Ingredients for a weekend in Oltrepo' di Pavese

View from Agriturismo Mondo Antico, Oltrepo Pavese.

We combined these ingredients for a relaxing autumn weekend in the wine growing region of the Oltrepo' Pavese.

Image from HERE

One large scoop of local knowledge.
"Explore the hills and countryside below Pavia for some great local wines," said the lady from the Vigevano tourist office.  That was the plan.

Add a Fiat 500
Although we like to catch trains, sometimes hiring a car is necessary.  Our car of choice is the Italian favourite, the Cinque-Cento.  This one was an automatic, a rare thing in Italy.  Stefano was surprised to discover that it wasn't bad at all, even on the hills.

Add a portion of famous churches or monasteries.
We added both.
Certosa is a tiny town with a big reputation located just outside Pavia.  It is famous for one thing, an incredibly ornate Gothic/Renaissance style church which has a monastery attached.  The Cistercian order of monks still live in the monastery and conduct tours of their 'home'.  Every half an hour one of the monks gathers the crowd of visitors waiting patiently at the gates inside the church.  There are rare tours in English, but we chose to practice our Italian listening comprehension skills. Always up for a challenge to add a little spice to the recipe.

Once again we learned about the famous Visconti family who were the original owners of the Certosa complex.  The interior and exterior of the church are equally ornate and fascinating, but even more interesting was the tour of the lovely gardens and the monks' cells built around a huge courtyard for contemplation and prayer.  While we didn't catch all the monk's jokes, we understood that life must have been relatively comfortable as each 'cell' was comprised of a couple of rooms with its own courtyard, where the monks grew food, in addition to working the common land and spending much of their time in solitary prayer.

Lastly add the essential ingredient - A great agriturismo.

Agriturismi are definitely our preferred form of accommodation in Italy.

 In our experience, these uniquely Italian 'farm stays' offer lovely rooms, great fresh food usually grown on the farm, delicious wine, again usually produced on site, and charming hosts.  

Guilianna and Lucrezia our hosts at Mondo Antico

We stayed for just one night at Agriturismo Mondo Antico about 30 minutes drive from the lovely university town of Pavia.  Like many agriturismos, Mondo Antico has its own restaurant, perfect for dining in after a day of driving and sightseeing.  

Guilianna was our friendly hostess and her daughter, Lucrezia assisted her mother in the dining room.  The highlight of dinner was Guilianna's risotto. Simply made with just cream, butter, rice and parmesan but it was cooked to perfection.  Delicious. 

Stefano filled the boot of our little car with a box, or two, of the family's wine after Lucrezia took us on a tour of their vineyard. Wine making is her father's passion. 

Finish with the secret ingredient. 

We woke to a cool misty morning. The area is famous for fog and mist during winter and autumn. To us it added the flourishing touch of atmosphere to our autumn weekend. However, Lucrezia reminded us that the mist isn't quite as exotic when it settles in for weeks at a time, especially not when she is commuting to university in Pavia.

Grazie mille Guilianna e Lucrezia per la tua generosita. Speriamo tornare nella primavera per un altre fine settimana. 

Prossima volta a Grossio e Bormio con mia sorella. Ci vediamo. 

Certosa can easily be reached by train.  CLICK HERE for more details.
For more information about Mondo Antico Agriturismo CLICK HERE and for reviews of this lovely agriturismo CLICK HERE.

Vigevano for risotto?

Vigevano is a small city only 30 minutes by train from Milan's Porto Genova station.  It should be much more famous than it is.

The Piazza Ducale in Vigevano is recognized as one of the most beautiful piazzas in Italy.

Arcades of arches surround the piazza, providing a lovely shady walkway and a relaxing spot to enjoy a leisurely coffee in one of the many cafes.

The internal grounds of  Castello Sforzesco.

During the 15th century the Piazza Ducale was built to form a noble entrance to the Castello Sforzesco.  In medieval times, Vigevano was an important strategic centre coveted by the Sforza and Visconti families. The castle, including the stables designed by Leonardo da Vinci, and the huge covered roadway which provided the Duke of Milan with a sheltered escape route, maintain their grand proportions today and are beautifully maintained.
For more historical information about the city's history CLICK HERE.

Now the castle complex includes several museums and galleries, while the old roads and tunnels continue to provide pedestrian access through the city.  

A small Shoe Museum occupies one of the long halls in the castle.  It describes another facet of Vigevano's history. During the last century, particularly after World War II, the city was a hub for shoe design and manufacturing.

Although Vigevano's monuments and history seem largely undiscovered, this charming city is famous throughout Italy for ...

Rice fields near Vigevano. Image from here

RICE.  Specifically, arborio and carnaroli rice.

The Po plain surrounding Vigevano has been  famous for rice production since 1482 when Leonardo da Vinci was employed by the the Duke of Milan to design a network of irrigation canals to ensure a consistent water supply for food production.  Since then rice has been grown in this area and with it came the staple dish of northern Italy, risotto.  

Stefano loves cooking risotto, so the goal of our visit was to taste risotto in the city which is famous for producing the best quality rice in Italy. But where to eat risotto in Vigevano? 

L'Oca ristorante Vigevano

L'oca Ciuca, a small restaurant off the Piazza Ducale was suggested by a woman at the tourist office. We arrived just before one o'clock and already the colourful front courtyard was full of families enjoying lunch.  Encouraged by the local crowd, we were happy to be seated inside feeling quietly pleased with ourselves as the restaurant recommendation seemed like a winner.

