Village Life
When we moved to Blera, life slowed down overnight. Living in a traditional Italian village is a different lifestyle.
Going to the panificio for bread and a morning stop at a bar for coffee (bars are cafes here). Locals gather on their steps and in the piazzas where the slow life, la vita lenta, is on display. Sitting in the Italian sun and nursing an espresso and listening to the hum of locals. Watching a group of men press grapes for juice and getting offered a cup.
Living in an old village you can learn a bit more patience. The shops are closed in the afternoons from one to four. Instead of short attention span impulse shopping you trade a bit of convenience for quality; in food, in conversation and in shopping. We learned to plan our mornings around markets and bakeries and relaxed during siesta with the neighbors.
Slowing down you get to know who is who; the barista knows your order and you pick up a bit of Italian. Your macchiato might get interrupted by “Di dove sei?” (Where are you from), asked with curiosity, never with rudeness.
Time stands still. History isn’t just around the corner, it’s in your face, the roots of time go deep in Blera and somehow you find the time to sink into it, immerse yourself in the daily village life.
- Population: 3402
- Elevation: 270m
- Province: Viterbo
- Area: 92.92 km/2
- Postal Code: 01010
- Patron Saint/Day: san Vivenzio/11 December
Food & Drink
The town of Blera is situated in Central Italy in the region of Viterbo, historically named Tuscia an ancient Etruscan region that extends North to Tuscany and Umbria.
Among the flavors to be discovered are definitely extra virgin olive oil, Maremma meat, ossobuco and sweets of Blera. Hand-made fettuccine, breads, pastas & pizza,.
The volcanic bedrock has shaped a dramatic and fascinating landscape, characterized by tufa plateaus and deeply eroded ravines where rivers are still flowing. The dark roads evoke feelings of wonder at the ancient presence of the ”mysterious” Etruscans, who populated the landscape two thousand years ago.
The Etruscans were the party people of Italy; and they had every right to be! The rich soil of their land and perfect sunny temperatures close to the sea provided them with ideal cultivation conditions.
Orchards brim with a huge variety of delicious fruits and olives and fields covered with a thriving harvest of cereals and other vegetables meant that the Etruscans had a fantastic variety of food available to them to compliment their meat and fish dishes.
Some of the most popular Etruscan dishes passed down through the ages including a ricotta pasta dish called ‘Tortelloni ricotta’ or ‘Porchetta’ which is roast pig and an adaption of that called ‘Anatra in Porchetta’ which substitutes goose or duck for the pork. Some of the more staple Etruscan dishes that the visitor can still savour today are called ‘Pollo in Bianco’, which is a delicious creamy chicken dish served with a colourful array of seasonal vegetables, and Scottiglia, a zesty stew made with whatever meat is available along with other vegetables.
Another famous Etruscan dish which visitors are guaranteed to enjoy along with a tasty local wine is a perfectly cooked Roast Pork loin. It’s called ‘Arista’ because of the common description used to define its flavour when it was cooked and served to passing merchants and guests; ‘aristos’, meaning ‘magnificent’ or ‘splendid’.
Places to see
Blera isn’t one of those places you stumble upon. It isn’t on a transit or connection route. To reach it you have to venture off the fastest iteineraries that conenct Rome and Tuscany and Tuscia to take roads that cross woods and forests, that pass rivers and run along the hills.
This isn’t a classic tourist destination. The history here is often overgrown with a lush nature surrounding and hiding it, resisting the assaults of civilization and a well-trimmed verge. But history runs deep in Blera, the street our home is on, Pozzi, means “well” and while our property is over 300 years old, the cellars beneath are deep and ancient.
The history here may be off the beaten trail, but still preserves the rich and historical, agricultural and landscape heritage. It offers visitors a legacy of histories that go back to the middle ages and beyond. Blera was a significant Etruscan settlement in the vicinity of Tarquinii. It lay along the line of the Roman Via Clodia an ancient high road built by the Romans on an existing Etruscan route. It received Roman municipal status and was enrolled in the tribus Arnensis, one of the later rural tribes of Rome, which was established in 387 B.C.
The city flourished in the sixth and fifth centuries BCE. Many Etruscan settlements are still visible and can be visited, some in the close vicinity of the town while others are further away, many within easy reach for day trips.
