Around Tuscany

HAPPY NEW YEAR from Around Tuscany!!

noreply@blogger.com (Adriana) — Thu, 30 Dec 2010 13:30:00 +0000

AROUND TUSCANY wishes you a HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!
May 2011 be a happier year, full of wonderful trips, splendid photos and much success to everyone. I hope from my heart that better oportunities for Tourism will be presented (and it's also up to us!), as long as travelling is CULTURE, travelling is KNOWLEDGE, travelling is PEACE among different people. This is the time to get over all difficulties and keep being creative, offering more and more different ways of travelling and living. By the way, I would like to say THANKS to all my readers who support this Blog and are the reason of its existence!

Followers on: Facebook, Twitter, Feedburner, Google Friends, Networked Blogs, Meme and TBEX

Foto by Gonews.it Nov 31st 2009. Last year in Siena.

For those who are in Tuscany now, here some tips for the night of "San Silvestro". I'm going to be at SIENA (of course!). In the main square, from 10 p.m. there will take place concerts of Italian music: Paolo Belli and his Big Band, Irene Grandi and Giusy Ferreri. All parking sites will be opened and free during the night from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. See you there!

Other tips can be:

Montepulciano: Live music in Piazza Grande with Antonio & Dany, free Spumante wine and typical Christmas desserts. The best feature that the wine town is preparing is a huge bonfire to bring light and heat to the new year.

Pisa: live concerts and fireworks in many different squares: Piazza dei Cavalieri, Piazza Garibaldi, Piazza della Pera, Piazza Gambacorti, etc. Not to mention the Ruffini play at Teatro Verdi. At midnight, the fireworks can be seen from anywhere along the Arno.

Florence: many different concerts from rap to DJ, funky, jazz and gospel in the squares: Santa Maria Novella, Santissima Annunziata, Piazza della Repubblica, etc. Classic music in Piazza della Signoria before midnight and then, of course, fireworks that can be seen from anywhere along the Arno river.

Please send me your comments telling about your own experiences of Christmas and New Year in Tuscany.

I just wanted to close this year with the best wishes for 2011 and hope to see you all and your friends AROUND HERE, I mean AROUND TUSCANY! Cheers!

Tips for travelling around Tuscany for Cheap Oair

noreply@blogger.com (Adriana) — Sun, 12 Dec 2010 11:33:00 +0000

I was invited to write a guest post for the CHEAP OAIR . COM 's Travel Blog and I thank them very much for this oportunity. As long as for now I still didn't include some general information and useful tips to visit Tuscany, I will reproduce the same blog post here. Hope you enjoy!

TIPS FOR TRAVELLING AROUND TUSCANY

Tuscany is one of the most famous and visited regions of Italy and I have a particular interest in writing about it as long as I have a strong link to it. My family has its origins at Lucca, from where they moved to Brazil long time ago. I've grown up with the desire to come to Italy in search of my origins.

The dream came true and I have spent almost 5 years living in Tuscany, working the travel and tourism industry. I had the chance to get in touch with travelers from all over the world coming to Tuscany, so I've made an idea of their needs, what do they expect, what do they want to see and to experience and their difficulties with language, transportation, cultural differences and so on. That's why I decided to create a Blog where I could share my experiences and many photos I've shot along all those years till now.

Here are some basic tips for everybody who is planning to visit Tuscany.

Main airports:

Pisa – Airport Galileo Galilei

Florence – Airport Amerigo Vespucci also known as Peretola (the place where it's set).

I recommend my guests when coming to Tuscany not to take flights into Rome, Milan or Venice but try to find flights with direct connections to Pisa or Florence (unless they have one of those cities in their travel itinerary).

Public transportation:

Most important cities are well connected with trains (Pisa, Lucca, Florence, Arezzo). Prefer the trains Eurostar, Frecciarossa or Freciargento for longer distances. They are more expensive (yet less expensive than other countries in Europe). From main cities to smaller towns you should take regional trains (which are pretty cheap but not always comfortable). In some cases, you shoul prefer to take the bus – for example the connection between Florence and Siena or Pisa and Siena.

Driving in Tuscany:

If you are staying in a Tuscan Villa or “Agriturismo” (countryside cottages and apartments) – which I higly recommend – maybe you should rent a car, because most small villages and this kind of properties in the country area are not so well connected with public transportation. Read more about a personal experience on driving in Tuscany from my partner and guest blogger Jessica Spiegel.

Places to visit:

The main Province capitals also known as “art-cities” are Florence, Pisa, Siena, Arezzo, Lucca but also there are so many little villages and hamlets all around, not to mention the Tuscan coast which is very beautiful. Actually Tuscany is pretty large so it is almost impossible to mention all possibilities.

Food and wine:

The most important products of Tuscany are wine, cheese, extra virgin olive oil. Many of the top quality wines worldwine come from Tuscany. About cheese, the best kinds of Pecorino (sheep milk cheese) are made in this region. About the extra virgin olive oil, it is together with wine one of the top excellences of Tuscany. The Tuscan cuisine is very rich and based in meat (game, beef and pork), mushrooms, fresh vegetables and fruit, cheese and extra virign olive oil.

I recommend my guests to dedicate at least one week to stay in Tuscany as they can taste its real essence and get in touch with the local lifestyle.

Walking around Florence - a day trip guide

noreply@blogger.com (Adriana) — Sat, 27 Nov 2010 20:50:00 +0000

FIRENZE, the Italian name for the amazing city of Florence, is one of the Italian cities I love! Not because it's so famous, not only because it holds a limitless cultural heritage but simply because I love walking around its streets, squares, hidden alleys and along the river Arno. Each time I visit Florence, I discover something new: a different antique or handicraft shop I've never seen before, a new alley where I've never been before, a new coffee or wine shop, etc.

