Lazio Explorer

One of the things that I love about Italy is the passion for food. It's an obvious thing to say, but from the top to the bottom, Italian's love food, preparing it, eating it, talking about it. As an Englishman, this is a revelation and a welcome new world to explore (even if, by default, they don't give any weight to my opinion...). The Italian commitment to culinary excellence is only surpassed by the Italian aspiration to have a strong opinion about food. Perhaps unsurprisingly therefore, the 'which bottled water is the best' discussion is a common debate in most Italian families. In our household, and the household of most Italians we know (living in the Provinces of Rome and Viterbo), the discussion is pretty quick, with an obvious winner - Acqua di Nepi*.



Acqua di Nepi is found in most restaurants in the province of Rome (i.e. the area around Rome) and the province of Viterbo and is generally regarded by my adoptive Italian family to be a sign of quality. I have to say, that while I'm not usually a fan of frizzante, Acqua di Nepi frizzante (the green label) is wonderfully sweet with a soft sparkle, and I'm defintely developing a soft spot for it.

Nepi itself is also worth a visit, if you get the chance. It's a wonderful town about 30km south-east of Viterbo and about 13km south-west of Civita Castellana. As of 2005, there were 8,438 inhabitants. We were there two weeks ago and enjoyed a lovely walk around the pedestrianized town center, taking in the Borgia castle (from the outside, it was closed on the Sunday we were there) and the outstanding views over the surrounding ravines, right on the edge of the town. We particularly enjoyed hanging around in the square in front of the town hall, which was designed by Antonio da Sangallo the Younger and has a working bell tower. Just in front of it there's a fountain that is believed to have been designed by Gian Lorenzo Bernini. On the left (when you're looking at the town hall) there is the Cathedral of the Assunta, built in the 12th century over a pagan temple. It was rebuilt in 1831 after French troops had set it on fire during the Napoleonic Wars (according to Wikipedia). Nepi was pretty sleepy when we visited, but it has a certain charm, perfect for a Sunday stroll, accompanied by a bottle of Acqua di Nepi of course!


Getting there from Rome:

By car - Take the SS2 - via cassia from the GRA, then follow the signs for Nepi (it's pretty easy). I'm afraid I don't know if it's possible to get there from Rome with public transport :-(

* Oh yeah, and only drink it out of the glass bottles, as not only is this classier, but it saves on the mounting piles of plastic we're throwing away. Seriously, don't drink from plastic bottles. See this excellent blog piece from Italexpat's blog for more info.