Sabina, terra di shopping goloso

Starting with the cheeses and dairy products from the Valle del Farfa Dairy, in Montopoli di Sabina, a town at the foothills of the Sabine Mountains, where for generations the milk from cows raised on the farm has been processed, producing the typical Sabine caciotta, low, soft, and delicately flavored; fragrant ricottas, caciocavallo, mozzarellas, and stracchino cheeses. Another point of reference is the Sabine Ecofarms, in nearby Poggio Mirteto, where fresh and semi-aged pecorino cheeses, flavored with herbs or chili pepper, can be found; primo sale ricottas, yogurt, and a specialty: Cacio Magno, a kind of Taleggio made with sheep’s milk. In Poggio San Lorenzo, lies the Capofarfa Farm, with the Agamennone family’s olive oil mill-museum, which has been producing oil since the 1600s, using the typical local cultivars: Frantoio, Leccino, Moraiolo, Raia, Pendolino. In addition to showing visitors the old pressing machines, the company also organizes pleasant and educational tastings. Oil calls for wine, and for a good glass of “Bacchus’ blood” DOC, one can head to Rocca Sinibalda with its imposing castle, where the Poggio Fenice estate produces Il Nibbio, a characterful red obtained from Sangiovese, Montepulciano, and Cesanese grapes, and a fresh Rigogolo, pure vinified Pinot Bianco. A visit to Greccio is worthwhile not only to see this picturesque village, where Saint Francis staged the first nativity scene in history, but also to taste the cold cuts from the Collemaggiore Farm, which from the meat of the black pig of the Reatini Mountains, raised in the wild, obtains excellent products, such as pancetta, guanciale, capocollo, very lean loin cuts, and a unique salume: bronzone, a savory ham heart, enclosed by a rim of lard, aged for 180 days.