Ci spiace, ma questo articolo è disponibile soltanto in English.
Nel 2003 Rebecca ha iniziato a scrivere dei saggi per il sito Slow Travel, raccontando la sua esperienza di ragazza di città che dagli Stati Uiniti si è trasferita nella campagna umbra.
Le sue riflessioni sono riprodotte qui.
Umbria Slow:
Why has no-one warned me of the dangers of vipers before going on my long runs around Assisi? A handful of wild asparagus is certainly worth the danger, but a few more miles to the annual total? Probably not!
I can’t wait until I win the lottery and can visit any time of year, rather than just in the off-season! What I wouldn’t give to spend a year in Italy traveling around to the various festivals of food in season!
This made me laugh as yesterday, as per every Sunday in April, we have been out “hunting” aparagi in the lanes and woods around our village in Maremma and have even seen a viper (luckily still sleepy between two rocks). I freaked when we did (am English) but my spouse and my father-in law simply commenced an arguement as to whether it was or wasn’t a viper and proceeded to poke it to see its head a bit better in order to settle the debate…
The women and girls in or party simply sighed and moved on…
No gloves or boots, but wonderful frittata.
Next year I’ll buy the whole protective outfit and look completely out of place in the beautiful spring countryside in La Maremma, but will feel safer.
Donna
I am (stupidly) always picking asparagus without gloves … so far all went well (luckily).
Have made a small video on how to look for asparagus, get often asked by foreigners ow to find them:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7RZTo8vhyfE
I will consider wearing better protective clothing next time. The viper does look terribly scary!
The asparagus look wonderful…so thin and delicate and supple! Not at all like the hunky crunchy stalky things we get here! I’d battle a viper to experience such delicacies…I think! You go first and clear the way, I’m right there behind you!!
Indeed a few days ago we were picking asparagus and I felt my feet had gone under a twig. Then the twig moved away of its own accord. It felt quite rubbery on my toes. Most likely that was a water snake,they are more common than vipers. No other damage but I made very sure to look where I was going!
@George…unless you’ve been running through uncut fields or brush, you’re fine. I’ve lived here 17 years and have yet to run across anything more dangerous than you common grass snake. Which is just fine with me.
@Donna…you know, I’m conflicted about the whole viper thing. The folks around here generally operate under a “kill on sight” policy (apparently a side use of the common shovel is snake bopping), but that seems wrong. It’s not like they slither into our homes and swallow our babies…they only bother us if we bother them, and they’re just doing what snakes were programmed to do. I’ve never run across one, but I think I would just back up quietly and move away.
And then start screaming like a maniac.
@Willemijn…great video, thanks for posting the link! Since I’ve had such good luck, reptile-wise, all these years I admit I’ve become too cavalier about the gloves and boots thing, but I need to be more vigilant since now my young sons are avid “hunters” as well.
@Melissa…we planted asparagus in our vegetable garden this year for the first time and, as so often happens, I have discovered what the super-fresh-right-from-the-garden version of the supermarket vegetable tastes like. I am a born-again asparagus fan! (Plus, no vipers in the garden. So far.)
@Letizia…betcha didn’t know you could jump that high!
Dam, I thought no snakes in Italy!!! HATE HATE HATE THEM!! Love asparagus though :)
Beautiful snake! Is that your photo?
I grew up in central Africa, where snakes were a basic and ever-present part of the fauna. We walked barefoot everywhere, through thick brush and gardens and everything in between. We were taught to always watch the ground where you put your feet, and to make noise when walking. Generally speaking the snakes heard us long before we got there, and got themselves out of the way. And we usually didn’t kill them. The only kill-on-sight snakes were mambas and cobras. In 13 years I never was even close to being bitten although I saw many many snakes.
@Amy…no, not my photo (I think I would only have the sangfroid to snap a picture of a viper if there were a good 4 cm of bulletproof glass between us!)
@Rosanna…I was recently in Hawaii (Kauai) where there are no snakes–and a great climate. That said, the island is absolutely overrun with roosters, as they have no natural predators. Snakes may be freaky, but they don’t wake you at four am with their crowing.