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Ciao a tutti!
 Have you read Pat Eggleton's latest column about travelling from Britain to Sicily with her dog Simi? I did - and had a fat laugh. Eggleton was anxious to be reunited with Simi after the long aeroplane journey, but had to wait an extra twenty minutes while an airport clerk calculated the local tax she was supposed to pay (for dog import, presumably). Tax that amounted to the grand total of two euros.
Eggleton puts the experience down as her first lesson in Sicilian pazienza, but it is also a lesson in Italian bureaucracy. I had a similarly surreal experience in northern, 'efficient' Milan, where I had to queue up for what felt like hours to pay a minuscule 'ticket' (fee for medical treatment) only to be told by a hospital employee that I could not actually pay because my doctor had not given me a written statement requesting the treatment.
 I vainly tried to explain that I had already received the treatment, and just wanted to pay them. The clerk kindly but firmly refused my money: "No signora, you absolutely have to get the statement before you can pay." But hey, there was no urgency, I could come back tomorrow with the statement, or another day if tomorrow was inconvenient. Getting the money wasn't the issue - getting the right paperwork was.
Talking of paperwork, Eggleton's story had a rather funny epilogue, which I won't reveal for fear of spoiling it for you.Do have a read, you will laugh too.
 But then again, what's the odd spot of red tape compared with everything else you can enjoy in Italy? I drooled over Germaine Stafford's foodie guide to Umbria. The local cuisine revolves around aromatic truffles, golden olive oil and ruby red wines, with a sprinkling of prosciutto, pecorino and lentils thrown in for good measure. In her guide, Stafford reveals the best restaurants and cafés where you can sample the hearty Umbrian dishes - and the best places where you can learn how to cook them.
 For an instant cookery lesson, though, try restaurateur Angelo Troiani's bucatini all'amatriciana, a cornerstone dish from another central Italian region - Lazio. This flavoursome recipe has ancient roots. Originally from the town of Amatrice, near Rieti, it was at first made with guanciale (cured pork cheek) and plenty of local pecorino cheese. When tomato became popular in Italy in the late 18th century, it was added to the mix, and sugo all'amatriciana was born. Today, it is one of the most popular dishes in Roman cuisine, and one of the most widely interpreted (usually by replacing guanciale with the more common pancetta, a practice frowned upon by purists). Troiani's version is slightly unusual (among other things, it has a touch of balsamic vinegar in it) but it's a delicious new take on this traditional Roman staple. Well worth a try.
 And if food weren't enough to whet your appetite for Italy, there's always centuries old art. Or millennia old art. Roman archaeologists have just discovered what they think may be the lost palace of Sextus Tarquinius, son of the last King of Rome, L. Tarquinius Superbus, which was supposedly destroyed some 2,500 years ago. Excavating a site some twelve miles from Rome, they came across three rooms and fragments of a richly decorated roof, which bears the image of the Minotaur (a symbol of the Tarquinii). They are now planning to piece the roof together over the coming months. I can't wait for their work to be finished, so we can all get to admire this ancient masterpiece.
Buona settimana.
Carla Passino
Editor
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Borgo Belvederi is a magnificent and secluded ancient hamlet, nestled on top of a green hill about 2 miles from the city of Camerino, in Le Marche.
