Among the Tolfa Mountains - Tolfa, March 3, 2012

The first gathering of the new year, scheduled for the Tolfa mountains and promptly dubbed by some "Il inverno de noantri" (Our Winter Meeting), was postponed two weeks from its original date due to the exceptional snowfall that devastated central and southern Italy. It took place in a climate that, more than winter, resembled a splendid spring day.

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In reality, the weather this morning hadn't looked great. After two weeks of full sun following the snowfalls of early and mid-February, which had gradually helped melt the ice that had formed in the highest and most inland areas of our region, the sky appeared gray, veiled by a heavy haze that many mistook for clouds. Certainly not the best prelude to an outing that had been anticipated for several weeks. A hint of disappointment mixed with a healthy dose of superstition convinced most people to lower their tops or to prefer the more airtight bodies of sedans and coupes to the sleeker ones of spiders, but certainly not to give up on a long-awaited event after a two-month hiatus.
After several stops along the way, each with its own meeting point, we gradually saw the convoys of vintage cars swell, with a clear predominance of English drivers. The cars followed routes that varied depending on their area of origin, but all boasted beautiful scenery. We finally arrived in Tolfa after an hour and a half of fun and relaxed driving. In the town's main square, kindly reserved for us by the Municipal Administration, against a backdrop bathed in a splendid sun that appeared suddenly and never left us for the rest of the day, we counted forty of us, including drivers and navigators, arriving aboard 23 vehicles. Many of these vehicles were warmly welcomed by the crowd of visitors and onlookers who were able to admire them at their leisure, neatly arranged in parade in front of the belvedere at the foot of the fortress. From here, Tolfa, from its 500 m altitude, looks out, like a balcony, over the surrounding valleys, all the way to the sea at Santa Severa and Santa Marinella, which stand out clearly at the foot of the first foothills of the Maremma Laziale. In addition to the ever-admired Alfa Romeo 2500 6C Aerlux Touring, with whose presence our friend Gianni, who came especially to greet us from far away Veneto, once again enhanced the gathering, and the Jaguar E-type HFCs, which always attract the public's attention, the March outing also saw the christening of Roberto's beautiful and rare MGA Magnette ZA, until now shown to a few close friends, exhibited for the first time in public in such a large and qualified context.
After exchanging the customary greetings with the young and dynamic Councilor for Culture, Dr. Cristiano Dionisi, who personally welcomed the guests on behalf of the Municipal Administration, our group, accompanied by two tour guides, embarked on a pleasant stroll through the streets and squares of the historic center, reaching the summit of the Frangipane fortress, which dominates the town and offers a splendid 360-degree panorama, spanning from the sea at Civitavecchia to Lake Bracciano and the hinterland of the Maremma region of Lazio. On the return journey, we made numerous stops to visit artisan workshops, famous throughout Lazio for their leatherwork (especially bags, saddles, boots, chaps, and all equestrian-related items), and the Oliveto winery for a tasting of the excellent wines produced in the Tolfa area, accompanied by local cured meats and cheeses. After a brief visit to the villa surrounding the noble palace, now the town hall, we got back in the cars and in a few minutes reached the other “Rocca dei Frangipane,” the restaurant hosting the banquet, just a few hundred meters from the town center, on the road leading down to Santa Severa.
Once the cars were parked again, neatly arranged in the square below the building, which sits halfway up the hillside, with the valley in the background, the group, fueled by a certain appetite, fueled by the previous excursion and the appetizers that had accompanied the tasting of multiple wines, did not wait to be asked to take their places around the long table set up along the large window of the restaurant hall, which afforded views of the splendid panorama, as well as of the beloved cars, and began to savor the equally splendid menu, expertly composed for the occasion by the Chef with the collaboration of the organizer, which allowed them to deepen their knowledge of the most typical dishes of this part of the Maremma, offered in pairing with some of the wines presented shortly before.
With repeated toasts and numerous encores, the lunch flew by in a flash, thanks to the pleasure of being seated at a richly laden table and enjoying friendly conversation with friends old and new, some of whom we hadn't seen in a while. After presenting the program of upcoming activities and awarding Vittorio and Antonio (the latter reluctantly forced to stay home at the last minute for family reasons) a commemorative plaque for their brilliant placing in the 2012 Coppa delle Alpi, it was time to say goodbye and see you next time. With this ritual complete, the guests gradually made their way back, some by one route, some by another. Particularly evocative, for those who decided to return to the city along the Via Aurelia or the Rome-Civitavecchia motorway, was the descent towards Santa Severa, which allowed the drivers to drive for over 20 km, along a provincial road full of curves and ups and downs, surrounded by a bucolic landscape and large clearings where long-horned Maremma cattle and powerful Tolfa horses usually graze in the wild, in an atmosphere that seems to kidnap you and drag you out of the world, fixing in your eyes and mind a last indelible memory of a splendid day.

Claudio Nacca