Here is a short guide for those who are coming to Tuscany and not staying in Florence, so who is coming just for a day trip. I have the opinion that when I visit any place, I want to have an overview experience which makes me be in touch with many aspects of the city instead of making the "Via Crucis" of most important and famous tourists points. So, even when I have only one day to see a city, I prefer to make 5 or 6 different kinds of activities which can provide me a taste of the local lifestyle, from art and architecture to the street market and shopping, passing through the local food and drink.

Anywhere you are staying in Italy or Tuscany - for example, have a look on my older posts about staying in a Tuscan villa - the best to visit Florence in one day is to take the public transportation. Most cities and towns have train connections while others, like for example Siena, has a better bus connection with Florence. (I recommend the blogpost by my partner Italylogue which I link here about Siena - Florence transportation). All directions will lead you to Santa Maria Novella station. This is the name of Florence central train station (it's important to now it because there are a couple of smaller stations and NO information saying that Santa Maria Novella is the central one). You will find often the abbreviation S.M.N. station.

In the Tourist's Office or in any "tabaccheria" (tobacco store) or newsstands you can purchase a map of Florence, unless you have your smartphone with GPS or internet connection (WI-FI is available for free only in some spots of the city). Anyway, the city has a great system of attractions signposting (all brown signs are related to tourist's points).

What to do in Florence in one day?

1. From the train station you can walk into the historical centre, one of Tuscany's UNESCO sites. You can easily reach the Cathedral square within a few minutes walk. See Santa Maria Novella church right in front of the train station, there is where you want to go (there is an INFO point there if you need). Lead to the S.M.N. square and just go ahead. Any street you take will lead you to the centre but if you want to go first to the Cathedral, take Via dei Banchi. It's early in the morning so stop for a capuccino and cornetto in the "BAR" which inspires you the best;

2. Reach the Cathedral square and admire the lovely facade of Santa Maria del Fiore, the Baptistery and Giotto's bell tower (where it's possible to climb, but I would not do it right now, maybe if you are staying longer);

3. From the Cathedral it's very easy to reach Borgo San Lorenzo, where is set the Romanesque Church of San Lorenzo (which holds many important artworks and architecture by Brunelleschi, Michelangelo and other pieces by Ghirlandaio, Donatello, Filippo Lippi and others). But what I like best of this area is the street market of San Lorenzo, open every day except for Monday. Here you will find mainly leather products: pourses, jackets, cloths, shoes and much more. Leather is one of the most important Florentine manufactures. Besides you will find many souvenir stands with Murano jewelry and souvenirs (prices are lower than Venice!!) and other local handicfrats. Ideal place for purchaning souvenirs and great deals. If you prefer you can postpone this to the end of the itinerary or you will be carrying your stuff all the rest of the day (I just mentioned it in 3rd place beacuse it's very close to the Duomo);

4. Now you can make the way back and the opposite way from the Cathedral, along Via dei Calzolai till you reach Piazza della Signoria. Palazzo Vecchio is the Town Hall, in front of it you will see the David's replication (the original one is now in the Galleria dell'Accademia, which you can visit if you like, but it is highly recommended to make reservations in advance). On the side you see the famous Piazza del Nettuno and on the opposite side, Loggia della Signoria.

5. Behind the Loggia you will reach the Uffizi Gallery, not only one of the most important museums of Florence, for its art collection as well as for its history as the first museum of Florence but also one of the most important architecture projects by Vasari. If you plan to visit the Uffizi you'd better book it in advance, even if you will pay an extra fee for that. It can perfectly be included in a day trip because is not so large and you don't need too many hours to visit it. Anyway, it's worthy even to see its building only from the outside. Along the square, there are many local artists which sell their paintings or make your portrait at the moment.

6. Go ahead to the end of the Uffizi's square till you reach the "Lungarno" - the river's edge. To the right side you will reach the popular Ponte Vecchio, the most famous and older bridge of Florence and also the traditional jewellers and watchmakers of Florence. I recommend you cross the brigde and walk around the streets of the "oltrarno" (beyond the Arno). I'm sure you will find a lovely and delicious local restaurant (an osteria, or a vineria) where to have lunch. Try "pappardelle al cinghiale", or a delicious "bistecca alla Fiorentina" and match it with a Chianti Classico or even the house wine which is always great! For dessert: Tiramisù, of course!

7. You can go back through the next bridge, Ponte della Trinità and walk back into the city centre. Walk towards Palazzo Strozzi, at a certain point turn right on Via delle Terme or Via Porta Rossa. You will reach another small street market at the square of the Porcellino (little pig). The leggend says you must put a coin in his mouth. You will find this curious symbol really full of people. What I like the best of this place is that you find some interesting handicraft for sale, for example the beautiful tapestry work called "arazzo" (arras) which dates back from the Renaissance times.

8. From the Porcellino just go ahead on Via Pelliceria and reach Piazza della Repubblica (seen on the picture above). This square is the mark of the Unification of Italy (which became one single Nation only from the 1861). In fact, the neoclassical archway which leads into the one of the main streets (also known in Italian as the "Corso") of Florence where you will find all important brands. In this square, I higly recommend you to enter the department store called "Rinascente" - opposite to the arch. Climb all sliding scales to the last floor and look for the local Cafè. You must make some more steps and then lead to the terrace. This is an expensive but really worthy coffee break. You have a privileged view of Brunelleschi's dome which is the symbol of Florence. (that's from where I took the picture you see on the top of this post).

