This is my third post about Easter in about three days. It might sound excessive, but there is just so much to talk about. A Tuscan Maremman Easter is like nowhere else. Heck, I could write an ode to the Easter Sunday breakfast alone!
But the purpose of this post is a little less food related and a little more tradition focused. Yesterday was Pasquetta – the Italian name for Easter Monday.
For reasons that I am yet to understand, Good Friday is not a public holiday in Italy, but Easter Monday is. Don’t get me started on the ironies of this… the centre of Catholicism not commemorating Christ’s death… absurd even to a non-practising Catholic like myself.
But, let’s return to the topic at hand. Pasquetta is also known as Lunedi dell’Angelo. It’s thought to be linked to an old interpretation of Bible that marks the day after Easter as the day Jesus rose from the tomb. This auspicious day was bumped back to Sunday after it became clear the Book was referring to the Jewish Easter, which actually falls on a Saturday.
Scripture aside, I’m dedicating a post to Pasquetta because it’s unlike any other holiday I know. It has a careful spirit that urges wild pursuits and fresh air instead of good dinner plates and embarrassing family interrogations. If I was going to be absurdly creative, I guess you’d call Pasquetta the hipster cousin of the holiday season.
In the Maremma, you spend Pasquetta outside with your friends around a picnic basket. No one checks the weather. It doesn’t matter. Every Pasquetta is spent on a picnic. The day is relaxed, jovial and free from stress. It’s as if life suspends itself for 24 hours while you catch up with the people you love and appreciate your surroundings.
Luckily, this gorgeous corner of the Tuscan countryside has more than its far share of gorgeous picnic spots. Spring is a little late this year and the trees are still bare, but that won’t dampen anyone’s spirit.
I’m yet to pack my picnic basket, but I’ve drawn some inspiration from the people around me. Pasquettta fare is unfussy and homemade. A good slice of pecorino from the Caseificio di Manciano, a handful of slice of prosciutto, guanciale (a cured meat made from the pig’s cheek) and very thinly shaved lardo (fat cured with fennel seeds and pepper – sounds disgusting, but it’s actually heaven).
In the supporting role is a loaf of casereccio bread, maybe some olives, fresh fruit and a bottle of Morellino di Scansano red wine. Good honest Maremman fare, you get the picture.
If you’re in the Maremma this week, then I suggest make like the locals and pack you’re own picnic. Of course, it doesn’t have to be Pasquetta for you to picnic, so with that in mind, I thought I would share my top spots that are good enough for a picnic anytime of year.
Close to my home, there’s the Laghetto del Maggiolini park just outside of Manciano. It’s a beautiful spot with a small, but idyllic lake. If you’re anywhere near Grosseto, head to the Parco naturale dell’Uccellina, the Maremma’s foremost nature park.
Up in the Monte Amiata, I would go to the Parco Faunistico del Monte Amiata . While in the Monte Argentario coastline, you can’t really pass up any of the beaches between Orbetello and Porto Ercole or the Lago di Burano. And finally, if you’re anywhere in the Metalliferous Hills, make a bee line for the Lago dell’Accesa just outside of Massa Marittima
For more information about any of these spots, head to your nearest tourist information centre. Buona Pasquetta!