10th June Pescia and Vellano
Trip Start
Apr 27, 2000
1
45
81
Trip End
Aug 09, 2000
Pescia,
Italy
Thursday, June 26, 2003
It is 7.50 am, and I have just returned from the Pescia, Saturday markets. From 7.00 am every Saturday, the piazza and another small square are closed to traffic, for the morning markets. I drove down the mountain and down the valley at 6.30 am, and parked on the other side of the river. A fisherman was working his way through the clumps of tall reeds, over the beds of river gravel and boulders strewn on what is the riverbed during the wet and snow melt season. I walked over the pedestrian bridge and noticed a dog several hundred metres upstream, inquisitively sniffing and pawing at the rocks in a shallow part of the stream. I looked down from the bridge at the river, which at this time of the year is a stream that occasionally runs with white water over a cluster of rocks and boulders, but more often than not , is slowly moving over a gravel bed through clumps of reeds. Under the bridge, thirty or so trout are nosing into the current, just working hard enough to remain stationary and waiting for whatever insects will be brought down stream. I know nothing about trout fishing, and can only assume that the fisherman several hundred metres down stream, has elected to ignore these ones for better game down there.
I crossed the bridge and walked the hundred metres or so to the main piazza. Most stands were still setting up; all the usual clothing, shoes and junk. I returned to the small square, and inside discovered that at 7.00 am, all the fruit and vegetable stalls were already doing business. Mary had told me that apart from the usual big stalls, there is often the odd stall with just a few items; set up by elderly small farmers, with just their own produce. This was my first stop. An elderly, stooped gentleman, helped me select a bunch of asparagus, bunch of spring onions, fresh peas and zucchini. On my return journey, I started kicking myself. I had noticed a separate bunch of straggly thin asparagus stalks and tips, but had passed them over. Now it dawned on me, that I had missed an opportunity to buy wild asparagus. On to the next stand for watermelon, fresh borlotti beans, cucumber and tomatoes, and the next for cherries, eggplant and fennel. Mary had said that the cafe in this square serves the best coffee in Pescia, but it still hadn't opened, so I returned to the car, and headed back up the valley. On the trip down, I had passed one car, and been followed by one other. On the return trip, it was all one way, with dozens of cars coming down for the markets, and I had to slow for every corner and bend. Just before the bridge at Pietrabuona, I stopped at the Alimentari/Bar/Bakery. Mary had said that their wood fired oven produced some special bread. Inside were three customers, there to buy their bread and have their morning heart starter; Cafe Correcto. Espresso with grappa (that's in the same cup) and loaded with sugar. I, having not had a cappuccino for over a week, was the odd man out. Back up the valley I headed. I know I have commented previously on 2000 years of tradition in their cultivation of olives etc, but I still don't understand why they burn off the grass that they have cleared from the terraces. Surely mulching could provide some benefit. Anyway, not only do they burn it, but after the previous nights violent thunderstorm, they were burning very wet grass. The valley will be filled with smoke again today.
Spent the morning and early afternoon, catching up with this diary. For lunch we peeled the Borlotti beans, sauteed some onion and garlic, added the beans and half a dozen shredded Sage leaves, covered with water and boiled rapidly for 10 minutes, adding olive oil as the water evaporated. put into a bowl and added chopped tomato and parsley, and a sprinkling of red wine vinegar. Served with toast rubbed with fresh garlic. Oh my!!!!! At 5.00 pm, we drove in to Pescia for beer and basic supplies such as gelato. A major electrical storm hit as we returned to the car park. We had given thought to going up to the top of Vellano, to investigate the town and a Pizza restaurant that only opens on Saturday nights, but with the storm raging thought we might just return to the farm via the bottom road. At the turnoff, we discovered that there wasn't any sign of water on the road, so we headed up the mountain. At Vellano, we drove out the other side of the village, and found an access road that Mary had told us about. It takes you up the back side of the village to a small carpark, from which you can enter the village through a gate in the wall. The views of the valley were just staggering. Suddenly we could see most of the valley, and the villages on other mountains and ridges that are at the same altitude as where we are staying, were suddenly way below us. We could even see right down the valley to Pescia. The Pizza restaurant is near the top of the village, and we looked down upon it, but decided that as the storm was threatening again, we would return to the farm and cook our own dinner. Fresh asparagus with Norcia sausage, parsley, basil, oregano and mint, with pasta and some of our Parma, parmesan cheese. Ate on the lawn looking out over the valley thick with smoke. Mary explained that they are only allowed to burn before 8.00 am and after 6.00 pm, and even then it must be wet so it doesn't get out of hand. The entire mountain range is made up of deciduous trees and the greatest fire danger is in winter if it is dry. All the leaves are shed and dried out making ideal bushfire material. Her olive trees were threatened by fire in their first year here in 1986. One of her trees is the oldest in the district, confirming that it was the first olive grove in these mountains. At 800 years old, it is now struggling. Up till 1986, the previous owners maintain that this one tree produced 100 litres of oil each year.