Well, this is pretty much some ideas of how you can spend a day in Florence. Of course, there is so much more to see and to do, like visit Giardino di Boboli (beyond Ponte Vecchio); the churches of Santa Croce, San Marco and Santa Maria Novella with so many important artworks by the most famous Italian artists; so many museums like the Accademia Gallery and other kinds of museums like the Archaeology and Ethnology museum, the Pre-history museum, the National Museum of Photography "Alinari", Palazzo Strozzi exhibitions and much more.

Please write me your comments about your own experience in Florence.

Below you can see a Google Map with the places mentioned in this post as you can have an overview of this splendid city!

View Walking around Florence in a larger map

Garfagnana and chestnuts

noreply@blogger.com (Adriana) — Wed, 13 Oct 2010 11:09:00 +0000

The Fall has come and one of the most typical products in Italy now are the chestnuts! And the place in Tuscany where you will be able to find lots of them is certainly the Garfagnana, a wide territory in the Province of Lucca which extends from the Serchio valley to the Apuane Alps monuntains. Exuberant nature composed of the dense vegetation of these mountains where the chestnut tree is the queen. Hidden "borghi" (small villages) with lots of surprieses: medieval towns, alleys, churches, bridges and towers; friendly people who love this land and have a lot to teach us; wonderful typical products among them the chestnut and its derivative products, obtained by the chestnut flour (localy called "farina di neccio"). In fact, this month is time for the "Festa della Castagna" (Chestnut Festival).

Foto: "Farina di Neccio" by InGarfagnana.com

It's possible to make a day trip into Garfagnana if you are staying at Lucca (it will take aproximately half a hour driving anyway) or you can rent a villa, find a hotel, bed and breakfast or an "agriturismo" and stay in there for a few days if you can... Whatever you decide, the options of what to do are really wide. Visit each little borgo and taste all its delicious products like salami, cheese, funghi porcini, extra virgin olive oil and wine can be one single option. But you can also decide to go out for a hiking among the woods of the Apuane Park - better if you hire an environmental guide - or for a horseback ride, or even for a bike ride - even if it becomes to get hilly the more you go off Lucca and the more you come near the Garfagnana, the mountains.

Some villages to visit
From Lucca, take the Via del Brennero (the best is to have a car) and drive towards Ponte a Moriano, Borgo a Mozzano, etc. Anyway there are signs to Castelnuovo di Garfagnana.
You can stop by many little villages along this route:

Borgo a Mozzano - where you will see whta became the symbol of the Garfagnana: Ponte del Diavolo (Devil's bridge), crossing the river Serchio. The town is rich of Gothic fortresses and buildings.
From here it's wrothy, if you have enough time, to make a deviation and go to visit the village of Fabbriche di Vallico in the heart of Garfagnana, a charming medieval village of Lombard origins. The most famous monument is the old bridge which once used to be the customs between the Duchy of Modena and the Repubblic of Lucca.

Back to the main road towards Castelnuovo you have: Gallicano, Molazzana and Fosciandora among those with interesting monuments to see.

At last you reach the most famous and largest town of this area, Castelnuovo di Garfagnana, which is itself a very charming little medieval village. The main square, Umberto I, opens to lots of medieval streets and alleys where you will find all kinds of local shops selling wine, fresh vegetables and fruits, ice-cream, salami and other local products. Two important monuments are the Fortress, called "Rocca Ariostesca" and the Cathedral, or "Duomo di San Pietro".

If you still want to keep going on, there is even more to discover: Careggine, Castiglione di Garfagnana, San Romano in Garfagnana, Camporgiano, Piazza al Serchio till you reach the territory called Lunigiana, the limits between the Apuane Alps and the Apennines, extreme North of Tuscany.

Products made with chestnuts that you will be able to taste in October (I've tried them all, simply DE-LI-CIOUS!):

Caldarroste - these are the chestnut themselves roasted on a kind of barbecue (which charcoal or wood)
Castagnaccio - is a typical cake, not too sweet and very peculiar, made with chestnut flour and other ingredients like walnut and orange peelings.
Necci garfagnini - type of pancake made with chestnut flour and wrapped with a filling of fresh "ricotta" (this is the one I like best)...
Other products that can be made with chestnut flour: bread, pasta (tagliatelle or pappardelle), polenta and other kinds of desert like cakes and creams.

Foto by Turismo Garfagnana Montagna di Toscana

Have a look ate the Google map below to guide you:

View Villages of Garfagnana in a larger map

To have more information about Garfagana you can visit the Garfagnana and Serchio Valley Tourism Association website.

Keep following and send me your comments... did you taste some of the products mentioned above? How did you like it?

I promise new recipes (tried personally at home, with photos step by step) just like the Tiramisù recipe in the section Tuscan Cuisine (the link can be found among the labels, on the right column).

Letters to Juliet: write me yours

noreply@blogger.com (Adriana) — Wed, 29 Sep 2010 16:48:00 +0000

Recently I've seen the movie "Letters to Juliet", shot in Italy: in Verona and in Tuscany. It's a romantic movie with two love stories within one, very easy to watch when you just want to relax. It's worthy for the beautiful photography and for the realistic image of Italian people and lifestyle, besides you can also learn some words in Italian.

The scenes have been made in three locations of Tuscany: Siena, Castelnuovo Berardenga and Montalcino. In the movie, the main characters make a long trip within a wide circle which center is Siena. The first images of the movie with all those cypress trees along golden hills of hay makes us believe they are direct to the North. Actually, those scenes belong to the territory between Siena and Montalcino, the Val D'Orcia, which is located in the South of Siena. Val D'Orcia, besides, is one of the Tuscan Unesco sites.

