Day 3: Madonna di Fornelli to Sant'Agata

Day 3. Madonna di Fornelli - Sant’Agata. 34km. Total: 90.5km.

Very hot and very sweaty, I arrived in Sant’Agata for a life changing beer. 

I was with some others I’d met today when a man came over to speak to us. He was very keen, it seemed, for us to visit "the rock n roll museum". In a tiny village, this struck me as just a little bizarre. 

It then transpired this man was the father of the owner of the bar, which served only one dish as a primi piatti: tortelonni. This dish — not to be confused with tortellini, which are smaller, usually served in broth, and which Emilia-Romagna is also known for — he told me, was specific to the village area and surrounding countryside. 

The tortelloni served at the bar was made by his wife, and, he assured me, was the best in the whole of Italy. In fact, he was so determined I sample his wife’s cooking, that he insisted on collecting me from my accommodation, 15 minutes up the hill, later that evening, for dinner. How could I possibly refuse?! Afterwards, he ensured his friends drove me back up the hill in their 4x4 (at, admittedly, a rather alarming rate).

One thing I love about Italy is the locality of the food. I am only 33km from last night, and there is a different local speciality. Even the bread is different. It's all delicious, that much is certain. But, more significantly, it’s so completely embedded in history, politics, tradition, and culture. 

It is important to remember that Italy was unified only in the 1800s. You never meet an Italian; you meet a Tuscan, or an Umbrian, or a Roman, etc. Food is part of that identity. That’s why they’re so passionate and protective of it.

Such anthropological observations are never more evident as sitting in a local bar whilst the men drink Moretti and chainsmoke cigarettes, children kick a ball in the road, and a woman celebrating her birthday gesticulates wildly after dramatically spilling Pignotello everywhere.

There was such a selection of local meats and vegetables for the secundi piatti, that I thought it best to let the owner of the bar choose for me. 

Safe to say I was not disappointed.

A very refreshing beer after 34km of climbing in the heat!

Beautiful views into the valleys below from the top of an Apennine ridge.