An apartment in Florence

Villa La Pietra

2011-11-13T19:53:00.001-08:00

VISIT VILLA LA PIETRA
A visit to Villa La Pietra is a very special event & one few people know about.Villa La Pietra, former home of the Acton family, is open to the public on special days.Guided tours of the Villa, the Collection, and Garden are offered Friday afternoons. Advance reservations are required as spaces are limited. Bookings may be made by e-mail, phone or fax. The cost of the tour is € 20,00 per person, payable at the time of the tour.Guided tours of the Gardens only are offered Tuesday mornings. Again, advance reservations are required as spaces are limited. The cost of the tour is € 12,00 per person. Tours are not available in August or during the winter holiday break (mid-December to mid-January).

Get out of town...

2011-03-08T20:01:00.000-08:00

Florence is much more than narrow medieval streets of brick & tile & stone & art. It's good to get out and about in the parks & gardens & the surrounding countryside of the dolci colline or sweet hills which ring the city. In town, the Boboli Gardens or the Botanical Gardens which date back to Cosimo de Medici or my favourite, the Bardini gardens, offer respite from the crowds & the noise & the heat. They also offer a bit of height so that you can take in the little city in its entirety from a secluded vantage point. If you like to walk, there are many lovely routes to take you out into the countryside, especially to the south. One of my favourites begins on the southern side of the Ponte Vecchio, up to the left along Costa San Giorgio & winds up through walled gardens along via di San Leonardo then left along viale Gallileo with its splendid outlook over the valley & the elegant Florentine villas with their olive groves & italiante gardens, to pass by the magnificent Monastery of San Miniato al Monte & finish high on Piazzale Michelangelo gazing out over the city.
Another wonderful walk is along the ridge-line from the hill-top Etruscan village of Fiesole to the other hill village of Settignano. You can take the #7 bus from Piazza San Marco to Fiesole, have a coffee there, begin the walk which takes about two hours through woods & olive groves & past castles & ancient churches, with wonderful vistas back towards Florence until the path drops steeply into the little hamlet of Settignano. And there you can enjoy your just reward in the form of lunch at Caffe` Desiderio. It has been there as long as I remember & it has always been nice, but as of late last year, the new owners, Michele & Francesca, have taken it to a whole new level. The atmosphere is unpretentious & rustic in the old Florentine manner, a feeling of a welcoming hostelry of an earlier time with the whole leg of prosciutto on its big rack & the wine bottles stacked all around, but the food is cutting-edge modern Tuscan served by enthusiastic young Tuscans not afraid to experiment. I have eaten the classic Tuscan winter dish, Peposo, there & never tasted a better or more authentic version, but at the same time, I was also offered little pot of creme brulee with foie gras which was simply exquisite. There is an exciting range of wines, both local & from wider afield & a range of Italian designer beers to blow your mind. Or if you can resist all that you can have a board of the best salumi, formaggi e pane imaginable. The window in the back wall gives out over the Tuscan hills & the easy, happy atmoshere make this a compulsory stop for me. After too much of everything you just step onto the #10 bus which takes you back down to Florence. If you are feeling lazy you can just take the #10 from San Marco, eat everything in sight & take the bus back down again.
Or if you want to do that in Fiesole for a very special lunch indeed, the #7 bus or a taxi will take you to the utterly fabulous Villa San Michele in the photo above, where you can dine like the Medici of old. But then beware the waistline.

BUON NATALE

2010-12-09T17:10:00.000-08:00

I wish you all a happy and safe and healthy Christmas and a wonderful year in 2011. Here are some tips for Christmas in Florence from the staff at my favourite Florentine publication, The Florentine.

We love the Christmas markets. Until December 12, Stazione Leopolda hosts Florence Noël (daily, 10am to 11pm; see www.florencenoel.it). The entire interior has been transformed into a winter wonderland, featuring everything Christmas imaginable and fun for the whole family: toys; decorations; decked-out stands of accessories, foods, artisan products and jewelry; daily delights for all five senses, including nonstop tastings and a full café for Noel noshing; attractions for the kids (cooking classes for tots every evening at 5:30) and parents alike. Performances of all sorts range from renditions of Charles Dickens' Christmas Carol to chamber music and choirs. Peruse the exhibit of antique toys or make a donation in the spirit of the season to a charity of your choice at the Solidarity Corner.
Until December 20, piazza Santa Croce is transformed into Santa's workshop for the city's annual German Christmas Market (Mercato di Natale di Weihnachtsmarkt, until December 20).
On December 18, sate your appetite for artisan at Artingegno a Natale (via Maso Finiguerra, www.artingegno.biz), a street fair and exhibition for all things traditionally handmade and Christmas related. On December 19, piazza della Santissima Annunziata is the site of the Fierucolina di Natale, an uniquely Florentine take on Christmas: Tuscans sell delicious foods and handmade products in the piazza. The fierucolina has been an annual tradition for more than a hundred years, ever since, for reasons lost to time, folk from the Tuscan countryside would converge at Santissima Annunziata to celebrate the birth of the Virgin and the fertility of women generally. Although it's not a market, the Festa degli Omaggi, on December 20, is another time-honoured Florentine tradition. Men in tights bidding good tidings to the Florentine royal court; teams of flag-throwers: don't expect to do much Christmas shopping while the Renaissance-themed parade winds through town.

Still at loss for what to get Aunt Mildred? Head out to Le Cascine on December 23. If you've never made it to the weekly market (which is, by the way, the biggest outdoor market in Florence), this is your chance. The vendors offer a special holiday version of the usual park-wide market offerings. It's also TF staffer Federico Lupo's insider tip for a last-minute, stress-free, cheer-inducing way to spend the final days up to the big day.

Brenda Dionisi says ‘lace up those skates!' Each year, the Parterre in piazza della Libertà sets up a rink big enough for 200 skaters. With the illuminated arches and tree-lined streets of the piazza as a backdrop, enjoy the ice with a group of friends, family or plus one. Hit Perseus (viale Don Minzoni) for dinner afterwards as an added bonus (some say it serves the best bistecca in town). The piazza is also littered with cafés, so enjoy a coffee or aperitif nearby and make an evening out of it.

Like other chocolate lovers, I thank the stelle all year ‘round for Florence's gelaterie and cioccolaterie, but the holidays are my time for hot chocolate, which, here in Italy means melted dark chocolate. Head to Vestri on Borgo degli Albizi, 11 for a cup of the magic mix (also an excellent place for confectioned-to-perfection gifts) and instead of adding whipped cream, plop a dollop of fior di latte ice cream in your portable cup, making for a creamy, half-steaming half-cold-creaming delight for the senses. Grom (via dell'Oche) also concocts the same molten delight, which you can pair with just about any flavour you please.

Alexandra Lawrence has treasured Christmas even more since the arrival of her son, Giacomo. She shares some ideas for enjoying the holidays with little ones in ‘Are you KIDding?' on page 18.

Executive director Marco Badiani urges readers to enjoy a classic: chestnuts roasting on an open fire... The mix of the crisp smell of December air and hot, toasty aroma of caldarroste conjure Christmas like nothing else. You can visit the chestnut vendor on via Calzaiuoli. Or in the spirit of do-it-yourself (see Rachel Priestley's version of homemade panettone on page 21), you can make roasted chestnuts at home, sans fireplace or even perforated iron pan. For a perfect batch of piping hot bruciate, make a slice in each chestnut, scatter them on a sheet of waxed paper and roast in the oven at 200-250°C for 20 minutes.

