.....Last night Viv and I dined at my favourite place in Spello - Enoteca Properzio. It was wonderful to be greeted by Roberto and Irene like old friends(Lucca was in vacanza). Their food menu is not extensive but always seasonal and deliciosa and their wine menu is nothing short of amazing - best vintages of both bianco and rosso. We were spoilt with some of the best of the crop - my favourite being the Montefalco Sagrantino Rosso. Every sip needs to be savoured after taking in 'il profumo'.
The mixed bruschetta and pasta tartuffe which accompanied the wines was 'meraviglioso'.
When we returned home I watched 'Italy Unpacked' ( a BBC tv production) on YouTube and learnt that we have one of the greatest masterpieces of the Umbrian Renaissance just a few minutes walk away from our doorstep in The Baglione Chapel at Santa Maria Maggiore, the town's most significant church. The artist , Pinturicchio was underrated and forgotten for centuries until rediscovered as one of the most important Italian painters of the period.
Pinturicchio had assisted Perugino in creating frescoes for the Sistine Chapel in Rome before he painted the series of frescoes in Spello on his way home to his native Perugia
In 'The Annunciation', his depiction of the Archangel Gabriel with his realistic and detailed wings and beautiful face is breathtaking. There is also a self portrait of Bernadino Di Betto Pinturicchio next to his Spello masterpiece.
Ciao
Sue x