I like Thursday! Today we headed out into Italy to see Extension’s work and learn, learn, learn. Being a 4-H Agent of course this type of learning appeals to me and today was definitely not a disappointment. There were two tours. Cathy and I were on Tour B while Dale and Carolyn were on tour A.We all loaded up on buses around nine a.m. and headed out. Tour B enjoyed the one lane twists and turns in the road to head to ANABIC about 9:45. ANABIC is (excuse me for breaking into Italian but I don’t know any other way to do this) The Associazione Nazionale Allevatori Bovini da Carne or the national Association of Meat Cattle Breeders. The organization has been in existence for almost 60 years. There they do genetic research 
on bulls. Specifically the five types of “white breeds” that are native to Italy. The breeds that they deal with are the Chianina, Marchigiana, Romagnola, Maremmana and Podolica. They got a few of these rather large breeds out to show us. All the bulls they deal with are between the ages of 12 and 24 months. As you can see in the picture the back of this Chianina bull is taller than Cathy. Bulls that are tested and make it through the rigorous process bring a higher price for the farmer’s herd at sale. By higher I mean about $750 per head higher.
on bulls. Specifically the five types of “white breeds” that are native to Italy. The breeds that they deal with are the Chianina, Marchigiana, Romagnola, Maremmana and Podolica. They got a few of these rather large breeds out to show us. All the bulls they deal with are between the ages of 12 and 24 months. As you can see in the picture the back of this Chianina bull is taller than Cathy. Bulls that are tested and make it through the rigorous process bring a higher price for the farmer’s herd at sale. By higher I mean about $750 per head higher.
After our visit we headed to the Chiorri Winemakers Company. This is a family run winery. 
The father had a degree in agriculture and ended up working at a bank but his passion for the land and winemaking was passed along to his daughter. She has gotten a degree in law and food safety and along with her retired father now run the Chiorri Winemakers Company. Monica gave us a tour of their winery and showed us the improvements they have made to promote their wine and tourism at their winery. We also had the opportunity to see the harvested grapes pressed and then the juice flowed into a barrel and the leftovers were pressed again with the juice flowing into a barrel. The juice from the barrel was then pumped into a large vat were it will sit with yeast and ferment. Not only did we get to see the winemaking process we got to sample the wines and enjoyed a several course homemade lunch. It was incredibly delicious.
The father had a degree in agriculture and ended up working at a bank but his passion for the land and winemaking was passed along to his daughter. She has gotten a degree in law and food safety and along with her retired father now run the Chiorri Winemakers Company. Monica gave us a tour of their winery and showed us the improvements they have made to promote their wine and tourism at their winery. We also had the opportunity to see the harvested grapes pressed and then the juice flowed into a barrel and the leftovers were pressed again with the juice flowing into a barrel. The juice from the barrel was then pumped into a large vat were it will sit with yeast and ferment. Not only did we get to see the winemaking process we got to sample the wines and enjoyed a several course homemade lunch. It was incredibly delicious. After the winemakers we headed to a medieval town in Umbra, Todi. Our first stop was a
unique temple, Tempio di Santa Maria della Consolazione (Church of Saint Mary of Consolation) that almost a century to construct. It is the landmark for the town that you can see from the valley. Todi is actually up on a hill and cannot accommodate busses or large vehicles. You can walk up the hill or take a cable car which we chose to do. Once we got up to the top our well versed tour guide took us to the two churches there. In contrast to many of the churches we have seen these two were fairly plain. The first one, although adorned with incredible sculpture outside on the side was fairly blank. Our guide told us that the area was hit hard by the plague in the 15th century and the church was used to housed the sick. When it was over they had two choices, one to close the church for 6-7 years until the bacteria died out or to wipe the walls down with boiling lime to kill the bacteria. They chose the lime and the side effect was that it destroyed the frescos on the walls. There are still some spots on the walls (our guide said this was because the workers did not do a very good job) which allow us to experience a small part of the artwork. The other church is under construction and has some small pieces of artwork. After the tour we had about twenty minutes to walk around the town and explore before heading back down to the bus.
After the tour we headed back to the conference center. It was a great ride back and we were exhausted.
unique temple, Tempio di Santa Maria della Consolazione (Church of Saint Mary of Consolation) that almost a century to construct. It is the landmark for the town that you can see from the valley. Todi is actually up on a hill and cannot accommodate busses or large vehicles. You can walk up the hill or take a cable car which we chose to do. Once we got up to the top our well versed tour guide took us to the two churches there. In contrast to many of the churches we have seen these two were fairly plain. The first one, although adorned with incredible sculpture outside on the side was fairly blank. Our guide told us that the area was hit hard by the plague in the 15th century and the church was used to housed the sick. When it was over they had two choices, one to close the church for 6-7 years until the bacteria died out or to wipe the walls down with boiling lime to kill the bacteria. They chose the lime and the side effect was that it destroyed the frescos on the walls. There are still some spots on the walls (our guide said this was because the workers did not do a very good job) which allow us to experience a small part of the artwork. The other church is under construction and has some small pieces of artwork. After the tour we had about twenty minutes to walk around the town and explore before heading back down to the bus.After the tour we headed back to the conference center. It was a great ride back and we were exhausted.
Carolyn and Dale joined us at the conference center and told us about their tour. They had the opportunity to tour an olive oil factory, as well as a small town. Carolyn said they had a loovely day and their lunch was incredible even though it did not involve meat. Dale later reminded her that there were many types of sausages at the lunch so they did have meat.
The rest of our evening was filled with incredible food, great conversation and the opportunity to enjoy new friends. Tomorrow we are back in conference learning about different opportunities and issues going on throughout Europe in Agricultural Extension. Carolyn is headed to the lake, although we don’t know what is in store for her we have decided she is going to have a lovely day.
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