3291 Umbria Is The F Word !!!!!

There is only 1 word that can be said for the whole of Umbria, [B][SIZE="4"]Farming[/SIZE][/B] Farming can be broken down to 2 words
Animals & Food.

No matter where you travel within Umbria, you will see herds of sheep & small farm animals. You may think this isn't unusual, but many other districts are so highly populated that few animals are raised, where as here, it is the norm, even on small plots of land. In my area the animals are all raised, apart from a few, for private consumption. In my hamlet, you can see & hear when it's time to turn a farm animal into a meal. Unfortunately, some farmers take longer than others to turn their pigs into sausages, the sound is very unpleasant & most upsetting, especially for a squeamish city girl. The day after the nasty deed, the butchers arrive to do the chopping & sawing. At the end of the day, there's a freezer full of meat & often some sausages for me, or in the case of one neighbour, I was kindly offered the brains.

Also under this category is hunting. Umbria, so I'm told, has more hunters that any other area of Europe, [B]unfortunately[/B]. October & November are the worst months, when you hear the rifles, often at close range, but don't know where they are. Most hunting occurs at the weekends, but not exclusively. Most locals are anti-hunting, but the only people to whom you can't mention this, is the hunters, it's a bit risky.

Food is grown everywhere, by everybody. No one can get away from it. Whether, a mere pot of basil, or row upon row of assorted vegetables, there is not an inch of land that doesn't have a l'orto (vegetable patch). I too have joined in, even using flower beds for added space. If they aren't growing, fruit & veg, they're eating it & when not eating it, they are talking about it, like the English do about the weather. Everyone is at it.

When my Mortgage Manager came to view my house, before agreeing to give me a loan, even before putting both feet on the ground, he asked where my l'orto was. He even helped me plan it. I now ring him for advice on when to plant what & where. I call my bank the green bank, because I use it more for gardening advice than for financial transactions.

Let us not forget the vineyards. Every farmer has a wine press for crushing their harvest, which is enjoyable to watch, because they use the time honoured methods of pressing the grapes. Even the smell of crushed grapes is intoxicating. I also enjoy going back months later for a taste, but shudder when handed the dirty glass, offered, after wiping it with an even dirtier cloth. I'm usually given a full glass, which is a struggle to drink up in a hurry, but enjoy the occasion.

The olive harvest is beyond compare, as it's communal & lasts for weeks, but talk of the olive trees goes on all year, to which everyone joins in. Your wealth seems to be rated by the number of olive trees you own & mine, I must say, matches my pocket, I have 1 tree, which last year only yielded about 30 olives. Watching the picking is autumn itself. but watching them being pressed is best of all. Each grower is given an appointment to bring his olives in for pressing. The process between pouring the olives down the shoot, from the truck, to filling the bottles is surprisingly short. Each gift of a bottle of newly pressed oil, is to me, a treasure, partly for the kindness but more, because it comes from my part of Umbria.

Umbria may come at the end of the alphabet, but we're top of the list when it comes to the F word. We're not called the Green Heart of Italy for nothing, you know.

Lavender Field

Category
Umbria

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sun, 04/16/2006 - 19:07

[LEFT]I am all in favour of home grown produce, it always seems to taste better but does not last as long! Not so good for a holiday home, will have to plan visits for the fruiting seasons!![/LEFT]

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Mon, 04/17/2006 - 03:41

Nice thread Lavender. One of my favourite things about Umbria, though I know its not alone in this, is the very mixed nature of Umbrian farms. Its unususal to find a farm decicated to to crops or livestock alone - most Umbrians place great value on growing their own olive grove, vineyard, orto, woodland copse etc, as well as cash crops. The result of this (and it took a few trips to Tuscany to drive home the significance of it) is that the countryside is a tapestry of multi-coloured (and textured) fields and forests. That, combined with the undulating hills makes it all very easy on the eye.

[img]http://www.theolivehouse.it/albums/greenhills.jpg[/img]

The longer I live here, the more I appreciate the amount of work that is put into creating this landscape and how lucky we are to be able to enjoy it by merely looking out of the window.

