Tuesday, January 11, 2011

"Come to my Villa."


Sometimes grief strikes us at the oddest times. This morning I was watching a press DVD about a villa in Umbria, Italy. The villa sits just outside the hill town of Montafalco. Watching, I was brought to tears. I was thinking, this is why Dad loved Italy. If only I could bring my Dad to Montafalco. We’d stay at this villa, the Villa Pambuffetti. We’d eat that pasta, drink that wine, sit and talk and read on those round over-stuffed chairs–and they would envelope us like my Grandma Rose’s bosoms, in a great hug. I miss him dearly.

It was my pleasure to meet the family behind Villa Pambuffetti last night. They treated us to a dinner of “home favorites” at the il Buco restaurant in lower Manhattan. Alessandra Angelucci Pambuffetti, our hostess, exuded elegance and ease, she was so graceful and charming and chic, that not only did I want to visit her at her Villa, I wanted to adopt her life! Imagine, being able to say, “Come to my Villa. I’ll give you a cooking lesson in the morning and then you can explore the Franciscan art of Montefalco. Or just sit with me in the garden and drink our local wine, Montefalco Rosso or Sagrantino. I was converted. In my next life I am Alessandra Angelucci Pambuffetti. I own an Italian VILLA!

BUT I will not wait until my next life to visit Villa Pambuffetti and if you have a villa-ownership fantasy like me, you should go there too! Lucky for you, you’ll be a guest with none of the headache of ownership. You can relax, a specialty of the house.

If you prefer to wonder, well you’re in Montefalco, “Everywhere you look or you walk everything is ancient, medieval, stony, cold and hard. Tiny roads cut tall stone houses through ancient towers, portals, castles, churches and walls.” Said Hermann Hesse describing this ancient village, unchanged since he visited it in the early part of the 19th century.

I can’t finish this post without describing one stand out, unexpected dish served to us last night–Cachi con Finocchio–persimmons, fennel, hazelnuts, mint, parmesan. This combination was just music to my taste buds. Accompanied by Grigetto wine, seated in the basement wine cellar of il Buco next to my Italia –phile friend Lisa Beth, captivated by Allessandra, I had gone to heaven and it was in Italy.

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

a Montefalco mangiate "gnocchi al sagrantino" is number one!!!

In Montefalco visit frescoes Benozzo Gozzoli

If only I could bring my Dad to Montafalco... your Dad is from Abruzzo, land of famous writers and philosophers (Benedetto Croce)... in the ancient (Ovidio - Sallustio) and modern time (D'Annunzio -Silone - Flaiano, writer of Dolce vita Fellini!!!- and... italo-american John Fante!!!!!!

bye bye

(Here Dino Crocetti from Abruzzo with three classic American beauty
hello to the next)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JmY_CAydApw

Anonymous said...

this is the Italian singer Nina Zilli. Her vintage clothing is very fashionable
Nina Zilli is trendy :-)

bye

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EkjoCMvc-lI&feature=fvst

Anonymous said...

Your father comes from a town ten miles away from the country which is the father of Madonna, Ciccone, you know?

come on, vogue!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GuJQSAiODqI

Anonymous said...

and men who wear the most elegant of the world? Valentino, Armani, Trussardi, Versace?
No, no, no, no!

Domenico Caraceni, a tailor from Abruzzo!

ok, this time is everything, the next one!

(and this is one of the best restaurants in Abruzzo, two Michelin stars)

visit us!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g6lcND2LHbA

Anonymous said...

The blonde with the earrings is the Italian singer who sings Nicolò Arquilla, leader of the BHC, the idol of Italian girls! :-)

bye

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PiD_LghDMwI

Anonymous said...

As you know Italian cinema is among the best in the world.

Abruzzo is a film set of the most popular, also for its proximity to Rome.

But the theme is also Umbria and Dad: So, this film is Francis (St. Francis, the saint who gave his name to the city in California) by Liliana Cavani. Francis is known to be a saint in Umbria, starring Mickey Rourke here: this scene (Francis receiving the stigmata) is filmed in Abruzzo and precisely in the country of your father, the river that flows near

bye

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1cGy2_QoreA&feature=related

Anonymous said...

This is the last film shot entirely in Abruzzo! With George Clooney

the town is Sulmona
the river is Tirino
the restaurant is Taverna dei Caldora (Pacentro in the country of Madonna)
the country that is framed from above is called Castel del Monte in the province of L'Aquila

I hope this makes sense that I write, I use the Google translator.

Bye


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ywmoXZwkA0

Anonymous said...

Mario Monicelli was one of the greatest Italian directors. This movie is a satirical comedy filmed in her SULMONA which is the nearest town (ten miles) to the country of your father.

It 'really delightful town which produces the best candy in the world!
The statue, which at one point we see is that of Ovid, Publius Naso, was born in Sulmona, and for the history of art is the most important scholar of antiquity

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yH8oBie4S5Y

Anonymous said...

Few fathers have had a son named John Fante, so few fathers have been told so well in literature as Nick Fante from Torricella Peligna, Abruzzo.

John Fante is necessary to read the entire production, is published in Italy by one of the best editors (Einaudi).
Many of his novels are masterpieces, such as Ask the Dust of which we see the trailer for the movie.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7wZ7lfE5--A

Anonymous said...

Oh no! you can not close a speech Abruzzo (too there would still be saying, would end up not more) not to mention the oldest specimen of Italian art (as distinct from Magna Graecia and the Etruscans were not real Italian ... ) ever found: this statue is called the Warrior Capistrano and was carved in Abruzzo (it is certain because it is made of local stone) in just the sixth century BC, almost 2600 years has just ...

Here she is placed in L'Aquila in the center of the G8, so then Obama can admire it (as indeed it did)

ok, by your correspondent in Italy is all, greetings and kisses :-)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2rPOCIayVWA&feature=fvw

Anonymous said...

Cathie Are you ready? Now I will give you very strong emotion!

Watch this gallery ... the two churches (St. Flavian Valleverde and) you see here are from a place called Barisciano (L'Aquila). This place in 1600 was the Marquis and the Caracciolo princes who lived in Naples (then to Paris was the largest city in Europe), but was administered by Giulio Arquilla, and within these churches are the inscriptions about family and dating back to 1629 to 1632 in St. Flavian Valleverde and indeed to St. Flavian there is only one plaque affixed to the walls and lists the names of well ... Arquilla five of the six hundred ... eh eh .. Did you know?? (Oh, now the area was hit by an earthquake, but soon will rise again, here we have always been earthquakes)

ok, that's all, hello

http://www.alpinibarisciano.it/il_progetto_chiesa, 48,1118,1581. html

Anonymous said...

S Maria di Valleverde was built between the sixteenth and seventeenth century for a "fact" that this concerns a Arquilla Maria ... in here under the dome frescoes are the names of the Marquis of VIP ... Caracciolo PRIMUS mark Earth BARISCIANI, Julius Arquilla etc etc
The date is 1629 ...
fascinating is not it?
pity that the video is bad, anyway ... hello

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6epVkUaXams