Andiamo a Tuscania

After six days of roaming Rome, finally it became time to head to my next destination, Tuscania. I did not know much about this place when I signed up for it besides that it would provide a very different and more authentic Italian experience than that of Florence. First things first, I should mention that Tuscania is not Tuscany. Tuscany (or "Toscana" in Italian) is a region in Italy whose capital is Florence. Tuscania is located in the nearby region of Lazio and is a town in the province of Viterbo. Got all that? A little confusing but in short, the pastries are still good, the people are even friendlier, and about 80% of the men are named Massimo.

Thursday afternoon we were picked up from our hotel in Rome and driven to our new apartment in Tuscania! I am lucky to live in the town's historical center which is filled with beautiful cobblestone streets, medieval architecture, and picturesque alleyways. The city center was recognized as a World Heritage Site by the United Nations and dates back to the 8th century BC where it was a powerful military stronghold on a major road that joined Rome and Tuscany. Over time it saw great wealth and success through farming and trade, as reflected today by its rich agricultural heritage visible all around town. Tuscania is characterized by its sloping countryside, rich volcanic soil, thermal springs, diverse wildlife, and ancient ruins. More importantly, its region is home to trees used by the Ferrero company to make Nutella!

Life as a Local

With a population of only 8,000 Tuscania has such a small town feel and everyone knows each other, so us Americans roaming around surely stand out! Despite the staring, they are all very friendly and are curious to know where we come from and what we are doing here. The only catch - they rarely speak English, so in just a few days I've really started to use my minimal Italian skills! Our advisor at school has taken us to all the local joints and introduced us to the restaurant owners so it's been fun to visit them and enjoy their extremely generous student discounts. One bar/gelateria in particular was celebrating its 50th anniversary this weekend with a live band and all kinds of festivities. It was such a blast, we even made it down to the local park for some swing dancing with the older local crowd. They sure know how to dance! It was such a different atmosphere than what we are used to but it was so much fun just walking around and getting to know the people of Tuscania. They even invited us back next weekend for more!

The entrance to our new apartment!

Our arrival also coincided with the town's annual "Festa della Lavanda" (lavender festival) in which the town is filled with local merchants selling all kinds of products and foods, as well as performances by local bands. There was also a circus/acting troupe parading through the historical center performing for bystanders. Though I had only a slight idea of what they were saying, it was neat to see how they interpret things like clowns and magicians over here. On my way to the festival I was accosted in an alley by two young girls, probably around 6 years old, who saw me and immediately yelled, "COME TI CHIAMI?!" I told them my name and asked them in return, as clearly I was a new face for them around town. I spoke with them in Italian for about five minutes or so and they told me all about where they live and how lame I was for missing out on the festival. The limits of my Italian language skills are pretty much what you would converse with children about, so I enjoyed this quite a bit!

Buon Appetito 

My class, The Food of Italy, started on Monday. After touring our kitchen-classroom on the first day I couldn't wait to get in there and see what was in store for us for these next four weeks. My teacher is a local baker whose family has owned a bakery for over 70 years! After my pastry parade in Rome (well, I suppose it started in Florence) I can't wait to learn all about his cooking. He started with a brief lesson on food in Italy, describing the general regional differences in pastas, meat, fats, etc. Not long into his talk he stopped to ask if we were hungry (note: when a chef asks you that, you always say yes) and if we would like him to make us some lunch. After twisting our arm a bit we agreed and before long he had water boiling, tomatoes roasting in the oven, and eggplant grilling on the stove. In no time he whipped up our dish of fresh pasta with a deliciously seasoned mix of vegetables and flavoring. He grabbed a bottle of wine from the fridge and poured us each a glass, then toasted to our first day! I've started a "cookbook" document with all the recipes we're making, so hopefully I'll be able to replicate them to some degree back home. I'm excited to see what else we will make!

I can't believe I'm in the home stretch now with just over 3 weeks remaining. I'll save my sentimental remarks for the end but for now I'm enjoying all the new things Tuscania is bringing to my experience. We're off to the nearby Bolsena Lake and town of Viterbo this weekend to see their annual medieval festival "Ludika" which should present more photo opportunities!

Arrivederci!

Megan