It's great to make new friends here in Piedmont, so it was good to meet up again with Maria Pia Lottini of Agriturismo Tenuta Antica who we met recently at a neighbours wine tasting. Last night we enjoyed a lovely meal in her restaurant which featured a sensational seasonal risotto, made by Maria Pia's mother, as well as a beautiful rabbit roll roasted with a filling of omelette and pepperoni, all washed down with their excellent 2009 Dolcetto d'Asti, Daniele, named after one of Maria Pia's
GoOverseas.com is a one-stop resource for meaningful travel abroad! Whether studying, teaching or volunteering, these guys seem to have all the bases covered ... Of particular interest to us here at "Italian Reflections from Casa Dolcetto" are their suggestions for "meaningful travel" in Italy ... Let's start with a spot of teaching. Some of the latest ideas include 'LanguageCorps' offering of a TESOL Certification Program in Florence and 'ACLE', an educational company, providing Italian
Scavino Barolo Bric del Fiasc 2004 ... Paolo Scavino Barolo Bric del Fiasc is the finest wine from the Scavino vineyards seemingly year on year, but the 2004 vintage is a masterclass in balance. It appears as though the true potential of Bric del Fiasc has now been realised, a project of over 30 years, and I'm looking forward to seeing if the Scavinos can raise the Barolo bar once more - vintage permitting ... Paolo Scavino has long been a favourite producer for Piedmont fans in the know,
The Historic City of Alessandria lies in the northwest of Italy, just 90 km from Turin. Head for the hat museum, admire the ... campanile and enjoy some fine food and great wines. ... Alessandria, Lissandria in Piedmontese, is the capital of the Province of Alessandria in Piedmont. The city was founded in 1168 following the union of four villages, Borgoglio, Gamondio, Marengo and Rovereto. Named Alessandria, in honour of Pope Alessandrio III, it served as a major stronghold for the
Vercelli, Vercellae in Latin, is the capital city of the province of Vercelli in eastern Piedmont and one of the oldest towns in Northern Italy. Founded in 600 BC, it was the first city in Piedmont to have an administrative structure. The seat of Piedmont's first University in 1228, the town passed to the Visconti of Milan in 1335, and to the house of Savoy in 1427. French and Spanish occupation followed until it rejoined the rest of Piedmont as part of the Savoy domains in 1704 ... Today,
the foot of the Cottian Alps, Susa lies on the banks of the Dora Riparia only 55 km west of Turin. Admire the mighty Roman Gate, see Italy's smallest amphitheatre and enjoy some fine food and great wines ... Susa, once known as the 'Gate to Italy', has always been a town of great strategic importance. Founded by the Gauls, it joined the Roman Empire voluntarily and was later visited by Hannibal and his elephants, conquered by Constantine, captured by Charlemagne and destroyed by
TravelGrove, the compare and save travel website, has asked us to take a close up view of their latest website, so let's take a look ... The message is clear, TravelGrove.com obviously wants to become the default, indispensable travel planning site. Travellers have the opportunity to compare prices and hopefully get the best deals available on major travel categories such as flights, hotels, car hire, cruises and vacations. Of particular interest to us here at "Casa Dolcetto: Italian Insights"
The latest addition of our 'Italian Hotelroll', features more than twenty links to Italian hotel selections ... that are, according to their promotional literature either boutique or chic, cool or hip, historic or intimate, luxury or romantic, secret or just some of the best designed hotels in Italy ... Casa Dolcetto recommends you check out the links below or look out for the 'Italian Hotelroll' now featured on the right hand side of the front page of this blog ... Abitare la Storia ...
From Piemonte, dark and ominous with deep purple colors, heavily textured and looking unfiltered, but then revealing woodsy aromas with floral notes, especially violets. A bit of blackberry touches the palate with ripe plum and a hint of balsamic, nicely structured tannins, good finish ... Had this by the glass at the bar at In Vino in the East Village NYC until my friends arrived, after which we moved to a table and ... well that's another post ...
Aosta Must Do - Top 10 Tips: ... 1) View the triumphal Arco di Augusto, built in 35 BC, the symbol of Aosta ... 2) Marvel at the four thousand seat Teatro Romano begun in the 1st century AD ... 3) See the La Cattedrale di Aosta with its ivory diptych dating from 40 AD ... 4) Walk through the Porta Praetoria, a double gate with three arches flanked by two towers ... 5) Nearby is the Torre dei Signori di Quart, a 12th century tower house ... 6) Check out the Roman Amphitheater which once