- [Narrator] Among the gently rolling hills and fields of northwestern Umbria, a plot of land unfolds.
It's the Gritti vineyard, part of a delectable family business.
- I'm Ursula Gritti.
These are my kids and we are olive oil and wine producer here in Umbria.
- [Narrator] While this part of Italy has a wine making tradition, it's not as well known for its olive oil, even though it produces some of the country's best.
- Umbria is one of the most recently discovered regions of Italy, so it's not a long time that people are speaking and knowing where Umbria is.
We came here in '94 and started the farming in '97.
- [Narrator] Ursula, originally from Germany, and her husband Carlo moved to Umbria from Venice when their children, Andrea and Pilar were small.
It was supposed to be a vacation home, but 8,000 olive trees and a sprawling vineyard later, they knew they were here to stay.
Ursula's husband, Carlo, passed away in 2006, Andrea and Pilar carry out their father's dream, happily doing work that's as relentless as the beauty of the Umbrian countryside.
(speaking in foreign language) Andrea manages the fields, while Pilar takes care of the business end, but she also helps with the harvest.
(speaking in foreign language) Today, the siblings hand pick bushels of olives.
They'll select only the best ones to crush into oil, prized for its slightly spicy flavor.
(speaking in foreign language) When Pilar and Andrea aren't working with olives, they make wine.
(speaking in foreign language) They're in business with a temperamental silent partner, mother nature.
- We never know what the season brings and so every year is different.
Every year has surprises and we live with every year hoping and not sleeping, every night very well because we keep the fingers crossed that everything goes well.
- [Narrator] In 2019, the siblings started their own line of organically grown wines, even sourcing their barrels from local farmers.
(speaking in foreign language) So far, they've enjoyed two good seasons.
Now, it's time to taste the results.
- I'm very proud of my kids.
Andrea is a hard worker, Pilar as well.
And so- (Ursula laughs) Let's start with the white wine, which is the Grechetto.
Color is nice.
It's quite intensive.
So.
Hmm, try, did you try?
- Yeah, it's very nice - Yeah?
- [Narrator] Though they're not native to this region, it's clear the Gritti family has found its place in the Umbrian sun.
(bright music) - In northern Umbria, bordering Tuscany, lies the little village of Pistrino di Citerna.
Dating back to medieval times, Citerna became the first Umbrian town to join the kingdom of Italy in 1860.
Life here is like stepping through a door to the past, literally.
(bright music) - My name is Giacomo Belli and with my brother, Gabriele, we are the owner of the enterprise, Porte Del Passato in Citta di Castello.
(machine whirs) - [Narrator] Excellent examples of Umbrian self-reliance and resilience, the Belli brothers restore and reproduce antique doors.
- Because my father started his work with the antique doors, and I was very young when he started the work, but I work with him.
He teach me, from the start to the end, each steps of this kind of work.
- [Narrator] Working with antique doors demands authentically antique wood, some as old as 400 years salvaged from demolished homes.
(machine whirs) For Giacomo's employee, Francesco, fashioning old floorboards into a door requires several steps.
Cleaning, shaping, (machine whirs) and fastening.
(bright music) (hammer clanking) The finished door is like a piece of fine, handcrafted furniture.
Over a hundred years or so, weather can take its toll on a door.
Giacomo gives a 17th century door, a little love.
- [Giacomo] On a rustic door, because we live in Umbria, we have the example of a lot of the antique doors of the Monastero Assisi (indistinctx) a lot of places you can follow the way they worked.
- [Narrator] Giacomo restores what he can and replaces what he can't.
- It's a pleasure to work on this kind of things.
For instance, when I work on the surface, clean the wood, give the wax, you feel that it's something different from the ordinary.
- [Narrator] He tries to avoid glue, which wasn't used by 17th century artisans.
- This is important because during the time the wood move, but this particular structure gives elasticity and so even if the door move, it doesn't break.
- [Narrator] The doors he works on have survived centuries and with his craftsmanship, they'll hopefully centuries more.
- When you work on these kind of things like these beautiful doors, you have to love it.
When you love it, you feel a special sensation work on it.
Yes, you feel responsible, but you feel also happy and happy to have the possibility to work on something that lived the past times, and maybe have something to teach to you.
And so when I work on these things, always I learn something.
(bright music)
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