San Vittore

After the assassination of Julius Caesar (you know, “Et tu Brutus?” and all that)  the Emperor Augustus introduced the idea of personal body guards: the Praetorian Guard.  Saint Victor was said to be a member of this guard.  Ironically, these were the very chaps who later assassinated Caligula.

Long and slightly dodgy story cut very short: San Vittore was imprisoned for being a Christian and was beatified after refusing to denounce his faith under torture.  (The image on the left is from Wikipedia.)

San Vittore is the Patron Saint of our village.  His Saint Day is May 8th and we celebrate by getting together for a meal on the nearest weekend.

This was the menu:

• Spaghetti All’Amatriciana
• Formaggio
• Salame
• Lonza
• Fava Fresca
• Porchetta
• Caffe’ e Limoncello
• Red & White Wine

We went along with some friends and a lovely couple of guests from Arizona.

It was a simple village meal, but the food was excellent.

I forgot to take my camera, but here is B. tucking in to the doggy bag I wasn’t too ashamed to ask for.  (Can’t stand wasting food.)

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71a Sagra dell’Uva

The vendemmia is over.  Time to party!   

We went to the 71st Sagra dell’Uva in Cupramontana, which is

yet another

charming hilltop town not far from Casalba.

This is the best sagra I’ve been to in these parts…so far.  Well, they’ve had a lot of practice; Cupramontana has been celebrating the grape harvest since 1928. 

The town centre was completely lined with stalls, the majority of which were mini restaurants each selling Italian goodies: anything from piadine to platefulls of polenta alla papera and any other plate you can think of.

There was also some wine.  A lot of wine.

Wine was being sold from large vats on wheels…

 

 …from straw huts…

and from a wine ‘fountain’ in the form of a tube which ran from the balcony of the town hall down to the main square offering a free glass of Verdicchio for all.

It was a lovely evening in a beautiful setting.

Even the side streets were decorated: 

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XXX Festival Internazionale Del Folklore, Staffolo

Last night we went to the 30th International Folklore Festival in Staffolo.

Staffolo is a charming medieval hilltop town only about 5kms from us.

This event is organised by the folklore group Colle del Verdicchio .

It is held every year on the first Sunday of August (plus the preceding Friday and Saturday evenings).   

As you can see from the leaflet, there were dancers from all over the world and those we saw were really spectacular.  

 

 

My favourites, however, were the youngsters from Staffolo itself who were all decked out in their costumes and taking their responsibility very seriously.  

Just look at that little chap go!

 

Time for a rest, but not for him.

There was also something to eat, of course.  This was the menu:

• Gnocchi all’anatra
• Tortellini alla boscaiola
• Salsicce alla brace
• Coniglio in porchetta
• Bistecche
• Maialino in porchetta
• Verdure Gratinate
• Patate Fritte
• Trippa
• Cresciole

I had Coniglio in Porchetta which is a speciality of Le Marche.   It was delicious.

I’ve got a few recipes for Porchetta with rabbit, pork, chicken and even fish.  They seem fairly straightforward.  When I try one of them, I’ll post the results here.

We ate at long tressle tables under the old lime trees which line the boulevards/vialle, passed every now and then by a dancer strolling by in national costume. 

 

It was a lovely evening.  I’d go again.

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