Alta Tuscia
LAZIO

Article published in Euromoto magazine in 2008.

In Upper Tuscia there is the Etruscan GAL, an association whose purpose is to enhance the typical products and rural tourist resources present therein. As part of this project, he has focused on some specific targets, including motorbike tourists, believing that those who ride motorcycles love to discover the area, enjoy the landscapes and learn about the joys of good food. We were invited to the event and this is the report of a demanding but really interesting 3 days.

Read the story published in the magazine.

06.06 pm !! Sunday! It's over!!! I'm exhausted, the last appointment in the municipality of Tuscania resulted in the inevitable and punctual tasting of organic wines, the latest in a really long, endless series of gastronomic events !! There is no denying the event organized by the LAG was absolutely up to expectations: if the undersigned and his colleagues had to have a vision as varied and complete as possible of the food and wine panorama of the Alta Tuscia area, well ', that is, the goal was perfectly hit, albeit with a certain metabolic difficulty. Fortunately we had the opportunity to travel about 400km between medieval villages and typical views of this part of Lazio which is a prelude to the Maremma but with the karst spectacles that are very common in this area. A demanding weekend, where the role of protagonists was distributed in equal parts: streets, ancient villages, visits to cellars, views, accommodation facilities, restaurants and hotels, not forgetting the companions, the managers of the SL&A who organized the event , a group of competent, enthusiastic young people with a truly contagious charge of sympathy. In addition to being highly recommended, the itinerary should also be exploited in my opinion by taking advantage of the logistics, which are always of excellent quality. You will find all the information elsewhere in the article.
The base point was set in the village of Civitella D'Agliano where Sergio Mottura hosted us in the "Tana dell'istrice" a renovated stately home that houses in its basements, dug into the tuff, the cellars where the various wine productions are kept, some of them awarded by Gambero Rosso with 3 glasses.
Upon arrival in the morning, just after 10.00, the good Sergio would already like to drag us into the cave dug into the tuff which, under his residence, preserves his products at an optimal temperature, many of which have been awarded with the 3 glasses from the shrimp red. We can only postpone the appointment and we leave for Bagnoreggio, the ancient Balneum Regis, a name that derives from the thermal waters of the area, but now famous because it is close to the hamlet of Civita, a village threatened by small but continuous landslides that erode the spur tuff on which it stands and which contributed to give it the name of "dying city".
Access is allowed by a high pedestrian bridge over the surrounding countryside, as it sank at the end of the 17th century.
The village, undergoing restoration, thanks also to substantial economic interventions by private individuals, is very impressive.
Once the visit of this restored medieval village is over, you will have to go back towards Bagnoreggio and take to Bolsena, but first, there is the first gastronomic appointment and things immediately become challenging: good wines, homemade pastas make the participants understand. that the motorcycle tour is a secondary objective of the event !!! We will end the day by touring the lake of Bolsena, the second largest in central Italy, only Trasimeno. The road offers fantastic views from Marta and especially from Capodimonte, dominated by the Farnese castle, which stretches out from the top of a rocky spur towards the center of this reservoir of volcanic origin. From up here it is even easier to see the islands of Martana and Bisentina, which emerge a short distance from the southwestern shore and which are likely remains of secondary volcanic craters. The tour will end in Bolsena. The town was an important Etruscan center thanks to its privileged position on the consular Cassia, located exactly halfway between Rome and Siena. We fly over the dinner, but the return to Civitella will be done at cycling pace !!!!
The next day, early in the day, even if still a little heavy, I take advantage of the good lights to explore the surroundings in an attempt to store some good shots, also because at 10.00 there is the first visit: the Falesca cellars, a reality to 3 million bottles a year !! The tour is quite interesting and ends with a tasting of just 3 bottles plus a splendid after-meal wine called “Rosscetto”. But it's already lunchtime !!! And they await us in the restaurant "La Parolina" which seems to be the best in the area and the entire journey. Fortunately we enter the Natural Reserve of Monte Rumeno and we also indulge in the joys of driving on a very beautiful and traffic-free road. Lunch is an "experience" my friend Dino who loves good food and elaborate dishes would have howled !!!!
The return takes place by first entering the Nature Reserve along a couple of dirt roads and then passing through Acquapendente and Torre Alfino. But in the evening Sergio Mottura still awaits us for the visit of his cellars and this time it is absolutely impossible to escape his hospitality: on different levels, dug into the tuff, with a constant temperature of 11 ° it is impossible to venture there without warming up some aperitif.
At dinner for each dish there will be an appropriate wine with our kind host who explains its characteristics and quality. We will end the evening with him in the guest lounge.
The morning after the last part of the itinerary takes us towards the Tuscan Maremma, we will descend again towards Bolsena and once on the lake, we will travel counterclockwise on the ss consular Cassia, until we take the ss 489 which we will follow for just over 6km where we will cross the sr 74 which will escort us to Pitigliano. This is without a shadow of a doubt the best way to be surprised by the town which, perched on a red tufaceous boulder overhanging on 3 sides, will appear after 2 dry curves with great scenographic suggestion. In addition to having a very important historical past, the town is beautiful. Its fortunes began in the thirteenth century, when the Orsini family settled there by marriage to the last Aldobrandeschi, making it the new count's seat and the fulcrum of the territorial organization, to the detriment of Sovana. It would be mandatory to take a walk entering the medieval gate, flanking the imposing aqueduct up to the grandiose Orsini palace, but the usual restaurant, "il Gallo", another multi-mentioned in the sector guides, awaits us in Tuscania. We will take the beautiful sr74 up to Manciano and then the desolate provincial 67 up to the archaeological park of Vulci, where we will have time for a quick visit. The park has also been recognized as a "naturalistic oasis". The 2 institutions created for the conservation of history and the environment in the area where one of the richest and most powerful city-states in Etruria was built. The last detour to swoop down on Tuscania and its splendid historic center surrounded by walls will take place along the Caninese provincial road. Arriving at the entrance to the walls, we will enter from Porta San Marco and follow the directions that will lead us to the final destination of this 3-day journey, which is child's play !!