Memoir set in Orvieto, Umbria (lei e buono come pane)
- Book: The Umbrian Thursday Night Supper club
- Location: Orvieto
- Author: Marlena de Blasi
(This review originally appeared on our blog, where we also feature a rare author interview with Marlena de Blasi
Author Marlena de Blasi has written several books. Her iconic memoir of her time in Venice – A Thousand Days in Venice – has been the go-to book for experiencing The Lagoon City in written form. Now she has moved location and turned her hand, via Tuscany, to the flavour of Umbria and has settled in Orvieto.
This is a bringing together of the lives of four women through the pen and presence of author Marlena de Blasi. Hewn from the rich dark soil of Umbria, whose roots are inimitably linked to the rolling and ever present past, each woman brings her individual history to life over the cooking hearth, as together they create rich, succulent and flavoursome dishes to whet the reader’s appetite (the reader will go away craving the food described… guaranteed!). As a reader it can be a challenge looking in on this group, absorbing the ambience and imagining the culinary creations that rise from the pages of the book – the desire to join them is so very strong. Whether it is preparing pigs’ testicles or cooking pasta in red wine, there is something for everyone to have their tastebuds tickled. Wild asparagus, otherwise known as Luppoli hops, has an incredibly delicate flavour… join in the Vendemmia and harvest the grapes… or climb the olive trees during the Raccolta, the gathering of the olives at the end of the year…
Some of the recipes incidentally are given at the back of the book.
The book is divided into sizeable portions as each woman elaborates on her individual heritage. It explores the ‘individual and collective pasts of these women”. Miranda, Ninnucia, Paolina and Gilda immerse themselves in the food preparation as each brings her story to life and the reader is truly an observer of intimate culinary and emotional sharing.
Miranda has been the leading light in the regular dinner gatherings, but feels it is time to hand over to someone new, someone who can bring innovative flair to the proceedings. Ninnucia talks about her history and the Mafiosi background – it was in Calabria, in Acquapendente di Sopra with her mother-in-law Cosima that she learned her way through life. She describes how her Grandmother would saw her way through the substantial bread, Pagnotta, cutting it into sizeable chunks, almost reflecting the structure of the book – four sections equate to the four women. And Paolina loses both her parents at a young age, and Niccolò – a friend of her mother – sires children with her but doesn’t commit in terms of marriage. How does she cope with this in traditional Italy? Gilda, last but not least sheds light on her own story.
It is a very readable book, detailing life in Italy, a life that may elude the visitor on a brief visit. The author has an easy style and her use of middle European shorthand – buss (kiss), auto (car), testament (will) feels natural in her prose and really adds flavour to the narrative; in the hands of a lesser author it might, however, have felt like an affectation.
The setting is essentially Orvieto, less than 90 minutes from Rome, which sits on top of tufo, volcanic stone. The city is virtually car free, and is crowned by a beautiful Duomo, which at sunset is lyrically described as “a glittering wedding cake awaiting a bride”.
The Umbrian Thursday night Supper Club will inspire you to visit this beautiful area of Italy. It has incentivised me to be more creative in my cooking and add flavour with bunches of fresh herbs and colour. Enjoy!
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