Casa Tuscia, Nepi. This is a real find. It prides itself on using local produce, used creatively…and it does offer a simply wonderful set of choices from traditional to fantasia.
The chef Maurizio Bianchini (www.oonly.com/download/nepi-jano–video-2.html – Cached) is originally from nearby Civitta Castellana and prides himself on offering locally grown and produced foods, oils and wines. The food is indeed delicious and offers a slow food like experience. To heighten the experience for us the chef arrived at the table after the meal to chat about his life and cooking experiences. He speaks English and Italian and as our group was a mix of Italians, Australians, Americans and Norwegians that worked very well indeed. The food was of course seasonal and most of us tried the tris of carciofi (artichokes cooked three different ways)
In addition this restaurant hosts many musical events throughout the year, especially jazz. Of Course we drank the local water that comes straight out of the ground at nepi and is a very lightly gassy water called, naturally, Acqua di Nepi (look for it in the green bottle). Nepi is famous for its delicious mineral water which is exported world wide. http://www.ristorantecasatuscia.it. We are clearly not the only ones who think this: * Michelin 2010 ….”una sorprendente cucina nazionale rivisitata con fantasia”
This restaurant is definitely worth a detour. Travelling from Rome north or from Viterbo to the south, it ia about a 40 minute drive. Take a walk around nepi while you are there.
Nepi is full of history. The year was 1499. Lucrezia Borgia, owner of the dukedom of Nepi, was given the keys to the village. Traditionally, this event represents the end of the Middle Ages and marks the passage to the Modern Ages. The Roman historian Livy called “Nepet” the key of Etruria in 386 BC, when it was surrendered to the Etruscans, and then reconquered by the Romans, making it a colony. Surrounded by thick city walls, the town is dominated by the Borgia Castle, a feudal manor. The The Cathedral of Assunta, built in the 12th Century over a pagan temple, and rebuilt in 1831 having been destroyed by fire during the Napoleonic wars, still houses an ancient crypt, which includes a primitive pagan altar, the sarcophagus of San Romanus by the Bernini School and a triptych with doors attributed to Paola Romano. The cemetery leads to the catacombs of Santa Savinilla, with almost a thousand tombs. Not to be missed: the church of San Tolomeo (started by Sangallo the Younger and left unfinished); and the Palazzo Comunale built in Vignolesco style, which now houses the Civic Museum with artifacts from the many necropolises near the city. * Guida ai Ristoranti de Il Sole 24 Ore …Casa Tuscia è ormai un punto di riferimento per tutti coloro che amano scoprire il valore dei prodotti del territorio, che qui vengono ampiamente impiegati ed esaltati da una cucina originale e molto attenta alla qualità.
* La Repubblica 2010… Nel viterbese, a mezz’ora di auto da Roma questo ristorante è una piacevolissima sorpresa all’entrata del paese conosciuto da molti per l’acqua di Nepi….
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