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The next day the “Welsh Girls” were keen to get back to work.
We threw down the gauntlet saying that the most olives ever gathered to take down to the mill in a single drop was 400 kilos. The girls were determined to beat this record over the next two days.
We all got into the swing of things, and worked really hard and efficiently as a team.
Yet there was also time for a great deal of joviality, general larking about and of course cups of tea.
Dont mess with these girls !!! Elsie and Kay
Kay and Sylvia
Elsie and Kay
Kay and Sylvia
Karen, Sylvia and Kay ... Dance of the 7 Veils _???_
Sylvia practising her Belly Dancing routine !!!
Karen ... Just looking cute !!!
That afternoon Moustapha, our 7 ft Senegalese friend from the market, also volunteered to lend a helping hand … he was ideal for reaching the loftier branches with the olive clapper !!!
"Just a bit higher Mousapha !!!"
Moustapha
Moustapha enjoying and English cup of tea
The next morning the girls were up early and worked all day like crazy to fill more cases with olives.
By the end of that day we had gathered 408 kilos of olives, beating the previous record by 8 kilos.
Well done everyone !!!
Karen, Kay, Elsie
Sylvia, Paul, Karen, Elsie, Louise
Elsie, Karen, Paul, Kay, Sylvia
We then loaded up the car with the 21 cases of olives.
Sincere thanks to Kay, Elsie, Karen and Sylvia, and not forgetting kind Moustapha for their hard graft and sterling efforts over the past week. We couldn‘t have done it without you. Well done !!!
You may have thought that the “Welsh Girls” would have been exhausted after their laborious day …..
But No !!! They went on to perform a Belly Dancing Extravaganza at the Bellavista Restaurant in Itri that evening !!!
See next post !!!
The Belly Dancing Extravaganza !!!
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Two of our friends, Kay and Elsie, who are regular visitors to Tre Cancelle, volunteered to come and help us with this year’s olive harvest. Elsie also recruited two of her friends, Karen and Sylvia, who all belong to a popular Belly-Dancing group in South Wales.
Itri’s undulating hillsides are tinted with the silvery green foliage of olives trees, indeed Itri has been noted for the quality of its olives since Roman times.
The “Itrana” cultivar is exclusive to this specific area, thriving as a consequence of the unique environment, quality of the fertile soil, temperate micro –climate, sea breezes and fresh mountain air.
So for the last month the olive groves around Itri have been a hive of activity, with the cheery banter of workers laughing and jesting whilst preparing for the olive harvest, strimming grass and weeds and trimming and burning suckers. Little “apes” (pronounced Ah-Pays, which translated literally mean “bees”) – small three wheeler vans noisily buzz and rattle along the local lanes, sometimes with a husband and generously proportioned wife cosily crammed inside the tiny driving cab.
By November many of the olives have grown round and plump and are gradually turning from bright green to dappled pink. Those harvested in November / December produce the much sought after “Early Harvest” Extra Virgin Olive Oil and / or Green Table Olives.
Other farmers prefer to harvested their olives when they are fully ripe, during February / March, to produce the “Mature Harvest Extra Virgin Oil and / or Purple / Black Table Olives.
After the well received comments from our last years November oil, we elected to harvest our olives early in the season, which whilst it produces less in volume, yields a wonderfully green and intense olive oil.
The weather seemed to be in our favour being set fair for most of the week. The “Welsh Girls” were keen to get stuck in.
We started by carefully spreading out nets around some of the trees on the first terrace to be worked. Paul fired up the compressor to which can be fitted a variety of pneumatic tools, in this case a mechanical rake on a 4 meter telescopic pole, which is used to comb and vibrate the laden branches, causing the olives to cascade onto the nets below.
Sylvia
Elsie and Kay
Some of the trees had grown very tall, and required pruning back, so Paul climbed up a ladder, and with his trusty chain saw, and lopped off the tops to a more manageable height of 4 meters, thus allowing the olives to be easily harvested at ground level.
