spring

The Villa Napoléon-Treia

100 things to see in Le Marche
Who knew that Treia, 9.000 habitants, has one of the most beautifull villas Napoléon style...?
The villa La Quiete, also called Villa Spada or Villa Napoleon is just a dream if only one could renovate it one day.
Designed by the architect Giuseppe Valadier (1762– 1839, Italian architect and designer, urban planner and archeologist, a chief exponent of Neoclassicism in Italy) on order of Napoleon Bonaparte for one of his grand-admirals and brother-in-law Joachim-Napoleon Murat, the construction of the villa probably started around 1810 when Murat was king of Naples. After he got executed in Calabra in 1815, the Villa went to various owners like the riche and noble Spada family.
The house has been completly abandoned for 30 years now and needs a complete renovation.
However, the place is fantastic and full of charm and history...

May in Casa Olivi

wine cellar ready thanks to 2G Treia

New amenities in Casa Olivi, Vrai by Fragonard

A pure line of products that combine natural formulas, high quality ingredients and properties. Pure and natural ingredients enhanced by a fresh and sophisticated fragrance. The VRAI line comes in a clean white packaging, covered in a rubber fabric, giving it a surprising and comfortable soft touch feeling. A real, pure and simple product line that reflects the essence of an efficient, modern and authentic beauty treatment.

the pool is open

The best italian wine in 2010

100 things to taste in Le Marche

Azienda Oasi degli Angeli-Cupra Marittima-Le Marche
http://www.kurni.it/

96 points Robert Parker's Wine Advocate "The 2007 Kurni is simply fabulous. This rich, deeply-textured wine bursts onto the palate with masses of chocolate, mocha, blueberry and blackberry jam, spices, licorice and French oak. Totally seamless and opulent, the Kurni dazzles for its exceptional balance and phenomenal length."

The Marche has been ignored by generations of wine lovers as a region that only produces a simple white wine, in a fish-shaped bottled, called Verdicchio. Like so many forgotten Italian wine regions, however, the Marche is making a strong comeback, with many small producers emerging to make some excellent wines, both red and white.

Reds are leading the way with fine examples of montepulciano and sangiovese blends being produced in Rosso Conero and Rosso Piceno. In Rosso Piceno, Saladini Pilastri is producing some of the best values in Italy with single vineyard wines, Piediprato and Monteprandone, which are dominated by montepulciano. Sangiovese in Marche can be thin and sharp, but in blends dominated by the powerful montepulciano the tart Marche sangiovese brings a refreshing liveliness. Even in the much-maligned Verdicchio there are producers like Villa Bucci making extraordinary wines.

Oasi degli Angeli, located just outside of Cupra Marittima, is an estate that dates back three generations when the great-grandfather of Eleonora created a small farm in the Marche dedicated to the growing of grapes, olives, fruits trees, and vegetables. In the middle of the 1990's Eleonora and Marco, her companion in life and a winemaker, decided to dedicate the farm to the cultivation of wine grapes and to make an agriturismo (a small guest-house in the countryside) out of the family estate. They chose to call their wine Kurni, nickname of the family of Eleonora.
Kurni is produced from 100% montepulciano with the vines averaging over 35 years of age, grown at an altitude of 80 to 100 meters above sea level, with a sun-bathed southern exposure. The soils here are calcareous with clay and sand. Marco has cut yields to brutally low levels and as a result these vines yield grapes with concentrated and powerful flavors unrivaled in Marche or in any other montepulciano

Even Robert Parker comparing the Marche region with the great Amarone Veneto, says "If Romano Dal Forno was producing wine in the Marche, it would probably resemble this one."

casa olivi and the chocolate factory

MIV cioccolaterie-Casine di Ostra-Ancona
This chocolate factory is born from the passion for chocolate of two friends: Ivan Spadoni and Michele Pacinetti. Their outstanding peculiarity is the desire to offer their customers a strong taste, witness of a distinguished gastronomy such as that one of chocolate, which has been linked with the typical products of the region Le Marche, especially those belonging to their grandparents' tradition. Their purpose is to discover and reappraise those kind of combinations, leading you, through the pages of their catalogue, in a voyage rich in delightful and amusing surprises. That collection of deliciousness, which is fragrant with the scent of history and tradition, is the result of a strictly hand-crafted manufacturing process. After a careful selection of the raw materials and, of course, thanks to the creativity of those men who really love chocolate, the package of the products is made paying attention to all details. Those chocolates are for people who are able to appreciate those values, offering them original specialities, worthing of a new "veneration for the table".