Montalcino:
This is the territory of "Brunello di Montalcino", one of the best wines in the world. Montalcino is also a lovely medieval town really worth a day trip from Siena. With Etruscan origins, its rises on the top of a hill overlooking limitless views of vineyards. The "Fortezza" can be seen from a long distance away, an amazing fortification which imposes over the town. The city center is very charming and is worthy for a day trip, a walk along the medieval alleys, a wine tasting matched with delicious typical products of the Siennese territory and a visit to churches and monuments which are witnesses of the Siennese Gothic art (or Romanesque style).

Castelnuovo Berardenga:
The scenes that show a different landscape of Tuscany with more vineyards and green woods belong to this region on the Northeast of Siena, going direction to Arezzo. Castelnuovo Berardenga is the doors to Chianti, where you start to see the vines and olive groves of the "Chianti Classico". Not only the town of Castelnuovo Berardenga itself are the attraction of this beautiful land, but also many other small villages around it (in Italian called "paese" or in diminutive, "paesino"), like for example San Gusmè. Little fortified village with one or two restaurants, cafes or wine bars where to taste delicious home made local food matched perfectly with the greatest wines of this land.

Siena:
Some scenes of the movie have been also shot in the city of Siena, another Unesco heritage of Tuscany. I had and will have many occasions to talk about Siena, where I have lived for 5 years. There are really many things to see and to do there and I highly recommend you stay at least 2 nights in this city. It's also a great base for day trips as long as it's surroundings, the "Terre di Siena" like usually called in Italian, are some of the most beautiful and amazing I've ever seen. The Province is really wide and includes famous towns like San Gimignano, Montalcino, Montepulciano, Pienza and half of the Chianti lands (towns of Castelnuovo Berardenga, Castellina in Chianti and Radda in Chianti). Besides, the Siennese territory holds 3 of the Unesco Tuscan sites: Siena, Pienza and Val D'Orcia! And the landscape changes like 6 times, as you drive around. A vacation not to miss! I would also recommend you rent a villa close to one of these towns and make day trips around Terre di Siena for at least one week.

After I watched this movie, I was wondering how many love stories took place all around Tuscany... So, wahy don't YOU write me a Letter too?! I'm not Juliet and we are not talking about Verona, but we are talking about love for a land that takes the breath away of many people from all over the world... that's why it's so frequent to see couples getting married in Tuscany! Please tell me in the comments below about your love experience in Tuscany: a wedding, a love story between a man and a woman, and also about love for your family, love for your friends and love for an entire territory, a region like Tuscany! I'll be waiting!
Love,
Adriana.

SEE THE MAP OF THE MOVIE SETTINGS BELOW:

View "Letters to Juliet"'s settings in a larger map

Tuscan Cuisine: Tiramisù recipe

noreply@blogger.com (Adriana) — Mon, 27 Sep 2010 22:09:00 +0000

Many stories say that the origins of the Tiramisù come from important patry cooks from Siena in the occasion when Cosimo III de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany and well-known "buongustaio" (a gourmand), visited the city in the end of 1600. They created a completely new dessert with the same characteristics of the Grand Duke: important, ostentatious, flavorous even if made with simple ingredients. It has been called "zuppa del duca" and later when it has been connected to aphrodisiac and stimulant properties, has been called Tiramisù (which in Italian means something like "pull me up!").

After a little bit of history, here we go with the recipe!

There are many versions of Tiramisù with little variations, according to each one's preferences: black chocolate or milk chocolate; chocolate in pieces or powder; to add coffee liqueur or not or even to add some other kind of liqueur in the recipe or even wines like Marsala and Vin Santo; to add cream or not... Anyway, the base is always mascarpone, eggs, sugar, savoiardi (ladyfinger cookies) and coffee. I would like to share with you my prefered recipe which I usually make at home. I'd like to say that I don't like it to be too sweet, so I won't add suger in the coffee because the savoiardi are already sugared, besides I prefer black chocolate than milk chocolate. You can play with those ingredients and personalize it as you want.

Ingredients:

4 eggs

1 cup of sugar

4 cups of black coffee

Savoiardi (ladyfinger cookies)

250g of mascarpone "cheese"

250g of fresh cream

Preparation:

First of all make aprox. 4 cups of strong black coffee. I used my Italian coffee maker ("moka") which gives me almost an espresso coffee. Let it cool off.

Open your 4 eggs and add them entirely (yolk + glair) to a bowl and add the sugar, like in "Step 1". You will whisk it all until it becomes a "zabaione" cream, like in "Step 2". Keep it. (p.s.: the original zabaione cream is made in bain-marie, but I just made it simply whisking the cream with a hand mixer).

Separately, join your mascarpone with the fresh milk cream, like in "Step 3" and whisk them together until it becomes a dense cream, like in "Step 4".

You will join both creams, but very slowly, like in "Step 5", mixing little by little with a rubber spatula from the bottom to the top, making circular movements. This is to avoid the cream looses its fluffly consistence. Do it until the cream gets one single color like in "Step 6".

Dip the cookies into the coffee one by one, like in "Step 7" but try to make it very quickly as you don't want them to get squashy. They will be covered by the cream so will get even more wet later.

Make many layers of cream - cookies - cream, like in "Step 8", until you cover all your baking tin or bowl. You can make individual portions like I've done. In the end, cover the cake with powder balck chocolate.

Put in the fridge for at least 4 hours. Serve the dessert cold (not freezed) with Vin Santo - the perfect match - or with other kind of dessert wine (like Marsala, if you have used it in the recipe).

And voilà!!!!

I hope you liked this recipe, please send me comments saying if you have tried this and also any ideas you would like to share with us.

Keep following the section TUSCAN CUISINE, for more recipes.