This is done by hand either by using small rakes or by gently running one’s fingers over the fronds, popping of the colourful fruits, a task I find enormously satisfying.
Elsie
Sylvia
Inevitably the odd stray olive manages to bounce off the net so we scrambled about under the trees collecting these up.
The nets were then carefully gathered up and the olives rolled to one edge, where stray twigs and leaves are pulled out before pouring the olives into the waiting plastic crates. The huge nets were then lugged to the next batch of trees to be harvested.
Elsie, Kay and Karen
Kay, Elsie, Sylvia and Karen
Ideally the olives need to be processed within 48 hours of being harvested, to preserve the very best of their natural characteristics.
The minimum batch size to take to the olive mill is 200 kilos, or 2 quintale, to ensure that your olives are processed in a single lot, and that you retrieve your own oil at the end of the process, and that it is not a mixed with someone else’s olives. We think this is very important because by choice we do not use pesticides and herbicides whereas some other producers are not so ecologically minded.
Therefore, in general we tend to work two days on and one day off. Our team of volunteers worked well and following the first 2 day harvest we were able to take 209 kilos of olives to the mill.
The following day the “Welsh Girls” deserved a well earned day off.
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One of the best things about what we do is meeting so many interesting people and making new friends from around the world. At the end of May we welcomed our first visitors from New Zealand – a couple of lovely ladies, Rosie and Susan from Christchurch.
They had planned their trip well before the tragic series of major earthquakes had struck and brought Christchurch to its knees. Both had been deeply affected by the quakes, but after taking stock, with careful consideration they courageously decided to go ahead with their holiday. These plucky ladies had organised, all by themselves, a three week whistle-stop tour of many European countries such as Holland, France, Switzerland, Greece, Italy and Malta.
Rosie contacted us as, after having read about the tiny little village of Campodimele. For several years she had had a burning desire to visit this location and see it for herself. As she and her travel companion were lacking their own transport we agreed to put them both up at “Tre Cancelle” and personally drive them to Campodimele which is not so far from Itri.
One afternoon we pootled off and ventured inland, navigating the sharp twists and turns of the road that snakes its way up into the Aurunci Mountains. First, en route, we headed up to the nearby Sanctuary of the Madonna della Civita to take a look at some of the splendid panoramic views from this point.
View of Itri and beyond the Gaeta Peninsula and the Island of Ischia in the distance
We then continued along the meandering mountain road which finally led us to Campodimele.
The picturesque, medieval village is perched high on a hilltop overlooking a sheltered fertile valley. It is encircled by formidable turreted walls, which were built many centuries ago to protect its citizens from attacks by marauding Saracen pirates.
Rosie at Campodimele
A path, known by the locals as “Lover’s Lane”, winds itself around the town walls, from which there are stunning panoramic views of the surrounding verdant countryside.
In the village square stands an ancient elm tree which was planted in 1789 to commemorate the French Revolution.
As I mentioned earlier, back in New Zealand, Rosie had read of the village’s renown. This tiny little town has been awarded the European title of “The Village of Eternal Youth” as it is noted for the longevity of its citizens. It seems that they are a particularly hardy breed, who seldom have the need to visit a doctor, rarely die before the age of 85, and it is not uncommon for its citizens to attain the age of 100. The World Health Organization sent researchers to the village to try to discover its secret.
Some of the contributing factors must surely be: the clean salubrious mountain air, the locally grown fresh ingredients that make up the typical good wholesome diet, which of course includes the excellent local extra virgin olive oil. Also the fact that the elderly do not retire early, preferring to keep themselves busy and active as possible. Campodimele’s senior citizens are not left to grow old alone, they are well cared for and supported by their family and others in the close-knit community. Indeed, even here in Itri, our 89 year old neighbour seems to be living proof of this, as he is still fit enough every morning at 6 am to climb his ladder, with secateurs and pruning saw in hand, to lovingly tend his olive trees.