Christmas morning is over, the food's been eaten, presents opened and kids put down for a nap. This is Giacomo Badiani's favourite Christmas moment. He dons a coat, scarf and hat and takes a stroll through the centre of town, enjoying a silence unlike any since mid-August-only without the heat

Florence: all things to all people

2010-09-18T18:35:00.000-07:00

Florence is not all about galleries. This is an article from the September edition of the wonderful English language newspaper The Florentine. Pick up a copy from The Paperback Exchange in via delle Oche. The photo is of the restaurant Alle Murate in via del Proconsolo.

Florence for philistines
by Dan Woodford

Last autumn, having just arrived in Florence, I was walking through the city with some colleagues of my wife, all Renaissance scholars. Noticing the glass façade of the restaurant Alle Murate, I remarked, ‘Oh, that's where it is.' ‘Have you not been there yet?' they answered in unison. ‘No, have you?' I replied. ‘Yes, we went last week.' ‘How was the food?' I inquired.
‘Oh we didn't eat there; we just went to look at the frescoes,' they replied.

The company I have kept this last year may have been unusually rife with Renaissance academics, but exchanges such as this one are pretty commonplace. The supposition is that we are visiting for the art and the history that goes with it. The guidebooks and postcards make it clear that this is what you come to Florence for. However, not all of us come to look at frescoes and palazzi.

Before this year, my memories of my one previous visit amounted to little more than David, bistecca, Chianti, and the two precious Smiths vinyl bootlegs I brought home in my impractical antique suitcase. Seemingly, I have not changed much in the intervening 20 years, because the memories I'm taking home this year will again have little to do with Florence's historical and artistic treasures.

Is this a bad thing? Many of us like to travel because we like to be in places that are just ... foreign. It may be that visiting the Uffizi or the Palazzo Pitti gives your trip a focal point, but the journey, the lunch that you stop for or the local people you observe on the way should be as much a part of that trip as the visit to the sites themselves.

So, if you decide to go and see Fra Angelico's frescoes at San Marco, grab some schiacciata at Pugi first, or jump on a bus that's filled with school kids on their way home from the liceo. Being swamped by the local population chatting loudly on a busy bus or in a queue at the swimming pool is often more exhilarating than gazing aimlessly at a painting of the Deposition, guidebook in hand.

For a break from the weighty cultural history on offer in the city, head out to I Gigli, the large shopping mall past the airport. Here, there are no tour guides with brightly coloured umbrellas raised aloft, escorting confused-looking tour groups-only Florentines arguing at length over which cell phone or McBurger to buy. I guarantee that you will get a better idea of what the Florentines are like here than you will standing in a queue for the Uffizi. You will get a snapshot of Italian life that is not captured and printed, then put on sale with the other postcards at every corner shop in the city center.

Another must for the visiting philistine in Florence are the markets. It may sound glib, but the Mercato Centrale and Mercato Sant'Ambrogio were my Uffizi and Accademia. The colours, bustle, smells, and life at these places are as rewarding a visit as any Botticelli. And you get to eat what you are looking at, too! Both markets have their share of snap-happy tourists, so if you are really intrepid, you could head out to a suburban branch of Esselunga or COOP to see where the majority of Florentines do their food shopping.

A memory that will take some beating for me was a trip to see Fiorentina play at the Artemio Franchi stadium. Judging by the number of American accents heard at the Fiorentina vs. Roma match, a visit to Campo di Marte is now firmly established as a must-do for U.S. undergrads. Not that this detracted from the experience in any way. The chanting can only be described as Italian, as are the insults shouted at the referee.
Try and grab a seat near the Curva Fiesole to get the full Viola experience.
The packed traffic-free streets after the match, thronging with (albeit disgruntled) Fiorentina fans were a highly atmospheric place to be. Being literally surrounded by animated Italian football fans made me feel happily cut off from the tourist-dense heart of the city. That place at that time will be an abiding memory of Florence for me.
A 10-minute walk from the stadium is one of Florence's best gelaterie, Badiani. (Incidentally, there is no answer to the question as to which is the best). If you are going to visit Badiani (and you must) then do so late in the evening. After a Fiorentina match is ideal, when this up-market gelateria is at its busiest with Florentines from all walks of life.
In a previous life, my first great love was pop music, and though other Italian cities seem to attract more bands, I managed to see two great acts in quite remarkable settings in Florence: Wilco at the Teatro della Pergola, and English folk act The Unthanks in the Convento di Santa Maria del Carmine, the latter a breathtaking setting for the haunting English folk harmonies, yet a place I would never otherwise have visited.
In a sense, these gigs are emblematic of what Florence has to offer. It may well be presented as a collection of famous buildings and paintings to be ticked off the tourist's list, but it is when contemporary life is backdropped by the historic buildings or artworks that Florence really enthralls.

Philistines: A person who is hostile or indifferent to culture and the arts.
(Concise Oxford English Dictionary, 11th edition)
Dan Woodford spent a year living in Florence and left small pieces of himself there. In return, Florence left a few inches on his waist.

2010-06-04T15:19:00.000-07:00

A new & exciting addition to our site is the beautiful Veneto country house below.

"Ca’ Contea is a countryside farmhouse with a history going back centuries. The house, built on a property of 12 acres, stands among the vineyards on the hillside of Padua, in the heart of Veneto Region. Its position is central between the wonderful cities of Padua, Vicenza, Venice and Verona.

Newly, fully restored by the owners with total respect of its original structure and character and in a perfect combination of ancient material and contemporary taste, Ca` Contea is a stone, terracotta-render green-shuttered house with, in front, an old bread oven, where the inhabitant of the County (from where comes the name), where used to come cooking their own bread during the last three century.

Benefiting from being just 10 minutes drive from 3 golf courses (18 holes) and 15 minutes drive from the Hot Spring and Spa of Abano and Montegrotto and encircled by several panoramic cycling and walking tracks, it is a perfect solution for everybody liking open-air activities and wellness. Even the passionate cultural and gourmet travelers could be satisfied visiting the nearby historical walled-cities and castles where it is possible find a simple but authentic hospitality, which brings you in contact with the traditional values."

