An oasis of relaxation (and fine cuisine) hidden in the Tiber Valley countryside

It could truly be a corner of paradise, glowing with soft pastel colours at this time of year, nestled against the peperino stone bastions of the ancient village of Bassano in Teverina along the Tiber Valley, right at the border between Lazio and Umbria, and just minutes from the A1 between Orte and Attigliano. There’s a pool, though now it’s "just" a beautiful sight (given the season); there are olive trees all around, from which Alessandra Boselli, the resort’s owner, produces an excellent extra virgin olive oil; there are the impressive medieval walls and bastions; there are steps leading up to the village, ensuring the quiet is undisturbed by the noise of engines; and there’s a kitchen team that draws intriguing flavours from the vegetable garden and carefully selected local ingredients, crafting a growing menu focused on regional cuisine of high quality, done well and far from ordinary. The wine list also offers some gems, featuring selections from Tuscia, Sicily, and France – a list that’s evolving, yet still with very reasonable prices, especially for the French wines.

October, the perfect month for the countryside

October is the perfect month to soak in the intimate beauty of this countryside. It’s also the ideal time to taste the cuisine of Gianmarco Pallotta, a young chef from Soriano who has returned to the area after working for some time in Switzerland alongside his wife, Giada Bellofiore from Sicily, who now manages the dining room with Alessandra, the sovereign of this small kingdom. It’s hard to describe this little world, immersed in a space-time dimension that truly transports you away from the reality you were in just five minutes before descending into the valley at the foot of the rocky outcrops upon which Bassano is built. To welcome us, a small surprise: a mushroom and pumpkin consommé that immediately ushers us into the autumn season. A "welcome" we didn’t expect, and a happy blend of regional cuisine and a French-inspired tradition that has long been forgotten here, though recently revisited. Bold, clean, sharp flavours: an amuse-bouche that perfectly fulfils its role and instantly lifts our spirits.

mushroom and pumpkin consommé

New team, new Autumn menu

We’re curious about this new phase for the resort and eager to understand the spirit of the kitchen. Alessandra, despite her best efforts, had previously struggled to clearly define the offering here. But now, she too is excited by this new venture that started just a few months ago. We begin, and the Sicilian influence of the chef’s wife (who was also a cook and pastry chef, but now focuses on service) is immediately evident. A smoked amberjack tartare with pumpkin and capers arrives, followed shortly by a porcini mushroom panelle with hazelnut mayonnaise. Both dishes are convincing—simple, yet very well executed and full of character: in a word, delightful and fun. Other dishes we sampled were good but less exciting, perhaps because they were more familiar: a crispy egg with sheep ricotta fondue and raspberry jam, and boiled octopus with potato foam and parsley pesto. The latter, although quite a déjà vu dish, was still very good, with clear Sicilian influences.

Wild boar buttons in burnt onion broth

A bold cuisine, between Tuscia and Sicily

The dishes we try convince and delight us, urging us to continue exploring other options from the first courses on the menu. We won’t list them all—though they’re all worth trying!—but we’ll focus on two that, once again, are inspired by both Tuscia and Sicily. First, the wild boar buttons in burnt onion broth, an exquisite and non-traditional take on game that shows even the often-overdone wild boar can offer new emotions. The second dish is an homage to Giada’s homeland: spaghetti with smoked butter, sardines, and fennel, a recipe that skillfully blends elements of the Sicilian pasta con le sarde with Romanesque pane, burro e alici in a fresh and harmonious fusion.

Cardoncello mushrooms, pumpkin, and hazelnuts

Between meat and fish, the garden wins

Among the main courses, surprisingly, in this land of meat and game, it’s a vegetarian dish that wins us over: king oyster mushrooms with pumpkin and hazelnuts. Here, the pumpkin is cooked to perfection and presented in a way that’s entirely new for the area, where it’s usually baked or served in risotto or pasta. Its texture and flavour (not too sweet, leaning towards chestnut) pair beautifully with the king oyster mushroom, which is not as much of a solo player as porcini, and complements the hazelnuts with their delicate, vegetal sweetness. We also tried other dishes—from croaker to guinea fowl, from rabbit to pork—tasty and technically well-executed (in terms of cooking, cuts, sauces, and stocks), but perhaps still too "immersed" in the Swiss experience of the kitchen staff, which, along with Gianmarco Pallotta, includes Riccardo Riolo and Simone Santini, both also with backgrounds in Central European cuisine.

Indeed, it’s hard to eat well in this region beyond the traditional trattoria, which often doesn’t even fulfil its role in a land more known for ingredients than for recipes. Olivo restaurant is worth the trip. And if you want to treat yourself to a couple of days away, don’t hesitate: with the surrounding silence, the spa waiting for you, and the relaxing walks after long, restful sleeps, this is the perfect spot for a weekend recharge—or better yet, a gourmet weekend.

Olivo Country Resort - Bassano in Teverina (VT) - via di Pantanetta - 0761 407253 - @olivocountryclub - olivocountryclub.it