Bruno and Marisella Batinti, after several productive years of hospitality experience with their business “Le Torri di Porsenna” (named for Chiusi’s ancient and powerful Etruscan king) found a new and inspiring site for their country house in Petrignano del Lago, in the Comune of Castiglione del Lago. Overlooking the rolling hills and vineyards near to Lake Trasimeno, the new location for their country house and working vineyard is well named, as it is certainly fit for a king.
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Founded in July of 1937 as a cooperative of fourteen local winemakers who banded together to facilitate both the production and the sales of their wines. Vecchia Cantina bottled its first wine in 1940 during the war. After the difficult war years, in the 1950’s and the reorganization of the lands, the Vecchia Cantina acted as a driving force for wine production in the area, a role that they cover to this day with the over 400 member vineyard owners and over a thousand hectares of vineyards producing around seven million bottles of wine annually.
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And if you’re in the mood for meat, this is where you have to have dinner! The meat menu offers a choice of top quality, with types from all over the world, such as Japanese Kobe and Irish Angus. The room has special refrigerators for maturing, thanks to which cuts are subjected to a process of minimum 30 days before being ready for consumption.
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The history of this restaurant is intertwined with that of Città di Castello, as far back as 1910, in which it opened its doors as a refreshment point for the locals. In 1930 it will be transformed into Osteria da Primo, until the moment of the magical meeting with the spouses Antonio and Lea. It is there, in 1986, that the Trattoria la Lea begins its new course, carried out with professionalism and much commitment by Lea’s sons, Cristiano and Marco.
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The beef is exclusively from the Chianina breed (certified organic) or organic Angus, the pork is exclusively from the Black Pig breed raised in the woods of Aboca (when they say low food miles they mean it!) and it’s certified organic. The prosciutto too is local from the Nebrodi Black Pig, the poultry comes exclusively from organic farms and the other meats and game come only from local farms without the use of GMO feed or from the woods owned by Aboca.
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The Tartare del Grigino is justly famous, but also the sliced beef flavoured with different spices and condiments and the superb Bistecca Fiorentina. And, if you start your meal with a classic Antipasto della Valtiberina (a triumph of cold cuts, cheeses and bruschette with local pate) or with the equally classic panzanella, noth[1]ing stops you from opting for a first or second course of fish: from tagliolini al nero di seppia su crema di zafferano up to prawn tartare and fresh swordfish or octopus carpac-cio paired with seasonal vegetables.
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And so unique dishes emerge such as Black Linguine cooked in Mussels Impepata, with Pecorino and Frigitelli, Octopus Lampredotto, Panini with Tuna Porchetta with Beans and Onions and Blue Fish Meatballs with Matriciana. Their ideas takes shape and substance and are immediately appreciated and enjoyed. It can only culminate in great success. In 2011 they won the Gambero Rosso ‘Innovation Award’ and ranked in the top places among the Best Restaurants in Italy for professionalism and quality, subsequently winning the Bib Gourmand.
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The Locanda del Maremmano has only been going for a few months but I assure you it is an enchanting place, immersed in Domenico and Rocco’s wonderful olive grove. From meat to fish, the characteristics of the cuisine are genuine low food miles dishes, prepared with great professionalism
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Starting with a recipe from ancient Rome, they prepare the dough using a mix of wheat, rice and soy flours, a large amount of water natural salt from Sicily and sourdough in place of yeast. After a long and rigorous process and many hours of leavening, with around 72 hours in refrigerated containers they get a mixture with a hydration over 80% that, once baked, produces a high degree of crunchiness and at the same time of softness, but above all is very digestible and healthy.
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At the end of the Val D’Esse, nestled under the hill separating Tuoro and Lake Trasimeno from the countryside below Cortona sits the tiny hamlet of Piazzano. Just inside the border of Umbria, it is surrounded by farmland, olive terraces and woodland. This ancient area may have gotten its name during the famous battle between the Carthaginian general Hannibal and Roman consul Gaius Flaminius in 217 B.C.E. when it is thought the Roman contingent set up a military camp there with a “piazza d’armi” or a parade ground.
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Driving across the flat plain which stretches between Castiglion Fiorentino and Marciano with its fields and sparsely scattered farmhouses, we come across a vast, open stretch of land, eleven hectares in all, home to the Centro Volo Serristori. Here all manner of light aircraft can be seen coming and going, particularly on the weekends – ultralights and small touring planes such as Pipers and Cessna.
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The house and lands of Fontelunga have been in Lucia Catani’s family for more than two centuries, with a part of the house itself dating to 1491. From the moment the Catani family purchased the property at the end of the seventeenth century, “every member of my family was born and grew up here”, says Lucia.
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A classic yet fashionable enough that is the Yacht Bar in Castiglione della Pescaia, a place that certainly does not need any introduction. Roberto’s passion also engaged his son Giampaolo who has committed himself with strength and dedication to the business. Over the years, in fact, the restaurant has kept its old enthusiasm high but still kept up with the times.
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The list of specialities is really long: you can choose from burrata, ricotta, mozzarella, cold cuts and fresh truffles as well as panzanella enriched with local vegetables, legume soups, ribollite and tomato soup. To ensure freshness and quality the list changes according to the season. Products such as ricotta, yoghurt, cheese and burrata are in fact offered only during specific times of the year, that is when the raw materials and their derivatives are available at the highest level of quality.
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In Grignanello today wines without added sulphites are produced following rigorous biological and biodynamic canons. The vineyards, more than 50 years old, extend for about five and a half hectares and are composed of the historic Chianti varieties: Sangiovese, Canaiolo, black Malvasia, Colorino, Trebbiano, and long white Malvasia. In the cellar, an evocative and magical environment, vinification is carried out in beautiful terracotta amphorae from Impruneta, from which red, macerated white and rosé wines are obtained, with an experimental production of passito.
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Today Il Pitena successfully continues its activity as a Lounge Bar, but, since 2019, it has been joined by one of the projects that Betty and Daniele care the most about: Il Pitena Vinosteria.
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