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Mon, 04/17/2006 - 08:45

Marc

It might be a good thread, but I can't beat your fabulous photo. I too noticed the lack of animals & farming in Tuscany, due to the vast population. That's another reason why we're so lucky, Umbria, I believe, is the least populated district of Italy, thus the roads are quiet & the terrain is less spoilt.

Thanks for the photo, it enhances the thread. Please tell us where it was taken.

Thanks

Lavender Field

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Mon, 04/17/2006 - 08:57

Your photo is amazing, Marc!! It just brings home what's going wrong in other regions - and countries! :(

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Mon, 04/17/2006 - 15:28

The photo is just what I see when I look out of the window. Something I never tire of looking at though.

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sun, 05/28/2006 - 12:25

Hi there! I was born and raised in Perugia (Umbria) and I loved your appreciation for my native land.
I've been living in the US for the last decade (..or more?..),so your picture and comments made me a little home sick.
I grew up having an "orto" and live "polli" (chicken).I even had my own rooster named Chico. Yes, I love to talk "food" all the time. It must be in the genes.
I love Umbria and Marche and I go there any chance I get....long trip though.
Anyway...thanks and Ciao.

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sun, 05/28/2006 - 12:50

Non preoccuparti Rosa.. there is a whole section dedicated to Umbria if you are feeling homesick.

Welcome to the Forum, have a good look round, shout out, join in or just use the search box at the top to find more or less anything you want.

:) :)

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Mon, 06/26/2006 - 15:21

I cannot express enough how much Christine and I fell in love with Umbria last year.
marc, your view is wonderful, just how i remember Umbria, i remember coming back to Trasimeno from a trip and seeing the sky take on a light show all of it's own the nearer we came to Lago di Trasimeno, a bit like Scotland the country of my birth.

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Tue, 07/08/2008 - 06:09

Wonderful to read so many comments regarding the beautiful Umbrian countryside. We stayed near Pietralunga this year and found that the night landscape is just as beautiful as the day - at night the field outside our room was full of fireflies/glow worms that seemed to reflect the bright stars above!

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Tue, 07/08/2008 - 11:19

[quote=ciaoman;92482]Wonderful to read so many comments regarding the beautiful Umbrian countryside. We stayed near Pietralunga this year and found that the night landscape is just as beautiful as the day - at night the field outside our room was full of fireflies/glow worms that seemed to reflect the bright stars above![/quote]

We feel very privledged to have a holiday home in the hills of San Feliciano over looking lake Trasimeno, the ever changing lake colours, various skys, miles of rolling hills, the most fantastic sunsets, and the fabulous sights of bird migration. We thing that we are in heaven and time has stopped, roll on retirement we want to be there all the time.
We also find we eat more healthy food in Umbria, no English comfort food required (Chocolate etc;) but yes we do love the icecream sold in the village.
Cannot leave out the helpful people that just add to this wonderful setting.
Yes we love Umbria may it remain unspoilt. :yes:
Lin & Chris

P.s Lovely Pic Marc

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Wed, 07/09/2008 - 07:23

[quote=Jock Adams;34986]Can anyone give me a web site or agent who sells in Umbria[/quote]
With found this person very helpful, our dealings went on for a long time not anyones fault just one of those things, Pauline was very patient to keep it all together.

Diamante Immobiliare, they have an offices in Panicale./ Castiglione del Lago [email]pauline@diamanteimmobiliare.com[/email]

Regards Lin

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Tue, 07/15/2008 - 09:29

It was so refreshing to read Becketts comments about living in Umbria surrounded by it's natural beauty, after reading through the Forum. Taxation problems, building problems, even someone wanting to be anywhere but Italy. Perhaps we who live here and work until we fall into bed exhausted each day, stop looking at what surrounds us, until our visitors, who are here oh so briefly, point out how very fortunate we are to reside in Heaven on earth. They watch the sunset, the sunrise and walk in wild flower meadows, whilst some of us, me included, can go around blind for most of the day, with hedge trimmer, pick axe, pool cleaning kit etc. Your post has prompted me to sit down and look at the view, at least once in the day, lest I forget why I am here!