Tucci in Italy (2025) s02e03 Episode Script
Le Marche
1
[classical music playing]
[Stanley Tucci] I'm at the top
of one of the most important monuments
in all of Italy
at the heart of one of
the most perfectly preserved cities.
That city is called Urbino.
It's in a region that you might
not yet have heard of
called Le Marche.
[dramatic classical music playing]
[bright music playing]
[waves lapping]
Le Marche is a region familiar to Italians
but far less known
to international tourists.
It sits quietly on the
east coast of central Italy
on a stunning portion of the Adriatic.
It's one of the most beautiful
and cultured regions
of the country, with the cuisine to match
that, even now,
is still ripe for discovery.
In the south of Le Marche,
there's a place known
for having an early
evening aperitivo culture
like no other called Ascoli Piceno.
[bell tolls]
It's early evening,
and the Ascolani are heading out
for their passeggiata,
or pre-dinner stroll.
It's a moment in the day to socialize,
to see and be seen.
And maybe sample an appetizer.
For 40 years, the Migliori family
have been selling stuffed olives,
here known as Olive Ascolane,
from the corner of the main piazza.
Okay, boss.
So, how are they made?
So, these are soft olives from Ascoli
that have always been in this area,
because it is an area
where there is no wind
so the olives become big,
soft and crunchy.
So I've seen how they're cut,
but I can't imagine doing it myself.
[Augusto] Yeah. It's easy,
it's easy. I will show.
It's like peeling an apple
but trying to stick
the most pulp to the peel.
The filling then
is made with pork and beef.
-50/50.
-[Stanley] Pork and beef.
And then you will grind it
and add some Parmesan cheese
-[Stanley] Uh-huh.
-a little bit of nutmeg
and a little bit of egg gold.
And then you get some of it
like a hazelnut, more or less.
You put inside, then you bend it
all over like that.
[Stanley] It's an elaborate process.
The stuffed and reconstructed olive
is breaded and then fried.
I've had this in a number of places,
but this is where it originated.
Yes, of course.
It is now more common to eat olives,
because 40 years ago,
my father invented
to sell them in the paper cone.
-Oh, he invented it.
-Yes.
Oh.
[Augusto] By this idea,
we turned it to street food.
Very smart. Yes.
Before that, we were
eating that only in the
[laughter]
[Augusto] We were eating that
only in the weddings
or big occasions.
-Oh, really?
-Because as you see,
-it's really difficult to make.
-Yes.
-It's a lot of hours involved.
-Yeah.
This work was done by the whole family
because one was pitting,
children broke the eggs--
and one's balls.
So, everyone
-[laughs]
-Yeah, that makes sense.
everyone used to do something
to get to the final product.
Then it was time to chit-chat.
So, it's good. It brings everybody
It brings everyone together.
[sizzling]
Tell me about this town.
Ascoli? It is so beautiful.
Luckily, you still live well here,
there are few tourists.
It is a very quiet town.
Sì.
There are not many tourists.
No. Luckily, no.
Do you want more tourists?
'Hit and Run' tourism, maybe
it's not good for the place
-Yeah.
-But, uh, we can have
cultural tourist.
[Stanley] Okay, I'm gonna try it.
[Augusto] Strictly with
Only with hands.
[Stanley] Okay, boss.
Whoa, yeah. Oh, that's really good.
Very meaty.
Like five of those is like a meal.
Delicious. Wow.
"Mordi e fuggi" or "hit and run"
is the kind of breakneck mass tourism
that residents of Venice and Florence
are fighting against.
But here in Le Marche,
there is no big city.
Just a scattering of charming towns
like this one.
Where the streets never get overcrowded.
Not even in high summer.
In another of the town's
beautiful Renaissance piazzas,
there's an illustrious bar
that, I've been told,
is about the best in Italy.
It's called Cafe Meletti.
♪♪
I'm heading into the cool of the interior
to meet manager Giovanni Colannino.
-Hi, buonasera.
-Buonasera.
[Stanley] Working alongside him
is bartender Ewa.
Nice to meet you, Giovanni.
Welcome to Cafe Meletti.
Grazie.
So
what shall we drink?
I would say, without any doubts,
to start with an Anisetta Meletti.
[Stanley] Anisetta is aniseed liquor.
This particular version
was invented here back in 1870
by a local fella called Silvio Meletti.
I'm serving it as tradition dictates,
with three coffee beans
which we call "the fly".
-The fly?
-Here you are.
-The flies.
-[Giovanni] Yes. The flies.
They do look like flies, yes, yes.
Obviously, when you come
across the fly, eat it.
So it changes all the fragrances,
the flavors of Anisetta.
Always three.
-Always three.
-Always odd.
But why?
It is a matter of good luck.
Three is the perfect number.
Oh, yeah.
-It is not so strong.
-No, no, no.
It is not too sweet either.
This is perfect.
And there is another version of
this Anisetta, which is the Dry.
Cheers.
Thank you.
Tough day, right?
-Sì. Sì.
-[laughter]
Well, I'm never getting out of here alive.
The dry is made with the same technique,
just far less sugar.
Oh, yeah. Yeah, but it's good.
-[Giovanni] Yeah?
-You get the sweetness
but definitely it's drier.
Ooh, you can make a martini with that.
Yeah, martini or spritz.
-Spritz?
-[Giovanni] Yeah.
[Stanley] After more than 150 years,
this Anisetta is still distilled
right here in town by the Meletti family.
The green anise that can be seen
painted in the fresco on the ceiling
is the crucial ingredient.
The anise grows here, in our area
Which is very different from star anise.
The seeds are far more delicate,
and for this reason,
Anisetta is an excellent product.
[Stanley] Having found
great success being the first
to commercialize this drink,
Silvio Meletti next set his sights
on creating the ideal location
in which to drink it.
-Is everything original?
-Everything is original.
This is original.
-The windows are original.
-But it seems a place of
How do you say that? Vienna.
Yes, very good.
-A coffee house.
-It is a Liberty.
It is a Liberty style.
[Stanley] Liberty style is Italy's version
of art nouveau.
A response to industrialization,
it had the aim of taking everyday objects
and elevating them into works of art.
It's a theatrical stage that represents
our town in such a wonderful square.
It's so beautiful.
It is so beautiful.
It is an honor to work here.
Thank you.
How nice.
-We can make a toast.
-A toast.
-Cheers. [laughs]
-Cheers.
-Do you feel better now?
-I feel much better.
-[laughs] Me too.
-Much better. Yeah, yeah.
♪♪
[Stanley] In Ascoli Piceno,
life is beautiful,
and that's official.
It recently made the top ten
in a national survey
of the best places to live in Italy.
But frankly, in this region,
the competition is pretty fierce.
There are many remarkable towns,
including one
where high art and pasta meet.
♪♪
[mellow classical music playing]
[Stanley] The landscape
of Le Marche's interior
is a patchwork of rolling hills.
Until as late as the 1960s,
it was divided into small pockets,
each farmed by a peasant family
but owned by a noble family.
