IL Monastero

As the first full week of school came to a close, Richard Davis (Latin & Greek teacher) and I decided to grab some pizza at Il Monastero, arguably the best pizzeria inside The Wall (well, according to Dave Lutchner, SYA Activities Coordinator and Viterbese pizza aficionado for well over a decade).

Il Monastero is just a few blocks from my apartment and the quickest way to get there is to traverse through a street that is slightly wider than my wing span.  It is one of the most endearing things about Europe!  Il Monastero is also one of the few pizzerias that has an outdoor patio, another attraction to this place.  It was a beautiful evening in Viterbo, so we planned to take full advantage of the patio!  The place has a reputation, so we planned to get there right around the time they re-opened for the day, "about" 7:30 p.m..  By the time 8:30 rolled around, the patio was packed and people were lined up waiting for a table outside, forgoing the spacious inside with many more tables.

Dave warned us that we probably only needed to order one pizza, as two plates are needed in order to fit the pizza on it.  Because of both of our broken Italian, the waitress thought we wanted two pizzas, so instead of trying to correct her, we ordered another one (lol)!  Boy were we in for it, as neither of us wanted to leave without cleaning our plates.  In our defense, we justified the extra order for thinking that maybe Dave's idea of "two plates" was two small plates, not the two large dinner-sized plates they ended up being (see left).  Nevertheless, Richard and I were up to the challenge.  I ordered half brocholette (broccolini and a tish of sausage) and half parmasiana (mushroom, parmesian cheese, and tomato sauce).  Dave ordered half spinaci and half prosciutto and green olives (pits included).  While I have not eaten at every pizzeria in Viterbo (not sure that will be possible in the year I'll be here), the pizza at Il Monastero is currently the front-runner, hands-down!





Il Monastero gets its name because it sits next to a church with a monastery attached to it, called La Chiesa Santa Maria di Nuova.  The church (see right) was built nearly 1000 years ago and consecrated on December 13, 1080.






On the side of the church is an outdoor pulpit, built in 1267.  Interesting factoid: St. Thomas Acquinas delivered a homily on this pulpit soon after it was built to the people in the piazza adjacent to the church (and Il Monastero ), urging them to strive for goodness and prayer (see inscription above).