Umbria and the Marche: Italy's Unsung Heartland
Thomas McNamee visits three towns in Umbria and the Marche where the culture has been unchanged for centuries and the handmade pasta is sublime.
By Thomas McNamee
SHOPPING Also unchanged for centuries is Gubbio's manufacture of some of the most beautiful majolica in the world—available at remarkably low prices. We bought a lovely azure plate for less than $130 at Cenni Antica Maiolica Ducale (7 Via Savelli della Porta; 011-39-075-927-1721; ceramicacenni.com, just steps from the central piazza. The maker told us that the luminous quality of the glaze is characteristic of Gubbio wares, although the ornate design, of intertwining scrolls, birds and flowers, was his own. There are many other dealers in majolica, whose quality ranges from merely nice to museum worthy.
EATING The caliber of the food in Gubbio is a testament to the city's pride in its culture. As is so often the case in Italy, the safest bet is the simplest place. Grotta dell'Angelo (47 Via Gioia; 011-39-075-927-3438; www.grottadellangelo.it) specializes in grilled meats (don't fear the pork liver) and homemade pasta (such as truffle lasagna). In cold weather, diners gather around the fireplace and its sizzling grill; for warm days there's a breezy terrace with a view across the foothills. Taverna del Lupo (6 Via Ansidei; 011-39-075-927-4368; mencarelligroup.com) is a somewhat more formal restaurant that manages not to fancify itself out of authenticity. It specializes in dishes based on the local fungi, such as omelets with truffles and veal with porcini mushrooms.
SLEEPING Gubbio's most attractive hotel, albeit rather a sterile one, is a complex of meticulously restored medieval buildings: the Hotel Relais Ducale (rooms from $203; 19 Via Galeotti; 011-39-075-922-0157; relaisducale.com),overlooking the Piazza Grande and the Palazzo dei Consoli, the most imposing stone edifice in a city of stone. More to our taste was the Hotel Villa Montegranelli (rooms from $118; Località Monteluiano; 011-39-075-922-0185; hotelvillamontegranelli.it ), a twenty-two-room baronial mansion just outside Gubbio, with verdant grounds and huge, high-ceilinged rooms furnished with gently worn antiques.
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