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Where are we? Starting in the south, in Abruzzo.
Fossacesia: Fossacesia is located on a small hill on the left of the Sangro River's mouth, about two kilometers from the Adriatic Sea. The Giro site refers to it as a City of Oil and City of Wine.
To visit? The Abbey of Golfo Di Venere, which includes a basilica and the monastery proper, both built in the early 13th century on a pre-existing convent.
The regional specialties: Some regional specialty write ups are longer than others: A typical local product is citrus extra virgin olive oil, for whose production the olives are ground directly with lemons or oranges of the Costa dei Trabocchi, to produce an oil with a soft and delicate taste, ideal to enrich every dish of meat and fish.
The regional specialties: Some regional specialty write ups are longer than others: A typical local product is citrus extra virgin olive oil, for whose production the olives are ground directly with lemons or oranges of the Costa dei Trabocchi, to produce an oil with a soft and delicate taste, ideal to enrich every dish of meat and fish.
Many other are the delicacies of Fossacesian cuisine: from pizzas and foje, ancient dish of peasant origin consisting of an unleavened pizza made with corn flour and boiled vegetables cooked in a pan, with extra virgin olive oil, dried peppers and “sardelle”, to “pallotte cace e ove”, egg and cheese meatballs, fried and served in sauce. Typical of the territory, the pizza with peppers and sardines, a dish on the tables of the Fossacesian people on the All-Souls’ Day. Of the Christmas season are the “crispelle”, or pancakes, from the typical tubular shape, based on flour, potatoes, and water, embellished with raisins and anise seeds, in their sweet version.
Famous for the art of confectionery, among the specialties are the “sise di Venere”, soft pasta cakes stuffed with custard, the “celli pieni”, delicious biscuits made with oil, wine and flour stuffed with grape jam, chocolate, and almonds and bocconotti of Fossacesia, shortcrust pastry, filled with jam, lemon peel, cinnamon, chocolate, and almonds.
Ortona: The Giro tells me that Ortona is the gateway to this part of Abruzzo, inhabited since the Bronze Age (1400 BC) as a seafaring and later developed, by the shelter of its promontory overviewing the Adriatic Sea, into a commercial and tourist harbour.
Ortona: The Giro tells me that Ortona is the gateway to this part of Abruzzo, inhabited since the Bronze Age (1400 BC) as a seafaring and later developed, by the shelter of its promontory overviewing the Adriatic Sea, into a commercial and tourist harbour.
Let's visit the Cathedral of St. Thomas the Apostle and the homonymous square. From September 6, 1258, it has enshrined the remains of the Apostle Thomas. The Patron Saint’s Day falls on the first weekend of May, and from Saturday to Monday, visiting the tomb, you can obtain the plenary indulgence of St. Thomas’ forgiveness.
The church is also the finish line of the Way of the Apostle Thomas, a religious-cultural itinerary of over 450 km that reproposes the value of pilgrimage of the most important spiritual locations of Abruzzo.
The regional specialties: The cuisine of Ortona is the happy marriage between the products of the sea and those of the earth. Among the typical dishes you can find the brodetto, fish soup with tomatoes, peppers and EV olive oil, served in terracotta pots; baccalà e patate in umido, salted codfish and potato stew; broccoli e stoccafisso, broccoli and stockfish; baccalà e peperoni, salted codfish and peperoni; seppie e piselli, squid and peas; finally, spaghetti con pelosi o frutti di mare, spaghetti with crab or seafood, and frittura di pesce dell’Adriatico, fried fish of the Adriatic. Tied to the rural tradition is pasta alla chitarra, handmade pasta with mixed meat ragù, cardone in brodo di tacchino, cardoon in turkey soup, pallotte cace e ove, cheese dumplings (made of eggs, grated cheese and breadcrumbs), pizze e fuoije (sautéed mixed greens accompanied by cornbread).
Among the traditional desserts are the nevole, cone-shaped rolled wafers made with mosto cotto, oil and flour, flavoured with cinnamon and baked between two heated iron plates like the pizzelle, a re-elaborated version of the pizzelle of Abruzzo.
The stage: Off they go! An ITT to start things off always feels like a kind of mellow way for viewers/blog riders to start a race. Easy to follow, relatively quick, it has always felt like a warm up to me.
👑 The people are crowding along the streets, the wait is over and the excitement is high. Today is coronation day. Who will be the first king? Who will be the first Maglia Rosa?#Giro #GirodItalia #Coronation pic.twitter.com/tOxek44rEo
— Giro d'Italia (@giroditalia) May 6, 2023
Early in the hot seat, De Bod" at 22' 32''. Next there would be Mads Pedersen followed by Brandon McNulty. Next up would be Vine. The hot seat was changing hands (umm, glutes?) rapidly at this point. Next, Geoghegan Hart followed by Almeida. At the end though, it was Remco's day. Evenepoel put on a display that not only put 22 seconds into Hour Record holder Filippo Ganna but also dealt huge damage to his GC rivals, notably putting 43 seconds into Primoz Roglic. Those are a lot of early seconds for the other GC competitors to give up.
Standings:
The wine: A note on this year's wines, for a long list of not terribly interesting reasons, many of this year's wines will be reposts of prior years. Not all, but many. So if something sounds vaguely familiar or if a vintage seems not current, there is a reason. For example, today's wine:
Cirelli Montepulciano d'Abruzzo 2019 from Biondivino
From the importer: Agricola Cirelli is an organic farm certified by IMC (doc. n.3194 RV.01), surrounded by 23 hectares of land. All of its production is designed to respect the natural cycles of the olive trees, vineyards, horticultural crops and the animal breeding. Crop rotation, natural fertilization, and free range animal grazing are Agricola Cirelli’s “techniques” of production. This harmonious environment creates olive oil, wine, vegetables, fruit and meats of supreme quality.
The farm grows its food and wine in total respect of organic agriculture. Nature sets the rules and it dictates the rhythm of every activity. The animals’ interaction with the land offer natural grazing and fertilization of the vines, which means there is no need to use harmful chemical substances.
Francesco purchased the land in 2003 right after his graduation in Economics at a prestigious European university. Before this, he was a student at the Italian Navy College. He decided to dedicate himself to organic agriculture because of the profound values of working the land (“Right after God the farmer comes next” he was told once). He is now helped out by his fiancée, Michela.
The food: Bocconotti
Recipe from Delicious Italy:
1 egg
5 egg yolks
150g lard or butter
150g sugar
220g flour
1 teaspoon yeast
grated rind of 1 lemon
Preparation:
Beat the egg together with the sugar then add the lard, flour, grated lemon rind and yeast.
Mix together to roll out a soft pastry or 'pasta sfoglia', but not too soft and not too thin.
Take enough of the pastry to fill the base and sides of a small mould of choice, then fill it with a favourite filling such as jam, nutella or a classic chocolate cream.
A traditional filling in the province of Chieti includes chopped almonds, cinnamon and mostocotto.
Once cooked the ingredients combine together to make a jammy consistency.
Cover the top with another piece of pastry.
Place in the oven for 15-20 mins at 150°c and sprinkle with icing sugar.
Remember that bocconotti should really be eaten cold.
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