Easter in Treia-The restaurant l'Enoteca Le Case 15mn from casa olivi

1 star michelin guide
Beside Francesca Giosue’, the owner, and Michele Biagiola, the chef, the staff - mainly made of young and highly professional people – seek to prepare the fish caught in the nearby Adriatic sea in combination with other ingredients, by maintaining and highlighting at the same time its original taste and flavours. Meat is the main dish of delicious and succulent menus, in which the chef likes to alternate different cooking methods and to explore unknown tastes. Besides, the menu based upon the fish caught in the lake and in the nearby Adriatic sea, the vegetarian menu and many other dishes prepared with home-grown ingredients offer new flavours for every palate and further opportunities to taste the local produce.

choose the color

visit a pasta factory with casa olivi

AZIENDA AGRICOLA MANCINI
There is a farm that produces pasta in the middle of a wheat field

Mancini farm makes pasta with the durum wheat sown and harvested in its own field.
The importance given to the raw material, the respect of the environment, the combination of innovation and tradition makes Mancini pasta really special.
In this brand new factory built on top of Monte San Pietrangeli hills, Massimo Mancini has developed a production process that enhances and preserves all durum wheat characteristics.

The Mancini farm has been a rural reality for more than 60 years, since the grandfather Mariano, besides cultivating wheat, was also involved in the activity of wheat threshing with the very old threshing machines which were moved by the first tractors available in the market.

At the end of the 70es,the father Giuseppe, enlarged the farm, passing from 20 to the actual 100 hectares.
For 10 years, since his degree in agriculture, Massimo, third generation, has been carrying on a selection of wheat variety as well as an improvement of cultivation technics with the aim to reach an excellent quality of the final product.

Since 2001 they have decided to transform themselves their wheat with the help of a "master pasta maker".

The whole production comes exclusively from the wheat cultivated in the farm, where Mancini follows a production disciplinary that respects the reduction parameters of environment impact. They normally cultivate two different kinds of durum wheat (Levante, San Carlo), that, once harvested, are mixed together.

The wheat is stored in a warehouse through a process of cold preservation, which allows them to stock the wheat without the need of chemical products improving both the healthiness and the taste of the final product.

The bran obtained from the grinding is then processed within very few days following the pasta making systems which respect the tradition faithfully. Bronze wire-drawing machines, that give the external surface of the pasta a very high level of porosity and roughness, are used. This allows a better sauce holding and cooking uniformity.


The recipe
Trenette al sugo di noci, Trenette with walnut sauce

Ingredienti:
350 gr di trenette Azienda Agricola Mancini
250 gr di ricotta fresca
3 cucchiai di panna (facoltativi)
60 gr di noci tritate
olio extravergine di oliva
aglio
sale
pepe

Preparazione
Fate cuocere la pasta in abbondante acqua salata, in questo caso le trenette Mancini mantengono la cottura alla perfezione e il loro sapore è inconfondibilmente ottimo. In un pentolino fate scaldare pochi cucchiai di olio con uno spicchio di aglio pestato per pochi minuti. Eliminate l'aglio e aggiungete la ricotta, che avrete fatto precedentemente sgocciolare, mescolando delicatamente. Tritate le noci e aggiungetele alla ricotta. Nel caso in cui il sughetto risultasse troppo denso aggiungete un paio di cucchiai di panna da cucina. Fate cuocere per pochi minuti, aggiustando di sale e pepe. Scolate la pasta lievemente al dente e fatela saltare velocemente in padella con il sugo. Servite ben calda con una spolverata di pepe e una tritata di noci.

casa olivi 1st April 2011

Le Marche, Italy, itineraries, and inspirational travel ideas with www.italytraveller.com

Delicate and sunny, like its hillside and beaches. Intimate like one of Leopardi's poems, poignantly seductive like a Rossini opera, unforgettably beautiful like the art of Raphael.

Ancient stone hill villages, renaissance cities, and old fashioned seaside resorts: Italy’s Marche is a region of rich and varied landscapes where to find sandy beaches, rocky precipices, rolling hills, mysterious caves, and immense nature reserves. 
Lying between the Appenines and the Adriatic, Marche is home to cities of great architectural and artistic value, the most famous of which is the hilltop Urbino, "ideal city" and renaissance art capital created by Federico da Montefeltro. Quietly vying for tourists’ attention, Ancona, Pesaro, Ascoli Piceno and Recanati, the city of the poet Giacomo Leopardi, are all more than worthy of visit as is the university town of Macerata, which boasts a magnificent open air arena where the Sferisterio Opera Festival is held.

private Chef in casa olivi

Thanks to our partner Le Marche Holiday, we can organise a very special dinner with a great italian chef, just for the guests of casa olivi...

