Adreamy day to drive and take in the landscape. We decided that our destination would be Monte Oliveto Maggiore, one of the great monasteries of Italy. We stopped for lunch in Trequanda where Eric tried the wild boar in a renaissance sauce with cocoa, currents and other "medieval" ingredients. I am still in love with the pasta in Tuscany, and ordered the green ravioli filled with spinach and cheese and a light goat cheese sauce.
The landscape leading to the monastery was a wild and dramatic, almost forbidding clay soil with deep crevices. We went around a curve and suddenly saw the red brick building, complete with moat and draw bridge. Once we entered the 15th century cloister, the impression of a fortress dissolved into the serene quiet of a walled court yard with magnificent frescos. Occasionally, we would see the Benedictine monks in their long white robes walking to chapel. The monks restore old books and sell herbs and honey.
No comments:
Post a Comment