The Englishwoman buys lunch and swims in Corinaldo

Come and join us as we shop, relax and swim in Corinaldo.

Corinaldo Porta di Sotto, one of the town’s main gates

We usually go shopping for lunch and supper first before it gets too hot. That means you need to get into town at about 11.30 to give yourself time to go round all the shops before they shut.

What are we going to eat today? Well, we usually have a cold lunch, consisting of local foods: cured meat, cheese, salad and fruit, accompanied by the local wine and followed by coffee roasted in our province of Ancona.

Recommended by our caretaker’s wife.

For supper let’s say that this evening we are going to have fresh pasta with salad followed by fruit.

First stop the fresh pasta shop in Via Cimarelli- you have to buy fresh pasta the same day as you eat it.

You need to arrive in good time while there is still a good choice left.

Fresh pasta on display

Be careful when buying fresh pasta – as it expands a lot when you cook it, it’s not easy to judge how much you want. If, like us, you eat it as a main dish, you need to buy about twice as much as the shopkeeper recommends or explain that you are buying it as a “piatto principale”.

The fruttivendolo or greengrocer is in the same street as the pastificio. It is run by a charming and energetic young woman, helped by her mother. There used to be two ladies but one of them had to give up, because it was too much for her with her little boy. She sells local wine and cooked vegetable dishes – very good, we’ve tried them – as well as raw fruit and veg. Some of her suppliers are from the local area and she always takes trouble to choose produce that will be just what you want.

NB If you didn’t know already, choose a melon the way my mother taught me – by sniffing it. If it smells ripe, it is ripe. If it doesn’t smell at all, you need to ripen it. As for tomatoes, the Italians tend to buy them ripe for cooking and greenish for salad. I like my tomato salad very ripe, so I just ask for my tomatoes good and ripe (ben maturi). Although I like to buy local produce, Vesuvian tomatoes are the best, as you may already know, so if they are in stock I buy them. If you are thinking of doing a caprese, mozzarella and tomato salad, buy small ciliegini (cherry) tomatoes and use only mozzarella di bufala (buffalo), not local either and you’ll sometimes have to get it the supermarket, but never mind. Just get used to the guilt – I have.

About now it’s time for a break at a local caffè-bar. Follow the link for our favourite watering holes, the Caffè del Corso (they were serving lunch on Ferragosto, the big national holiday when everything closes), the Chiosco and the Osteria de Scuretto.

Osteria de Scuretto

I am pleased to say that the courtyard of the Hotel Giglio, ex–Augustinian convent and part of the new Albergo Diffuso, is open again as a caffè-bar.

Because of its pleasing proportions, like the courtyard of the Palazzo Ducale in Urbino, it is restful just to be there. But avoid the prosecco, which is better and cheaper elsewhere, and I would  recommend them to serve local produce, not crêpes.

Now it’s time to buy the cured meats. We like two shops; one is the Corinaldo Market, (open till 1.30 pm) now under new management but the food is still good and you get the same service. They also sell good, cheap local wine. The couple who own it used to run a similar, but smaller, general store within the walls near the church of Sta Maria Goretti. The shop is in a historic building with stucco decorations.

Corinaldo Market – general view of decorations.

Corinaldo Market – detail of decoration

The other shop, also open till 1.30 pm, is a few doors down. It’s a general store-cum-butcher and they cure their meat themselves, using only salt and pepper, as the Signora told me. They also vacuum-pack, but charge a few euros extra for doing so.

Local prosciutto.

There’s no need to buy Parma or San Daniele prosciutto (air-dried ham). Just ask for prosciutto vostrano, i.e. your local prosciutto, and you will have a good meal.

After all this shopping you might just be able to fit in a swim at the local pool (opens at 12 noon last time I looked) to give you an appetite for lunch.

Corinaldo swimming pool

Views from the pool.

Looking back towards town

Looking out over the countryside

Below is a typical lunch from local shops. The bresaola is served with rocket and parmesan. Salsiccia secca is a cured sausage that doesn’t need cooking.

Lunch with bresaola, salsiccia secca and local wine.

You might always decide to have lunch in Corinaldo. The go-to restaurant, I Tigli, is under new management, part of the Albergo Diffuso, and I can’t recommend it until things have settled down a bit.

I Tigli dining room as it used to be – courtesy of their website

I Tigli ex-dining room summer 2014

The locals say the food at Scuretto’s (closed Monday) is good and cheap, and we’ve seen people enjoying their lunch at the Caffè del Corso, or you could have a full lunch at Armoguasto’s if they are open.

Armoguasto’s Restaurant viewed from La Piaggia (the steps)

Lunch at the 9 Tarocchi doesn’t often seem to be on offer.

After all that you need a sleep to freshen you up for the evening in Corinaldo.