Agriturismo La Cerra in San Gregorio da Sassola

What does the typical Rome resident do almost every Sunday? Why, they go to the countryside in search of some rustic little hideout and and stuff their face as if there were no tomorrow, of course. And I am certainly no exception, as many of you already know. This weekend I decided to try out a new place which was highly recommended by my friend Emiliano, a reliable source and fellow wine and spirit appreciator. We set out at around 12pm to head to La Cerra Agriturismo, right outside the beautiful town of Tivoli, in the locality of San Gregorio di Sassola. I was afraid of getting lost, directions on the website were unclear. Lost and bewildered, I turned the wrong way down a one-way highway ramp while missing the turn. Where I am from, this is grounds for a horrible head on collision with an SUV or even worse, incarceration. No need to fear, I was in Italy, and all I got was a few scolding hand gestures as I pulled over to the side of the road and turned around.


The "La Cerra" agriturismo was styled in the fashion of a Swiss Ski Chalet, which of course stood out profusely in the stone house - red roof ridden Italian countryside. There were probably about 200 cars in the parking lot, which, albeit a bit sad when one thinks about a countryside oasis, was a a very good indication of the quality of the venue. We entered and I announced our presence at the immense reception area of the maître d'. Due to our tardiness, we were greeted in the usual Roman fashion. That is, not with "Hello I am Sandy let me show you to your table" but instead "You're a half hour late, we were about to give your table away." This is after we were given the opportunity to see, even though there must have been at least 1000 people in the place, that there were several unoccupied tables.

Once seated, we immediately got down to business. There are no menus at places like this, the general rule is to not be a vegetarian and open to many things. An army of servers each equipped with different courses and the appropriate utensil for shovelling them into your plate was running about. The guy running the garbage can lid sized portions of mixed cold cut platters and the devil pitch fork, the two fellas running around with the bucket of pasta, and the industrial-sized cart of desserts being wheeled around as if it were one of those stands commonly seen at hospitals. You know, the ones used to administer IV therapy.

The first course was quite a treat. A decorative, but ignorantly lovely plate of cold cuts. To us US natives, a plate of cold cuts might not sound so appetizing. But, let it be known that these were top quality Italian hams, salamis, and cured meats mixed with homemade cheeses. Here, have a look for yourself:


The prosciutto, which some of you call "Parma Ham", was as red as a firetruck, tasty as a, well, cured ham, and fresh as if it were recently amongst its colleagues in the adjacent grazing space.


Next, was the pasta fagioli (pasta with beans). I am not really a big fan of pasta fagioli, but this was quite good. Also, it was a bit unnecessary, almost an act of war on our st. This is when one takes into account the next items that were to be thrust upon us.


Unfortunately, I do not have an image of the flagship pasta dish, the tagliatelle con funghi porcini. It went before I was able to reach for the camera and snap it. You'll just have to come and try it out for yourself. Several chewing sounds and glasses of house wine later, we were already on the secondo, the main course. A beautiful mix of roast lamb, pork, sausage, and beef and a side of potatoes that were clearly seasoned with the flavors of whatever substance exits whenever the aforementioned species reach a certain temperature.


The overall experience was good, and we highly recommend this venue for a Sunday lunch dining adventure. Plus, after you've enjoyed your meal, you get to spend quality time with next week's menu. Very good for the youngans.


Who: Agriturismo La Cerra
What: Agriturismo-style dining
Where: San Gregorio da Sassola (RM), near Tivoli (see map on website). Take the A24 Roma-L'Aquila highway from Rome, exit at Tivoli, and follow the signs to San Gregorio da Sassola until you see signs for the agriturismo.
When: Sunday lunch
Will I be going back?: Yes, but not for a while. I need to try many agritursmos first!
Price: € 35.00 per person with wine