That's the backdrop in Macerata.
A landlocked town
in the heart of the region.
♪♪
While the peasants worked,
the noble landowners played,
spending money on culture
and on buildings
such as this Sferisterium,
where I'm meeting restaurateur
Letizia Carducci.
It's the seat of Macerata's
internationally renowned opera festival,
and preparations for tonight's
performance are in full swing.
It's very important for opera lovers
because here you have singing and
music with no amplification,
and that's quite rare.
[Stanley] It's a city
that obviously loves culture.
La cultura.
culture is very important here.
Those who have lived here
have always cared for the region
but also for their own passions.
It's the land of theaters,
with more than 100 theaters.
I didn't know that. Why is that?
Because the noble families
would spend their resources
on culture too
and this has been a constant over time.
I am an actor so for me
it's really important.
It is important because all these
theatres are still running today.
Nature and culture.
Sì. Sì.
Because the countryside
is really beautiful.
It's a work of art.
Natural.
-[alarm blares]
-[Letizia gasps]
Oh, time's up.
Alright, shall we go
-to your restaurant?
-Okay.
♪♪
[Stanley] Along with the arts,
the noble families of Macerata
spent their money on good food.
Most wealthy homes had a chef,
one of whom, Antonio Nebbia,
published a cookbook back in 1779.
So the cuisine was of a good standard.
In fact we have this recipe book,
"Il Cuoco Maceratese".
One of its most important dishes is
this famous dish called Princisgras
which means 'fat prince'.
Rich in fat and aromas,
with prosciutto and truffle.
Everything.
♪♪
[Stanley] Princisgras was
a decadent layered pasta dish,
made with the truffles and meats
only the noble households could afford.
Today at Osteria dei Fiori,
Letizia's restaurant,
we are about to lunch
on vincisgrassi,
an evolution of the original dish.
So, vincisgrassi
but it was Princis, why did it change?
Because something happened.
From the homes of the rich,
people tried to reproduce
this recipe at home
with ingredients they had.
Ah.
Here we go. Oh, my God.
We need to try it. Shall we?
[Stanley] Vincisgrassi may look familiar,
but don't call it lasagna.
What sets it apart is
the number of layers of pasta,
at least seven, made fresh
and enriched with sweet wine.
Then there's the ragu,
which is a complex affair.
The flavor has a lot of depth.
What type of meat is in it?
We use what we call farmyard animals.
Because in the countryside,
the peasants kept all the animals
necessary to feed the family.
So there is chicken, rabbit, duck
these three are fundamental.
-Rabbit?
-Rabbit too.
With their bones,
chicken offal, liver and stomach.
And this gives the sauce
a very different flavor.
So it seems like a poor recipe, but it
requires a lot of time and a lot of care.
The sauce has to cook
for at least eight hours.
It's really
Do you like it?
Yeah, yeah.
This version we are eating now
is 100 years old.
[Stanley] Two years ago,
Letizia and her siblings
were part of a group that won this dish
an STG designation.
Which means it's a very
special, traditional recipe,
to be preserved at all costs.
If someone wants to make
Macerata's Vincisgrassi,
they have to make it like this.
We are very proud about this.
This dish tells the story
of the territory,
it tells the story of our peasants
who created the landscape that we see.
Sì.
This dish from this restaurant
made the cut
in a high-profile list
of the 25 essential pasta dishes
to eat in Italy.
Not sure if you know,
but the New York Times chose our dish.
-I heard, I heard.
-Incredible.
I never believed the
New York Times but now I do.
It's so good.
I've eaten it all.
[Letizia] Me too.
[Stanley] There's a focus on appreciating
and preserving good things
here in Le Marche.
Whether that be a theater or a recipe.
That same care is extended
to the natural world,
notably the coastline and seas,
which are abundant
with exceptional produce.
♪♪
[Stanley] There's a cluster
of limestone cliffs
and coves at the midpoint
of Le Marche's seaboard,
called the Conero Riviera.
[waves lapping]
♪♪
The waters here are category A,
which means they're very clean.
And home to a very local delicacy,
wild mussels known as moscioli.
Moscioli are among
the rarest of shellfish.
They only grow during the summer months
and only on a roughly
12-mile stretch of coast.
They have to be harvested by hand,
each one collected by a diver submerged
with just a rudimentary breathing hose.
♪♪
Chef Lorenzo Focante
is waiting for today's catch.
-Lorenzo.
-Buongiorno.
Hi. [speaking Italian]
-How are you doing?
-Good, good.
Those mussels, are they
different from the others?
These mussels every day
they have a different flavor.
[Stanley] Ah, sì.
More or less salty,
it depends on the currents.
[Stanley] Massimo Mengarelli
has likely collected more moscioli
than any man alive.
-There are so many.
-Yes, yes.
300 kg per boat more or less.
Only this morning?
Yes, those are from this morning only.
[Stanley] Wow.
Massimo, how many did you get today?
It went well, it went well.
Smell.
Yeah, yeah.
The sea, the sea.
Yeah, beautiful.
Are you tired now?
No.
We're there every day.
Every day?
For how many years?
-50?
I started to work under water
when I was 14 years old.
We're chilled, so we preserve well.
[laughter]
Thank you. Thank you.
Thank you.
-I'll take this one.
-Oh, yeah.
-[Stanley] Ciao.
-[Massimo] Grazie.
[Stanley] Lorenzo works at
a restaurant called Da Emilia,
located right on the beach,
adjacent to where
the moscioli come ashore.
I'm having lunch with Federica Rubini.
-Hi, Federica.
-Hey, good morning.
Hi.
She's the granddaughter of Emilia
who started this place and came up
with a now iconic dish.
Spaghettini con i moscioli.
♪♪
Firstly, the mollusks are slightly steamed
then carefully shelled.
This is a famous sauce now,
that my grandma invented.
A fisherman brought her some mussels
and said to her, "Madam, can you
cook those mussels for me?"
"Can you make some pasta?"
[Stanley] In 1950, seafood wasn't a part
of the Marchigiani diet.
Emilia applied her knowledge
of making meat-based ragu
to the wild mussels.
So she started with that, and it's
been a success -- it's been fantastic.
They didn't eat them before?
-No.
-Why not?
The fish was seen as something poor, okay?
It was seen
as something with little value.
What had value in the '50s
and '60s was meat.
I learned it from Federica's mum,
who learned it from the grandmother.
The way she did it, I do it.
Same way.
[Stanley] The recipe remains
exactly as it always has been.
Even the tomato paste
is the same brand Emilia used.
You can eat it like that.
Like ketchup.
[laughter]
Yeah. It's Italian ketchup, right?
Yeah.
It's very strong. [laughs]
You need some water?
I need [clears throat] I need
I need a, I need a martini.
[laughing] Oh, my God.
Oh, my God. That's really strong.
-That's really delicious though.
-Yes.
And there's no garlic, only
Absolutely not.