The locals of this area are indeed resilient people who have a strong connection with the land. The old folk have toiled relentlessly over the years and also had to overcome indescribable hardships during WW2. Thankfully they now can enjoy better stress-free times in their twilight days.
Leathery skinned, elderly residents can often be seen sitting in the town square under the shade of a tree, or on a chair outside their front door, where they watch the world go by, not that much does go by in tiny Campodimele !!!
However on the particular day of Rosie and Susan’s visit, which was a Sunday, there wasn’t even one aged inhabitant to be seen anywhere. Very strange we thought, had they all suddenly died off ???
Then we came across an announcement that had been posted on the village notice board. -
“This Sunday - A Special Coach Excursion For The town’s Senior Citizens To Visit Rome and See The Pope.”
That explained it all !!!
Find more information about Campodimele here at
http://campodimele.shapcott-family.com
Susan and Rosie at Sperlonga
Rosie and Susan, we continue to think of you all in Christchurch,
and of course all of those reeling from the earthquakes in Japan.
It was a pleasure to meet you. Keep safe girls.
We hope you will return to Campodimele and Bella Italia one day .
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A recent article in the Telegraph Newspaper about Campodimele:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/8627933/The-secrets-to-a-long-life.html
At the end of August we were delighted to have our younger son Ben, his “other half” Emma and “Baby Bump” to stay. They are expecting a little arrival at the end of November and were both much in need of a relaxing holiday. This was to be Emma’s first trip to Italy.
Although their stay here was all too brief, Ben and Emma managed to fit in ….. a couple of days at the beach …..
some local sight-seeing (Sperlonga) …..
and a day in Rome.
We were all kindly invited to our friends, Luca and Loredana’s home, for a special meal to celebrate Luca’s 50th Birthday. Buon Compleanno Luca !!!
By the way -such a landmark birthday is shortly looming for
Paul this October !!!
One day we were also invited to San Donato and Atina in the Val di Comino and enjoyed another delicious meal with our Italian cousins.
Emma is a very passionate and creative cook and during her stay, delighted in preparing some srumptious food for us all.
Local tomatoes, Mozzarella di Bufala Drizzled With "Tre Cancelle" Olive Oil
Breakfast - Emma's Tasty Potato Cakes
Please come back soon Emma !!!
“Papa Woods” and Emma are about to move into their new home together in Cardiff, in time to get settled before the little addition to their family arrives.
We wish them all lots of love and all the very best in their new home.
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some local sight-seeing
Back in June we welcomed a couple from Massachusetts in the USA, who had rented for a week, our friend’s nearby holiday villa called “Casa di Campagna”, which is a stone’s throw from us here at Tre Cancelle. You can see full details of this lovely comfortable villa by clicking here.
David and Karen’s trip to Italy was primarily to visit the seaside town of Gaeta, from where David’s ancestors, the Petricone family, had originated. David was also researching the surnames: Capobianco, Di Tucci, Miele, Spinosa and Uttaro.
Gaeta
David’s deceased father had visited Gaeta on a couple of occasions, however this was to be David’s very first visit. He had come armed with a bundle of papers, mainly notes that his father had made about his family, and an assortment of photographs, some of the people in which, sadly they were unable to identify. We offered to help them trace their ancestry by escorting them to the Comune, or Town Hall, in Gaeta and by acting as personal translators.
We arrived at the Comune just as it was opening up after a lunch break, and there was already a mass of people waiting to be served at the Anagrafe, the local Register office. We patiently waited our turn, having established our position in the queue by using the well trodden phrase: “Chi è l’ultimo?” We explained that David had travelled all the way from the USA to trace his family ancestors who originated from Gaeta. At first the frosty official seemed rather brusque and off-hand, saying that they were really busy that day, however he did thaw a little when he realised that one of the surnames being researched was in fact his very own. He summoned another young man from the back office, who beckoned for us to follow him.