Choosing from the menu was easy.  Risotto made with local Bonarda wine, fresh bortolli beans and topped with grilled goose sausage immediately caught our eyes.  Not only did it feature local produce, but there was a caption below stating that risotto could only be ordered for two and it would take at least 20 minutes to prepare.  Perfect!  We seemed to have found the right place to taste this famous dish.  

Although we didn't order an antipasti course, the Maitre D', concerned that we might starve, arrived at our table with a complimentary appetiser of home-made toast topped generously with goose liver pate'.  What a delicious surprise.  The pate' was sensational, light, creamy and very moreish.  Another lesson learned about how seriously Italians take their food - restaurant patrons shouldn't wait in hunger.

Stefano's risotto verdict?

Perfetto! He was delighted to discover that this risotto was cooked with a light red wine giving it a slightly pink colour, which although tasty, wasn't photogenic. We learned that Bonarda grapes are grown in the hills around Pavia, so not only did Stefano discover a new risotto recipe, but he is now planning a weekend drive to explore another wine growing region close to Milan.  Yes, he was just a little excited!  

And so was I. After eating such a hearty lunch we decided to take a stroll before catching the train back to Milan.  We passed several gelaterias on the main piazza, but none seemed quite right.  Then we turned down one of the smaller side streets and discovered a local crowd enjoying the sunshine with gelato cones in hand.  Of course we had to stop.

Gelateria Susy
Corso Vittorio Emanuelle II 33
Vigevano
For more reviews CLICK HERE

Taste test summary
Gelateria Susy doesn't sound very Italian, but their gelato tastes autentico.  The nutty flavours are dotted with large crunchy bits just as I've come to expect at the best gelaterias in Italy.  I was tempted by the peanut crunch, but in an effort to maintain a rigorous taste comparison, I chose the standard nocciola flavour which was very good, as was the caffe'.   It was an excellent combination and I must add that the wafer cones were possibly the best I've tried.

Gelati ranking ****
Worth walking off the main square to find this spot.

Sue and Tim back in Milan after their day in Vigevano.

This week our friends, Sue and Tim, had a spare day while visiting Milan, so we suggested that they visit Vigevano.  Like us, they returned raving about this delightfully, undiscovered town. So if you find yourself in Milan and you feel like escaping the crowds, jump on a train to this little city which should be much more famous than it is, but perhaps then its unique charm would be lost.

Questa settimana il tempo a Milano ha cambiato. Autunno ha arrivato.  Ci vediamo prossima volta.

Ferry from Rapallo

Rapallo waterfront.

There was a slight chill in the air as we left Milan to catch the train to Rapallo, one of the bigger towns on the Ligurian coast. 

This area is better known as the Italian Riviera, famous for its lavish hotels, luxury resorts and celebrity guests.  Our plan was to catch the local ferry, and hop on and off, to visit the picturesque villages along the coast. We discovered that you don't need a fortune to enjoy this exclusive destination as some of the best things are free, well almost free.

But not the beach.  You need to pay to go to the beach.  

From Rapallo, we took the ferry all the way around the peninsular to Abbazia di San Fruttuoso.

This fascinating monastery can only be reached by boat, or by foot.  It was built in the 10th century. For a couple of hundred years, a group of Benedictine monks lived there until the 13th century when the Doria family from Genova acquired the entire area.

The same family maintained the site till 1983, when they donated it to the FAI (the Italian equivalent of the Historic Houses Society).  Now it houses a museum which documents the natural disasters that the buildings have endured and the subsequent efforts, by various groups, to restore and maintain this unique monastery.  

After our visit we enjoyed a relaxing picnic with a beautiful view over the small beach in front of the Abbey.  Then it was back on the ferry for our next stop, Portofino.

As we strolled through this pretty, little town, we kept an eye out for its famously fashionable residents.  While we didn't spot Signori Armani, Dolce or Gabbana, we saw many of their clients lunching in the restaurants along the harbour, and we did catch a glimpse of the lifestyles of the rich, and possibly famous, as we left town.

Walking from Portofino to Santa Margherita, a small truck overflowing with baskets of white flowers passed us. Then just round the next bend was the local church, beautifully decorated, as were the guests who were starting to arrive for a wedding.  Perhaps a famous somebody?

Even on a rather grey, overcast day, the coastline was beautiful.   

After only an hour's walk we arrived in Santa Margherita with plenty of time before we caught the ferry back to Rapallo.  

Perfect timing to enjoy a glass of prosecco and a beer at one of the empty beachside bars. I'm sure it would be a very different view during the holiday month of August.

Our final stop on the ferry saw us sailing past some incredible yachts.

For only the cost of a ferry ticket, we enjoyed a glimpse of the one of the playgrounds of the rich and famous.  A little slice of the Italian coast where the beautiful views are free, in all directions.  

Ci vediamo prossima settimana! 

In Rapallo we'd recommend:

Where we stayed: Home sweet home AirBnB 150E (2nights). A basic, but comfortable apartment very close to the centre of Rapallo.

Where we ate:  We had a great lunch at La Goletta. Sensational pesto spaghetti! 2 courses, wine, water and coffee 12E per person.  

The round trip ferry ticket was 16E. You can get on and off as you wish.