Enrico Mazzaroni's menu

Antipasto:
Liquid sphere of parmesan cheese, resting on a bed of potatoes and Fresh Truffle
Salt cod with peppers and strawberries
white wine from Le Marche

Primo :
Tortellini with Truffles
wine from Le Marche

Secondo:
Lamb with Black Olives
Beef with blackberries dei Monti Sibillini
Red wine from Le Marche

Dolce :
Mozarella with Nutella

SARTARELLI, quando il verdicchio si fa grande

Donatella Sartarelli dirige avec passion le Domaine familial avec son mari Patrizio et possède de très vieilles vignes. Ce grand terroir argilo-sablonneux est situé à 350m d’altitude, sur les collines dominant Jesi et produit uniquement des vins blancs du cépage Verdicchio, harmonieux, ronds et frais, qui allient strucutre et finesse et en font une véritable gourmandise. L’un de ses vins a été sélectionné en 2005 pour participer à la finale (3 vins) du meilleur vin blanc d’Italie. Domaine de référence dans l'appellation

Dégustation
Le nez présente un profil bien mûr mais frais, sur la mirabelle, la poire William, l'amande douce et les fleurs blanches. L'attaque en bouche est ronde, et s'ouvre sur une structure suave de grande finesse. Elle se prolonge sur une longue finale marquée par une noble amertume, doublée d'une note aromatique évoquant la cire d'abeille. Belle persistance
Service
A déguster dans sa jeunesse
Accord Mets/Vin
- Apéritif - Tartare de thon à l'anis
Distinction
87/88 Robert Parker

2 new cookbooks available in casa olivi's kitchen

full of information for great holidays in Le Marche

march 20, macarons'day

Des macarons au capuccino à déguster avec un bon café, spécialement pour Casa Olivi...

Temps de cuisson : 12 minutes
INGREDIENTS
Pour les coques :
200 g de sucre semoule
200 g de poudre d'amandes
200 g de sucre glace
2 x 75 g de blancs d'oeufs à température ambiante
50 ml d'eau
Colorant bleu turquoise.
Pour la garniture :
375 g de chocolat au lait de couverture
300 g de crème liquide entière
15 g de café lyophilisé en poudre
PREPARATION
Préparation de la garniture (à réaliser avant les coques):
- Faire chauffer la crème liquide avec le café en poudre. Juste avant l'ébullition retirer du feu et ajouter le chocolat. Laisser fondre 1 à 2 minutes. Puis à l'aide d'un fouet, mélanger la préparation, jusqu'à l'obtention d'un mélange homogène.

- Mettre au frais pendant au moins 1 heure car le mélange devra être bien froid.
- Une fois le mélange bien froid, battre la ganache au fouet, jusqu'à obtenir une consistance mousseuse.
- Réserver au frais.

Préparation des coques:
- Mixer le sucre glace et la poudre d'amandes pour obtenir une poudre la plus fine possible et homogène. Tamiser éventuellement le mélange ( facultatif si le mélange a été bien mixé).
- Dans une casserole, mettre les 200 g de sucre semoule et les 50 ml d'eau. Faire chauffer le mélange eau sucre jusqu'à une température de 118°C.
- Pendant ce temps monter en neige, 75 g de blancs jusqu'à obtenir des blancs fermes. Mettre le colorant.
- Quand le sirop a atteint les 118°C, verser le sans attendre sur les blancs en neige, en battant à la vitesse minimale au départ afin d'éviter les projections de sirop brûlant.
- Quand le sirop est totalement versé, battre le mélange à la vitesse maximale, jusqu'à ce que le mélange soit tiède.
- Préchauffer le four à 160°C.
- Mélanger l'autre moitié des blancs au mélange poudre d'amandes sucre glace.
- Ajouter ensuite la meringue italienne (mélange blancs en neige-sirop ) en versant dans un premier temps 1/3 puis le reste au mélange sucre glace/blancs d'oeufs/poudre d'amande.
- Mélanger bien le tout en soulevant la masse et en raclant bien les bords et le fond jusqu'à ce que le mélange devienne brillant. Attention à ne pas trop mélanger pour ne pas trop liquéfier le mélange!
- Disposer la préparation dans une poche à douille. Préparer des feuilles de papier sulfurisé. Déposer des petits tas d'environ 3 cm de diamètre sur les feuilles de papier sulfurisé, préalablement disposées sur 3 plaques de cuisson.
- Mettre au four pour 12 min. (14 minutes voir 16 min dans mon four qui chauffe moins que la normale)
- A la sortie du four, laisser refroidir les macarons.

Montage :
- Garnir les macarons de mousse cappuccino à l'aide d'une poche à douille en prenant bien soin d'associer des coques de taille identique, c'est plus esthétique !!

casa with cypresses

 

Casa Olivi, experiencing the tradition and the modernity of Italy...

