Orientation in the Countryside
Last Sunday, students through Arcadia University were treated to a day in the Umbrian countryside as a part of their orientation. Flavio Orsini and his family continue the time old traditions of Italian farming in the town of Passignano sul Trasimeno close to Lake Trasimeno. Flavio took students on a tour of their property and of the inside of their home. There students learned about the preciousfagiolini del lago (smalls beans from the lake) and watched as his uncle demostrated how baskets are weaved. Some students even tried out their own skills under the careful eye of the expert. After the brief tour, was a lesson in pasta making. Flavio’s wife, mother-in-law and other women from the town demonstrated the traditional method of making pasta from scratch and talked about how this method is still
used today.
Students then donned aprons and lent a had as well. After the pasta making, with everyone’s tummies grumbling, students feasted on a typical Umbrian meal made completely with locally grown goods. A misto di bruschettacomplete with the now infamousfagiolini del lago served as the appetizer. Homemade tagliatelle pasta with a typical Italian meat sauce wetted the appetites just enough for a trio of secondi-Umbrian sausage from Flavio’s farm, sauteed spinach and torta al testo (a dense bread typical from this region). Stomachs and minds amply full, students re-borded the bus for the short drive back to city life in Perugia.
In Photos: Signor Orsini demonstrates the Italian art or basket weaving; Umbra students enjoy the view from Flavio Orsini’s home