Sagra Antica Gastronomica at Civitella Roveta

The village of Civitella Roveto has been sat 525 meters above sea level since 1061 when it was first documented.  It is at the centre of the Valle Roveto in the province of L'Aquila and is reached by crossing a small bridge over the River Liri.  There are around 3,350 inhabitants and the economy is mainly tourism and commerce.

In this magnificent stretch of the Apennines (little Alpes) the autumn woodlands bare a rich abundance of produce.  For example the “Roscetta Chestnuts” and highly prized white and black truffles with their unmistakable aroma, have been harvested by the inhabitants here for centuries.  The results of which are wonderful cheeses and distinctively flavoured dishes.  It therefore makes sense that autumn has been marked as the best time for Civitella Roveto to revive the atmosphere and tastes of the past.  And so, every year the old wine cellars, kitchens and shops open to share an original and seductive reconstruction ancient rural culture.

It is a source of great pride for the administrators of Civitella Roveto and its inhabitants who dedicate themselves to organizing this sagra each year, that thousands of visitors return to visit and enjoy the gastonomic pleasures that await them amidst its beautiful scenery.

When Anna and Luigi asked us if we would like to go with them to enjoy the Civitella Roveto Sagra, we didn’t need to be asked twice.  The sagra takes place over 3 days, from Friday through to Sunday.  We went on the Sunday morning driving for 2 hours to arrive around 12.00pm.  We were lucky to find parking, the place was already bustling with people.  It was impossible to estimate how many people were there, but we did try - around 5,000 at the time we arrived.  With so many dishes to see and taste it was with relief that Anna handed us a map of the village.  It was then that we realised the extent of this sagra or 'Antica Gastronomica' as it was being described.  There were over 60 different stages each offereing their own dish or product.  Grappa, wine both chilled and mulled, pasta, polenta, zuppa, cheeses, truffles ... The list goes on so we have reproduced it for you HERE.

While the Scouts serve wine, Enzo contemplates having a well drilled in our back yard

Once we had dragged Enzo past the source of Nutella, we crossed over the small stone bridge and made our way through the crowds and upwards into the old village where the lure of fragrant truffles hung heavy in the air and Enzo was practically 'champing at the bit' to reach his first plate.

Market stalls lined the streets where possible and immediately pieces of cheese or salumi were being offered to us from every which-way.  You might imagine that one ricotta or pecorino tastes pretty much like the next, but you would be wrong.  Take this guy for example:

He makes a range of cheese which includes this pecorino at the centre of which lies a liquore of some sort.  It was all lost in the translation for me and in the anticipation of eating for Enzo.  It had a smooth and nicely balanced nutty flavour unlike many pecorino’s that we had tried before.  Suffice to say we did buy some.  

Producers had come from all over the area for the opportunity to show you what this part of Italy has to offer.  Of course this included candy floss, wind chimes and a strange brush used for cleaning slatted shutters which Enzo asked if I wanted.  I declined but said that I wouldn’t get in the way of him getting one for himself.  I don’t why, but he went a bit quiet after that until we reached our first tasting.

There are many things that Enzo raves about when it comes to his mother’s cooking.  One of her specialties was gnocchi and the other was her deep-fried pizza or ‘pizze fritte’, so we had to stop at Number 8 to get some.  They were also cooking up some wonderful cinnamon and chestnut ring doughnuts here to and we stopped for a while just in time to see the marching band come down the narrow street.

As we rounded the corner and turned onto the street from where the marching band had come, there was the distinctive aroma of truffles in the air and it didn’t take long to find out where it was coming from.

Perhaps the most charming aspect of this particular sagra is the way in which it is presented.  Dotted along the narrow cobbled streets, tiny doorways step down into tiny rooms where culinary wonders were being performed.  But it’s not just about the food, it’s also about where it’s being served.  These rooms present an opportunity to step into a space that was constructed many hundreds of years ago.  

At Number 18 a crowd had gathered for their taste of ‘Bruschette al tartufo’.  On offer was a choice between black truffle or black truffle with ricotta, so Enzo asked for half and half.   We got to taste both and agreed that the we preferred the more gentle truffle flavour with ricotta.

Number 18

Once out on the street we had a chance to look behind us at the other people making their way to Number 18.  It was quite staggering to imagine that these ladies, along with many more men, women and children, had been working all day and night for the past 3 days to help bring this sagra together.  And here’s another one. Down the steps beyond this door at Number 33 was an army of people producing ‘Gnocchetti ai Ceci, surgitti, frittelle and liquori:

Cantina Number 33

Number 24 were providing outdoor seating for both Number 21 who were serving a complete menu of ‘Zuppa di ceci e castagne, cinghiale, and Number 23 serving Ciambelline al vino, marmellate di vari gusti. There was barely a seat left, so we continued to wind our way ever upward with no regard to our village map at all.  Everywhere you looked there was something going.