What to do in Lucca - for WhyGo Italy

noreply@blogger.com (Adriana) — Fri, 10 Sep 2010 11:07:00 +0000

As a result of a great experience - a fruitful guest post exchange - me and Jessica Spiegel, travel writer for WhyGo Italy by BootsnAll, have produced for each other useful information for our Blogs. Jessica provided my readers with a pleasant post about driving in Tuscany, a topic which I really aimed to write because is very useful to complete the section about renting a Villa in Tuscany - as long as the car is necessary in most cases.

And upon her request, I wrote her a post about things to do in Lucca, as long as she is allways looking for partner bloggers in Italy to provide some advice of places they know and love... Lucca has a strong significance for me because it's my family's roots birthplace. Also my surname derives from Lucca - it means "people from Lucca" (as you can read in the post I just linked).

So, below here I'm copying down a piece of the original post, I hope those tips will be useful for travelers staying for a short time or at least for a few days in this lovely Tuscan art city:

"A charming city and very popular destination in Italy, Lucca is an art and history jewel for all to discover. Lucca Dentro(inside the city walls) and Lucca Fuori (outside the walls) are like two faces of the same coin separated by the imposing fortified walls that stand tall from the late Renaissance to these days.

The walls hide and protect so many attractions dating back from the Ancient Roman times to now that even for locals a lifetime is not enough to know them all. But, for those who have the chance to visit for a short period of time, below I have prepared a (non-exhaustive) list of things to do in Lucca.
Ride a Bike on Top of the City Walls
Rent a bike and go for a ride around the 4km of public walk on the top of the fortified walls. In fact, from the moment that the walls were no longer useful for military functions on the 19th century, it has been completely restructured to become one of the world’s largest hanging gardens and public parks. If you prefer, instead of a bike ride, just go for a walk or a picnic up there.

Enjoy the Sights Along the Via Fillungo
A walk along Via Fillungo: Enter Porta Santa Maria and walk along Via Fillungo, the main street, then turn right to reach the Basilica di San Frediano, which has an impressive facade of Gothic mosaics. Back to Via Fillungo, on the opposite side, enter a small alley under the buildings to discover Piazza dell’Anfiteatro, an elliptical square where the Roman amphitheater was originally set, renovated on the year 1830. Keep walking, while looking at the shop windows till you reach the corner with Via dell’Arancio – here is another curious point: Torre delle Ore, the clock tower, is the most tall among all 130 towers of medieval Lucca.
Take a Break at Caffè di Simo
Take a break and stop at Caffè di Simo, a historic cafe in the heart of Lucca close to the Piazza dell’Anfiteatro. Puccini’s favorite cafe, Di Simo offers special coffee blends, homemade pastries, a rich buffet, and a wide selection of wines and liqueurs. If you’re staying at least one night at Lucca, the best is to come in the evening for dinner with music (jazz, piano bar, jam sessions, and tango).

Sample Local Wines at an Enoteca
Visit an Enoteca and taste the local wines – Chianti Colline Lucchesi, Montecarlo, and others – in one of the many wine bars located in the city. For example there is the Cantine Bernardini (Via del Suffragio, 7), which offers a delicious tasting of typical products matched with all good wines of the surroundings.
Discover Lucca’s Art Nouveau Villas
The Art Nouveau art and architecture style (in Italy called the Liberty style) has been seen throughout Lucca since 1870, when a huge urban growth movement started in the city. That’s why the itineraries of Lucchese villas are so famous. There are three main areas right outside the walls you can visit.

Exit Porta S. Anna (from Viale Vittorio Emanuele) and go ahead along Via Alfredo Catalani and than Viale Giacomo Puccini
Exit Porta San Pietro, cross the avenue to reach Viale San Concordio
Exit Porta Santa Maria, on the roundabout take the Viale Matteo Civitali, on your right

Ask for a map in the tourist information office located at Piazza Santa Maria, 35 (Porta Santa Maria) or at the train station (Viale Giusti – Piazza Curtatone)..."

And here is a link for my article about Puccini for Tuscany-villas.com

Driving around Tuscany with a GPS

noreply@blogger.com (Adriana) — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 21:41:00 +0000

I'm glad to have this guest post by Jessica Spiegel - travel writer for WhyGo Italy Travel Guide from Portland, Oregon (USA). I've met many tourists in Tuscany who passed through the same experience as Jessica and her husband driving around Tuscany, that's why I'm happy she is sharing this post with us. This is very useful for those who are thinking about renting a Villa in Tuscany, which in most cases will lead you to rent a car. Don't forget to ask for a GPS unit!

Driving around Tuscany with a GPS
by Jessica Spiegel

I have a confession to make. I've never driven a car in Italy.

I know I'm not alone, that many travelers in Italy never get behind the wheel, but for as much time as I've spent in Italy over the years you'd think I'd have driven a car at some point. The truth is that I don't love driving in general - I'm a perfectly safe driver, I just don't love it the way some people do - and I'm usually quite content to let someone else take the reins. And since driving in Italy isn't for the faint of heart, I'm even more happy to avoid it.

On one trip to Tuscany many years ago, however, the importance of having a car - and a GPS unit - was made very clear to me. The husband, who loves to drive, was responsible for all the driving on that trip, and I was the navigator. I'm a good navigator, but so many of the most interesting-looking back roads we came upon in Tuscany weren't on the Michelin map we'd bought that we were very glad our rental car had been upgraded to include a GPS unit.

We had picked up the car outside Bordeaux, and it had taken me all of our time driving through France to figure out how to change the language on it from French to English. By the time we reached San Gimignano, our hilltop base for five days of exploring Tuscany, the GPS unit was speaking the Queen's English and directing our every move.

It was more liberating than we could have imagined.

