In the land hosting St. Valentine’s relics, love inevitably becomes the pivot of all activities, and love inspires work in the Agape Oil Mill since Mrs. Agape Venturi and her husband bought the local olive oil mill. A name marking a fate: Agape has in fact a Greek origin and means “unselfish love”. Indeed, Agape is more than just a topquality oil mill, as is testified by many prizes it was awarded: it is a meeting point, where people cheerfully chat while waiting to taste the nectar after, shining green and typically smelling like just mowed grass, it flows out of the coupling. There is love also in the story of the creation of the “Pecorino cheese of lovers” produced by Cau & Spada, a farm specialized in the production of cheese, in a most ancient ditch found close to St. Valentine’s. Cau & Spada is a family-run firm and controls the whole production chain of its products. No cheese wheel tastes exactly like the others, because all depends from what flocks graze. The emerald green of pastures is the treasure of this place: to learn about the taste of cheese, one has to ask the flowers. Out of the many delicacies produced in the cheese factory, a special mention deserves “il Magnifico” (the Magnificent), a ripened cheese which is not “produced”: it is literally born, through a hand pressing during which the curd is cuddled until it acquires the right compactness. The same passion enlivens the Colleverde Farm, where the artisan beer “La Cotta” is produced.
“La Cotta” is the first Italian brewery using first quality raw material to produce a 100% biological beer. Reaching this goal was made possible by an activity joining craftmanship and the use of modern equipment as well as raw materials produced locally, including the barley malt and the spring water of mount Carpegna. The skilful process which from the first cooking stage (which originates the name of beer) leads to the final product, whether bottled or sold directly in the adjacent restaurant, enables us to taste one of the many varieties of Cotta beer while admiring a breath-taking landscape which, thanks to the purity of its air, water and ground, is especially fit for the production of honey. There are many specialised factories, including: Apicoltura Piemme, renowned because of its type of honey and of the national prizes it was awarded, Apicoltura Barone, Daniela Pagliardini’s Apicoltura Daniela and the biologic honey by Andrea Lilli Firm.
Sassocorvaro