 | Today, these small villages are coming back to life
particularly in summer, when the chestnut woods are
thick with new leaves and in the small fields a carpet
of summer flowers grows through long lush grass, as
every plant, bush and tree vies to make the most of
the short span of warmth from the sun. Summer is the
period of bounty which makes survival possible.
This is the background for the great local tradition of
the ‘grotto’ - a very simple rustic eating place set in
one of these remote valleys. The grotto started out as
a storehouse of summer produce - an early form of
refrigeration. The cheeses, wines and cured meats
needed to be kept cool in the summer months so many
families made small chambers in the cool granite of
the hillsides, often by icy streams. Today, they have
evolved into small rustic eating places which are
visited by those who live in the cities as well as the
locals, for a lunch or a long summer evening.... | |
