For more than a week we are staying in our Umbrian country house in an almost idyllic "protected area".

It feels ghostly: the everyday life (or what is left of it), the fears and the sufferings of our fellow citizens in Italy lie behind the gently rolling hills, the bees are buzzing in the spring sun and hyacinths and lime bushes exude their sweet fragrance.

This reminded us of the book "Decamerone" by Boccaccio. It describes a group of young people who flee to a country house near Florence at the time of the plague in the 14th century. They pass their time with storytelling.

And so we came up with the idea of sending stories, pictures and experiences from our Umbrian hill over the next few days (and weeks?)

One of the specialties of Umbria are legumes: lentils, chickpeas and a variety of beans. They are used for an almost endless number of healthy and protein-rich dishes, which are part of the basic diet in Umbria. At La Rogaia we have our own, especially delicious version of a chickpea and chard soup.

On our tour to the „Hidden treasures of Perugia“ today we will take you to the outstanding museum for stained-glass works. It is not only a museum but a manufactury for painted glass run by the family Moretti-Caselli for more than five generations. The youngest glass painter in the family, the charming Maddalena Forenza, and our daughter Aurora will show you around.

Power packages against spring tiredness

A few days ago, Ornella came in by in surprise. And since it was lunchtime, we decided to cook together. She got out of her car a big basket of artichokes that she had just bought at the market. "Little power packages," she said. Then we went to the preparation and a little later we had two simple, delicious dishes on the table, which we want to share with you.