We went through to an inner sanctum where hundreds of volumes of hand written registers dating back to the early 1800’s are kept, and where a young archivist started to try and help us with our search. Some of David’s dates were very vague, so the young man was seemingly struggling, despite his best efforts, to make that all important initial find. Then another more senior gentleman, the head archivist, who had been sitting quietly working away in the background, began to offer useful pointers to his younger colleague. Thus, before the end of the afternoon session, not only had David found the ancestors he had been looking for, confirming his grand-parents and their siblings, but they had also managed to trace back a further 2 generations to a Carlo Petricone born circa 1814, who was David’s great-great grandfather. Of course, David and Karen were absolutely delighted by these findings.
Since the Comune was just about to close, we decided to show David and Karen Gaeta’s charming ancient street of Via Independenza.
This colourful and lively shopping area runs parallel with the sea front. It is a quaint, narrow pedestrian street, approximately half a mile in length, and is paved in dark volcanic stone, with many little adjoining alleyways known as vicoli.
Here you can find many small shops selling fresh, local food such as Mozzarella di Bufala, Olive di Gaeta, fresh pasta and tiella- a type of local pizza pie. Also dotted about the place are colourful and beautifully displayed fruit and vegetable stands. There are also many shops selling an array of items, such as souvenirs, handicrafts, leather goods, clothes, jewellery etc.
Eventually we headed back to the car. Embarrassingly, during this period, our car had been intermittently refusing to start, as the battery seemed to be failing to hold its charge. Paul, known for being conscious of saving a few pennies here and there wherever possible, insisted that with regular top ups from our battery charger, our battery wasn’t considered to be ready for replacement just yet !!! Hmmmmmmm !!!
Consequently having got back to the car, we once again found that it wouldn’t start. “Managia la Miseria” !!! So, we then all had to bail out, push the car out of its parking space into the middle of the car park, open up the bonnet, attach some jump leads and stand looking hopeful ……..
Thankfully soon a good Samaritan offered to help give us a jump start.
The following day David and Karen spent further exploring Gaeta, and also visited the Cemetery in search of family gravestones. Unfortunately, they were so engrossed in their search that they were unaware of the warning bell which was to alert people that the cemetery was about to close for lunchtime. Consequently they found themselves locked in, and were only able to make their escape by climbing over one of the high cemetery walls, much to the amusement of the flower shop owner opposite, and I am sure an experience they too will recall and laugh about for many years to come !!!
To say thank you for our help, David and Karen insisted on taking us out for a couple of lovely meals and also, either out of kindness or perhaps pity for me, bought us a new car battery, so that I, Louise, wouldn’t have to push the car anymore !!!
Mille Grazie David and Karen !!!
Read another article about the Gaeta Car Rally
Read another article about the October Gaeta Food Festival
Visit our Gaeta and South Lazio Website for more information
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We have a favourite little Restaurant / Pizzeria in Itri that we tend to frequent quite regularly. It goes by the name of the “Bellavista”. It is perched on a hill-side overlooking the town and the view of Itri is truly magnificent, both by day and by night.
We like the restaurant because it is a well run, small family business, it is unpretentious but it serves good food and good wine at reasonable prices. We have become good friends with the owners.
From the menu you can choose from a good selection of pizzas which are prepared to order and baked in their own wood-fired oven.
Alternatively, if you would like a traditional Italian meal then you can choose from the following courses:
Antipasti (starters)
Primo Piatti (a selection of traditional pasta dishes)
Secondo Piatti (main courses of meat, fish or sea-food)
and Contorni (side dishes of vegetables or salad)
For Dessert they offer a selection of cheeses, fresh fruit salad or a variety of ice-creams.
Unlike some local restaurants, if you do not wish to have a huge Italian meal of numerous courses, you can choose to order just one or two. The staff here do not make you feel pressurised to order more than you really want.
The atmosphere is informal and relaxed and it is open from 7.30 pm each and every evening.
We would highly recommend it.