Garlic is forbidden.
Only onion.
Only onion.
Because my grandma used to say
that garlic is so strong
that it hides the real taste,
the delicacy of the fish, of the mollusk.
Now, how long
Now, it will boil for 5 minutes,
and the sauce
5 minutes and it's ready.
-Simple.
-Yes.
-[Federica] Yes, very easy.
-[Stanley] Okay.
And then we're gonna go eat.
-Yeah, of course.
-You and me.
-Yeah, come on.
-Alright, let's go.
Thank you, Lorenzo.
Grazie, Lorenzo.
See you later.
Thank you.
♪♪
-Oh, grazie.
-Oh, here it is!
-Grazie.
-[Federica] Wow.
Do I have to eat it?
Oh, my God.
Oh, I'm very excited.
It's good.
-It's not too tomatoey.
-[Federica] Yeah.
This is really delicate.
Because you have so much with the broth
-and the mussels and everything.
-[Federica] Yes.
Yeah, it's really amazing.
I believe my grandma was a pioneer.
After the war, there were
many single women in town.
Many men had been injured,
or had been killed during the war.
So she said to the other women,
"Let's bring some food
to this marvelous place."
[bright music playing]
And she started to cook.
She suggested to the other women,
"You too should open a little restaurant."
"You too should open a small bar."
Ah, sì.
And they rolled up their sleeves,
as we say.
For my grandma,
life was cooking for others.
To her, profiting wasn't important.
My grandma passed this on to my mother
and I breathed it all in.
[Stanley] Sì.
I don't want to calculate, to profit.
I want to make people happy.
Because people are happy when they eat.
Food is happiness, don't you think?
Yes.
It's one of the most beautiful moments
we can enjoy now.
♪♪
[Stanley] Emilia did things
on her own terms,
and this dish is a masterclass
in simplicity.
But further along the coast,
there's a restaurant with
a rather different approach.
[waves crashing]
[peppy music playing]
[Stanley]
Senigallia could be the backdrop
for a Fellini film.
It's situated up towards the north
of Le Marche's Adriatic shore.
In the summer, it's full of life.
A seaside playground
packed with beach bars.
One of them is called Uliassi.
Which, unlike its neighbors,
has three Michelin stars.
With 38 staff prepping for lunch service,
the kitchen is a little hectic.
So I'm talking to the owners,
brother and sister
Mauro and Catia Uliassi, out on the deck.
What was the beginning of this place?
We opened in 1990.
And it was a small hut,
a hut that was kept up
with plaster and paint.
To make it look good,
we painted it once a week.
Because it was really horrible.
It was really a place
-It was much smaller
-It was much smaller, yes.
And year after year, we managed to
invest the money we had made.
We worked a lot,
we served about 200 people per day.
After 3 years we could
have bought a Porsche--
a Porsche for me, a Porsche for her.
Instead we chose to invest
everything in the business
which slowly became bigger.
[Stanley] Their principal investment
is their test kitchen,
known as The Lab.
In the off-season, they close
the restaurant to diners.
They spend weeks experimenting,
dreaming up a completely
new slate of dishes
for the following year.
In 2004, we received
our first Michelin star,
in 2008 the second.
-In 2018
-In 2018, the third one.
We are more illuminated see, we're more
[laughter]
[Stanley] Mauro is preparing something
that is never off the menu.
His unique take on a classic,
inspired by this coastal location.
This is called "Osso Buco mariner-style".
Because it's a mix of land and sea.
But it really represents the culture
of the Adriatic Coast's locals.
[Stanley] Osso buco is
a cross cut of veal shank.
The bone marrow is
the dish's defining feature.
They're calf bones,
that are cooked in a broth of clam water.
That's the tripe
Codfish tripe?
That's codfish tripe,
exactly, codfish tripe.
[Stanley] The clam and veal bone broth
is then used to cook the cod tripe.
The tripe starts to release its collagen,
and something like this comes out.
-Very gluey.
-Yes.
And the idea started from the fact that
that the collagen of the Osso Buco
is very similar to the collagen
of the codfish tripe.
That's been the association of ideas
that allowed us to create this dish.
And then we plate the dish.
We add this tripe here.
[Stanley] The dish is topped with parsley,
basil, and celery seeds.
That's some lemon extract.
[Stanley] And finally,
a punchy distillation,
which is the result
of experiments in The Lab.
Oh, wow.
It's lemon, pure lemon.
Then, we take the sliced veal shank,
and the tripe.
And that's it.
It's a dish much loved
by people all over the world.
-May I try?
-Yes.
-[Catia] Prego.
-[Stanley] Grazie.
Mm, mm, mm, mm.
That's my breakfast.
Oh, wow.
That's ama
-That's incredible.
-Yeah.
Different kind of a flavor,
a smell, different--
It's very complex.
Mm. Wow.
Good? Do you like it?
Mm, mm, mm. Mmm.
And I have to say that cooking,
and having the people for whom
you've cooked in front of you,
looking at you seduced,
-totally in love with you
-Bewitched.
is something that
that makes you very happy.
I live in London.
Do you want to open
a restaurant in London?
Next to my house, please.
Yes. No.
This one is enough.
This one is already very complicated.
Yes, yes.
From shabby beach bar
to one of the world's
top 50 restaurants.
It's an extraordinary story.
There's a quiet excellence here.
Working hard towards perfection
without courting publicity.
It's a spirit reflected in
the region's other food businesses.
[birds chirping]
[bell tolls]
[Stanley] Back south along the coast,
Campofilone has the hallmarks
of many Marchigiani towns.
[classical music playing]
It's beautifully preserved.
And set in rolling hills
with a sea breeze.
All that and it gives its name
to a very fine pasta
that they've been making here
for at least 600 years,
called Maccheroncini di Campofilone.
Shall we start?
[Stanley] Sì.
There are just two ingredients --
00 flour
[Stanley] Vincenzo's father was the first
to sell this pasta commercially.
He and his wife Paola are demonstrating
how it's always been made,
with a recipe that's been passed down
through the generations.
And then we add these organic eggs
from free-range hens.
A denser white and a thicker yolk.
[Stanley] Sì.
We need 10 eggs per kilo of flour.
-10
-10 eggs per kilo of flour.
Whoa.
The only liquid used to make
this pasta is eggs.
Although this may seem luxurious,
it was originally a poor food,
a way of making protein go further.
I didn't tell you the third ingredient.
There's a third one?
Experience.
You can't buy that at the supermarket.
Sì. Sì. It's true. That's true.
You can't just learn it,
you have to feel it.
Yeah.
Now let's break them.
You see how I do it little
by little so it stays in there.
I learned as time went on.
So your mum did this?
My father sold sausages,
prosciutto and so on,
and he'd get my mum to make
a kilo of Maccheroncini.
He'd take it to Rome as a gift
wherever he stayed.
Ah, sì.
Then his friends said, "Nello
why don't you bring me three packets
of Maccheroncini next time?"
So they paid for it.