2010-04-04T17:53:00.000-07:00

If the shoe fits….
I spent a long and fascinating afternoon in Museo Ferragamo, the Ferragamo Museum, recently.
Being me I wouldn’t have thought that thousands of shoes could have held me spellbound for long, but I was wrong. The museum is down in the vaults beneath the extravagant headquarters of Ferragamo, in Palazzo Spini Ferrone, in Piazza Santo Spirito. It opened in 1995 but for some reason it was closed for ages but reopened in the basement of the headquarters only in 2006. The collection is a stunning panorama of over sixty years of shoes—Cinderella would have had no trouble finding another shoe here, and a prince as well, for that matter. Imelda Marcos must light candles to this shrine every night. The list of the famous, and the wooden models of their feet, form a roll-call of the celebrities of the twentieth century: Ava Gardner; Katherine Hepburn; Mary Pickford whose feet were as tiny as a Geisha’s; Sophia Loren; Audrey Hepburn who only wore flatties; Rita Hayworth whose feet turned inwards, Greta Garbo who took a size 41, exactly the same as me; Eva Peron whose rather tarty high heels with the ankle-bow are still made and are in the current collection; and Marilyn Monroe who was apparently as hard on her shoes as she was on her men, because they only have six pairs of her stilettos in the museum and they are all in bad shape. It wasn’t just women though of course—Andy Warhol stars among the celebrity pics.
The walls are covered in photos of all these gorgeous creatures having their feet caressed by Salvatore Ferragamo, and there are cases full of the receipts for their orders: Marilyn of course ordered six pairs at a time; Elizabeth Arden had her size 6B posted to her in August 1938; Mrs. Paul Mellon ordered hers to be sent to her at the family estate, Huntland Downs; Ginger Rogers paid $39.95 for hers in November 1959 and so did Mrs. Henry Ford, though hers had 50c added for postage paid! I’d have thought that Ferragamo could have let the postage go, wouldn’t you? These all came from the shop at 424 Park Avenue, New York, while in May of 1959, Mary Pickford’s cost $25.95 from the shop at 323 No. Rodeo Drive, Beverley Hills. They don’t all go back to the ‘50s though—there is also a pair made for Drew Barrymore in 1998 for the film of Cinderella.
There are only six Ferragamo centres in the world where the hand-made signature shoes are sold, and opulence is the order of the day in each of them. They are: Florence; Milan; Paris; Tokyo; New York just recently; and of course Beijing, the latest to open. Salvatore was not a Florentine; he was from Naples, but the headquarters is in Florence where the Ferragamo company now owns seemingly, half the city. They have the whole block where the fabulous Renaissance Palazzo Spini Ferrone commands the area, then on both sides of the Arno is their chain of luxury hotels: the regal Lungarno Suites, the very hip Hotel Art; the restrained and elegant Hotel Continentale; and the flagship Hotel Lungarno in Borgo San Jacopo. They also have a shop which sells designer homewares all based on the less-is-more principle of modernist chic. Salvatore Ferragamo has been dead for ages but his widow, who was twenty years younger and is now eighty-six, still comes in to work every day!
The museum may be housed in the basement but it’s not just any old basement; the ceilings are vaulted and covered in medieval frescoes of the stemme or blazons of the ruling families of the time. A Florentine friend told me that in the 1970s the basement was a nightclub with a very unsavoury reputation, called The Well of Beatrice, and that she was strictly forbidden to go there. The thing that strikes me most forcibly is that almost all the designs could still be, and are in many cases, still are in fashion today. By far the most intriguing were the sandals of pure 18 carat gold, made in 1956, for the wife of an ‘Australian tycoon’!! Not too many Australians were buying their wives golden slippers in 1956, soooo any guesses?

Christmas in a village in Tuscany

2009-12-07T22:59:00.000-08:00

Babbo Natale knows how to find Bagni di Lucca. Although it was a thriving spa town in the nineteenth century, like most of Tuscany it has roots in the Etruscan & Roman epochs as well. Close to the gorgeous walled city of Lucca, Bagni di Lucca is a little gem of a Tuscan village where life rolls along with a rythm in tune with the seasons. Off the beaten track and filled with magic.

Lisa Clifford wins literary award

2009-10-14T14:06:00.000-07:00

In August this year, Lisa Clifford was awarded the 2009 Grollo Ruzzene Foundation Prize for Writing about Italians in Australia.

The book, Death in the Mountains, describes a Tuscany the travel brochures don't know. It takes the reader into a time & place & a world almost forgotten now, even by Tuscans, but still vivid in the effects on each person who was formed by those times. Lisa sees with the clear-eyed love of an adopted Tuscan, & shares with us her warm appreciation for the harsh and beautiful world which lies so close behind the one we all see today.
I love this book & I am delighted that it has been properly recognised. Don't miss it.
See below.

'Death in The Mountains' by Lisa Clifford

2009-10-14T13:59:00.000-07:00

Winner
The winner of the 2009 Grollo Ruzzene Foundation Prize for Writing about Italians in Australia is:
Death in the Mountains - WINNER
Lisa Clifford
(Pan Macmillan)

The world of the Italian peasant, hundreds of years in the making, is difficult to describe to the modern reader, as it is overlain with the memories and misconceptions that are mixed up in the migration process. In Death in the Mountains, Lisa Clifford intricately re-creates an almost forgotten world of a rural Italy, a world of peasant mezzadri (sharecroppers) governed by poverty, hard work, frugality and resourcefulness in which adversity is sometimes paradoxically mediated by both religion and superstition. The key factual events, particularly the murder of the family's paterfamilias, Artemio Bruni, are located within a vivid reconstruction of the occluded world inhabited by these mezzadri. The details are astonishingly good, based on careful interviews with the descendants of Artemio and Bruna and their contemporaries, now very old people living on the margins of an Italian region better known for its glamorous villas and majestic urbanscapes. By drawing readers into the world of the Italian mezzadro peasant the story of the Bruni family, Clifford provides insight into the values, attitudes and ways that helped define the Italian peasantry and which subsequently moulded the lives of Italians both in Australia and Italy.

ORSANMICHELE ORATORIO

2009-10-03T15:26:00.000-07:00

A treasure re-opened
Volunteers staff long-shuttered museum

Orsanmichele is the most Florentine monument in Florence. Palazzo Vecchio is a town hall, like the town halls that are found in many other cities. Santa Maria del Fiore is a cathedral, just like the ones in every other city. But there is only one Orsanmichele and it is in Florence. Only in Florence could a monument like this one be born; a monument that is part church, part granary; a monument that serves both religious and civil life; a monument that exalts both faith and work'.

These words, spoken by then mayor of Florence, Piero Bargellini, in a 1956 speech, are on the back of the tickets that give visitors free entrance to the newly re-opened Orsanmichele museum, located on the second and third floors of the church.

Lacking personnel, the museum, which showcases the original sculptures that once adorned the Orsanmichele's exterior tabernacles, has been closed for the past four years. Now, thanks to volunteers from the Amici dei musei fiorentini association, the museum opens its doors every Monday, from 10am to 5pm.

‘It's a gift for all-both residents and tourists. For this we thank the Amici dei musei fiorentini,' said the museum's director, Antonio Goldoni.

‘We will work to control the visitor influx, but we will also answer visitors' questions and help out in any way we can. We decided to open the museum on Mondays because the city's other museums are closed and we hope to attract more visitors', says volunteer and Florentine entrepreneur Roberto Santini.

The Florentine, (issue no. 108/2009 / September 24, 2009)

'Something wicked this way comes' Macbeth at the Bargello

2009-07-02T14:22:00.000-07:00

As daylight wanes over Florence, the divide between man and fate collide in this summer's performance of Shakespeare's Macbeth. The study of murder, greed, and deception will be played out in the former execution grounds of the Bargello Museum.

‘Florence English Speaking Theatrical Artists (F.E.S.T.A.) is making history as the first company to perform Shakespeare in English in a Florentine museum,' remarked Cristina Acidini, head of the Polo Museale Fiorentino, the organization in charge of Florence's most renowned museums.

‘The emphasis is very much on the metaphysical, on humanity, and the battle between the gods and fate,' said director Shaun Loftus. ‘One of the hallmarks of tragedy is man against the gods, so the idea was to put emphasis on the witches.'

Living in a society where the end justifies the means, Loftus' Macbeth is presented as a tragedy of humanity. The witches represent three primordial fates-the spinner, the allotter, and the cutter-altering the characters' lives. Inspired by Akira Kurasawa's Throne of Blood
, Loftus emphasizes that the witches' power to determine life, length of life, and the moment of death comes from the characters' belief in them.

‘I mirror the fights because I'm deciding who gets away and who dies,' explained Stephanie Taylor, who plays the cutter. ‘Our biggest fear is if these people stop believing in us because then we'll die.'

Echoing modern notions that the winner conquers all, and that immorality deserves reward, Macbeth digs into the roots of Greek tragedy, said Loftus.
The marriage between Macbeth and Lady Macbeth is one of equal partners. Although Macbeth is often interpreted as weak, Simon Blackhall portrays a very warm and strong Macbeth. ‘It's a tragedy; there's no way out for Macbeth,' said Blackhall. ‘Along with that there's also a lot of humanity in the play-the visceral language equates to this rawness.'
The Florence production of Macbeth features an ensemble cast of actors from Broadway to the Stratford Theatre, from America, Rome, Pisa, and the U.K.
‘When I heard about this project, I knew I had to be a part of it,' said Baron Kelly, who has appeared on Broadway, Off Broadway, and in regional theatres across America. On his role as Duncan, the king, he recounted that Loftus told him, "‘I'm sorry you came all this way just to get killed.'"