Ristorante Pizzeria “Bellavista”
Via Mezzabrino, Itri (LT)
Tel: 0771 729 698 Mobile: 392.8686006
For More Information about Itri and the surrounding area please take a look at our South Lazio Website
http://itri.shapcott-family.com
http://southlazio.shapcott-family.com
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Brrrrrrrrrrrr !!!
The weather back in the UK sounds atrocious !!!
Here in Itri, this year, we have yet to experience a frost !!!
Today was mild and sunny so we have been working outside.
It was lovely to feel the sun on our back, and hear the birds joyfully twittering.
Spring is on the way !!!
If any of you are fed up with the cold and the snow,
why not think of planning a little break in Italy,
something to look forward to?
The Spring is a lovely time to visit ” TRE CANCELLE ” and Italy in general
Set amidst the greenery of our own olive groves,
in the heart of the Italian countryside.
An excellent base for exploring this beautiful, region of South Lazio.
Close to many lovely Golden Sandy Beaches on the Riviera Di Ulisse
and seaside resorts of
Sperlonga / Gaeta / Formia / Terracina / San Felice Circeo.
Rocky coves, hidden caves and sheltered harbours.
Sparkling, clear waters awarded the prestigious
European Blue Flag for several years.
Sperlonga
Yet close by are the dramatic mountains of the Aurunci Regional Park,
with its verdant hillsides, olive groves, lakes and protected nature reserves.
Easy day trips to Rome / Naples / Caserta / Montecassino / Anzio / Ponza
Nearest Airports:
Rome Ciampino / Rome Fiumicino / Naples Capodichino
We are on hand to ensure you have a most enjoyable holiday.
*** SPECIAL OFFER ***
We have decided to reduce our “Out of Season” prices.
REVISED PRICES – per apartment, per week (7 nights) during Period :
2 Feb 2009 to 3 April 2009 … was 425 euros Now 395 euros
(including heating via Wood-Burning Stove – wood provided)
4 April 2009 to 1 May 2009 … was 450 euros Now 425 euros
2 May to 3 July 2009 … was 550 euros Now 500 euros
4 July to 17 July 2009 … 550 euros
18 July to 28 August 2009 … 630 euros
29 Aug to 2 Oct 2009 … was 550 euros Now 500 euros
3 Oct to 6 Nov 2009 … was 475 euros Now 425 euros
See our website for full details:
http://trecancelle.shapcott-family.com
We also have a selection of other Holiday Villas available in this area:
http://www.shapcott-family.com/Immobiliare_Itri_La_Rocca/Holprops/index.html
Please do contact us for more details
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The next set of volunteers, Heulwen and Jane arrived safely on the following Sunday evening. The weather forecast was not looking promising, however on Monday morning the weather was in fact fine and fortunately stayed fine for the whole week, so we started where we had left off a few days previously.
Normally each Monday and Wednesday evening Paul does an English Lesson for our good friends Pasquale and Raffaele, so we invited them to eat with us, and Jane, who is a cook by profession, prepared a tasty meal for us all with bruschetta and chicken breasts stuffed with ham, cheese and spinach.
Tuesday we worked hard again in the olive grove and the tally from Monday and Tuesday’s collection came to a grand total of 357 kilos, beating the previous record that had been set just the week before. This yielded another 60 plus litres of oil.
Thankfully with the weather improving further, Wednesday was another good day of olive harvesting. Wednesday evening is normally another English lesson, and Pasquale and an old student, Antonio, came over after supper to benefit from more English conversation. Even Raffaele managed to turn up a little later despite having said he would be unable to make it.
In Thursday’s sunshine, and with the additional help of Filippo in the afternoon we managed to gather a massive 400 kilos of olives to take down to the mill. This total took us over the amount we had gathered during our very first harvest at “Tre Cancelle” on the back of all the previous owners cultivation skills. Paul felt this was an important milestone, an indiction that perhaps we have at least learned some new farming skills over the past three years.