That's when my dad started to think
that it could be a business.
Then in 1960, he opened
the first small workshop
and the rest is history.
So from 1973,
the second generation took over,
and I began to innovate.
[pleasant upbeat music playing]
[Stanley] When Vincenzo
took over from his father,
he grew the business,
opening the factory next door,
where they replicate the original recipe.
Much of the process is done by hand,
from cracking 7,000 eggs daily
to carefully packaging the delicate pasta
to prevent tangling.
This was a "poor" product --
the women of the town realized that
you could get more out of thin pasta.
A kilo of tagliatelle
would feed seven or eight people
but a kilo of Maccheroncini
could feed 12 people,
because they're so fine
they absorb the sauce from all four sides.
-The sauce.
-It's the sauce.
It must be quite liquid.
Otherwise, the Maccheroncini
won't absorb it.
Ah, sì.
[Vincenzo] Okay.
Why are you doing it on the
on the board?
We put it on the board because
It's like polenta.
Yes, polenta, yes.
[Stanley] Any excess liquid
not absorbed by the pasta,
is soaked up by the wooden board.
That's key to achieving
a perfect consistency.
Vincenzo's son, Marco, now helps
run things with his brother and father.
Hi.
How are you?
[Stanley] And business is booming,
not just in Italy
but all over the world.
Stanley, he wants us out the way.
-What?
-The third generation.
-Really?
-[exclaims]
[laughter]
Parmesan cheese.
Some Pecorino cheese.
I have to do this with my little ones.
-Your children?
-Children, yes.
They would love it.
-It's like an art project.
-Yes?
Another little bit of Pecorino cheese.
Time to eat.
Let's go.
[Stanley] When the former Pope
visited Le Marche in 2004,
he was served Spinosi pasta for lunch.
[speaking Italian]
So this is as close to holiness
as I'll ever get.
-Salute!
-[glasses clink]
Stanley
Shall we try these Maccheroncini?
Finally, yes.
It's about time.
♪♪
For you, Stanley.
Thank you very much. Grazie.
Does it need some more Pecorino?
No.
I mean, that is delicious.
I just love how thin that pasta is,
how delicate that pasta is.
The cooking time is only one minute.
We are the unique company
that uses fresh eggs.
I love Le Marche.
It's different.
Le Marche is different
because Spinosi is here.
I knew there was something.
-Something strange.
-Yes.
[laughter]
Strange but delicious.
It is delicious, right?
Thanks, Stanley.
[Stanley] Lunch with
the Spinosi family is a joy.
That same passion for food
is unexpectedly also evident
at my final stop.
[classical music playing]
[Stanley] Churches, shrines,
and other religious buildings
are scattered all throughout Le Marche.
They are a legacy of
the centuries during which
the region was a papal state,
governed by the church.
Today, many of these sit empty.
But not the monastery
in the remote village
of Montefiorentino.
And that's down to one radical,
food-loving monk.
It's completely untouched here.
-But look
-Yes, look, it's our beauty.
Yes, it's like a
Renaissance painting.
After six years of living here,
removed from the world,
Fra Pierluigi began
to do things differently.
His monastery is now much more
than a place of worship.
Together with one of the workers, Claudio,
I'm meeting the flock.
That's a deer.
Look.
Artù, come over.
That's Artù, the male of the group.
We've then got Flour,
Musolungo,
and Shrapnel.
-Musolungo?
-"Long Snout"
-because he's got a long nose.
-Like this.
[Stanley] There's no quick way
to list everything that goes on here.
The monastery is an animal sanctuary,
but it also generates income
as a food co-operative
where they grow vegetables,
they make their own olive oil,
wine, flour, run a butchers and a bakery,
as well as hosting schools
to teach kids about all of it.
So you did this in five years, six years?
Yes, there used to be
nothing here, nothing.
Yes, it was wild land.
-[bell tinkling]
-Wow.
These are alpaca.
Oh, my God.
That's too much.
Mustard, Pepper, and Meatball.
But the leader of the pack
is called "Hell",
right in a Franciscan monastery.
We keep a close eye on "Hell".
What we earn here, as you will see,
goes to help those in need.
There's no profit.
Anyone who works earns
something to live off.
Gently, gently, gently. Like this.
[Stanley] The workers are all paid.
Giving jobs, not charity, is the key.
In the kitchen, Nadia is preparing a meal
with Fra Pierluigi for the team
who are finishing up their shift.
Let's drink this place dry.
How come I never met a priest
like you when I was a kid?
Is all of this from here?
All of this is ours.
The cold meats are ours,
the eggs are from our hens,
the produce from the garden,
the biscuits we make
with our flour and oil.
Try this, this is the sausage.
Mm. Mm.
It's so tasty, right?
I love it.
With this work,
selling these products,
we provide disabled people with jobs.
Beautiful.
This is our little pizza.
I've never seen anything like that.
Italians are fantastic at this.
We've got to eat
and provide food for others.
-Look how well it cooks.
-Wow.
This is like a pizza restaurant,
the same.
The same.
I was 27 when I entered the monastery.
Why?
Because I wanted to be happy.
That's when my life changed.
I understood that I could be myself,
I didn't need to wear a mask
in this world.
I didn't need to swear anymore,
I'd just be myself.
I chose Francesco
because he is radical.
Okay.
You do good, and that's it.
So this big monastery,
who is it for,
if not for poor people?
So if we can make sure that
in a place like this
the poor are welcomed
Sì.
The unwell, the poor.
And we monks have so many monasteries
which are like museums.
The Vatican is full of these things,
but what purpose do they serve?
If we're not helping the needy,
then why did we become monks?
Look, we've got this possibility,
I think that we can
also achieve this dream.
We're here to welcome people.
This is where we gather,
where we chat,
where we make decisions,
where we cry together around the table.
Because food isn't just for the body
it's a way of being together.
[Stanley] Employees Jonathan,
Alessandro, and Robi
join us at the table along with Marco
who first suggested to Pierluigi
he throw open the doors
and take this new direction.
He replied right away.
He said, "Come, let's do it!"
"Tomorrow we'll begin".
That's how the dream started.
Sì.
It's always worth dreaming
because dreams serve to keep us moving
in our lives and other people's,
through the beautiful things
and also the less beautiful things.
Beautiful.
We hope to keep on growing
because each year, each idea and dream
we've had we've made come true,
starting from the deer, the alpaca,
and many other animals we've rescued.
As Pierluigi taught me,
we want to set an example
for future generations.
If you come on holiday to
Le Marche,
make a stop here.
I'd love to.
You'd be welcome.
[speaks Italian]
And a special thought
for peace in the world.
Hurrah.
World peace.
Thanks, thanks, Nadia.
Thank you.
Thank you.
[Stanley] For a little-known region,
Le Marche brims with superlatives
and surprises.
And its food more than lives up
to the subtle grandeur of the setting.
It gives a glimpse
of the best of the country
that's fading elsewhere
under the weight of mass tourism.
