KEY POINTS:
We sit under the chestnut trees as Elena brings trays of purple figs and rose-coloured prosciutto to the tables, while 14-year-old Flavio, wrapped in a floral apron, grills egg-plant and zucchini, basting it with rosemary and olive oil.
Basilio, Elena's husband, whose family have owned Casa Mara farm for hundreds of years, begins his dissertation about olive oil. Basilio is to olive oil what a sommelier is to wine.
Elena appears with a saucepan and Flavio fills our bowls with yellow handmade tagliatelle through which a flavoursome tomato and basil sauce is mingled. Twenty Kiwis are on a two-week Italy in Depth tour seeking not just to enjoy the artistic treasures for which Italy is famous but to discover the country which produced them.
We wander around the farm which sits on the site of a first-century BC Roman villa and Basilio explains, leaning on a slab of rock, that it was once a stone altar for sacrifices to the deity of the harvest.
Someone asks why a helmet hangs in the cellar and Basilio unfolds a World War II story. Around this farmhouse raged a bitter battle when American and New Zealand infantry sought to dislodge a German unit from the town of Frascati where we are staying. Everyone's eyes fix on Basilio as he tells of the ferocity of the battle and we examine a bullet hole in the American helmet.
Our focus is soon back on Elena and roast pork, which she slices on to our plates as Flavio carries chargrilled vegetables to the table. The Frascati wine goes down a treat while we talk about the Pope's summer residence at Castelgandolfo and the Basilian Abbey at Grottaferrata which we'll visit tomorrow.
Flavio's 85-year-old grandmother, who baked the ciambelle biscuits we dunk into the sweet Cannellino wine, waves to us from an upstairs window.
This part of Lazio region is punctuated by gleaming lakes hidden in volcanic craters which have long been used for recreation. At the bottom of the crater lakes, the pleasure galleys of Emperor Caligula were discovered.
The hillsides around us are thickly wooded with chestnut trees and leafy oaks. Elevated Frascati, 25km southeast of Rome, was a popular weekend retreat for Empress Agrippina, mother of Nero, who built a sumptuous villa among these hills.
For those who, like the Empress, prefer to bed down away from the noise and frenzy of Rome, Frascati is appealing. Hotel Colonna, where we stay, is in the historic heart of Frascati and its Italianness becomes evident in the unwritten rules as we fall into step on the evening passeggiata, observing the social ritual.
Hundreds of smartly dressed Romans swell our numbers, but as darkness falls the chattering mass drifts towards the cliff overlooking Rome. For hundreds of years, Romans have come here at sunset, ordering a Frascati wine and stuffed roast pork; a ritual known as the Frasca.
At the Villa Giulia, a museum stuffed with treasures - magnificent gold jewellery, glorious sculptures, ancient paintings - we had the place to ourselves. There was no tourist clutter, either, at the tombs of Tarquinia in the Tuscan Maremma.
Windswept and unforgiving at the time of Etruscan habitation, this landscape has changed little in 2500 years. Yellow stubble left behind after the grain harvest, dun earth now fallow, paddocks blackened by fire, a patchwork overlooked by cypress pine and Mediterranean scrub.
But beneath this earth archaeologists have uncovered unbelievable
riches, which fill Italy's museums. Many questions about their origins have not been answered, and many answers are inconclusive, resulting in an animated discussion as we gather on the stone steps to the tombs.
Then it's on to Montefiascone, a cluster of piperino stone dwellings perched above Lake Bolsena, where we spend three nights in the Hotel Urbano, a restored Renaissance palace. So untouched by tourism is Montefiascone that we are the only visitors and are questioned as much about New Zealand as about our visit.
Picnicking on the shore of Lake Bolsena, we savour black olives, crusty bread, anchovies in pesto and salami, all delicious and as soporific as the sun and wine.
At nearby Orvieto, ceramics and lace are on the agenda for shoppers, followed by an exquisite lunch in a cave restaurant. But the highlight is 15 minutes alone in the Chapel of San Brizio dissecting and re-assembling the fresco story painted by the master Luca Signorelli in 1499.
Our next stopping place is Arezzo where we will witness the Joust of the Saracen, celebrating a famous battle in 1327, with a jousting tournament between young men representing the town's quarters. But tonight we are dinner guests in the contrada, or town quarter of Arezzo called Porta del Foro - "Gate to the Roman Forum" - where flags, heraldic banners and flaming torches surround the emblem of Porta del Foro.
The local president greets us, welcoming his loyal New Zealand supporters and introduces us to 500 members seated at trestle tables beneath the soaring walls who chant "Kiwi! Kiwi! Kiwi!" Our visits have brought Porta del Foro fortune in past jousts and the president is certain we'll bring another victory.
Bearing 2m wooden platforms with barrow handles at either end, groups of teenagers usher in antipasta of crostini with tomato, sausage and olive toppings.
Fifty young men encourage Enrico and Gabrielle, the quarter's two jousters, making them aware in no uncertain terms that the honour of all rests on their shoulders. Their lances will be rigid as they race across the piazza at break-neck speed in encumbering medieval pantaloons and doublets, to unseat the Saracen. We join in the dancing and singing, demolish plates of risotto with asparagus, and rigatoni with meat ragù, and at the end of the night an approving air of understanding permeates.
Much more than a tightly knit group of neighbourhood citizens, these people reach into the historic past and carry with them a love for their jousters stretching back centuries.
The night ends as the young men surround the jousters who chant, "We are not afraid to fail, but we believe in Victory." The supporters bellow out their response, "We are not afraid to fail, but we believe in you."
The tournament itself is an extraordinary spectacle. Hundreds of citizens in glorious medieval costumes, soldiers at arms, musicians with drums and trumpets, flag-wavers and jugglers and the breathtaking joust itself.
But we must continue our journey, on to Montalcino and its splendid Brunello wine, medieval Siena, the artisans of San Gimignano, Florence in all her richness and extraordinary Venice.
So much to see, but first the questions over a glass of Spumante. What happened in Florence, where did such artistic genius spring from, and why here?
Art here also includes food. Padova market has us salivating over aromatic cheese rounds, curious cuts of meat, finger-size and elbow length shiny purple eggplant, the scent of ripe raspberries contrasting with eastern spices in hessian bags, some of which we cannot identify.
Our hotel is in the walled village of Montagnana. Townspeople here live in tiny medieval houses built into the walls no more than 3m wide and three stories high.
Dinner is a treat at Hosteria San Benedetto. Chef Giovanni Rugolotto began preparing a goose four months ago. Stripping the meat from the bones and separating the fat, he left the flesh under salt for a week. Then he stuffed the meat into a glass vessel, sealed it with the fat and left it in a cellar for four months for the meat to cure. The goose, served with puree of peas, is nothing short of divine. Giovanni explains that the race of birds he cooks has roots in the traditions of the Grand Court of Padova and his restaurant is part of a conservation movement to protect the original cuisine of the region.
It is a taste of Italy that few get to enjoy.
Checklist
Further information
Isabella Dusi guides "Italy in depth" tours. There are still places on the 2007 tour which departs New Zealand on August 22.
Details from Travelworks, phone (09) 522 0330, email tours@travelworks.co.nz, or visit Italian journeys.
