Sunday, May 7, 2023

Giro 2023 Stage 2: Teramo - San Salvo

Where are we? Continuing north along the coast of Abruzzo.

TeramoThe city of Teramo is one of the four provincial capitals of the Abruzzo region. It is located at the confluence of the Tordino river and the Vezzola stream, on the slopes of the Gran Sasso and a few minutes from the Adriatic Sea. The Italian tourism site tells me that: Nestled between the Adriatic Sea and the Gran Sasso massif in an area surrounded by olive trees and rows of vineyards, Teramo is often considered one of the most beautiful villages in Abruzzo. 
As well, they say that: There are some places you definitely can’t miss if you’re visit Teramo for the first time, starting with the Dome of Santa Maria Assunta. Its façade embraces two architectural styles: the upper part an ode to Gothic style and the lower part overtly Romanesque. This alternation of styles also continues inside, where the 13th-century Romanesque stands proudly next to the 14th-century Gothic and the New Sacristy Chapel built in the early 18th century. The heart of Teramo is Martyrs of freedom square, overlooked by the cathedral and two other historical buildings, the Bishop's Palace, home to the Diocese of Teramo, and Palazzo Costantini.
Less than 200 metres from the square we find the ruins of TRoman theatre, built in the Augustan age and still undergoing excavations that are sure to bring to light other parts of the original structure. A few metres further west are what’s left of the old Roman amphitheatre, with part of the brick perimeter wall still standing.

Regional Specialties: From the Giro site: Among these there is the Chitarra con le pallottine alla Teramana, a pasta prepared with the guitar, a special rectangular wooden frame, seasoned with meatballs. Another elegant dish are the Scrippelle ‘mbusse teramane. In the dialect the word ‘mbusse means “soaked” precisely because the scrippelle (very thin crepes made with water, flour and eggs) are wet with a rich and tasty meat broth that make them soft and tasty. And then, very common in Abruzzo, are the arrosticini, strictly made with sheep meat. 
'Le virtu’ The virtues are a super-rich soup of the first fruits of the season, expertly mixed with all the remains of the winter pantry and which is consumed on the first of May in Teramo. April 30 was considered by the peasant calendar to be the watershed between the end of winter and the beginning of the fertile season. Legend has it that the virtues are so called because they had to be prepared from 7 virgins, using 7 legumes, 7 aromas, 7 meats, 7 seasonal vegetables, 7 types of pasta, cooked all in 7 hours … 7, because there are 7 Christian virtues. In short, the virtues are a truly exceptional dish, normally to prepare it takes 7 to 10 days. In truth, for virtues we need over 50 ingredients, each family guards and jealously passes on its version of the recipe. To preserve the authenticity of the recipe, a group of experts and restaurateurs from Teramo have created a specification, also recognized by the Ministry of the Environment and Forest Policies

San Salvo: The Giro tells me that due to its natural disposition, the city of San Salvo was for centuries the south-eastern gate of Abruzzo. It is a city of 19,963 inhabitants located at 100 m. above sea level and 4 km from the Adriatic, on whose shores there is a very fine Sandy beach. It is a riverside city with the Trigno river and its botanical and natural treasures. It is an agricultural city surrounded by olive trees and covered with crops .It is a city of travel, with ancient and modern routes: from the tratturo to the cycle path, from the motorway to the valley, from the fast railway to glorious national road.

Regional SpecialtiesSan Salvo’s territory is rich in genuine products, that are the result of a millennium old heritage of rural and country knowledge, enriched during the Middle Ages by the great rural Cistercian tradition brought in this area by the monks of the SS Vito’s and Salvo’s Abbey. Among the many local products the olive stands out; its fruits are picked up before the full ripeness and processed in the same day, so that it gives the olive oil a fruity aroma, limpidness and a low rate of acidity. The peach cultivation has a great importance in San Salvo and this fruit is exported in all Europe.
San Salvo boasts an high level food tradition with a huge variety of home made pasta, sweets, and sausage products like sausages, pepperoni, “soppressate”, “capicolli” and “ventricine”: these products are often home made, but in the last years their manufacturing production has a great success.



The stage: An expected spring stage. Breakaway, check. Not given a lot of space, also check. Also, unexpected jersey change, check. 
Brandon McNulty arrived at the start in  Teramo in the blue jersey as leader of the mountains classification, but it was instead given to Tao Geoghegan Hart due to timing errors from yesterday's time trial. 
Ninety five kilometers to go and the gap was around 1:45. Around fifty kilometers and the gap was under a minute. The bunch wanted the gap to not grow, but it was too soon still for the catch.  
Along the way. This sort of thing always amazes me. Thirty kilometers to go and the bunch was all together. As they rode closer, the trains were out in force, both for the sprint, but also to protect the gc riders. 
Big crash as they closed in, many on the road, but also many held up behind. Among those down, Cavendish. Importantly, that was before the 3 km line, so those times should count. 
Wow! Strong finish from Jonathan Milan to go to the front early and to hold on. Time now to see who lost time after the crash.



The wine: 
Wine: Nicodemi Montepulciano d'Abruzzo 08 $17.00   
A repost from 2011
They say: Fattoria Nicodemi is located in the Teramo district in Abruzzo, a hilly province bordering the Adriatic sea in central Italy. It was founded by Bruno Nicodemi, and today is run by brother and sister team Alessandro and Elena Nicodemi. High up in these chalky, clay-rich hills, the Nicodemi estate couldn't be better located—and any more different than bulk producers in the Abruzzo lowlands. The family's vineyards, at more than 900 feet above sea level, enjoy a slow cook, with warm afternoons and cool evenings. “We try to work in a simple way,” says Elena, to let the estate's terroir speak clearly; all field work, including the harvest, is done by hand. Their Montepulciano d'Abruzzo and Trebbiano d'Abruzzo wines represent fruit-forward, single-varietal bottlings that are both rich in flavor and represent great value.

I say: Sturdy, deep color, dark fruit. Would be nice with my favorite meatballs and pasta.

The food:  Virtu
The traditional soup, recipe from Academia Barilla

Ingredients:
1 ½ lb legumes , dried
salt
3 ½ lb legumes , fresh
spinach
carrot
celery
swiss chard
fennel
endive
marjoram
mint
lard
⅝ lb fresh pasta
1 ½ lb pasta , dry
parsley
onion
clove
pepper
nutmeg
tomato sauce
garlic
ground pork
ham bone

Preparation: Leave the dry pulses to soften in cold water for at least one day. Then cook them in lightly salted water until they are half-cooked. Clean all the vegetables (except for the onion, garlic and parsley), cook in salted water, drain and put aside. In a second receptacle, boil together the pork meats (which should be salted and peppered). When cooked, bone them, cut into small pieces, and put them back into the stock. Add the cooked pulses and some marjoram and wild mint leaves. Prepare a chopped mixture of lard and parsley and brown in a pan with the tomato sauce, onion and garlic well-chopped. Stir the sauté, and add to the stock with the boiled vegetables. When almost cooked, adjust the salt, put in the pasta (beginning with the dry varieties and the larger formats) and the fresh pulses and finish off the cooking. This minestrone, very rich and extremely tasty, may be consumed hot or cold. It is prepared on the occasion of the 1st of May (May Day).

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