The Englishwoman dines and listens to old favourites in Corinaldo at I Tigli

 

I have never eaten in a more beautiful place than this. Sitting on this open-air terrace built into the city walls, I feel as if it’s the most beautiful place to eat in the world.

The evening sky, harmonious architecture and mellow bricks combine to create a unique setting for an evening out.

The Tigli has had its ups and downs, since the new management took over about three years ago , so much so that I haven’t wanted to write about it, but it seems to be sorting itself out. There is a new kitchen brigade in place now. We had a pleasant straightforward meal here, nothing fancy but well up to the usual Italian standard .To my surprise there was no fish menu or vegetarian option, (quite unusual in Le Marche nowadays).
I had prosciutto con melone and nodino di vitello, (veal T-bone steak).In England I never bother with imported melon but in Italy in season it’s delicious with prosciutto. I have also in the past eaten some strange blackened lumps at the Tigli, which were listed as meat on the menu, but this was fine. The meat cookery has improved literally beyond recognition.

However, what I particularly enjoyed about the meal that evening was the live music. This is a recent innovation. The singer , Lucio, obligingly played and sang my requests for lovely cheesy old Italian favourites.

 

You could tell he was enjoying them, because he gave them lots of welly. I asked for “Arrivederci Roma”, which was in the air in Rome in the fifties, when I was a little girl, and “Sapore di Mare”, which for me sums up the Italian beach experience. I first heard it in Porto Potenza Piceno, when we were dancing under the stars (ballavamo sotto le stelle) over 20 years ago. Everything romantic happens under the stars in the summer heat of the Italian seaside.

There was no dancing at I Tigli that night, but it was a dreamlike evening. Lucio also played “O Sole Mio ” and a Gianni Morandi number. Heaven! (Just a note: In Bologna I saw the street name “G Morandi”. “Oh look”, said I to the Chelsea Fan, “they’ve named a street after Gianni Morandi.” He kindly pointed out that it was far more likely to be Giorgio Morandi, the Bolognese artist. Hmm … so much for posing as an art-lover. Maybe I should stick to Great Hits of the ’60s.)

You will have guessed that I like San Remo type hits. They are so much more authentically Italian than the Latin-American music which is popular over there now. I like to drift out into the sunset on a wave of sentiment.