The murders take place in the courtyard of the Bargello, where prisoners were once executed. ‘Macbeth is an incredibly bloody play, and in medieval times criminals used to be hung in the courtyard,' said Elia Nichols who plays Lady Macbeth. ‘Very little set was needed. Macbeth is set in Scotland during the Middle Ages, so all we needed was a castle.'

Works of art in Florence are echoed in the costumes, designed by Dagmar Lise Pedersen. One of Lady Macbeth's costumes, a cape with fabric relief sculptures of babies' heads, signifying a central theme of the play: Macbeth's willingness to slaughter innocence in order to fulfill ambition. It was inspired by a wooden sculpture in the Bargello, the Madonna della Misericordia.

Commenting on her approach to the production, Loftus explained, ‘We wanted a violent Macbeth to show people what not to do. We're in a world where horrible wars happen and we never see it around us-we live in a society that's become disaffected.'

Macbeth will be performed at 9pm at the Bargello from July 8 through 12. Italian translation will be projected on the wall. Tickets can be purchased from www.themacbethproject.org/boxoffice, www.boxol.it, or at the BM Bookstore, Borgo Ognissanti 4r.
This article is from The Florentine, (issue no. 105/2009 / July 2, 2009)

TUSCAN B&B VILLA LA MASSA

2009-03-13T14:42:00.000-07:00

Our daily bread took on a much more immediate meaning during a recent stay at Villa La Massa in the Tuscan countryside to the east of Florence. Peter & Daniele, who run this gorgeous B & B deep in a Tuscan valley in the Casentino, are delightfully warm hosts who spare no effort to make their guests feel, for a time, part of the rich ritual of the country rythm which is their life. And so, on our first morning, we found ourselves in Peter’s 4WD on our way to the ancient water mill in a local village to pick up a sack of flour for more of the scrumptious homemade bread we had devoured for breakfast. We watched the big stones grinding on as they had for centuries, powered by the rush of water directly beneath us, all viewed through a fine haze of new flour. After a chat to the baker, who, with his brother, continues this family business with contracts as far off as Tesco in the UK, we collected our sack and headed into the local bar for the morning coffee ritual. No tourists ever stray here—the beaten tack is far away.
La Massa sits high on the side of the valley, flooded by sunshine for most of the day. We took the SITA coach from Florence, enjoying the spectacular scenery of the villages and mountains of the valley which follows the River Arno to its source. We passed through ancient villages and towns such as Pontassieve with its Roman bridge, and on upwards through stunning forests into the snow-covered mountains and the high pass at Consuma. This was once one of the poorest regions in Tuscany, and the traditions are still strong. At a bend in the road we alighted at a local stop signed Vertelli & made our way on foot up the lane which wends its way to the house through olive groves and across a stone bridge across a tumbling river, and on upward into the light and welcome of La Massa.
On this early spring evening the fire was already lit and the lamps were burning and the sense of homecoming was overwhelming. Peter & Daniele have thought of everything. I’m a hard marker, but over the course of our three-day visit I could not find a single thing which could be bettered. This is hospitality at its most utterly gracious, offered by hosts who really are pleased to have you.
We spent a day exploring the surrounding villages—visiting the perfectly preserved town of Poppi with its medieval castle and collonaded streets reached from below by an Etruscan footpath. Perched high on its eyrie the town sits surveying the surrounding countryside just as it has done for over eight hundred years, still silent and brooding like the castle-keep it once was. Sounds floated up from the valley below—dogs barking, church bells tolling, wisps of smoke from the plains where the prunings from the harvested olive trees are being burned.
Peter drove us to the market town of Strada in Casentino where he took us to meet his friends who run the alimentary—deli to us. We had a delightful chat about the Slow Food Movement, to which they belong, and which is now, after its beginnings in Torino, a world-wide sodality. The array of regional cheeses was enough to make me despair, and so of course we tasted them all and bought far too much, and staggered home laden with enough for forty people for forty days, but determined to eat it all the same.
At night in the valley the stars glitter as I have only ever seen them before in Australia. By day we followed the ridge-line high, high up behind the house to the very top from where you can see forever.
La Massa offers every possible comfort & joy of modernity—super comfortable beds; lavish bathrooms; fully equipped kitchens; central heating; a wood-burning stove ( with chopped & ready-stacked wood) and elegant, welcoming, comfy décor. This is the best of modern Italian design, married to casual rustic charm and thoughtful generous hospitality.
The ‘breakfast’ part of the Bed &Breakfast is no less generous—a luscious selection of goodies which included berry jam made by Daniele’s mother and of course Peter’s homemade bread, which we almost felt as if we had had a hand in making, as we had at least supervised the milling of the flour!
There is also Wi-fi internet and a gym, for those who could be bothered with the outside world or self-discipline, but I ignored both of those and even the solar-heated pool set amongst geraniums and lavender with a view across the valley. This is a place to be still and feel life eddying around you. This is Peter & Danny’s home, and the B&B is an extension of their home & their life, which we were fortunate enough to share for a short time. Lucky us!!

B&B in Tuscany - Villa La Massa

2009-03-13T01:05:00.000-07:00

Villa La Massa visit on our links.

TUSCAN B&B - VILLA LA MASSA

2009-03-13T00:52:00.000-07:00

Villa La Massa in the Tuscan countryside to the east of Florence. Peter & Daniele, who run this gorgeous B & B deep in a Tuscan valley in the Casentino, are delightfully warm hosts who spare no effort to make their guests feel, for a time, part of the rich ritual of the country rythm which is their life. And so, on our first morning, we found ourselves in Peter’s 4WD on our way to the ancient water mill in a local village to pick up a sack of flour for more of the scrumptious homemade bread we had devoured for breakfast. We watched the big stones grinding on as they had for centuries, powered by the rush of water directly beneath us, all viewed through a fine haze of new flour. After a chat to the baker, who, with his brother, continues this family business with contracts as far off as Tesco in the UK, we collected our sack and headed into the local bar for the morning coffee ritual. No tourists ever stray here—the beaten tack is far away.

RICK EVERINGHAM: Painter & sculptor

2008-12-16T22:46:00.000-08:00

RICK EVERINGHAM

I thought that my readers might like to read an excerpt from the website of Rick Everingham, an Australian artist living & working in Tuscany.

'I am very fortunate to have been able to continuously paint for the last 35 years. I have worked in various studios in Brisbane, Australia, and I am now enjoying also spending part of my year in a small hill town in Italy, overlooking a beautiful Tuscan landscape.
This selection of recent paintings should give you an insight into my current work. Recently I have been experimenting with some new techniques, and new ways of presenting my paintings.

My paintings also have a subtle surface texture that I take great delight in creating. Unfortunately that detail is completely lost in this type of transmission and can only be seen by viewing the actual painting.

If you are interested in further information about any of these paintings, please contact me. I would be happy to e-mail larger, more detailed images, or possibly images of other current works that may not be yet included here.'

Tuscan Villa for Sale

2008-10-12T12:49:00.000-07:00
Follow your Tuscan dream. Dreams are not for sale but Villa Ulivello is!

Villa Ulivello:
is a unique 19th century villa located just 10 kilometers south of Florence. It offers dazzling views of the rolling, sun-drenched Chianti hills.