Once again, we can’t thank you enough for all your help and hard grind, Filippo, Jane and Hels !!!
Not only did the girls work long and hard in the groves, but in the evening they experimented with cooking. Jane is clearly passionate about food and Heulwen was keen to learn. One evening together they knocked up some delicious home-made pizzas.
The girls wanted to have a go at making pasta, so we dug out our old pasta machine. They prepared and kneaded the dough, before feeding the first flattened lump through the rollers of the wonderful contraption.
They repeated this process several times, periodically reducing the gap between the rollers, thus gradually rolling it out into a thinner and longer strip of smooth, silky pasta.
We used this to make some ravioli with a beef filling. With the left over dough they made some fettucini and spaghetti.
Heulwen tried her hand at a Carbonara sauce (with fried pancetta, eggs, cream and Parmesan cheese) which was delicious.
The following lunchtime we dined on the fettucine and spaghetti with a freshly prepared Puttanesca sauce (made with tomatoes, “Itri olives”, capers and anchovies).
Friday we took a well earned day off and went for a spot of lunch at Pauline and Filippo’s. Deefa insisted on coming too !!!
A meal at Pasquale’s that evening was a suitable finale to our busy week. Rafaelle brought a sauce, prepared by his mother, for a primo piatto: pasta with Aubergine, courgette, sweet peppers and tomato, plus some fresh chilli to give it a bit of an edge. This was followed by a Secondo: local hand-made sausages cooked in the oven with potatoes and rosemary.
Filippo had expertly prepared some roasted red peppers. He had charred them over an open fire before removing the blackened skins, slicing them into strips and tossing them in olive oil and lots of finely chopped garlic. Ideal for warding off vampires !!!
The meal continued with a salad of mixed green leaves and some fresh Mozzarella di Bufala and Parma Ham. For the pudding or Dolce Jane had made a fresh Ricotta Cheesecake with a Fruits of the Forest Coulis topping and a scrumptious Kiwi fruit Pavlova with some rather nice “bubbly”. Then coffee and grappa topping off a wonderful spread and a most pleasant evening.
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The first set of our “Welsh Girl” Volunteers arrived for 5 days during the last week of November, “Big Linda” and “Little Linda”.
Sunday evening Paul went to collect them from Itri Station. We had been in contact with them by through texts via mobile phones, so we knew which train to meet. We had warned them to sit in one of the front half a dozen or so coaches, since Itri station has a fairly short platform which doesn’t always extend to the full length of the train.
However the girls failed to heed our advice, and found that they had to throw off their suitcases first and launch themselves off the train into the darkness !!! Eventually the two happy travellers appeared out of the gloom at the end of the platform, a little weary but nonetheless glad to have arrived !!! We shared a piping hot lasagne and glass or two of vino in front of the log fire to round off their long day.
Unfortunately during this period the weather seemed to be set against us and for the first two days there was heavy rain and strong winds. This frustratingly kept us housebound, yet it was good to catch up with each other’s news and enjoy some friendly company and the odd game of cards.
"Little Linda" Gathering Up Olive Nets
Barney Dog Helping "Big Linda"
Eventually on the third day there came a break in the weather and at last we were able to get out into the groves for two successive days. Despite the fact that we were now operating on some sloping terrain, which is more challenging to work on than the flatter areas, by the end of the second day we had collected just over 300 kg of olives which we felt was quite an achievement. This batch topped our previous maximum load taken to the mill, in a single delivery which produced just under 60 litres of extra virgin olive oil.
Well Done Girls !!!
We can’t thank you enough for all your help.
The Linda’s also had the opportunity to meet one of our English students, Raffaele, and we enjoyed an evening of his friendly banter.
Friday morning Paul took the girls into Itri to buy their train tickets. The girls had planned to fit in a quick visit to the Trevi Fountain in Rome, to throw a coin in – to ensure their return, before catching their train to Ciampino and flight back to Bristol.
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