FRANCIACORTA, Italy--Here in the Alpine lake country, among the chardonnay vines, industrial workshops, vacation homes, and international campgrounds, there are plenty of reminders that you're in Italy.
In the villages, tiny churches with decorations that go back to the Middle Ages, like the "Nursing Madonna" in the alcove-size Santa Maria del Mercato off the central Piazza Garibaldi in Iseo.
Outside of town, at the monastery of Saint Peter, a Cluniac structure overlooking the base of Lake Iseo, the Apostles are depicted in monochrome. Between the monastery and the lake is a 750-acre nature preserve, a former peat bog (local folk used to carve the peat, dry it, and use if for fuel) that filled with rainwater; today it's a haven for wildlife like birds and flowering plants, ringed by a walkway and observation platforms like the Foster Island preserve at the Seattle end of the 520 bridge.
At La Montina, the property once belonged to the family of Pope Paul VI, who was born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini in 1897, and reigned as Pope from 1963 until his death in 1978. (Montini, the family; La Montina, the property.) No surprise that there's a life-size chestnut statue of His Holiness in the bottle-aging cellar. There's no ring to kiss, however.
A confession, nonetheless: we've enjoyed the exceptional hospitality of this sparkling region (which produces bubbly wines on a par with Champagne) thanks to the generosity of the Franciacorta Consorzio. Complimenti a tutti! E grazie mille!
Leave a comment