The property comprises 14 hectares of farmland, olive groves and vineyard, and three habitable dwellings, as well as three agricultural buildings.

Experience the serenity of the past and enjoy the panoramic vista, as you drink wine from your own vineyards and cook with olive oil from your own trees.

Within twenty minutes you can immerse yourself in Florence, the heart of the Italian Renaissance, or explore the surrounding area and discover the charm of its medieval hill towns.

Things to do in Florence

2008-09-29T00:22:00.001-07:00

The big museums are thrilling, but in many ways I prefer the smaller and more personal experiences in Florence. The small museums, Casa Horne & Casa Buonarrotti are both fascinating.

Santo Spirito and The church of Il Carmine is a must. The whole area here is one of the oldest and most interesting of all. You cross the Ponte Vecchio, turn right into Borgo San Jacopo, and follow along, following the signs to Santo Spirito and Il Carmine. It is the artisan quarter & full of little workshops and antiques etc. In Piazza Santo Spirito, apart from the church, is Palazzo Guadagni, where 'A Room with a View' was shot. The church of the Carmine has some of the most important frescoes in Florence. Masaccio's frescoes of The Fall are extraordinary.

In Palazzo Medici, the tiny Benozzo Gozzoli chapel is exquisite. Go in the afternoon when it is not crowded.

Chiesa di Beatrice is just around the corner, near Dante’s house. This is said to be where Dante first met Beatrice.

The Bargello is the old seat of the Podesta` or Governor, and is now the sculpture museum. You have to join a group and it's worth it not only for the sculptures but for the architecture.
This is true of Palazzo Vecchio too, which suceeded the Bargello as the seat of government.

The church of Santa Croce is one of my favourite places. All the greats are buried there, including the tomb of Dante although he is not really buried there but in Ravenna. The cloisters are full of della Robbia, and The Leather School at the back is pure art.

The oldest Pharmacy in Florence is Officina Profumo-Farmaceutica di Santa Maria Novella in via della Scala off Piazza Santa Maria Novella, is wonderful. No longer a pharmacy really but a perfumery, it is beautiful.
When you go to have a look at it, visit the Museo Allinari on the way. It is the photgraphic museum and a stunning record of the city.

Museo di Firenze Com'era (Florence Once Upon a Time) is wonderful. It traces the development of Florence from the Etruscans to the 20th century, and had a great diorama of the medieval city.

Museo delle Scienze, the Science Museum, has Gallileo's documents and much more.

Museo Stibbert is full of arms and weapons etc and is very interesting.

Have a coffee or a drink on the terrace of the department store La Rinascente. You go through the store to the top floor, and you can look out on the Duomo and all the rooftops.

The Foundling Hospital or Ospedale degli Innocenti, is a beautiful building and has a museum which is very touching -- bits and pieces from the belongings of all the babies abandoned over the centuries, and the Foundling wheel, where the babies were placed is at the end of the portico.

FLORENCE IS A BEACH

2008-07-23T15:39:00.000-07:00

Who says you can't sail in summer in Florence?
The photo & article below are from my favourite Florentine publication,
The Florentine.

LUNGARNO BEACH
Following the example of Paris, London, Rome and Berlin, Florence opened its first beach and bathing area along the banks of the Arno. Located just under the San Niccolò ramp, near Piazza Poggi, the so-called Lungarno Beach is equipped with sand, walking paths, complementary lounge chairs and umbrellas, a volleyball court, a bar, showers and three large cabanas to provide shade in hotter-than-normal temperatures. Because the Arno River is not fit for bathing, the cabanas feature vaporizers to give fast heat relief. What better place to kick back and relax at your lunch break or for the afternoon than here-immersed in the architectural and artistic jewels of Renaissance Florence, deep in the heart of the city.

Lungarno beach, open from 10am to 10pm until September 14. Includes a fenced playground for children, and a walking path leading to Ponte alle Grazie. Free entrance.
www.theflorentine.it

2008-06-28T19:23:00.001-07:00

CARENNAC IN THE LOT VALLEY. VIEW FROM THE WINDOW OF HOTEL FENELON

2008-06-25T16:16:00.000-07:00

BORDEAUX DIARY cont...
Early start this morning to drive over to the Lot Valley. On through Bergerac & then to Lalinde, following the Dordogne River for the whole morning. Saw the little enchanted castle on the river in Lalinde, where Sandy & Suzanna's friend Wilna lives, whom we are going to visit on the 15th. You can see it on my web site & here on the blog. http://chateaulalinde.blogspot.com/
That whole day was one town after another straight out of a fairy story. It's goose country of course & it makes me thing of Hans Christian Andersen or Grimms Fairy tales. It is also the 'rote du noix' or the route of the walnuts - the walnut trees are everywhere just bursting into life. By the way I want no rude feedback on my execrable French spelling thanks!
On to Carennac which is too far from the cities for day trippers & so is calm & filled with joy. I'm sitting in the windows of our room gazing out into the winding little medieval street with the river tumbling below all the stone & slate houses, crooked & half-timbered like English villages, & the church belling is tolling time to eat again.
Lunch was: escargot, walnut puree, wild Ce'pes, Cahors red, & the scent of lavender all around us. Dinner soon. So much food, so little time. There was an ad running on Italian TV for yoghurt, which said 'Paolo and Cristina say no to cholesterol' well, we are saying a resounding yes! Heart attack to follow shortly.
Spent the afternoon wandering the streets of the village & following the towpath by the riverbank, which is straight from "Wind in the Willows".
Lots of Kayakers on the river. Tomorrow off to drive around the circuit of the Lot Valley and eat some more. Constant sound of the Cuckoo. So long since I've been in Europe in Springtime.

2008-06-24T19:38:00.000-07:00

Chateau Lalinde

2008-06-24T19:28:00.000-07:00

2008-06-24T18:53:00.000-07:00

BORDEAUX DIARY
Just a small digression from Florence, to give you a taste of where you can go using the sites on the blog.

Bordeaux
'We've been here less that 24 hours & it feels so much longer.Watch out Italy, I think I'm falling in love with France!
Air France was lovely - tiny little plane with only about 40 passengers.Such nice stewards, so different from Alitalia. Arrived to collect the car at Bordeaux airport, no trouble. Good car, diesel & comfy. Got out of Bordeaux on the ringroad no problem, heading for St. Emillion, world heritage village. Big mistake. Saturday & every Frenchman & his three dogs were doing the same thing. No problem. Wove our way through the endless vines & Chateau and magical country. Restaurants everywhere but no hotels. On the road to Bergerac (where even the panel-beater's is called Roxanne & Cyrano) we found a roadside hotel that had all the style of a Surfers Paradise highway motel. They had one last room left. Oh well, we said at least it's a bed. But no, this was where it all got even better. We went for a little stroll back from the road & found ourselves in Montcarnet, roses & Irises tumbling from every stone cottage, grey slate steeple roofs, & the local church, with the marriages bans posted on the door & surrounded by Roman ruins.
Back down to the tiny corner shop where we bought wine & water in what has become my patois of Italian/French/English. But it's working. Everyone has been incredibly kind & helpful & welcoming.
Never say a bad word to me about the French again.
Then the owner of the motel booked us in for dinner with friends of his up the road & that's where things started to get really interesting. Bordeaux red, of course. Then Foie Gras, baked camembert, Confit du Canard & Veau au Marsala. Wonderful service & lovely people.'

