UMBRIAA view from the saddleby Rod Lopez-Fabrega & Mary Ashcraft
The event is a six-day equestrian vacation in Umbria. The horses belong to Claudio Fabrizi and his family. Malvarina, the name of their farm, set among the Fabrizi's olive groves, is also a guest house that small groups of ten or fewer adventurers can use as home base to explore on horseback the heart of Umbria, a part of Italy with roots that go back in time to the Etruscans, that mysterious and sophisticated culture that pre-dates the Romans. The horses, chestnuts, bays and grays are mostly American quarter horses crossed with Spanish Andalusians, and all are carefully matched in temperament by Claudio to each rider, taking into account whether the client is a novice or an experienced rider. Saddles are English.
Exploring a few of these ancient, fortified hilltop cities: Assisi, Spello, Collopino and the environs on horseback provides a truly unique perspective, most especially when seen from the summit of Mount Subasio. Walled Medieval towns punctuate a lush 360 degree panorama of the olive groves, vineyards, and meticulously groomed farms of Umbria. Then a trot down the cobbled streets of the picturebook hilltop village of Collopino (pine mountain) di Spello followed by� lunch in La Taberna S. Silvestro where Umbrian specialties are served under the vaulted brick ceiling of a chamber that was a sheep shelter during the Middle Ages and, on another day, a trail ride to the Eremo delle Carceri, a remote mountain hermitage favored as a retreat by� Saint Francis of Assisi. The tiny chapel favored by St. Francis is still there just as he knew it. Near the chapel is a cluster of statues of St. Francis's disciples, one of them lying on his back gazing at the heavens. All these events provide the visitor with a perspective that simply could not be experienced from the windows of a speeding train or crowded tour bus.
Evenings at Malvarina are, for some, the highlight of the day. Maria Maurillo, the matriarch of the clan, is a cook of the highest order. She uses fresh products from the property, including herbs, honey, cheese, bread, grains, jam, prosciutto, salami, wine and their top-grade olive oil. Guests and family and often friends of the family gather in the estate's dining hall for evening meals that go on into the small hours. They usually begin with crostini, slices of Umbrian loaf bread toasted over the table-height open fireplace, rubbed with garlic, coated with extra virgin olive oil and� sprinkled with salt. The crostini can be eaten plain or with toppings of chopped tomatoes, zucchini, eggplant, chopped olives, a mixture including the area's famous truffles or any other combination that inspires Maria. Expert rider Renee Cobb, a guest from Atlanta, describes a typical evening meal which, "might include crostini of mushroom pate and cheese broiled with ripe, pungent tomato slices and fresh basil garnish, a salad of grated carrots and ripe tomatoes dressed with olive oil and balsamic vinaigrette, followed by a course of the most incredibly light cannelloni filled with ground, slightly spicy sausage and topped with a creamy tomato sauce and parmesan topping broiled until bubbly, then veal chops grilled over the open fire and seasoned with fresh herbs, a vegetable accompaniment of baked fennel and tomato au gratin, and a final salad of mixed greens. Desert might be homemade almond sugar cookies and a domed shortbread with chocolate filling topped with powdered sugar and accompanied by desert wines." For the non-equestrians in the group, Maria offers a cooking school often attended by chefs who come just to learn the fine points of Umbrian cooking from a master. Malvarina, located in the small town of Capodacqua, is just a couple of miles from Assisi and 125 miles north of Rome, easily accessible by train or by car on the A-1 autostrada (limited access highway). As an adjunct to the equestrian vacation, this area in central Umbria is an ideal location from which to explore most of the province and into neighboring Tuscany. It is well worth taking an extra week with a rental car to visit Perugia, Gubbio, Spoleto, and lesser known, mostly undiscovered jewels for Americans such as Todi, Spello, Montefalco and Cortona (in Tuscany.) Each has its own character, its own personality and its own collection of treasures to be enjoyed. All are close enough from Assisi to explore comfortably by car as day trips.
To this day, the Basilica of St. Francis is a major tourist attraction. Though it suffered some damage during the September earthquake in 1997, and its Campanile is covered with repair scaffolding, the elaborate interiors remain totally accessible to visitors.� Displays of special interest in the lower basilica include an actual tattered and well-mended robe worn by the saint,� priceless frescoes attributed to Giotto, and the burial site of the saint himself.�
The best way to experience Assisi--and all the hill towns of Umbria--is to spend three to four hours walking its medieval streets,shopping in its many pocket-sized boutiques and craft stores, visiting its churches and museums to marvel at� the extraordinary works of art they all contain, having a quiet lunch in one of its many cafes and trattorias and watching the world go by just as so many others have done for so many centuries. If you want to experience this fascinating corner of Umbria, Italy with the unique perspective of seeing it from the saddle, the exclusive representative for Malvarina is: Cross Country International Equestrian Vacations; P. O. Box 1170; Millbrook, New York.� Cross Country also offers equestrian vacations in Ireland, England, Wales, Spain, France and in 1999 will be offering Costa Rica. The phone is (800) 828-8768 and the fax is (914) 677-6077. http://www.equestrianvacations.com/ PHOTO CREDITS: Rod Lopez-Fabrega & Mary Ashcraft |
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Flash, Generale, Lucifero, Axel, Silver snort and exhale clouds of smoky breath into the cold, clear morning air. They grunt as Mario and Ernesto cinch up each saddle's girth strap. Axel's metal bit clinks and rattles as he tongues it into a comfortable position in his sensitive mouth. Lucifero scuffs the sawdust floor of his stall with newly shod hooves, impatient to be off. Who are these steeds?
They are a kind of time machine: just a few of the spirited horses on whose backs you can ride through time to ancient Rome, through the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, to the present by visiting some of the splendid and historic hill towns of Umbria, north-central Italy's land-locked province. The histories of these living towns, many on sites occupied for more than two thousand years, is etched in their ancient stones, stunning houses of worship and collections of fine art.
Yet another excursion, this time in Claudio's van, is a visit to the Molino "Il Fattore" in the town of Foligno, where proprietor, Luigi Tega (a banker during business hours) presses local farmers' olives to produce some of Italy's finest extra virgin olive oil. Another stop may be a visit to the Villa Fidelia vineyards where fine Italian Merlot, Pinot Nero, Chardonnay and Grechetto wines are produced.� 
Assisi, an easy hike away from Malvarina, clings to the western slopes of Mount Subasio, covering a swath of mountainside like a crinkly spread of steep cobbled streets, impressive churches, campanile towers, ancient stone buildings and fortified enclosing walls. Looking down like a guardian angel is the Rocca Maggiore, a fortified castle positioned on a rock promontory high above the town. The castle is reached on horseback as one of the trail rides from Malvarina.
Assisi is best known, without doubt, as the 13th century home town of its favorite son, St. Francis. Born of wealthy parents, Francesco Bernardone led the life of a rich man's son until a lengthy illness and other traumatic events turned him to a saintly life of humility and service to the poor and the humble. He was canonized several years after his death in 1226, and the controlling faction in the Franciscan order of monks he had founded chose to erect a great cathedral in his memory. Good public relations for Assisi and a great attraction for pilgrims and tourists, but its splendor would have mortified Francis.
There are many other sites of interest in Assisi. The medieval center of Assisi and still the town center is the Piazza del Comune. There, the focal point is the Roman Temple of Minerva, now a portico of worn Corinthian columns, all that survives of the original temple and, since 1634, the main facade for the baroque church of San Fillipo Neri. 
