Mr Woodworm

The hidden junkyards of Umbria are not really a secret, but I always feel a kind of furtive excitement whenever I come across one, as if somehow I have outwitted the wily dealers at the antique markets and found their precious source.  My favourite is on a scrappy bit of farmland nearby, former barns and pig stys stand full of treasure whilst chickens peck amongst the remnants of a much harsher rural life. The owner is locally known by the nickname ‘il Tarlo’, the woodworm.

 It may look like an unkempt jumble of damp wood and rusting metal but if you have ‘the eye’ it is so much more.  ‘The eye’ is a term that causes much bickering between me and marito as each of us would be loathed to admit that the other one has ‘it’ if, indeed, either of us does. I suppose it simply means seeing potential in something that even Mr Woodworm would be hard pressed to understand, and even harder pressed to try to charge you much for.

 As marito points out a beautifully worn metal tabletop, I nod in agreement.  It is round and mottled with the oxide colours of rust like an August moon.  “That would look great on the wall” he says, I nod again, then he boasts (and I know it’s coming), “You see, I’ve got the eye!”

Of course he may think he has ‘the eye’, but not for long.  In one of the dimly lit, corrugated iron sheds, behind a pile of peeling white1960’s hospital doors I glimpse something interesting. We lug it out and, in the light, can see it’s an old red door, the pigment faded to a glorious rosy orange, its bolted together with metal straps and to me seems like the perfect find.  “That would make a fantastic table top”, I venture. Marito nods and, quick as a flash, I claim back ‘the eye’!  

It’s sad, I know, but we can play this game all day.

I love the junkyard; the old handmade tools, no longer useful, the ripped out shutters and broken ladders. 

I love the way that things can be salvaged, that they can evolve and a door can become a table and a table become a piece of art.

Sometimes, of course, it goes completely wrong and Il Tarlo has the last laugh. I imagine he thinks he's got 'the eye' too.

 
The best thing I ate today;

Pici
Once you have eaten pici, all other pasta seems to pale.  The thick, chewy, almost nutty strands of pasta rather like a superior kind of fat spaghetti can carry almost any sauce.   It is as good slicked with oil and  peperoncini as it is with something more robust. 

I think it may be a Tuscan/Umbrian thing but every local menu seems to boast a ‘pici al ragu’ or a 'pici all'anatra' or 'pici al pomodoro' and so on.   Traditionally it is made without the addition of egg and I’m sure the very best is hand rolled on the thigh of an ancient Italian Nonna, but luckily there are some surprisingly good varieties available in the local supermarket too!

Where to get it:
 At every restaurant in the region of Tuscany and Umbria, also available in most supermarkets and ‘alimentari’. Especially good, both fresh and dried, from COOP Castiglione del Lago.

Comments

[Megan in Liguria]

What a lovely and creative piece of art! You two have an "eye" I wish I had.

Amanda, I too am a pici fan!

[joe@italyville]

Fun... would love to go looking for treasure! Nice finds.. the eyes have it.;)

[stephanie]

oh to dig around those junkyards!!! and go eat Pici afterwards, this sounds like heaven!!

[Diana Baur]

I too like the rusty tabletop. And the door -- but I have a few of those so I find myself more drawn to the tabletop.

I love aging decadence. Maybe that's why I am feeling so good about myself these days :) :> :o

[Antonina]

I think its an intuition for some to see something other then what an item appears to be.I recall one year a store in our area was selling out, as it was disassembled I inquired as to whether the mirrored many paneled door was going to be thrown out. Long story short I got the door for free had my Boss the German drive it home for me and placed it at the back corner nook of my garden , so as if to give the impression it had much more depth, I had the 'eye' my husband who later came home asked while having a beer " what's with the door at the back of the yard" He has no eye to speak of it its all black or white.So I say to you when the two of you think alike MAGIC HAPPENS!I would love the Oval with some sort of wrought iron rusted wiggly tails out one side liken to a comet.
The door is brilliant as a table or coffee table. The history of the hands that may have laid upon it...Priceless

[casalba]

Love that table top. I'd also put it on the wall with a big iron or brass bosse in the centre.

[Vita Lenta nel Bel Paese]

Cara Amanda,

Lucky you to have "il Tarlo". He certainly has an eye. and so have you! We have a nextdoor carpenter. He has stored lovely antique doors, shutters etc. But there is Tarlo and tarlo....

I have vivid memories of live tarlo from our semiterreno guest apartment. It took the decorators two weeks to "decontaminate" the 16th ceilings. We had go for a holiday in Puglia, and keep the house aired well into the autumn. Now I try not to fall for old wooden objects. Your metal table top would be just fine. Bacione, Ingrid

[Judith in Umbria]

It is actually your area where pici reigns. Just this far away-- maybe 20 miles? it is much rarer, whereas you can get any day of the week near the lake.

Nice finds, so am I ever going to go see the Tarlo?

[maryann]

So, don't leave us hanging! Did you get the tabletop or the door that would make a great tabletop? I like the door. Like you, I go to barn sales here in upstate NY and find wonderful things. Old greenish/blue shutters (that I hang indoors on either side of a window), an old fireplace front which had so many layers of paint but which gave lots of character. I don't like to see things go to the dogs, but use them somehow. They have so much charm, these old things. The pici looks heavenly :)

[nyc/caribbean ragazza]

I agree...you both have "an eye".

I love this type of pasta and you are right it's perfect with thicker sauces. Yum!!!

[MsGourmet]

clearly you *both* have the gift of the eye!

[somepinkflowers]

well
i think you BOTH have 'the eye'

and
somebody over there
has GREEEEAT taste~buds,
too,

it looks like to me.

:-)

i would eat some of this--->
‘pici al ragu’
on a rusty looking table top
any day
with you guys over
there
in umbria....

any day....