So, please, don't all rush here at once.
♪♪
[classical music playing]
[Stanley Tucci] I'm at the top
of one of the most important monuments
in all of Italy
at the heart of one of
the most perfectly preserved cities.
That city is called Urbino.
It's in a region that you might
not yet have heard of
called Le Marche.
[dramatic classical music playing]
[bright music playing]
[waves lapping]
Le Marche is a region familiar to Italians
but far less known
to international tourists.
It sits quietly on the
east coast of central Italy
on a stunning portion of the Adriatic.
It's one of the most beautiful
and cultured regions
of the country, with the cuisine to match
that, even now,
is still ripe for discovery.
In the south of Le Marche,
there's a place known
for having an early
evening aperitivo culture
like no other called Ascoli Piceno.
[bell tolls]
It's early evening,
and the Ascolani are heading out
for their passeggiata,
or pre-dinner stroll.
It's a moment in the day to socialize,
to see and be seen.
And maybe sample an appetizer.
For 40 years, the Migliori family
have been selling stuffed olives,
here known as Olive Ascolane,
from the corner of the main piazza.
Okay, boss.
So, how are they made?
So, these are soft olives from Ascoli
that have always been in this area,
because it is an area
where there is no wind
so the olives become big,
soft and crunchy.
So I've seen how they're cut,
but I can't imagine doing it myself.
[Augusto] Yeah. It's easy,
it's easy. I will show.
It's like peeling an apple
but trying to stick
the most pulp to the peel.
The filling then
is made with pork and beef.
-50/50.
-[Stanley] Pork and beef.
And then you will grind it
and add some Parmesan cheese
-[Stanley] Uh-huh.
-a little bit of nutmeg
and a little bit of egg gold.
And then you get some of it
like a hazelnut, more or less.
You put inside, then you bend it
all over like that.
[Stanley] It's an elaborate process.
The stuffed and reconstructed olive
is breaded and then fried.
I've had this in a number of places,
but this is where it originated.
Yes, of course.
It is now more common to eat olives,
because 40 years ago,
my father invented
to sell them in the paper cone.
-Oh, he invented it.
-Yes.
Oh.
[Augusto] By this idea,
we turned it to street food.
Very smart. Yes.
Before that, we were
eating that only in the
[laughter]
[Augusto] We were eating that
only in the weddings
or big occasions.
-Oh, really?
-Because as you see,
-it's really difficult to make.
-Yes.
-It's a lot of hours involved.
-Yeah.
This work was done by the whole family
because one was pitting,
children broke the eggs--
and one's balls.
So, everyone
-[laughs]
-Yeah, that makes sense.
everyone used to do something
to get to the final product.
Then it was time to chit-chat.
So, it's good. It brings everybody
It brings everyone together.
[sizzling]
Tell me about this town.
Ascoli? It is so beautiful.
Luckily, you still live well here,
there are few tourists.
It is a very quiet town.
Sì.
There are not many tourists.
No. Luckily, no.
Do you want more tourists?
'Hit and Run' tourism, maybe
it's not good for the place
-Yeah.
-But, uh, we can have
cultural tourist.
[Stanley] Okay, I'm gonna try it.
[Augusto] Strictly with
Only with hands.
[Stanley] Okay, boss.
Whoa, yeah. Oh, that's really good.
Very meaty.
Like five of those is like a meal.
Delicious. Wow.
"Mordi e fuggi" or "hit and run"
is the kind of breakneck mass tourism
that residents of Venice and Florence
are fighting against.
But here in Le Marche,
there is no big city.
Just a scattering of charming towns
like this one.
Where the streets never get overcrowded.
Not even in high summer.
In another of the town's
beautiful Renaissance piazzas,
there's an illustrious bar
that, I've been told,
is about the best in Italy.
It's called Cafe Meletti.
♪♪
I'm heading into the cool of the interior
to meet manager Giovanni Colannino.
-Hi, buonasera.
-Buonasera.
[Stanley] Working alongside him
is bartender Ewa.
Nice to meet you, Giovanni.
Welcome to Cafe Meletti.
Grazie.
So
what shall we drink?
I would say, without any doubts,
to start with an Anisetta Meletti.
[Stanley] Anisetta is aniseed liquor.
This particular version
was invented here back in 1870
by a local fella called Silvio Meletti.
I'm serving it as tradition dictates,
with three coffee beans
which we call "the fly".
-The fly?
-Here you are.
-The flies.
-[Giovanni] Yes. The flies.
They do look like flies, yes, yes.
Obviously, when you come
across the fly, eat it.
So it changes all the fragrances,
the flavors of Anisetta.
Always three.
-Always three.
-Always odd.
But why?
It is a matter of good luck.
Three is the perfect number.
Oh, yeah.
-It is not so strong.
-No, no, no.
It is not too sweet either.
This is perfect.
And there is another version of
this Anisetta, which is the Dry.
Cheers.
Thank you.
Tough day, right?
-Sì. Sì.
-[laughter]
Well, I'm never getting out of here alive.
The dry is made with the same technique,
just far less sugar.
Oh, yeah. Yeah, but it's good.
-[Giovanni] Yeah?
-You get the sweetness
but definitely it's drier.
Ooh, you can make a martini with that.
Yeah, martini or spritz.
-Spritz?
-[Giovanni] Yeah.
[Stanley] After more than 150 years,
this Anisetta is still distilled
right here in town by the Meletti family.
The green anise that can be seen
painted in the fresco on the ceiling
is the crucial ingredient.
The anise grows here, in our area
Which is very different from star anise.
The seeds are far more delicate,
and for this reason,
Anisetta is an excellent product.
[Stanley] Having found
great success being the first
to commercialize this drink,
Silvio Meletti next set his sights
on creating the ideal location
in which to drink it.
-Is everything original?
-Everything is original.
This is original.
-The windows are original.
-But it seems a place of
How do you say that? Vienna.
Yes, very good.
-A coffee house.
-It is a Liberty.
It is a Liberty style.
[Stanley] Liberty style is Italy's version
of art nouveau.
A response to industrialization,
it had the aim of taking everyday objects
and elevating them into works of art.
It's a theatrical stage that represents
our town in such a wonderful square.
It's so beautiful.
It is so beautiful.
It is an honor to work here.
Thank you.
How nice.
-We can make a toast.
-A toast.
-Cheers. [laughs]
-Cheers.
-Do you feel better now?
-I feel much better.
-[laughs] Me too.
-Much better. Yeah, yeah.
♪♪
[Stanley] In Ascoli Piceno,
life is beautiful,
and that's official.
It recently made the top ten
in a national survey
of the best places to live in Italy.
But frankly, in this region,
the competition is pretty fierce.
There are many remarkable towns,
including one
where high art and pasta meet.
♪♪
[mellow classical music playing]
[Stanley] The landscape
of Le Marche's interior
is a patchwork of rolling hills.
Until as late as the 1960s,
it was divided into small pockets,
each farmed by a peasant family
but owned by a noble family.