2008-04-15T15:20:00.000-07:00

Shop til you drop

I’m afraid I didn’t get the shopping gene, to the despair of my sisters and friends. I would rather sit in a caffe` watching the goings on in the piazza. I have friends who make military-style raids on the famous Mall—the designer shopping outlets—outside of Florence, but I have to confess I’ve never been there. There is a newish one now, in Barberino del Mugello, built by the Italian-British joint venture, Macarthur Glen – Frattini. Macarthur Glen is a huge British outlet company which already has outlets at Serravalle near Milan and Castel Romano outside Rome, as well as in Holland, Austria, France and the UK. This takes outlet-shopping to new and dizzy heights. At a cost of seventy million Euros, the new one near Florence boasts more than a hundred designer shops—all the big names such as D&G, Armani, Bulgari, Prada, Pollini, Missoni, Bruno Magli etc, endless bars and restaurants, and all encased in a new faux-medieval complex purpose-built to house it. It should be a knockout.

I’m afraid though that I would rather put pins in my eyes than go shopping. I actually prefer Italian cities on Monday mornings when the shops are all shut. I have a friend who guides shopping tour-groups. She despairs of me! But for those who know the famous leather goods brand, The Bridge, I can tell you that it was born in Florence and takes its name from the most famous bridge, the Ponte Vecchio.

If you must shop, at least go to La Rinascente in Milan and Florence for the caffe` alone—the best views in town. In both stores, you go to the cafeteria on the top floor. The food and wine is alright, but it’s the view that counts. In Milan you gaze directly into the cake-icing spires of the famous Duomo, and in Florence you are greeted by the vista down into Piazza della Republica, the distant hills, and of course the great cupola of the Duomo.

And although you can buy leather from a million places in Florence, you have never seen leather until you have visited the Scuola del Cuoio—the Leather School in the rear of Santa Croce. This is leather as art. Leather as lusso. You go through the magnificent Santa Croce Sacristy with its intricate inlaid-timber choir and benches. A long corridor leads away to the back, with leather-craftsmen working at their benches on one side, and on the other, locked glass cases filled with handbags of every rainbow-colour, that begin at five thousand Euros each and are decorated with precious gems, ancient beads and nuggets of gold, fossils, ivory, quartz and antique silver. They are the work of Francesca Gori, daughter of the founder of the Leather School.

Marcello Gori and the Franciscan Friars founded the school immediately after the war, and the first leather-working apprentices were the war-orphans from Pisa. To give them hope and a trade, they were taught to work practical leather-goods, and those who showed special talent were encouraged to specialise in the more artistic areas of gilt-embossing with 22 carat gold, and the intricate leather punching with which the most exclusive objects are decorated. Later, with the encouragement of the Mayor of Florence and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, a biennial scholarship was created for children from third-world countries. During the period from the 1970s to the 1990s, the artisan-trades in Italy suffered a great neglect and subsequent decline, and the school shrank dramatically, but recently it has experienced a renewed vitality, and several of its students have been put to work for firms such as Gucci and Fendi. Even if you can’t see yourself buying one of Francesca’s handbags for every season, it’s worth a look just for the sheer beauty and extravagance of artistry and passion. And cheap compared to the Louis Vuitton bucket patchwork bag which I saw advertised recently for $30,800!!

2008-03-11T15:21:00.001-07:00

I spent a long and fascinating afternoon in Museo Ferragamo, the Ferragamo Museum, recently.

Being me I wouldn’t have thought that thousands of shoes could have held me spellbound for long, but I was wrong. The museum is down in the vaults beneath the extravagant headquarters of Ferragamo, in Palazzo Spini Ferrone, in Piazza Santo Spirito. It opened in 1995 but for some reason it was closed for ages but reopened in the basement of the headquarters only in 2006. The collection is a stunning panorama of over sixty years of shoes—Cinderella would have had no trouble finding another shoe here, and a prince as well, for that matter. Imelda Marcos must light candles to this shrine every night. The list of the famous, and the wooden models of their feet, form a roll-call of the celebrities of the twentieth century: Ava Gardner; Katherine Hepburn; Mary Pickford whose feet were as tiny as a Geisha’s; Sophia Loren; Audrey Hepburn who only wore flatties; Rita Hayworth whose feet turned inwards, Greta Garbo who took a size 41, exactly the same as me; Eva Peron whose rather tarty high heels with the ankle-bow are still made and are in the current collection; and Marilyn Monroe who was apparently as hard on her shoes as she was on her men, because they only have six pairs of her stilettos in the museum and they are all in bad shape. It wasn’t just women though of course—Andy Warhol stars among the celebrity pics.

The walls are covered in photos of all these gorgeous creatures having their feet caressed by Salvatore Ferragamo, and there are cases full of the receipts for their orders: Marilyn of course ordered six pairs at a time; Elizabeth Arden had her size 6B posted to her in August 1938; Mrs. Paul Mellon ordered hers to be sent to her at the family estate, Huntland Downs; Ginger Rogers paid $39.95 for hers in November 1959 and so did Mrs. Henry Ford, though hers had 50c added for postage paid! I’d have thought that Ferragamo could have let the postage go, wouldn’t you? These all came from the shop at 424 Park Avenue, New York, while in May of 1959, Mary Pickford’s cost $25.95 from the shop at 323 No. Rodeo Drive, Beverley Hills. They don’t all go back to the ‘50s though—there is also a pair made for Drew Barrymore in 1998 for the film of Cinderella.

There are only six Ferragamo centres in the world where the hand-made signature shoes are sold, and opulence is the order of the day in each of them. They are: Florence; Milan; Paris; Tokyo; New York just recently; and of course Beijing, the latest to open. Salvatore was not a Florentine; he was from Naples, but the headquarters is in Florence where the Ferragamo company now owns seemingly, half the city. They have the whole block where the fabulous Renaissance Palazzo Spini Ferrone commands the area, then on both sides of the Arno is their chain of luxury hotels: the regal Lungarno Suites, the very hip Hotel Art; the restrained and elegant Hotel Continentale; and the flagship Hotel Lungarno in Borgo San Jacopo. They also have a shop which sells designer homewares all based on the less-is-more principle of modernist chic. Salvatore Ferragamo has been dead for ages but his widow, who was twenty years younger and is now eighty-six, still comes in to work every day!

The museum may be housed in the basement but it’s not just any old basement; the ceilings are vaulted and covered in medieval frescoes of the stemme or blazons of the ruling families of the time. A Florentine friend told me that in the 1970s the basement was a nightclub with a very unsavoury reputation, called The Well of Beatrice, and that she was strictly forbidden to go there. The thing that strikes me most forcibly is that almost all the designs could still be, and are in many cases, still are in fashion today. By far the most intriguing were the sandals of pure 18 carat gold, made in 1956, for the wife of an ‘Australian tycoon’!! Not too many Australians were buying their wives golden slippers in 1956, soooo any guesses?

I’ve got photos of course, but in the meantime you can have a look on www.ferragamo.com

The language of Dante

2008-01-10T22:18:00.000-08:00
Well, it's the new year and time to think about all those resolutions! If learning Italian was your resolution for 2008 then the Dante Alighieri Language School of Florence is the place to be. Despite the huge number of language schools in the city of Dante, this is the oldest and the one accredited through the Dante Alighieri Society for the teaching of Italian language and culture. All their teachers are fully qualified, the classes cover not only every level of Italian language, but art and cultural programs, excursions, and a real immersion in local life.
Not only that, but the school is housed in a stunning 15th century Oratory with cloisters and frescoes hidden behind the big doors and available only to those lucky enough to be admitted. It's the best way to have a holiday that makes you feel a part of the local scene.
http://www.dantealighieri.it/homepageing.htm

Buon Natale

2007-12-21T12:54:00.000-08:00

Every year the city of Florence offers a host of festive holiday events to celebrate Christmas and the arrival of the New Year. In Italy, the holiday season officially begins on December 8, on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, after which parishes and churches unveil their elaborate nativity scenes, also known as presepi. A stroll through the city centre reveals figurines, handmade especially for presepi by local artisans both in the city and out of town.