Casa Olivi is located in Treia, in the heart of the Marches, The New Tuscany. Its renovation took 4 years, conducted by 2 swiss architects Markus Wespi and Jerome de Meuron. The outside style has been preserved as the building is protected by the Italian Cultural and History Administration, but the inside has been entirely re-organised according to a luxurious, high comfortable and minimalist style.

The house offers 11 sleeps in 5 bedrooms, 4 in the house and 1 in the independent guest house. All bedrooms are en-suite with own bathroom and air conditioning.

Ground floor: double living with fireplace and TV, home theatre Loewe, professional dream kitchen in inox ArcLinea, dining room for 12 people, laundry room with washing machine and dryer, toilets, fitness room with runner and kinesis wall Technogym.


First floor: big entrance, 1 bedroom with 3 simple beds, closet and bathroom (shower), 1 bedroom with 2 simple beds, closet and bathroom (shower)
Second floor: 1 bedroom with king-size bed, closet and bathroom (shower), 1 bedroom with king-size bed, closet and bathroom (bath tube and shower), big office and closets.


Guest house: 1 bedroom with queen-size bed, closet and bathroom (shower), living room with panoramic views on the landscape until Monte Conero.

The Villa presents design furniture from italian, spanish and french designers (Vitra, Cassina, Gandia Blasco, Philippe Stark...), as well as furniture designed by wespi de meuron.
On the south part of the house, a big terrace in terracota with pergola, dining table for 12 people, outside inox kitchen with grill and teppanyaki (Japanese grill), amazing infinity pool 5x12m.
The house is in a panoramic position with a 360 degrees view on the landscape, 1 hectare of land with olive trees.
5 minutes from the city of Treia with a very good asphalt road, 20 minutes from Macerata and its open air opera festival in the summer, and 1 hour from Ancona airport, Casa Olivi offers an ideal position to visit The Marches, enjoy the adriatic coast as well as some beautiful cities in Umbria.

Outlet factories in Le Marche

It’s a well kept secret that a lot of the Italian quality leather goods are made in Le Marche region. In the last 30 years the region benefited from a quiet industrial revolution that didn’t displace the workers but went to them.
The result is that a lot of small industries are scattered through the territory and the workers added the income from the agriculture to the income from home based manufacturing.

The area of Macerata and Ascoli Piceno are sprinkled of leather related small business, outlets and markets.
The tenacious shoe seeker will find a splendid hunting ground in Tod’s or Prada factory outlets. Both brands offer elegant design, meticulous manufacture and unsurpassed comfort.
The outlets are close to each other in a recently open shopping mall devoted to shoes and bags.
The Tod’s outlet is located in Casette d’Ete in the vicinity of Civitanova Marche and Sant’Elpidio.
Take the exit Civitanova Marche from A14 then on the road to Macerata, take the exit Monte Cosaro. Before entering the village of casette d’Ete turn right at the big roundabout.

Just in front of Tod's is the new and huge Prada outlet for the joy of bargain hunters...

Fabio Trabocchi to open Fiola in spring 2011

As long expected (and hoped) by Washington food enthusiasts, Fabio Trabocchi last week announced he was leaving New York for Washington, where he plans to open Fiola in the former Le Paradou space in Penn Quarter. The acclaimed chef describes his new venture as "a more casual approach to what I was doing before at Maestro," the late ode to high-end Italian cuisine he presided over for six years at the Ritz-Carlton in Tysons Corner.

The menu at Fiola will change daily and will highlight the flavors of the Marches. Trabocchi is calling his ideas "gourmet but accessible." They are also a continuation of "the democratization of gastronomy" that he sees in the restaurant market.

A tall, soft-spoken native of Le Marche, a province of sea and mountains on the Adriatic side of central Italy, Mr. Trabocchi grew up on a farm and began cooking as a child. He eventually worked his way up to some top kitchens in Italy, including that of the Michelin-starred Gualtiero Marchesi. For much of his career he has worked in hotel restaurants abroad. While in London he attracted the attention of the Ritz-Carlton chain. He created Maestro in their Tysons Corner property to replace the more generic Dining Room.

“I’ve worked all over, but Le Marche is still my main influence,” he said. He roasts lamb in fresh hay as it is done there to give it an herbal smokiness. His menu includes lasagna Vincisgrassi, named, in a loose Italian transliteration, for an Austrian field marshal, Alfred Windischgrätz. It’s a local production number in which all the ingredients, including veal, are finely diced, not ground. In Le Marche, the dish calls for at least 12 layers of fresh pasta, but Mr. Trabocchi has simplified it a bit for Fiamma (and even more for home cooks, in the accompanying recipe).

les 2 tableaux en route pour casa olivi-new paintings from RMHeaulme