That's the backdrop in Macerata.
A landlocked town
in the heart of the region.
♪♪
While the peasants worked,
the noble landowners played,
spending money on culture
and on buildings
such as this Sferisterium,
where I'm meeting restaurateur
Letizia Carducci.
It's the seat of Macerata's
internationally renowned opera festival,
and preparations for tonight's
performance are in full swing.
It's very important for opera lovers
because here you have singing and
music with no amplification,
and that's quite rare.
[Stanley] It's a city
that obviously loves culture.
La cultura.
culture is very important here.
Those who have lived here
have always cared for the region
but also for their own passions.
It's the land of theaters,
with more than 100 theaters.
I didn't know that. Why is that?
Because the noble families
would spend their resources
on culture too
and this has been a constant over time.
I am an actor so for me
it's really important.
It is important because all these
theatres are still running today.
Nature and culture.
Sì. Sì.
Because the countryside
is really beautiful.
It's a work of art.
Natural.
-[alarm blares]
-[Letizia gasps]
Oh, time's up.
Alright, shall we go
-to your restaurant?
-Okay.
♪♪
[Stanley] Along with the arts,
the noble families of Macerata
spent their money on good food.
Most wealthy homes had a chef,
one of whom, Antonio Nebbia,
published a cookbook back in 1779.
So the cuisine was of a good standard.
In fact we have this recipe book,
"Il Cuoco Maceratese".
One of its most important dishes is
this famous dish called Princisgras
which means 'fat prince'.
Rich in fat and aromas,
with prosciutto and truffle.
Everything.
♪♪
[Stanley] Princisgras was
a decadent layered pasta dish,
made with the truffles and meats
only the noble households could afford.
Today at Osteria dei Fiori,
Letizia's restaurant,
we are about to lunch
on vincisgrassi,
an evolution of the original dish.
So, vincisgrassi
but it was Princis, why did it change?
Because something happened.
From the homes of the rich,
people tried to reproduce
this recipe at home
with ingredients they had.
Ah.
Here we go. Oh, my God.
We need to try it. Shall we?
[Stanley] Vincisgrassi may look familiar,
but don't call it lasagna.
What sets it apart is
the number of layers of pasta,
at least seven, made fresh
and enriched with sweet wine.
Then there's the ragu,
which is a complex affair.
The flavor has a lot of depth.
What type of meat is in it?
We use what we call farmyard animals.
Because in the countryside,
the peasants kept all the animals
necessary to feed the family.
So there is chicken, rabbit, duck
these three are fundamental.
-Rabbit?
-Rabbit too.
With their bones,
chicken offal, liver and stomach.
And this gives the sauce
a very different flavor.
So it seems like a poor recipe, but it
requires a lot of time and a lot of care.
The sauce has to cook
for at least eight hours.
It's really
Do you like it?
Yeah, yeah.
This version we are eating now
is 100 years old.
[Stanley] Two years ago,
Letizia and her siblings
were part of a group that won this dish
an STG designation.
Which means it's a very
special, traditional recipe,
to be preserved at all costs.
If someone wants to make
Macerata's Vincisgrassi,
they have to make it like this.
We are very proud about this.
This dish tells the story
of the territory,
it tells the story of our peasants
who created the landscape that we see.
Sì.
This dish from this restaurant
made the cut
in a high-profile list
of the 25 essential pasta dishes
to eat in Italy.
Not sure if you know,
but the New York Times chose our dish.
-I heard, I heard.
-Incredible.
I never believed the
New York Times but now I do.
It's so good.
I've eaten it all.
[Letizia] Me too.
[Stanley] There's a focus on appreciating
and preserving good things
here in Le Marche.
Whether that be a theater or a recipe.
That same care is extended
to the natural world,
notably the coastline and seas,
which are abundant
with exceptional produce.
♪♪
[Stanley] There's a cluster
of limestone cliffs
and coves at the midpoint
of Le Marche's seaboard,
called the Conero Riviera.
[waves lapping]
♪♪
The waters here are category A,
which means they're very clean.
And home to a very local delicacy,
wild mussels known as moscioli.
Moscioli are among
the rarest of shellfish.
They only grow during the summer months
and only on a roughly
12-mile stretch of coast.
They have to be harvested by hand,
each one collected by a diver submerged
with just a rudimentary breathing hose.
♪♪
Chef Lorenzo Focante
is waiting for today's catch.
-Lorenzo.
-Buongiorno.
Hi. [speaking Italian]
-How are you doing?
-Good, good.
Those mussels, are they
different from the others?
These mussels every day
they have a different flavor.
[Stanley] Ah, sì.
More or less salty,
it depends on the currents.
[Stanley] Massimo Mengarelli
has likely collected more moscioli
than any man alive.
-There are so many.
-Yes, yes.
300 kg per boat more or less.
Only this morning?
Yes, those are from this morning only.
[Stanley] Wow.
Massimo, how many did you get today?
It went well, it went well.
Smell.
Yeah, yeah.
The sea, the sea.
Yeah, beautiful.
Are you tired now?
No.
We're there every day.
Every day?
For how many years?
-50?
I started to work under water
when I was 14 years old.
We're chilled, so we preserve well.
[laughter]
Thank you. Thank you.
Thank you.
-I'll take this one.
-Oh, yeah.
-[Stanley] Ciao.
-[Massimo] Grazie.
[Stanley] Lorenzo works at
a restaurant called Da Emilia,
located right on the beach,
adjacent to where
the moscioli come ashore.
I'm having lunch with Federica Rubini.
-Hi, Federica.
-Hey, good morning.
Hi.
She's the granddaughter of Emilia
who started this place and came up
with a now iconic dish.
Spaghettini con i moscioli.
♪♪
Firstly, the mollusks are slightly steamed
then carefully shelled.
This is a famous sauce now,
that my grandma invented.
A fisherman brought her some mussels
and said to her, "Madam, can you
cook those mussels for me?"
"Can you make some pasta?"
[Stanley] In 1950, seafood wasn't a part
of the Marchigiani diet.
Emilia applied her knowledge
of making meat-based ragu
to the wild mussels.
So she started with that, and it's
been a success -- it's been fantastic.
They didn't eat them before?
-No.
-Why not?
The fish was seen as something poor, okay?
It was seen
as something with little value.
What had value in the '50s
and '60s was meat.
I learned it from Federica's mum,
who learned it from the grandmother.
The way she did it, I do it.
Same way.
[Stanley] The recipe remains
exactly as it always has been.
Even the tomato paste
is the same brand Emilia used.
You can eat it like that.
Like ketchup.
[laughter]
Yeah. It's Italian ketchup, right?
Yeah.
It's very strong. [laughs]
You need some water?
I need [clears throat] I need
I need a, I need a martini.
[laughing] Oh, my God.
Oh, my God. That's really strong.
-That's really delicious though.
-Yes.
And there's no garlic, only
Absolutely not.
Garlic is forbidden.
Only onion.
