The Annual Spaghetti Harvest

 

For hundreds of years, some of the world’s finest spaghetti has been grown

 and harvested in the remote foothills of the Dolomite Mountains in

the Italian Tirol. Located just five hours’ journey from the warm waters

of the Adriatic, the climate of the region---

a delicate combination of sunny days, light rains and gentle winds---

is perfect for the cultivation of spaghetti.

 

The hard-working Tirolian people are notoriously poor, but they are

renowned throughout Italy for their hospitality and good humor.

For them, the annual Spaghetti Harvest is more than just a livelihood, it is

a rich family tradition that links each generation to the last.

 

Every member of the family is proud to have a hand in the harvest. 

The tilling and planting, of course, are done by the men “primavera” (in

early Spring.)  Later, during the peak growing months of early summer,

the new vines are tended almost exclusively by the older children.

 

Then, as the vines become verdant and the new spaghetti begins to

appear in mid-July, the women of the villages take over. Tradition dictates

that the final gathering and harvesting be done as it has always been

done---by hand. If you should visit the foothills during harvest time, you will

see  the women making their way slowly up  and down the terraced rows,

stooping meticulously now and then to tuck another tuft of golden ripe spaghetti

into the soft chamois bag at their sides.

 

At night, the bulging bags of freshly-picked spaghetti are laid on the racks to dry.

Soon, the wonderful aroma of warm pasta, simmering meat sauce and garlic

bread will fill the evening air---and the joyous sounds of laughter and singing

will resonate from foothill to foothill all the way down to the valley below.

 

It is with the same joyous spirit that we welcome you now to Café Revo.

Our fondest hope is to bring you the wonderful flavors and

aromas of the Italian Tirol, including legendary pasta, polenta,

gnocci, krauti and risotto.

 

Equally important, we humbly offer you the same sense of hospitality

and good humor that have made the legend of these hard-working

harvesters so famous. For them, a steaming dish of home-made pasta is not

something to be endured, it is something to be savored and

cherished likelife itself.  Buon gusto!

 

---Sean and Sofia Goff,

Proprietors and hosts, Café Revò

Per star bèn bisogna tòr el mondo come ‘l ven.

To live well, you have to take the world as it comes