THE GASTRONOMY OF THE ROMAN HILLS

As tourists are getting more experienced exacting and particular; they demand to plunge into the real life of the places they visit. It is necessary then, to offer oenological and gastronomical tours beside the usual tours in which art, nature and folklore prevail. Wine and typical produce and products have long been a tourist attraction and resource, and they represent a key-point in the economy of many Italian and European regions. Oenological tourism is based on the development and promotion of areas characterized by the production of the same typical products or the same kind of wine. Wine and food industry are extremely important in the Castelli Romani area. Nowadays it is generally accepted that wine and traditional dishes are important elements of the culture of a land, just like handicraft and local works of art. What makes the wine of the Castelli Romani area unique is the fact that it comes from a volcanic soil that is rich in potassium (in the Castelli area there are the two volcanic lakes of Nemi and Albano). Besides, the sun nearly always shines on the hills where the vines are. Vine-growing has very ancient origins in this place: it dates back to the Roman Age. There are many legends regarding vinegrowing, for example it is said that Saturn was sent away from Olympus by his son Jupiter; and he tool: refuge in the Castelli Romani area where he taught the art of vinegrowing to Janus. The local wine was lasted by illustrious people such as Julius Caesars, who owned a villa in Nemi, and Cicero, who used to spend his holiday at the Tuscolo. Cato, who was born at the Tuscolo, wrote a treatise on agriculture, “De Agricultura” in which he described the different kinds of soil suitable for vine-growing. The vine- rowing and wine industry tradition in the area is still alive: research work is being made on the soil and on new vine-growing techniques. so that the wine quality is always first-rate. You can taste typical dishes in the Castelli area in every season, but especially in spring, the richest period of the year; when a strawberry festival and a peach festival are organised. And of course you can taste a glass of wine, which is a symbol of the shades and flavours of the ancient rural world.

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