Only onion.
Because my grandma used to say
that garlic is so strong
that it hides the real taste,
the delicacy of the fish, of the mollusk.
Now, how long
Now, it will boil for 5 minutes,
and the sauce
5 minutes and it's ready.
-Simple.
-Yes.
-[Federica] Yes, very easy.
-[Stanley] Okay.
And then we're gonna go eat.
-Yeah, of course.
-You and me.
-Yeah, come on.
-Alright, let's go.
Thank you, Lorenzo.
Grazie, Lorenzo.
See you later.
Thank you.
♪♪
-Oh, grazie.
-Oh, here it is!
-Grazie.
-[Federica] Wow.
Do I have to eat it?
Oh, my God.
Oh, I'm very excited.
It's good.
-It's not too tomatoey.
-[Federica] Yeah.
This is really delicate.
Because you have so much with the broth
-and the mussels and everything.
-[Federica] Yes.
Yeah, it's really amazing.
I believe my grandma was a pioneer.
After the war, there were
many single women in town.
Many men had been injured,
or had been killed during the war.
So she said to the other women,
"Let's bring some food
to this marvelous place."
[bright music playing]
And she started to cook.
She suggested to the other women,
"You too should open a little restaurant."
"You too should open a small bar."
Ah, sì.
And they rolled up their sleeves,
as we say.
For my grandma,
life was cooking for others.
To her, profiting wasn't important.
My grandma passed this on to my mother
and I breathed it all in.
[Stanley] Sì.
I don't want to calculate, to profit.
I want to make people happy.
Because people are happy when they eat.
Food is happiness, don't you think?
Yes.
It's one of the most beautiful moments
we can enjoy now.
♪♪
[Stanley] Emilia did things
on her own terms,
and this dish is a masterclass
in simplicity.
But further along the coast,
there's a restaurant with
a rather different approach.
[waves crashing]
[peppy music playing]
[Stanley]
Senigallia could be the backdrop
for a Fellini film.
It's situated up towards the north
of Le Marche's Adriatic shore.
In the summer, it's full of life.
A seaside playground
packed with beach bars.
One of them is called Uliassi.
Which, unlike its neighbors,
has three Michelin stars.
With 38 staff prepping for lunch service,
the kitchen is a little hectic.
So I'm talking to the owners,
brother and sister
Mauro and Catia Uliassi, out on the deck.
What was the beginning of this place?
We opened in 1990.
And it was a small hut,
a hut that was kept up
with plaster and paint.
To make it look good,
we painted it once a week.
Because it was really horrible.
It was really a place
-It was much smaller
-It was much smaller, yes.
And year after year, we managed to
invest the money we had made.
We worked a lot,
we served about 200 people per day.
After 3 years we could
have bought a Porsche--
a Porsche for me, a Porsche for her.
Instead we chose to invest
everything in the business
which slowly became bigger.
[Stanley] Their principal investment
is their test kitchen,
known as The Lab.
In the off-season, they close
the restaurant to diners.
They spend weeks experimenting,
dreaming up a completely
new slate of dishes
for the following year.
In 2004, we received
our first Michelin star,
in 2008 the second.
-In 2018
-In 2018, the third one.
We are more illuminated see, we're more
[laughter]
[Stanley] Mauro is preparing something
that is never off the menu.
His unique take on a classic,
inspired by this coastal location.
This is called "Osso Buco mariner-style".
Because it's a mix of land and sea.
But it really represents the culture
of the Adriatic Coast's locals.
[Stanley] Osso buco is
a cross cut of veal shank.
The bone marrow is
the dish's defining feature.
They're calf bones,
that are cooked in a broth of clam water.
That's the tripe
Codfish tripe?
That's codfish tripe,
exactly, codfish tripe.
[Stanley] The clam and veal bone broth
is then used to cook the cod tripe.
The tripe starts to release its collagen,
and something like this comes out.
-Very gluey.
-Yes.
And the idea started from the fact that
that the collagen of the Osso Buco
is very similar to the collagen
of the codfish tripe.
That's been the association of ideas
that allowed us to create this dish.
And then we plate the dish.
We add this tripe here.
[Stanley] The dish is topped with parsley,
basil, and celery seeds.
That's some lemon extract.
[Stanley] And finally,
a punchy distillation,
which is the result
of experiments in The Lab.
Oh, wow.
It's lemon, pure lemon.
Then, we take the sliced veal shank,
and the tripe.
And that's it.
It's a dish much loved
by people all over the world.
-May I try?
-Yes.
-[Catia] Prego.
-[Stanley] Grazie.
Mm, mm, mm, mm.
That's my breakfast.
Oh, wow.
That's ama
-That's incredible.
-Yeah.
Different kind of a flavor,
a smell, different--
It's very complex.
Mm. Wow.
Good? Do you like it?
Mm, mm, mm. Mmm.
And I have to say that cooking,
and having the people for whom
you've cooked in front of you,
looking at you seduced,
-totally in love with you
-Bewitched.
is something that
that makes you very happy.
I live in London.
Do you want to open
a restaurant in London?
Next to my house, please.
Yes. No.
This one is enough.
This one is already very complicated.
Yes, yes.
From shabby beach bar
to one of the world's
top 50 restaurants.
It's an extraordinary story.
There's a quiet excellence here.
Working hard towards perfection
without courting publicity.
It's a spirit reflected in
the region's other food businesses.
[birds chirping]
[bell tolls]
[Stanley] Back south along the coast,
Campofilone has the hallmarks
of many Marchigiani towns.
[classical music playing]
It's beautifully preserved.
And set in rolling hills
with a sea breeze.
All that and it gives its name
to a very fine pasta
that they've been making here
for at least 600 years,
called Maccheroncini di Campofilone.
Shall we start?
[Stanley] Sì.
There are just two ingredients --
00 flour
[Stanley] Vincenzo's father was the first
to sell this pasta commercially.
He and his wife Paola are demonstrating
how it's always been made,
with a recipe that's been passed down
through the generations.
And then we add these organic eggs
from free-range hens.
A denser white and a thicker yolk.
[Stanley] Sì.
We need 10 eggs per kilo of flour.
-10
-10 eggs per kilo of flour.
Whoa.
The only liquid used to make
this pasta is eggs.
Although this may seem luxurious,
it was originally a poor food,
a way of making protein go further.
I didn't tell you the third ingredient.
There's a third one?
Experience.
You can't buy that at the supermarket.
Sì. Sì. It's true. That's true.
You can't just learn it,
you have to feel it.
Yeah.
Now let's break them.
You see how I do it little
by little so it stays in there.
I learned as time went on.
So your mum did this?
My father sold sausages,
prosciutto and so on,
and he'd get my mum to make
a kilo of Maccheroncini.
He'd take it to Rome as a gift
wherever he stayed.
Ah, sì.
Then his friends said, "Nello
why don't you bring me three packets
of Maccheroncini next time?"
So they paid for it.
That's when my dad started to think
that it could be a business.
