to a restaurant that was supposed to be good. The restaurant was called: Da Benedetta, located in Via della Pietà, 76, Vetralla. And BINGO!
At Da Benedetta there were several available tables maybe because they were not located inside the walls where the festival was taking place. We looked at the menu and we saw exactly what we were looking for. We were all so happy to sit down after a day of walking through Renaissance gardens and Medieval towns. We were so ready to order: among our choices acquacotta and lombrichelli; two traditional dishes unique to the area. Lombrichelli is homemade noodle with ragu and herbs, while acquacotta is ...hmm..?
The waitress a little bit concerned about our choice asked us if we knew what acquacotta was and we answered that we really did not. All we knew was that it was unique to that province.
She wanted to make sure that we were aware of what we were about to order so she explained to us how the dish was prepared.
Acquacotta
It is neither a first course, nor a second course meal, but instead a piatto unico or main dish. There are multiple recipes to prepare acquacotta; however, in the province of Viterbo it is prepared with water- its main ingredient. That explains its name which means cooked water. Its origins go back to the pastoral traditions when mounted herders - butteri - used to prepare their meal outdoor while moving cattle or horses. Butteri used to cook wild chicory in water, and they would add potatoes, garlic - anything available in the area where they were camping. The head of the herders would add olive oil once the meal was ready to eat, almost like in a ceremony. Butteri were not the only ones who made acquacotta; shepherds, fishermen, and farmers were preparing the dish as well, because it was simple to make, and very healthy. In fact, it is consider a great example of Mediterranean diet.
Today it is possible to savor it in restaurants in the Maremma's area, in Tuscany, and northern Lazio. It is served in a small terracotta pot. The ingredients are: chicory, potatoes, tomatoes, garlic, lesser calamint, chilly pepper, onions, bread, and an egg or cod - the latter ingredients may vary according to the area.
The acquacotta we ordered at Da Benedetta had an egg instead of cod. At the restaurant the two chefs are mother and son, and it was the son who cooked our acquacotta, and prepared lombrichelli although his mother made the home-made noodles. It is worth mentioning that the restaurant opened fifty years ago, when the owner’s grandmother, Benedetta started the business. The family after all these years is still offering to the community local dishes using local products - prodotti locali.
At the end of our dinner we were very pleased with the meal, and with the fact that we kept looking for a restaurant, even though it meant to leave the food festival. Thank you to my mom's determination and the three ladies' advice! I am concluding this post with a thought for you. Tuscia has wonderful dishes and local products to offer to visitors. I leave you with the task or challenge to find them when you travel in the area.
As the locals say "s’aribeccamo"! Arrivederci!
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