Zovon and the Rovarolla trachyte

The rural landscape that accompanies the Provinciale dei Colli in the stretch that with a few hairpin bends connects Zovon to Teolo.

Past a small bridge, I find myself in the churchyard of the church of San Giuseppe: beautiful, but just a little church in the presence of so much bell tower. They explain to me that at the end of the nineteenth century the intention was to redo everything big, church and bell tower, but after spending a fortune on the bell tower, they decided the church could stay as it was. At half past eleven the carillon starts with a canonical hour chime. Then at noon sharp, if anyone ever got distracted, all the bells ring out. Welcome to Zovon, they seem to tell me: ancient center, probably the site of a cult to the goddess Juno, hence the present name.

Pomegranates, olive trees and the pretty Ferrian villa against the backdrop of the trachyte quarries of Mount Roverolla

The gaze rises to the hillside: beautiful buildings, including the graceful Villa Ferrian, with its dovecote against the backdrop of Mt. Rovarolla. Strong signs of the landscape are the stone quarries, of a variety so distinctive that it was called 'zovonite,' yellow or gray, even variegated, once in great demand.

I ask a native for advice for lunch: "risi e bisi," he replies, that it is time for peas; famous, those from nearby Baone; thick soup rather than risotto, he explains, and "ogni riso un biso." In the goblet, a sparkling Serprino. Or even better, he adds, "risi e bisi co' l'oco in onto," extolling the goose meat preserved in its fat as a Slow Food delicacy. Red dish, ça va sans dire, Bordeaux cut, Merlot Cabernet, with a touch of Raboso, the Euganean way.