Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
( 075 98 20 10; Via Giordano Bruno 16; meals €25)
Overflowing with regulars, this convivial,
picture-plastered restaurant is big on old-school charm. The mixed antipasti starter for two
would feed a small family. Loosen a belt notch, next, for gnocchi cooked in Rubesco wine
sauce, and mains such as wild boar stew and butter-soft steaks.
Getting There & Away
Umbria Mobilità (
Click here
)
extraurbano
buses head to Perugia (€3, 30 minutes, nine
daily).
WORTH A TRIP
POT LUCK IN DERUTA
If Torgiano is a two-note town, then
Deruta
, a few kilometres to the south, has just the one: majolica
ceramics. The blue and yellow metallic-oxide glazing technique imported from Majorca in the 15th
century has been the mainstay of the local industry ever since.
For the best-quality stuff, eschew factory mass productions, which are cheaper and lower quality, in
favour of the real deal at smaller workshops rooted in centuries-old tradition.
At
Maioliche Nulli
( 075 97 23 84;
www.maiolichenulli.com
; Via Tiberina 142; daily) ,
Rolando Nulli creates each item by hand, while his brother Goffredo finishes them with intricate
paintings, specialising in classic medieval designs. If they're not busy and you ask nicely in Italian,
they might even bring you downstairs and teach you to throw a bowl on the wheel.
Get a taste for the genuine article and trace the history of pottery in Deruta from the 14th century to
the 20th century at the
Museo Regionale della Ceramica
(Largo San Francesco; adult/reduced €5/4;
10.30am-1pm & 3-6pm Wed-Sun) , housed in the former Franciscan convent.
L'Antico Forziere
( 075 972 43 14;
www.anticoforziere.it
;
Via della Rocca 2; s/d €75/100, incl
half board €113/138, meals €30-40; restaurant Tue-Sun; ) , a 17th-century farmhouse
turned stylishly rustic
agriturismo
, resides in the dozy hamlet of
Casalina
, just south of Deruta. Here
twin-brother celebrity chefs Stefano and Andrea Rodella wow foodies with their culinary high-wire
theatrics. Their inventive menu brims with season-inspired, artistically assembled showstoppers like
chive-flavoured beer risotto with brie and 30-month-aged parmesan and smoked guinea fowl with gor-
gonzola mousse - all washed down with excellent wines.
Buses connect the town with Perugia (€3.50, 30 minutes, 13 daily).
TOP OF CHAPTER
Lago Trasimeno
A splash of inky blue on the hilly landscape, Lago Trasimeno is where Umbria spills over
into Tuscany. Italy's fourth-largest lake is a prime spot if you want to tiptoe off the well-
