Italiano
Forentum, a treasure trove of inestimable flavors
The skill and professionalism of Savino di Nola at the Antica Cantina Forentum in Lavello offer a gastronomic experience not to be missed.
In Lavello, a Lucano town in the province of Potenza set between northern Puglia and Campania, Savino di Nola runs the Antica Cantina Forentum, a pizzeria and restaurant founded by his parents in 1985. Today it is one of the best examples of regional cuisine with tradition and the territory in an inescapably intertwined. Savino’s interest in cooking began by watching his mother Lucia, a skilled pasta maker. After obtaining a Food and Beverage Manager diploma at the Alma cooking school of Gualtiero Marchesi, he collaborated with Antonio Cannavacciuoolo at the Villa Crespi restaurant, a training and professional experience that allowed him to understand which direction to relaunch his small enterprise.
At first his vision was a bit vague but it soon became very clear, efficient and well-defined. The cuisine had to have a strong identity, a treasure trove of inestimable recipes and flavors, enhanced by employing modern techniques and creativity. The selection of ingredients depends on the seasons, favoring those of the Slow Food Presidia and small producers. Mamma Lucia is incredibly fast, a kind of Speedy Gonzales with a rolling pin. She prepares three types of pasta: stracinati, cod ravioli and a highly typical sweet ricotta ravioli, the dough made using water, salt, olive oil and white flour. The ravioli are about four centimeters in size and are filled with either sheep of cow milk ricotta, sugar and a pinch of cinnamon. The tomato sauce is made with basil and pecorino sheep cheese that has been age for 12 months or is a ragu of mixed sheep cuts or chops.
There are also succulent alternative first courses on the menu: wavy tagliatella noodles with Menaica anchovies; a slice or organic tomato on bread toasted with garlic and tomato; maccoronara with squash, pezzente della montagna materana salami, cappello di crusco peppers and crushed Toritto almonds. Try the roulade made with the bacon of local sheep and filled with eggs, parsley, pecorino cheese and pepper stiched together by hand and cooked in the sauce. This is a maxi-roulade that is 20cm long and 15cm wide. The list of second courses is long and assorted. Try the Lucano suckling pig shavings with caciocavallo or the Lucano beef fillet with a reduced Aglianico wine sauce. The side dishes include a medley of garden vegetables that depend on what is in season. Those with a sweet tooth will be pleased with the almond torroncino topped with a jam of organic hot chili pepper or a glazed tarallo with a cream sauce of ricotta, vincotto and crushed pistachios. There are two tasting menus, one for 28 euros and the other a 35-euro one based on cod.
Savino’s pizzeria is registered with the Verace (authentic) Pizza Napoletana association. The dough is easy to digest and is left to rise for 24 hours. There are 20 types of toppings with at least six of them that vary depending on the season. The pizzas currently most in demand are those with zucchini buds and flowers, piennolo tomatoes from Vesuvius and stracciatella cheese; the other a homage to their Puglia cousins which is topped with blanched potatoes and octopus cut very thinly, mozzarella, pepper and olive oil.
The atmosphere is warm and welcoming and allows the customer to feel at home. The restaurant seats 50 and Savino’s wife Aurora is a perfect hostess. The mise en place is simple and neat with rigorously white tablecloths. There are two seating rooms with the more suggestive and characteristic one in the cellar which was once served as an ice house. Next to the restaurant is Lavello’s oldest oil mill which has been abandoned for some time now. Negotiations are currently underway to buy, restore and restructure it in order to expand the restaurant.
The wine list has 150 wines, including an entire selection is dedicated to Aglianico del Vulture wineries, and the domestic wines and the Champagnes are chosen with care. The cost of an à la carte meal is reasonable, around 35 euros excluding wine.
With Forentum and his sprawling hotel, Savino has completed his requalification project for this medieval town. He has transformed apartments in the historic center into refined guest rooms and suites that all look out over Piazza Plebiscito where there is an archeological museum as well as the ducal palace, originally a Lombard fortress where the Emperor Corrado IV, the second son of Federico II, died.
