The Cittadella dei Sibillini is one of the oldest argritourismos in the Ascoli Piceno region, and has a long and close relationship with the ‘Slow Food’ Italia movement.  Your principle host and translator is Tamara, a Canadian artist who lives in Le Marche countryside near the Cittadella.  Unlike Tuscany, few people speak English in this part of Italy, so Tamara will be on hand twenty four hours a day to see to every detail, and share her enormous enthusiasm for this newly discovered region.  Silvo, the owner of the Cittadella, will see to your comfort in this outstanding location which is featured in magazines, guide books, and newspapers through out Europe.  The cooking classes will be taught by the stupendous Angela, with Tamara translating.  Angela is an older, local woman who has been cooking professionally for 30 years.  She will unlock her treasure chest of recopies, some of which are historic, and all of which are unique to this area.   Every effort will be made to also cook meals that you will be able to replicate at home.

Nestled in the mountains, adorned by the Mediterranean sun, this is a place set in history.  The Cittadella is a borgo, an ancient, fortified settlement, on a hilltop.  In Latin a ‘Burgum’.   It faces the Monte Sibilla, a famous place of magic and folklore, and the source of much art, like the story of Tanhauser upon which Wagner based his famous opera.  Near by is the Lago Pilota lake where, Pontus Pilot’s coffin fell into when he was taken by oxen from Rome to the north, and the whole of this mountainous area was one of the most important Palaeolithic cultural centres in Italy.  Some of the hill towns have a history dating back to 10 B.C or earlier.   Here there is utter privacy, and no sound of traffic, nor any modern buildings in sight.  Everywhere abounds in vivid, untouched nature, home to wild boars, and truffles.  This area offers the best hiking in Europe, and excels in outdoor sports all year round.  Despite the drama of the location, the Cittadella borgo is only 40 min from the beach, and 25 min from the capital, Ascoli.

Ascoli is considered one of the most beautiful Renaissance cities in Italy, and is famous for its opera, theatres, cafes and restaurants, as well as a plethora of museums and galleries. 

As a whole Le Marche is a part of Italy which is in the process of being ‘discovered,’ and dubbed the ‘second Tuscany’ because of it’s stunning hill towns.  Until the 1850s Le Marche remained a papal state, and a backwater in terms of modernity.  The direct contact between the Vatican and villages here produced wealth, and a standard of living that created architecture on a grand scale, more like Tuscany, or parts of Umbria.  Partly its ‘backwater’ history spared Le Marche from the negative side of modernity and development.  At the same time the community of the Monte Sibillini has much more to offer than Tuscany in terms of history, and diversity of landscape, as well as being better value for money, and a million times less touristy.   The sublimely beautiful Sibillini national park, in which the Cittadella is situated, encompasses 77,000 hectares and joins a chain of parks forming Europe’s largest green region.  Also the classic image of Italy is available here; the hand hewed stone churches, the grapes for wine, and the olive plantations.  This is the centre for black truffles for Italy.  As the Cittadella says; “equilibrium and harmony are not abstract concepts, in these places they are transformed into a real and proper way of life.”

Much of the fame of the Marche is due to the emerald green landscape, dotted with dramatic hill towns, and a backdrop of the mountains.  In typical Italian fashion, all the hill towns have endless festivals ensuring there is no lack of things to do.   The sea and ski element of life here make it very popular with all visitors all year around.

The main building of the Citadella borgo was built in the 1400s but some of the buildings are earlier, or were added later.   The buildings are made of hand cut stones, and renovated in a sensitive style preserving the original feature.  There is an old section filled with paintings and antiques, but the cooking guests will be offered the more comfortable, modernized section which has ten generous double bedrooms and all amenities.  The beautiful swimming pool is a superb place to admire the views and cool down.  The Cittadella also has a popular restaurant which is small, and has an unforgettable outdoor dining terrace facing the mountains, as well as an excellent wine cellar.  There is also an informal bar and sitting areas where someone is always on hand to make a coffee, snack, or offer a glass of wine.  The Cittadella features in the Slow Food guide for Italy, and all the Slow Food books for this region since the Cittadella offers the highest quality of  food and wine and imbues the Slow Food ethos.

The borgo of the Cittadella is set within forty hectares of its own park land, and joins onto the Sibillini National Park seamlessly.  The grounds immediately around the borgo are landscaped with a mixture of lawn and terraces, filled with potted plants, and flowers.  A hundred meters from the main building is the swimming pool.  There are no other buildings around the borgo which sits on the hill top facing the mountains.  Two kilometres away is the walled, mountain town of Montemonaco with shops, bars, and restaurants as well as a pretty historic centre formed by Benedictine monks.

However much Italian food you have tried, prepare yourself for a new dimension.  Some of the dishes Angela will teach are made with wild food gathered from the mountains; like hand made ravioli stuffed with nettles, or a wild spinach called ‘gorboli’, rabbit with wild fennel, and polenta with wild mushrooms, wild boar, and wild truffles.  The area is famous for chestnuts and walnuts and Angela will do ‘dolce’ with chestnut flour and chestnut cream, as well as walnut sweets.  People here are passionate about wine and the course will contain a Slow Food vineyard tour and wine tasting.  Depending on the season we will go truffle hunting in the oak forests.  In the spring the Cittadella does an organic pig slaughter when one has the opportunity to learn how to make sausages, and cook traditional dishes like polenta with blood.  One of the most unique aspects of this course will be the Mistra making.  Mistra is an ancient Le Marche drink made from distilled grapes, using a still rather like an alchemist’s laboratory.  The Mistra is flavoured with wild berries, roots, or anis, and is served as the most popular after dinner drink in this area.   At the Cittadella you will make your own bottle of Mistra to take home, and should you wish to develop your new skill further, a local craftsman makes mini distillation kits for Mistra so you can continue to perfect your skills at home.

All of Angela’s dishes are unique to this part of Italy.   We will make the famous ‘Olive Ascolane’, and learn a variation on lasagne called ‘Vinci Grassi’ named after a French solider who was stationed here during the time of Napoleon.  There is an emphasis on polenta dishes, and wild boar, but also the unexpected – a famous local dish with snails.  As well as the previously mentioned, first, and second courses, made from wild foods we will also make simple antipasti like the ‘Panzanella’ a kind of bruschetta made with aromatic wild herbs and olive oil.  Although Angela does not speak English she has taught many cooking classes to Italians, and helped with the Cittadella’s cheese tasting events.

The Citadella is two and a half hours north of Rome, in Central Italy.  There are two near by airports, (Pescara and Ancona) each an hour and a half drive away, with direct flights to/from most of Europe’s capitals, and during the summer season direct to Canada.