Number 24  

Enzo and I eventually reached what we thought was the very end of the road, at the top behind the church where at Number 45 they were serving ‘Polenta con Saisiccia e Pancetta’.  Enzo got himself a plate and we sat at Number 46 where we could overlooking the valley below.  The sound of umm’s and ahhh’s was about all that Enzo could muster aside from that strange face that he pulls when he’s enjoying his food.  But there was no doubt that this was the best and most simple dish we had tasted in a long time.  I did remark that the sausage had probably been carved straight from the pig this morning, and the tomato sauce was very similar in flavour to my own.  “Must be all that love they put into it Enzo ...”

Number 45

We headed back out onto the streets and Enzo must have been a little concerned about where his next meal might come from because he promptly visited Number 46 again which had moved to the position next to Number 44 who were offering Limoncello, and picked himself up a Panino con ventresca, con salsiccia, frittelle which he promptly past to me in favour of what was on offer at Number 33 which was ‘Gnocchetti ai ceci and Paperadella.  They were so rush off their feet trying to produce food for the maddening crowd at Number 33 that the members of the queue were a bit fidgety, and this included Enzo.   With a Panino in one hand and a plate of Gnocchi going cold on the table, I hit the wine as Enzo waited rather impatiently for a plate of Paperadella.  Thankfully the Papperadella was well worth the wait and according to Greta she had never tasted such an amazing Gnocchi in her little hairy life!

Are you following us so far?  Great, because we were reaching that time of the day when Italy takes a nap which accounted for the short tempers waiting around for the Papperadella.  But all that is required under these circumstances is a good talking to and things start to fall back into some sort of normality as the streets become ever more bulged with people.

You have to give credit where credit is so obviously due.  For 3 days, plus all of the organisational meetings they must have attended to make the sagra of Civitella Roveta possible, these people have worked tirelessly behind the scenes and must look forward to reaching the end of their endeavours in that celebration of fireworks.

But Enzo has no thought or time for all of that as he continues his pursuit of all things edible and gravitated to the mushroom .... Room, where on display were a wide selection of edible and inedible fungi.  Enzo had spotted some rather large fungi in the garden and was keen to know whether or not he could eat them.  Unfortunately the art of fungi identification is rather complex and would require that Enzo take his fungi to a specialist to have it examined properly.  Which quite frankly I go along with since I do have a rather funny story about 2 young Welsh lads gathering mushrooms on the mountains - but we’ll save that for another time.  

With Greta acting as his eating partner (I had given up) wrapped up in his coat, Enzo ventured on in the rain along with the rest of us.  Just around the corner would you believe it but Number 6 was serving Churritos covered in chestnut syrup and so the dessert course began.  The Churritos were a simple waffle-style mix, placed in an iron with the lid clamped down until cooked.  They were then sliced, dusted in icing sugar and drizzled with a very sweet chestnut syrup.  

 
The back door of Number 6

Next of the list of desserts was this amazingly ingenious ‘Sbriciolata della Nonna’ being served at Number 28.  Set in an egg shell was a panna cotta was speckled with vanilla pod seeds. Underneath which was a wonderfully lightly alcoholic-soaked sponge cake.  I proclaimed to Enzo on the spot that we will be making some of these soon!

With our sweet tooth primed we were ready to visit Number 20 serving ‘Tiramisu’ who were supposed to be serving from Number 26, but who cared because someone still found time to pop over to Marco’s at Number 68 where he was serving ‘Cioccolato Caldo’. 

Yes there was definitely something for everyone, even balloon blowing and bending which intrigued Enzo so much that he just had to have something made - may we now proudly present the Sagra Hat.  It was difficult to contain myself as I turned to Enzo and told him “I’ve never loved you more than I do now ...”

Enzo's new hat

With the Sagra Kit complete, it was time for Enzo and Greta head off in search of yet another tasty morsel or two.  We all climbed the steps to reach the dizzy heights of  Number 11 where Mario had obviously  been sewing sheep’s meat onto sticks for what must have been weeks! Enzo and Greta took 5 of them.  The other couple of thousand people there took the rest. 

Number 11

We were surrounded by the smoke of the grill and even more smoke billowing upward from the chestnut roasters below.  But did any of us care - not at all, and by late afternoon we were ready to head off home, but not before a really nice cup of Illy Maciato.  Oh and a stop at Ripi for one of their fabulous gelato’s. 

Enzo let the Sagra hat go to a young girl who coveted it and with his belly full of all sorts of stuff, was ready to hand Greta back to Anna and sleep the sleep of totally satisfied and dream of his next meal.