has been provided by the following.
- [Announcer] In the heart of Barolo lies Cantina Oddero Winery.
Today the 6th generation of the Oddero's continue the family tradition of producing wines from ancient vines in (speaking in foreign language).
Oddero wines, since 1878.
- [Announcer] Victor Rallo and Chef Dave Pasternack's Esca restaurant in New York City's theater district.
Serving contemporary Italian coastal cuisine, crudo, fresh fish, prime meats and pasta.
Dishes rooted in the simplicity of Italian flavors.
Esca, New York City.
(peaceful piano) - [Narrator] Alessandra Poli has spent her life traveling the world and sharing stories of her adventures as a TV producer.
Now she'll explore her homeland and offer a look at the Italy tourists don't see.
- Rome, the city where I was born, never stops to amaze me.
Art, culture, history, but most of all, its very passionate people.
Follow me on Passion Italy and I'll show you the real Italy.
- [Narrator] The real Italy?
It's a love for stunning landscapes, the creativity to capture colors in glass, the soul to give voice to a 500 year-old beat, the magic of a city designed from a fantasy, and hosting one of the world's most spectacular medieval festivals.
- Come with me to Umbria, the enticing region in Italy's center.
Home to culture, home to cuisine, and this week, home to Passion Italy.
(cheerful string music) - [Narrator] Our journey in Umbria will start in Trevi, then we'll stop in Foligno and Assisi.
Perugia is our next destination, Corciano our last.
All these are very easy to drive to and amazingly beautiful to behold.
There are plenty of places to stop and drink in Italy's natural beauty and phenomenal architecture.
Umbria doesn't need an introduction; everybody knows this captivating region at the heart of the boot.
A land whose rolling hills are dotted with castles and well preserved hill towns.
Without a doubt, Umbria is one of Italy's most enchanting regions.
In the words of Henry James, the American novelist, "It was the most beautiful garden in the world".
Trevi rises on the slopes of the Monteserrano, perched on a hill painted in olive trees.
This small town is included in the list of the most beautiful villages of Italy, owing to its cultural and artistic heritage.
Preserved here is a rare surviving example of a unique type of Renaissance organ, trim-to-wall organ, built over 600 years ago.
(organ music) Claudio Pinchi, following very old and creative family traditions, builds and restores organs.
His family comes from Felligno, a Roman town renowned for the art of making organs, which dates back to the late Middle Ages.
- [Claudio] My family started building organs in 1930.
Why I continue?
Just because its my passion.
For me, its a real way of life, its my way of thinking, its my way of praying, something that is absolutely in my heart.
I can't do anything else.
(organ music) You have an empty space and you start dreaming about what you can do inside this place and how you can fill this room with sound, not simple sounds, but something transcendent.
I want to help people pray better.
It's a way of transmitting something that is part of our heritage, I don't want it to get it lost.
(organ music) The very deepest part of the job is when you start to cut the first mouth, when you start to make the first nicking or scratch on a pipe, you are doing something that cannot be changed for the rest of the life of the instrument.
So it's something really, really difficult because you have to balance between two thousand to three thousand pipes, they have to be all together like in a chorus but everyone is also a soloist.
- [Narrator] We follow Claudio to Assisi, where he's about to complete the restoration of the organ in the church of San Vitale.
- [Claudio] Restoration work is exactly the opposite of being an organ builder.
Trying to understand the history, the intention of the builder, bringing back to life something that is almost dead.
You have to try to give the original sound, so restoration gives us the opportunity to learn every trick, every small detail can give you the key to a new sound for your new organ.
To become an organ builder is a long, long path that starts from the raw materials, from the raw lead and transform into the gold of music.
It's something that cannot be independent from what is in your soul.
Once you really feel that what your hand is doing match with your feelings, you can say I'm starting to be an organ builder.
When the organ is finished, and the organists start to play this particular piece of music you love is the moment you understand if you did the right job.
When the job is well done, normally I start crying.
It's the only thing that I can do.
(cheerful flute music) - [Narrator] The entire city of Assisi is a UNESCO world heritage site because of all the wonderful art and historically significant buildings.
From its Umbrean-Roman origins, to today it has remained loyal to its fame as a city sanctuary.
