Villandro or Villanders

After Asti we drove, in our rented Fiat Panda, to an area called Alto Adige if you speak Italian and Südtirol if you speak German. The area used to be part of Austria; after World War I, it became part of Italy. It is now a semi-autonomous region. Everything has two names, one Italian and one German. Every city, every town, every street, every named building.

We spent one night in the small town of Villandro/Villanders, in the hills above Chiusa/Klausen.

 

Are you ready for another menu? The set-meal at the inn where we stayed included:

• A melon foam (spremuta) with culatello (local prosciutto)
• Lasagnette with fresh vegetables and pesto
• Roast lamb, green beans with speck, celeriac puree, and bok choy
• Millefoglie with raspberries and blueberries, yogurt cream, and house-made apple sorbet
• A selection of local cheeses with dark honey and very intense mustard jam

The wine was a local Praepi Situs 2010 Kerner. Kerner is a nice white wine that only shows up in a few places, including this area.

In case you are wondering, our drive from Asti to Alto Adige took about five hours. The autostrada tolls amounted to about $40. Gasoline costs about $8 a gallon.