On the double. This trip, for once, is in a hurry, because among vegetables and historical centers, monuments and recipes, archeology and mozzarella cheese, the Belpaese is generous and you want to taste as much as possible. Tangible and intangible heritage, starting from the Mediterranean Diet, officially recognized as a Cultural Heritage of Humanity with its pasta with tomato sauce, basil, olive oil. For the basil is easy: let’s run to Liguria, where there is that of Prà , the Genoese basil cru, which from its small vesicles emanates an intense and inimitable aroma, zero mentholated. For the oil we choose Tuscany. The village of Monteriggioni, gateway to the Middle Ages in the province of Siena, whose historic center is “sponsored by UNESCO”, is the headquarters of the National Association of Oil Cities, which promotes the culture, tourism and territories of Italian oil. Among the Evo protected by the region, let’s taste that of the vigorous Quercetano olive tree, which once even had value of money in trade between its Versilia producers and the Arabs. An endangered oil, under the wings of Slow Food.
Wine & dessert
Which is not the case with the dry Malvasia of Sardinia: white, yes, but it is 13 degrees! That of Cagliari is the doc; its oldest version comes from Marmilla, a historical region in the centre-south of the island. “Here have been found wine making tools dating back to 1700 B.C., pre-nuragic era, including labels and corks and wax stoppers to market the bottles and saucers for sommeliers!” – says Roberta, at the reins of Cantina Lilliu, who with her synergistic agriculture in arid cultivation has resumed to produce wine on site with such a grape with almond notes. And what extraordinary monument protected by Unesco is in the Marmilla? None other than the nuraghe of Barumini. Let’s close with a festive dessert, the Sicilian Buccellato, a shortbread doughnut filled with dried figs, raisins, almonds, orange peel and other ingredients that vary depending on the area. And we choose Piazza Armerina, a charming medieval village known worldwide for the Mosaics of the Villa Romana del Casale. A Unesco PDO monument.