It's the birthplace of Francis, one of Catholicism's most venerated saints.
(trumpets fanfaring) (cheerful flute music) In contrast to its religious spirit, each May Assisi hosts one of the most fascinating festivals, dating back to its Pagan practices during the Middle Ages.
The Calendimaggio festival features lively and colorful parades, dances, music, and joyous rituals celebrating the return of Spring and the renewal of the life cycle.
(drums playing) (chanting) During the festival, Assisi is divided into two parts or teams; basically, 'parte di sopra' and 'parte di sotto'.
The upper and lower parts of the town playfully compete in games and dawn wonderful costumes that recall the wars of old times.
(people chanting) (cheerful music playing) The participation of the inhabitants is mesmerizing and when you're immersed in an entire city that's dressed up for the occasion, it's so easy to get caught up in the party.
It's simply incredible.
(crowd dies down) (crickets) Hidden in lush countryside about twenty miles from Perugia, you'll see in the distance architectural magic rising in stone and mortar: La Scarzuola.
It was built by the architect Tomaso Buzzi who wanted to give life to this ideal city as he termed it.
La Scarzuola is a proper tribute to his surrealist and visionary architecture.
Today, Buzzi's nephew, Marco Solari, is in charge of keeping this theater city alive.
(upbeat violin music) - [Narrator] With the wonderful imagery of Tomaso Buzzi's dream in mind, we arrive in Perugia.
Like so many other Umbrian cities, it was set high on a hill to prevent attacks.
Touring in this entire area is not only a study in beauty and cuisine, but its also a history lesson with so many tales to tell.
Perugia is a university town, small enough to maintain its friendly atmosphere and vibrant youthful feeling.
Most of its architectural treasures are enclosed in the historic city center, surrounded by both Etruscan and medieval walls you can visit.
Piazza Quattro Novembre is a hub, in its center lies the symbol of Perugia, Fontana Majore, the favorite meeting place for Perugians.
The medieval soul of this beautiful square is exemplified by the Gothic cathedral of San Lorenzo and the magnificent Palazzo dei Priori.
Perugia is Maddalena Forenzas' hometown.
She is a fourth generation of stained glass artists.
The art of glass painting reached its peak in twelfth century, but eventually falling out of style, it was progressively abandoned from the fifteenth century onwards.
In the mid-nineteenth century, Francesco Moretti, Maddalena's great grandfather, rediscovered this art and enriched it.
Today, Maddalena uses her ancestor techniques to make marvelous stained glass windows.
(cheerful piano music) - [Narrator] But Umbria is not only art and nature, it's certainly one of the best destinations for food and wine enthusiasts.
That's why Alessandra cannot end her journey without tasting one of the local specialties.
Now we're in Corciano, a small town just outside Perugia.
The original castrum was built in the Middle Ages.
A castrum is a fortress built on a hilltop with a concentric street system enclosed in walls, all providing a strong defense back in the day.
A relaxing bike ride through wheat fields and roads bordered by cypress pines takes Alessandra to Palazzo Rufini.
It's a small medieval village built around a place and its lookout tower dates back to the twelfth century.
Here Alessandra meets Enrico Rolfini, who's the chef in his agriturismo, which is a small hotel usually found on a farm or vineyard.
Enrico's a doctor, but his passion for cuisine and great food, as well as his culinary talent, led him to become a chef in his spare time at his own restaurant.
The menu's authentic and the ingredients are fresh and come straight from his vegetable garden.
(cheerful guitar music) - Our journey around Umbria ends up here but don't forget to join me on Passion Italy for more stories of passion.
(cheerful guitar music) - [Announcer] Funding for this series has been provided by the following.
- [Announcer] In the heart of Barolo lies Cantina Oddero Winery.
Today the 6th generation of the Oddero's continue the family tradition of producing wines from ancient vines in (speaking in foreign language).
Oddero wines, since 1878.
- [Announcer] Victor Rallo and Chef Dave Pasternack's Esca restaurant in New York City's theater district.
Serving contemporary Italian coastal cuisine, crudo, fresh fish, prime meats and pasta.
Dishes rooted in the simplicity of Italian flavors.
Esca, New York City.
(grand music)
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