See, part of the joy of having a car in Tuscany is being able to go wherever you like, right? Being able to go the opposite way from what the main arrows indicate at each intersection, turning down a strange-looking road because you're curious, exploring without a care in the world - that's the dream. The trouble is I'm a bit of a worrier. I can't turn down a back road without wondering how I'll find my way out again. Having a GPS unit took all the worry out of our exploring on that trip.

Each morning we'd set off from San Gimignano with a couple of goals, things we wanted to see while we were out, but we were always happy to deviate from the plan. As soon as we'd seen what we wanted to see, we'd switch off the GPS unit and just drive where we felt like - in one case, we even ended up on a dirt road only used by agricultural trucks (in addition to our little car), and when we popped out again on another paved road we stopped for lunch in a tiny town that consisted of two or three buildings. I'm quite sure we wouldn't have found it if we'd been trying, and to this day I have no idea where we were.

When we felt ready to head back each evening, we switched the GPS unit back on and - voila! - a lovely voice would guide us from whatever remote spot we'd landed in back to San Gimignano.

I'm still not sure I'd be thrilled about the idea of renting a car in Italy if there was another way to get from place to place (unless there was someone else around to do the driving), but when the day finally comes that I get behind the wheel in Italy I'm going to be sure I've upgraded to a car with a GPS unit.

About the Author:
Jessica Spiegel writes the Italy travel guide for BootsnAll, WhyGo Italy. She's always happy to dole out Italy travel tips, from finding cheap flights to Italy to figuring out when to buy an Italy Rail Pass to planning the perfect Italy itinerary.

Villas in Tuscany PART II – a nice base for traveling Around Tuscany

noreply@blogger.com (Adriana) — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 14:36:00 +0000

This is the second part of the post about renting a Villa in Tuscany. By now, I told you about my experience working on the backstage and I'm sure I almost convinced everyone that this is a good choice for groups of friends, groups of any kind, large or small families, families with children or even couples and honeymooners.

Anyway, the advantages on renting a Villa in Tuscany are many:

To stay out of the massive tour areas and traditional routes, usually immersed in a natural country area with great views, privacy and fresh air – important if we talk about a stay on July and August when the cities are really hot while in a country Villa it's certainly mild;
To pay less money per person and have much more space available for your own group, including your own kitchen, a private common area where to gather and have meals together, your own outdoor area many times with a private pool;
To be in touch with the autenticity of the place and of the real life of local people, because in many cases, the owners live close to the place or in the same farm and often they will bring you fresh vegetables from their own garden, fresh eggs, home made pasta and cakes or any other kind of typical product they make. Besides, you will be integrated to the season work which can't stop beacause of you: for example the grapes or olives harvest, the sunflower or grain cultivation, etc.;
To have a base where to stay with no need to move from a hotel to another and make check-in and check-out all the time. It's possible to plan day trips all around Tuscany and even to other parts of Italy: for example you can take a train into Rome, Venice or Bologna;
To have the chance to live for a while in an authentic Tuscan house usually built in the 15^th to the 18^th century, with many aspects of the original architecture still intact and learn a lot about the local methods of construction, characteristcs and style. All this will teach you a lot also about local history and cultural aspects of the place where you are staying, making your trip not only relaxing but also educational;
To stay in a Villa together can be a great opportunity for family and friends to spend some time together, in one place where they can cook together, have fun, make wonderful trips and share great experiences which can only make you know better each other, become more open-minded and enrich your cultural-social luggage;
Good choice for families or groups who would prefer to travel with a pet. Not all of the villas allow guests to bring their pets but many of them do while most traditional hotels do not allow your animal friends. Anyway, check it out before booking, sometimes there is an extra fee and usually previous advise is requested.

I mentioned above just a few advantages of renting a villa but I'm sure if you ask anybody who did it they will be able to tell you much more. Each one has its own experiences that derive from the human relationships made during a trip. In my opinion, those experiences are as more personal and rich as the less you follow the massive ways of traveling and the more you search for alternative options.

There are a couple of issues, I don't like to say disadvantages because I don't think they really are. They are just some issues you should be aware of if you want to book a Tuscan Villa:

You probably will need to rent a car. Most of the places where the villas are located are not reachable with public transportation. There are different cases, of course: villas located in a town where probably there is a local train or bus to reach larger cities, or villas located in areas where you can't find neither a cab or where you must make some kilometers of dirt road. Besides, for day trips, there are locations and itineraries that probably will be much easier to be made by car and others that the car is the only way. It all depends of your spirit of adventure. Anyway, if you don't want to risk but don't even want to miss some trips in lovely places, you can always rent a van with driver or hire a personalized tour.
The other question is about the services you will get, which also changes a lot from a villa to another and of course according to how much you are willing to pay. Staying in a Villa is absolutely not as like staying in a hotel, so forget about a 24h service, room service, porters, concierges or whatever. In many cases you'll need to be in touch with the Villa owner or caretaker who will provide for your needs, and the level of facilities can change from one place to the other. Of course, you get clean towels and linen at least once a week, you can hire a maid or a cook to come in the villa and make some hours of service to you. You can even hire a chef to come in the villa and give you a cooking lesson! But have in mind everything must be agreed in advance with the owner, the staff is temporary and usually comes from the agriculture work and most services must be paid extra. Not to mention the communication through body language and gesture because not everyone speaks other language than Italian - not bad Italians are masters in gesture communication! I think this is positive as long as part of your full-immersion in the Tuscan way of life.

Well, of course there are many types of travelers and maybe this can be or not the ideal kind of trip for your taste, but certainly the market of Villas is getting even more specialized and diversifyed and the options are so many! For sure, this will be a different experience and everyone will go back home so happy!