Certain Christmas events have become bona fide Florentine traditions. The Heidelberg Christmas market in Piazza Santa Croce until December 16 is a place to meander among 40 wooden stalls filled with German Christmas tree decorations, nativity figurines, handmade toys, traditional Bunzlau ceramics, food and drink, including spiced wines, beers, wurst and strudel, along with Christmas confectionary like Pfefferkuchen (peppery biscuits), the special Heidelbergl Lebkuchen (honey biscuits) and Dresdner Stollen (sweet raisin bread filled with marzipan). A variety of cultural activities, performances, and of course, a visit from Santa Claus, add to the Christmas atmosphere. Hard to miss is Florence’s own giant Christmas tree, adorned with over 16,000 lights, on display through January 7 in Piazza della Repubblica. In addition, Florence’s ice rink returns. Until January 13, skaters can glide and spin in Parterre’s Piazza della Liberta every day from 9am to 11:30pm.

What would the holiday season be without music? The city has organized over 30 concerts for every taste. Enjoy an opportunity to hear some of Italy’s best musicians play classical, sacred and contemporary music in museums, squares, churches, libraries and theatres throughout the city, through January 6.

This is Christmas in Florence from the The Florentine, the wonderful paper which acts as the link between my two lives. Visit www.theflorentine.it

Tuscan trails

2007-11-12T18:12:00.000-08:00

Trip-trek' through Tuscany

by Gianfranco Bracci (issue no. 66/2007 / October 31, 2007)

Anello del Rinascimento

This trek is part of the Anello del Rinascimento, an itinerary developed by Gianfranco Bracci for the Florence tourism agency APT. It explores Florence’s immediate surroundings, fascinating for their natural beauty as well as for the art and history they contain. Along the way, the trekker will encounter monasteries, castles, country churches, and ancient walled communities - all without losing sight of Florence’s city centre and Brunelleschi’s magnificent dome.

Take a three-hour walk through history as you cross the same bridge as ancient shepherds and wayfarers took to reach the Pian di Ripoli or even to get as far as the Maremma. They would follow the remains of the ancient via Cassia Adrianea, which led from the Rignano bridge through the pass at Montecucco to the medieval Spedale del Bigallo. Long stretches of historic paved road beckon the trekker on this extraordinary trail.

From the Rignano sull’Arno train station (see box, ‘Getting there’) head for the Pieve di San Leolino, a parish church that dates back to the early eleventh century and seems to have existed before the town. After visiting the church, continue towards the cemetery, where you will see a slightly uphill dirt road leading to an intersection.

There you will find Casa Rignano, a farmhouse that was built around a medieval tower-house. Turn left to climb still further into the woods and you will soon arrive at the fields and olive groves surrounding the scattered farmhouses of the Fattoria di Pagnana, near medieval archaeological site Il Castelluccio.

Cross the next road and after roughly 100 metres, going towards your left, begin to climb right, through the charming little village of Bombone. Follow this until you reach the old road that runs parallel to the more modern one you have just left.

From the small main piazza with its tiny church, bear right until you come to the intersection of‘Il Crocicchio’ and the Strada Provinciale. Cross the intersection and continue straight down the via Vicinale delle Fontanelle path, which dips down slightly to a drainage ditch to rise again towards Casa delle Fontanelle. There is a drinking fountain on your right. Skirt left around the house and continue uphill to a grove of young olive trees.

Cross the grove by following the line of the electricity pylons until the beginning of a firebreak cut under the line itself. After some 200 metres uphill, turn right along the old paved road that plunges into the woods. Be sure to pay close attention as the paved road can be a bit hard to find.

You will soon rejoin the firebreak, then leave it definitively to re-enter the woods right along an uphill, paved mule-track. Once you reach the narrow asphalt road, take a sharp left on the nearby dirt road at a spot called ‘Il Quercione’, named for the large oak tree in the clearing. At the crossroads, turn right and follow the dirt road (which later becomes paved) that leads to Villa di Moriano.

Bypass the asphalt road descending right towards Mitigliano (marked CAI 3), forge straight ahead for 100 metres until you reach the chain slung between two cement posts. On the right, the posts mark a dirt road lined with beautiful cypress trees, which leads to Casignano (AR-CAI 3).

At the first intersection (after barely 200 metres) you will turn right onto a mule-track which rises slightly through the woods, revealing stretches of the ancient paved road. You will pass a second junction with a mule-track ascending right—bypass it and continue downwards through the wood for a short while before turning sharp left and until reaching the dirt road marked CAI 3 once again.

Follow the road right and you will soon arrive at the ruins of the Monastraccio (Casignano)—a medieval monastery that the monks abandoned in the sixteenth century to move to the Bigallo in Bagno a Ripoli. The monastery has in part been restructured as a private house.

Here you will leave the dirt road and the CAI 3 (which would take you to the Terzano pass) and instead turn left along a narrow path. Cross a dirt road that leads to a nearby private house and continues through another oak wood. Narrow at first but then increasingly wider, this ancient road—which is said to be Roman, or at the very least medieval—reveals stretches of very beautiful paving that is partially covered with moss or loose soil. Perhaps some day this gorgeous pavement will be recovered for all to see.

You will soon arrive at the modern villas of Montecucco, which is an important meeting of the paths in Anello del Rinascimento. From here, you can reach San Donato or Bagno a Ripoli or Rosano/Pontassieve, or return by train or bus to your starting point at Rignano sull’Arno, or else to Florence. Take a short deviation (on the right of the pass) to the top of a knoll from which there is an exceptional 360° view of Florence and the Valdarno.

GETTING THERE: Rignano sull’Arno is a half-hour trip on the Florence-Rome train line. Daily trains from Santa Maria Novella station leave approximately every 30 minutes.

ATAF bus 33 will take you back to the train station.

This should inspire you to get out there. It comes from The Florentine. You can read it online on http://www.theflorentine.it

CONVIVIO APARTMENT - BENVENUTI!

2007-10-23T23:44:00.000-07:00

Convivio apartment is in a restored 13th century tower building in the very heart of medieval Florence. The building is one of the oldest, in a city which really only began its rise to greatness in the 11th century.

The Cerchi family was one of the great Florentine families of the 14th century, leaders of the 'whites' faction with which Dante Alighieri was also aligned.

Via de' Cerchi intersects with Via Dante Alighieri, and Dante's footsteps still echo loudlyhere - the house where he was born, the tiny church where he first met Beatrice.

You are surrounded by services - shopping, restaurants, bars, food - bread, wine, fruit, cheeses, salami - internet & photocopy services, the Amex office and much more, and not five minutes walk from Brunelleschi's famous Duomo, the Uffizzi gallery, the Pitti Palace and the Ponte Vecchio.

The statue of Grand Duke Cosimo de' Medici

Via de' Cerchi gives onto perhaps the most famous piazza in Italy - birthplace of the Renaissance - the Piazza della Signoria, with its glorious sculptures, chief amongst them, Michelangelo's luminous David, and Cellini's famous Perseus. To pass the huge bronze of the Grand Duke Cosimo de' Medici on his great stallion, every night as you walk home from dinner, is an unforgettable experience.

On Sundays, head for lunch in the hills, in the near surroundings, as do the Florentines - magical Fiesole looking down upon the red roofs of Florence, and the Basilica of San Miniato with its glorious terrace. From here you also have the perfect base for day-trips exploring Tuscany and Umbria - San Gimignano with its towers & artist, Montalcino's famous wine, Brunello, Siena and the Palio, and much more.

