Stimigliano: Inspiration
Laurie and Blair Pessemier 2018
At coffee this morning we joke with the barman about the tonneau of gentian liquor on the bar. “Is that Vladimir’s brew?” Of course. He makes liquor from a local plant. I tell him how it brought tears to my eyes. We are back in Stimigliano after summer in the USA and in Rocca Malatina. Even though we’ve been gone just 2 and a half months, we’ve had a rousing welcome. Ignatio gave us tomatoes, cukes peppers and an eggplant. Dario brought the mail he’s been collecting: strictly bills. He rearranged our lemon trees (which he waters) for maximum sun. We have a half-dozen big green fruits in place. We wish a hearty “Buon Giorno” and “Salve” to all. The road which circles the town is open again – it’s been closed for years for construction. Now one can double back up behind commune, formerly a medieval church, and find parking. It leads to our Dutch friend’s house, where Harika, our dog thinks she belongs, with Monet’s garden and the infinity swimming pool. The fields are mowed, and the wheat has given way to tilled earth.
The view from our apartment is fabulous, the Tiber taking on a flat green shade. The trees are thick alongside, a result of our very rainy spring. I am itching to take a boat ride, available from near Poggio Mirteto. A friend from far away just asked me about Stimigliano, and I told him, “it’s nowhere…”. Nothing big will likely happen here, but it’s a good place for getting things done. Blair and I write and paint and manage the library. For 4 euros, we can take the train into Rome, something on the agenda this week. I promise to send my friend pictures, and info on some houses for sale (they range from 35,000 Euros upward), and a little written piece, which you are reading, about the town.
Amazingly, we are really part of this Italian hill town. Because there are few of us living in the borgo, we all know one another. There are a few people we don’t take to, or they to us, but mostly, we’ve been woven in, like a couple of bright stray threads, into the fabric of the place. Blair tells Gianfranco that I drink wine. I suggest to him we develop a Gentian cocktail. “A cocktail?” he asks. “With Vermouth, or Club Soda,” I reply. Yes, we’ll call it “The Stimi”. And add an olive from Sabina. In fact, the cocktail is made best with a hearty dose of gin.
We first came to Stimigliano in 2005 because a friend in Paris had a house here. It is like a movie star house – he’s developed it and the yard over the past 15 years. We stayed for free to draw up olive oil labels, which may or may not have been used. He’s got tons of olive trees, and outstanding grounds, a wonderful kitchen. He developed it all, with our mutual contractor, who helped us buy our house. His house was an old farmhouse, where it is rumored, Maria Callas took her first voice lessons.
When we needed a break from Rocca Malatina in May, 2017, we asked Chris if we could rent his house this time – he generously let us stay there. Our intent was to go to Rome, only 40 kilometers from here, and get a city fix. We did, and we visited the modern art museum, and wandered about. We drove, which is easy from here, but we could also take the train to Tiburtina station. We spent a fair amount of time in Stimi, and when we were walking around the borgo (the ancient medieval center), we were admiring the houses, and views and realized we would actually afford something here. The borgo is wonderful. It is romantic, with lovely views; the scalo, or lower town of Stimigliano is a train stop for Rome. It is not as nice, as far as we are concerned, because it is more modern, but there are grocery stores and useful services. In July, we came here again, in earnest, and bought this house. It’s right on the square, facing the town hall.
We came here to escape the cold of our other Italy house. It is generally warmer here than the Apennines, and the heating cost for a little place doesn’t exceed 100 euros, even in the coldest months. Well, for the first time in years, it snowed, in 2018. It was wonderful, magical, beautiful.
Stimigliano is located in the Sabina region, famous for its olives, wine and beautiful women. The Romans stole the Sabine women for themselves, sometime around the first century. There are olives, oranges, lemons – many wonderful things growing in the countryside. Hazelnuts, or “Nutella on the hoof”, as I like to say, grow around here.
Wheat is cultivated within our view, along the Tevere, aka Tiber River. When the wheat isn’t there, the sheep are. Shepherds graze their flocks all around us, especially in winter.
In addition to our house we bought the “cantina” of a neighbor, where we have a library of more than 1,000 books. We gave hundreds of Italian books to the Stimigliano library.
In March, we offered our first painting workshop here, and we painted throughout Sabina. Four women stayed at a rented villa nearby.
On our first day here, one of the residents, Mario, took us to see the beautiful Vescovia. He later introduced us to Farfa and Civita Castellano.
Cosmos and Damien are the patron saints of Stimiglaino, and there is a yearly festival when they parade the statues around the town.