Villas in Tuscany PART I – a nice base for traveling Around Tuscany

noreply@blogger.com (Adriana) — Sat, 21 Aug 2010 18:25:00 +0000

The famous “Villas” became a great choice of hospitality in Tuscany, specially in the last years, when they have started to be promoted more and more among travel agencies all around the world and on the internet. The Italian word Villa may represent as a luxury and historic manor house, which usually has belonged to some aristocratic family from the past and normally is part of a larger property which includes the surrounding lands or it can also mention any other kind of farmhouse or even a country cottage. Well, there are many kinds of Tuscan Villas, for all kinds of travelers. In the last years, the Villa owners have improved more and more in terms of service and facilities to offer quality accommodations, yet never loosing the authenticity of the local lifestyle.

I can talk about the experience of renting a Villa in Tuscany from the point of view of the host more than the tourist's as long as I actually never stayed in a Villa for a week in vacation myself – except for a delightful weekend at Lucca with my parents 2 years ago in an authentic Renaissance apartment in the historic center. Actually, I can describe the experience of working in this business which made me to be in contact with many guests from all over the world. So, somehow I can say I have an idea of what people expect from a Villa and what they get. My experience says most people gets more than what excpects and usually go home very happy after their stay in a Villa.

My first experience working with Villas was at Catello di Volpaia, on 2006, when I was on charge for the reception, bookings and their internal guided wine tour. It was a very close approach with guests, not always simple to attend to all of their needs, but most of the times very pleasant and educational for me. Then, I started to work for an on-line agency of Tuscan Villas rental where I stayed for almost 3 years and have learned a lot about this kind of service. Contact with clients was even more intense and little by little I started learning what were their, let's say, frequent asked questions (promise to publish a new post with the answers for those FAQs in the near future).

I feel free to recommend most travelers to stay in a Villa at least once, not just because I've worked in this business. Before that, I have worked for a campsite in Siena - Camping Colleverde - and that was a great experience too. I love camping myself, when I can. But, back to the Tuscan Villas, I recognize that there are many advantages for choosing this kind of accommodation intead other traditional ones. Nevertheless, you must have in mind that this is a choice for a certain kind of traveling, which means stay on a place for at least one week. It's not a kind of vacation in which you keep moving from town to town just to visit the most quotated places and try to see personally those images you have already saw in magazines and guide books.

Shortly, I'll try to describe better what exactly means renting a Villa in Tuscany and what can you expect from that. Keep following!

To be continued...

UNESCO World Heritages in Tuscany

noreply@blogger.com (Adriana) — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 18:32:00 +0000

What are the UNESCO World Heritages of Tuscany?

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The United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) is the responsible for creating this list of Mankind Natural and Cultural Heritages, with the aim of encouraging the identification, protection and preservation of many sites around the world considered of exceptional value for humanity.

This list of heritage sites is dinamic and in constant change as long as the site can loose some of the conditions of conservation and no longer deserve the title, what we expect never happens! The idea is to make this list longer and longer as inhabitants, governments and visitors have always conciousness about the protection of this heritage for future generations.

I decided to write this post as a way to promote my personal environmentalist thinking to all my readers. Visiting those places, they will certainly be aware of the sense of being in a UNESCO heritage site, be it natural or historical site. Besides, when visiting other places which were not included in the list yet, they will desire them to be and will do their best to behave as a responsible visitor.

So, come and travel around Tuscany and plan not just a fun and relaxing trip but try to bring something with you - not material things, but knowledge, culture and consciousness! And many many pictures, of course!

Tuscany's World Heritages of Mankind are:

1. Florence's historical center (from 1982);
   For representing a masterpiece of the human creative genius of a certain period and cultural area with its many human values exchanges, as an unique example of an existing civilization of the past, with alive ideas, creeds, artistic and intelectual works in addition to the complex of its monumental architecture, tecnology, city planning, landscape and art heritage.

2. Pisa's Cathedral Square or Piazza dei Miracoli (from 1987);
   For being a representative masterpiece of the human creative genius and for being materially and directly linked with the living ideas, creeds, artistic and intectual production and for its monumental and unique architectural, tecnological and landscaped complex of human history.

3. San Gimignano - historical center (from 1990);
   For representing a masterpiece of the human creative genius and unique witness of the cultural tradition and civilization of a certain historical period and also for its architectural, tecnological and landscaped complex.

4. Siena - historical center (from 1995);
   For being a straordinay medieval city well preserved in its whole. The city is a unique masterpiece of devotion and invention related to the city planning, when all building have been designed to adapt perfectly in the urban structure, besides, to constitute an "all-in-one" with the surrounding cultural landscape.

5. Pienza - historical center (from 1996);
   As for representing the first application of the humanistic concepts in a city plan, as because it occupies a determinant position in the development of a concept of the "ideal city", which have influenced later urban projects in the whole Italy. Both the meaning of this concept and the complex of buildings around the main square are to be considered a masterpiece of the human creative genius.

6. Val D'Orcia territory (from 2004).
   Because Val D'Orcia is a unique example of how the natural landscape have been redesigned during the Renaissance as to reflect the ideals of "buon governo" - good governance - and to create an esthetically pleasant immage. Besides, the landscape of this territory has been performed by the Siennese School of painters born during Renaissance. The reproduction of the Val D'Orcia landscapes in which people is represented living in harmony with nature have become an icon of the Renaissance itself and have strongly infliuenced the way of thinking about landscape in the following years.

View the Map of Tuscany's UNESCO heritages below and plan your trip!