Not all oils are born equal

2007-10-23T23:18:00.000-07:00

The olive grove of castello di Cafaggio

Olives are grown throughout the Mediterranean, but each oil has its own distinctive flavour and even colour. The result depends on soil, region, climate and variety. It depends also on when the olives are picked. Though oils vary within countries, there are certain national characteristics. Greek oil is stronger and more pungent. French oil is of a very high quality and is rather sweet. Spain is the largest producer of olive oil and in general its oils have a fruit note. Australia now produces some excellent olive oils.

In Tuscany most olives are picked by hand. The flavour of Tuscan oil is fuller than the delicate Ligurian oil and lighter and more peppery than the southern ones. It is usually a rich green colour.

The first use for the new oil (extra-virgin cold-pressed and unfiltered) is called fettunta. It is simply drizzled over thick slices of local bread, and eaten at once by the workers at the frantoio or olive press. One characteristic Tuscan bread is called schiacciata because it is squashed or flat. Schiacciata can be sweet or savoury. The sweet variety is a sort of grape foccaccia. It is a typical autumn food because it uses the grapes which are ready from September onwards.

The second use for olive oil is for Bruschetta and is now eaten all over the world. This is a simple antipasto served before family meals in Florence or anywhere in Tuscany

.

BRUSCHETTA RECIPE

6 slices of thick Italian bread, preferably a day old.
Garlic
Extra Virgin Olive oil
3 sun-ripened Tomatoes roughly chopped
Basil
Grill the bread on both sides & rub with the garlic. Pile the tomatoes onto each slice, top with basil and drizzle with oil. Serve immediately.

Olive oil and Autumn in Tuscany

2007-10-21T13:43:00.000-07:00
It’s Autumn in Italy and Autumn is the time of the Tuscan olive harvest.

Some of the best olive oil in Tuscany comes from the Castello di Cafaggio in the hill top village of Impruneta.

La Raccolta (the harvest), is still done throughout Italy, more or less as it has been for thousands of years. It happens in the autumn, but is usually a bit earlier in Tuscany than in other regions. The cool frosts in the valleys can mean that the olives are ready anywhere from early October onwards.

Olives and vines first came to Italy from Greece with the Greek colonisers who brought grafted trees to Sicily. In Australia olive oil was not always for eating. When I was a child you bought it in small bottles from the Chemist, for rubbing on the skin. Not to be ingested. Greek athletes used it, perfumed, to oil their sculpted, naked bodies for The Games. The Olive branch is a symbol of peace and was of course carried by the dove back to Noah’s Ark to show that the flood was over. To the Greeks the dove was the bird of the goddess Athene and symbolised the renewal of life.

The Olive too was a plant of Athene, a gift to her people, to sustain life. The olive wreath was the highest symbol of rank a citizen in ancient Greece could earn. Ironic that both the United States in their Great Seal of the USA and the League of the United Arab States in their flag, use the symbol of peace—an olive wreath. Lawrence Durrell said of olives that they had a mythical taste, ‘a taste older than meat, older than wine, as old as cold water.’

CUCINA ITALIANA

2007-10-20T20:05:00.003-07:00
Really, there is no such thing as Italian food. There is Sicilian food or Tuscan food or Venetian food.

Every region has its own food. Italy was not even officially a country until 1861, and not in reality until 1946. Cucina italiana is deeply traditional, profoundly regional and utterly seasonal.

The concept of campanilismo is a fundamental aspect of Italian life and culture, and conditions everything in the country. Goethe much admired Italians for this ‘cult of local patriotism’, although he devoted almost no attention to food in his travels, except for a cursory remark here and there. The weather impressed him much more.

Campanilismo means the attachment to the Parish, or everything within the sound of your own Campanile or church bell-tower. This has its roots in the medieval, feudal nature of an agricultural society ruled by the Campanile e Castello. The priest in the Church and the feudal Lord in his castle.

Everything about food in Italy is steeped in tradition. In the main, the regional cuisines are the food of the contadino or peasant. This is particularly so in Tuscany, which was until after the Second World War, one of the poorest regions of Italy. A far cry from today!

Food in Bologna is an exception to the peasant rule, in that it is rich, indulgent, extravagant even, and often costly and complicated. Bologna is more or less the Butter Line—from here on northwards, butter is used, but below Bologna, never. Tuscans on the other hand, are by nature and history, extremely parsimonious and Spartan, and the cuisine reflects this. Even where it is rich, as in the case of the cinghiale, wild boar, or the monumental Bistecca alla fiorentina, Florentine beefsteak, it is largely unadorned.

The rest of the Tuscan diet consists largely of bread, beans, beans and beans, the rich and fragrant minestrone called ribollita, then Acquacotta, literally hot-water, which is a cabbage and bean soup, and pappa al pomodoro, which is essentially tomato and bread soup. Then of course there is the Tripe. Tripe is famous in Tuscany, and in Florence in particular. Just outside my door, every day, in all weather, is the Trippaio or tripe vendor with his little kiosk like an ice-cream stand or Harry’s café du Wheels. He sells plastic plates of tripe cut into strips and served in tomato sauce, or bread-rolls with a filling of Lampredotto, which is another and darker form of boiled tripe, sliced and put into the rolls with some green sauce. I have never passed him when there wasn’t a tiny knot of devotees gathered to eat Florence’s famous fast food and have a chat on the side. It’s not my idea of heaven.

Tuscan hospitality is profound. The food is always of the very best quality. Freshness and simplicity is a hallmark, and autumn is my favourite season—white asparagus, wild boar, rabbit and hare, Porcini mushrooms and black tartufe or truffles, gnocchi, castagne chestnuts, figs and grapes and new wine, vino novello.

A new train of thought

2007-10-20T20:05:00.001-07:00

All aboard!

(issue no. 65/2007 / October 18, 2007)

Art exhibit travels by rail

Never seen a Caravaggio? Did you miss De Chirico in Fiesole? Don’t fret. You can catch a glimpse of a plethora of Italian masterpieces by hopping aboard the art train making stops in every major Italian city until early November.

Sponsored by the Italian Ferrovie dello Stato, the exhibit, entitled From Titian to Street Art: 500 years of Italian Art, features 130 priceless art works from the sixteenth century to today. On loan from private collections, the artworks showcased on the itinerant gallery were selected by a special team of curators, each in charge of one of the six carriages that make up the train.

Each carriage features works from different time periods, starting with Titian’s Concert Champêtre (1509–1510) and Caravaggio’s Rest on the Flight into Egypt (1595–1596). Don’t miss the eighteenth-century works by Todeschini and Canaletto in the second carriage, or a selection of masterpieces by nineteenth-century painters Antonio Mancino, Giuseppe De Nittis and Giulio Aristide Sartorio in the third. The fourth and fifth carriages contain works by nineteenth-century masters Giulio Turcato, Giorgio De Chirico and Mimmo Rotella. The sixth carriage is dedicated to Italian contemporary art and street art.

The art train, which set off from Rome on October 1, will visit 22 cities before finishing off its nationwide tour in Milan’s Porta Garibaldi station on November 10. The art train pulls into stations for a few days, allowing visitors to appreciate centuries of Italian artistic mastery free of charge.

Head curator of the art train, Antonio Maria Pivetta, hopes that by ‘bringing art to the people’, more families will take advantage of this unique initiative. Only 10 percent of Italians habitually visit galleries, museum and exhibitions. ‘Visitors should represent a vertical section of our society, including all classes and levels of culture and income,’ added Pivetta.

This article comes from the marvellous English language paper The Florentine. You can find it at www.theflorentine.it