MAMMA PAPPA... Culinary delight the way it should be

There's a beautiful lake, Lago di Bolsena, in the province of Viterbo, Lazio Region, Italy.

It's the biggest of volcanic origin in Europe and the fifth biggest lake in Italy.

At he lake, there's a small town called Montefiascone, Etruscan origin here, glorious past as a summer residency for the Popes.

It's Easter Monday, lunch time, I'm with my family in Montefiascone; hunger and... desperately looking for a place to eat.

We find the tiny, slightly hidden Osteria Mamma Pappa. This place is  located in a 400 years old wine cellar, at the feet of the town's Rocca, Rocca dei Papi. The restaurant is a slow food member, guaranteeing that most of the products are from the area, fresh and - mostly - organic.

The welcoming ambience, the pleasant and  knowledgeable owner, Angelo, just give the feeling that the food will be sensational.

And so it was: ah! We started with 'la colazione del pellegrino', the pilgrim's breakfast, an Easter holiday special with hams, salamis, sweet and salty focaccias. Other unforgettable dishes were the fresh asparagus omelette, the fried artichokes and lamb, a special pasta carbonara prepared with a sauce of red wine and sausage.

The sausages were among the best I have ever eaten and everything was prepared and served with care and attention.

Some people were sharing a table; the atmosphere was festive and relaxed. We sat there for a long time, just enjoying the place, the friendly service, the attentive look of Angelo.

We had some local white wine, Est! Est! Est! The name has interesting origins. The legend says that a bishop on his way to Rome from Germany was very passionate about food and wine and every time he was travelling, he used to send his cup-bearer to the next village to explore what there was on offer. The cup-bearer was supposed to leave a sign on the door of the inns saying EST!,  Latin for "is", in the sense of "the good wine is here".

Apparently the wine was so good, that the cup-bearer wrote EST three times on the door of an inn in Montefiascone and once the bishop arrived, he decided to spend not only the night but to stay longer, falling in love not only with the wine, but also with the village and the scenery.

I could not agree more with the bishop, Johannes Defuk, who visited Montefiascone later on as well and died there in 1113, now resting in a local church: the village is really worth a visit.

 I would recommend even spending a couple of days there and visiting the enoteca located in the Rocca, or strolling at the romantic lake Bolsena. Plenty to see, excellent restaurant, just an hour away from Rome.