Then in 1960, he opened
the first small workshop
and the rest is history.
So from 1973,
the second generation took over,
and I began to innovate.
[pleasant upbeat music playing]
[Stanley] When Vincenzo
took over from his father,
he grew the business,
opening the factory next door,
where they replicate the original recipe.
Much of the process is done by hand,
from cracking 7,000 eggs daily
to carefully packaging the delicate pasta
to prevent tangling.
This was a "poor" product --
the women of the town realized that
you could get more out of thin pasta.
A kilo of tagliatelle
would feed seven or eight people
but a kilo of Maccheroncini
could feed 12 people,
because they're so fine
they absorb the sauce from all four sides.
-The sauce.
-It's the sauce.
It must be quite liquid.
Otherwise, the Maccheroncini
won't absorb it.
Ah, sì.
[Vincenzo] Okay.
Why are you doing it on the
on the board?
We put it on the board because
It's like polenta.
Yes, polenta, yes.
[Stanley] Any excess liquid
not absorbed by the pasta,
is soaked up by the wooden board.
That's key to achieving
a perfect consistency.
Vincenzo's son, Marco, now helps
run things with his brother and father.
Hi.
How are you?
[Stanley] And business is booming,
not just in Italy
but all over the world.
Stanley, he wants us out the way.
-What?
-The third generation.
-Really?
-[exclaims]
[laughter]
Parmesan cheese.
Some Pecorino cheese.
I have to do this with my little ones.
-Your children?
-Children, yes.
They would love it.
-It's like an art project.
-Yes?
Another little bit of Pecorino cheese.
Time to eat.
Let's go.
[Stanley] When the former Pope
visited Le Marche in 2004,
he was served Spinosi pasta for lunch.
[speaking Italian]
So this is as close to holiness
as I'll ever get.
-Salute!
-[glasses clink]
Stanley
Shall we try these Maccheroncini?
Finally, yes.
It's about time.
♪♪
For you, Stanley.
Thank you very much. Grazie.
Does it need some more Pecorino?
No.
I mean, that is delicious.
I just love how thin that pasta is,
how delicate that pasta is.
The cooking time is only one minute.
We are the unique company
that uses fresh eggs.
I love Le Marche.
It's different.
Le Marche is different
because Spinosi is here.
I knew there was something.
-Something strange.
-Yes.
[laughter]
Strange but delicious.
It is delicious, right?
Thanks, Stanley.
[Stanley] Lunch with
the Spinosi family is a joy.
That same passion for food
is unexpectedly also evident
at my final stop.
[classical music playing]
[Stanley] Churches, shrines,
and other religious buildings
are scattered all throughout Le Marche.
They are a legacy of
the centuries during which
the region was a papal state,
governed by the church.
Today, many of these sit empty.
But not the monastery
in the remote village
of Montefiorentino.
And that's down to one radical,
food-loving monk.
It's completely untouched here.
-But look
-Yes, look, it's our beauty.
Yes, it's like a
Renaissance painting.
After six years of living here,
removed from the world,
Fra Pierluigi began
to do things differently.
His monastery is now much more
than a place of worship.
Together with one of the workers, Claudio,
I'm meeting the flock.
That's a deer.
Look.
Artù, come over.
That's Artù, the male of the group.
We've then got Flour,
Musolungo,
and Shrapnel.
-Musolungo?
-"Long Snout"
-because he's got a long nose.
-Like this.
[Stanley] There's no quick way
to list everything that goes on here.
The monastery is an animal sanctuary,
but it also generates income
as a food co-operative
where they grow vegetables,
they make their own olive oil,
wine, flour, run a butchers and a bakery,
as well as hosting schools
to teach kids about all of it.
So you did this in five years, six years?
Yes, there used to be
nothing here, nothing.
Yes, it was wild land.
-[bell tinkling]
-Wow.
These are alpaca.
Oh, my God.
That's too much.
Mustard, Pepper, and Meatball.
But the leader of the pack
is called "Hell",
right in a Franciscan monastery.
We keep a close eye on "Hell".
What we earn here, as you will see,
goes to help those in need.
There's no profit.
Anyone who works earns
something to live off.
Gently, gently, gently. Like this.
[Stanley] The workers are all paid.
Giving jobs, not charity, is the key.
In the kitchen, Nadia is preparing a meal
with Fra Pierluigi for the team
who are finishing up their shift.
Let's drink this place dry.
How come I never met a priest
like you when I was a kid?
Is all of this from here?
All of this is ours.
The cold meats are ours,
the eggs are from our hens,
the produce from the garden,
the biscuits we make
with our flour and oil.
Try this, this is the sausage.
Mm. Mm.
It's so tasty, right?
I love it.
With this work,
selling these products,
we provide disabled people with jobs.
Beautiful.
This is our little pizza.
I've never seen anything like that.
Italians are fantastic at this.
We've got to eat
and provide food for others.
-Look how well it cooks.
-Wow.
This is like a pizza restaurant,
the same.
The same.
I was 27 when I entered the monastery.
Why?
Because I wanted to be happy.
That's when my life changed.
I understood that I could be myself,
I didn't need to wear a mask
in this world.
I didn't need to swear anymore,
I'd just be myself.
I chose Francesco
because he is radical.
Okay.
You do good, and that's it.
So this big monastery,
who is it for,
if not for poor people?
So if we can make sure that
in a place like this
the poor are welcomed
Sì.
The unwell, the poor.
And we monks have so many monasteries
which are like museums.
The Vatican is full of these things,
but what purpose do they serve?
If we're not helping the needy,
then why did we become monks?
Look, we've got this possibility,
I think that we can
also achieve this dream.
We're here to welcome people.
This is where we gather,
where we chat,
where we make decisions,
where we cry together around the table.
Because food isn't just for the body
it's a way of being together.
[Stanley] Employees Jonathan,
Alessandro, and Robi
join us at the table along with Marco
who first suggested to Pierluigi
he throw open the doors
and take this new direction.
He replied right away.
He said, "Come, let's do it!"
"Tomorrow we'll begin".
That's how the dream started.
Sì.
It's always worth dreaming
because dreams serve to keep us moving
in our lives and other people's,
through the beautiful things
and also the less beautiful things.
Beautiful.
We hope to keep on growing
because each year, each idea and dream
we've had we've made come true,
starting from the deer, the alpaca,
and many other animals we've rescued.
As Pierluigi taught me,
we want to set an example
for future generations.
If you come on holiday to
Le Marche,
make a stop here.
I'd love to.
You'd be welcome.
[speaks Italian]
And a special thought
for peace in the world.
Hurrah.
World peace.
Thanks, thanks, Nadia.
Thank you.
Thank you.
[Stanley] For a little-known region,
Le Marche brims with superlatives
and surprises.
And its food more than lives up
to the subtle grandeur of the setting.
It gives a glimpse
of the best of the country
that's fading elsewhere
under the weight of mass tourism.
So, please, don't all rush here at once.
♪♪