View Tuscany's UNESCO World Heritages in a larger map

"Calici di Stelle": wine tasting under the stars!

noreply@blogger.com (Adriana) — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 18:14:00 +0000

August 10^th – Notte di San Lorenzo

This is the night in Italy Saint Lawrence, the Martyr is remembered and according to tradition, its the night when it's possible to see shooting stars and make a wish. The stars would be the tears shed by Saint Lawrence during his pain. The stars wander in the skys all year long and only fall down into the earth the day of the Saint has died, bringing hope to the people.

Italy, the country of wine, found a great way to celebrate this night: wine cellars are open in more than 300 wine producing municipalities in the whole country and a fair is organized in the historical center as visitors can taste the local wineries' products, with the explanations given by producers and sommeliers. To participate and taste all wines at the stands, you must by the glass (around 5 – 10 euros).

In partnership with the wineries, the astronomy associations all around the country promote activities for visitors to watch the stars and learn more about meteors, shooting stars, plantes and constellations. It's possible to observe the sky with naked eye as well as with telescopes. According to each location's programme, visitors will be invited to join many other activities. For example, to visit museums (that will be open that special night), to taste not only wine but all other typical products of the local gastronomy, to enjoy live music concerts and much more.

This magical event takes place in 30 locations all around Tuscany. Below you can see the list of 30 towns where will be possible to come for “Calici di Stelle” on 2010 and their respective wines. (This list can have some changings from one year to another so, for future events, have a look at the official programme of the National Association “Città del Vino”, only in Italian for now).

List of locations by Provinces and respective wines:

LIVORNO

Campiglia Marittima – Val di Cornia DOC

Castagneto Carducci – Bolgheri DOC, Sassicaia IGT, Ornellaia IGT

Piombino – Val di Cornia DOCG

Suvereto – Val di Cornia DOC

PISA / LUCCA

Montecarlo (LU) – Montecarlo DOC

Monteverdi Marittimo – Val di Cornia DOC, Montescudaio DOC

Terricciola – Chianti DOCG, Chianti Colline Pisane DOCG, Colli dell'Etruria Centrale DOC, Bianco Pisano di San Torpè DOC, Vin Santo di San Torpè DOC

GROSSETO

Cinigiano – Montecucco DOC

Gavorrano – Monteregio di Massa Marittima DOC

Massa Marittima – Monteregio di Massa Marittima DOC

SIENA

Castellina in Chianti – Chianti Classico DOCG, Valdarbia DOC, Vin Santo del Chianti Classico DOC

Castelnuovo Berardenga - Chianti Classico DOCG, Valdarbia DOC, Vin Santo del Chianti Classico DOC

Castiglione d'Orcia – Orcia DOC

Chiusi – Colli dell'Etruria Centrale DOC, Valdichiana DOC, Chianti DOCG

Colle Val D'Elsa – Chianti Colli Senesi DOCG

Gaiole in Chianti – Chianti Classico DOCG, Colli dell'Etruria Centrale DOC, Valdarbia DOC, Vin Santo del Chianti Classico DOC

Montepulciano – Vino Nobile di Montepulciano DOCG, Chianti Colli Senesi DOCG, Rosso di Montepulciano DOC, Vin Santo di Montepulciano DOCG, Valdichiana DOC

Poggibonsi – Chianti Colli Senesi DOCG, Chianti Classico DOCG, Colli dell'Etruria Centrale DOC

Rapolano Terme – Chianti Colli Senesi DOCG, Colli dell'Etruria Centrale DOC

San Casciano dei Bagni – Chianti Colli Senesi DOCG, Orcia DOC

San Casciano dei Bagni – Celle sul Rigo (district) – Chianti Colli Senesi DOCG, Orcia DOC

San Gimignano – Vernaccia di San Gimignano DOCG, Chianti Colli Senesi DOCG, Colli dell'Etruria Centrale DOC, Rosso di San Gimignano DOC

Siena – Chianti Colli Senesi DOCG, Chianti DOCG, Colli dell'Etruria Centrale DOC, Valdarbia DOC

Sinalunga - Chianti Colli Senesi DOCG, Colli dell'Etruria Centrale DOC, Valdarbia DOC

PRATO / FIRENZE

Carmignano (PO) – Carmignano DOCG, Barco Reale DOC, Vin Ruspo DOC, Vin Santo DOC

Greve in Chianti – Chianti Classico DOCG, Colli dell'Etruria Centrale DOC, Vin Santo del Chianti Classico DOC

Montespertoli – Chianti Montespertoli DOCG, Vin Santo del Chianti DOC

Pelago – Chianti Rufina DOCG, Chianti Colli Fiorentini DOCG

Rufina – Chianti Rufina DOCG, Pomino DOC

Tavarnelle Val di Pesa - Chianti Classico DOCG, Chianti DOCG, Chianti Colli Fiorentini DOCG, Colli dell'Etruria Centrale DOC

Map of “Calici di Stelle” in Tuscany and wine production zones:

View "Calici di Stelle" - Wine tasting under the stars - Aug 10th 2010 in a larger map.

For further information visit the official website of the Wine Tourism Movement. Visit also the “Città del Vino” Association website to learn more about each wine producing town.

Medieval Festivals in Tuscany

noreply@blogger.com (Adriana) — Sun, 25 Jul 2010 21:09:00 +0000

Summertime in Tuscany is really exciting, full of all types of festivals and events. I would like to dedicate this post to list some of the many Medieval Festivals taking place this time of the year, as when you program your trip on July and August, you can include the participation to one of this really worthy experiences! Below you find a brief description, the links for each event and a map with the respective locations.

You're still in time to come for some events or you can have them in mind for next year! Enjoy it!

Festa di San Giovanni Where? Firenze – When? June 24th
On Saint John's Day, the Patron of Florence, Tuscany's capital offers a big party with many activities: religious celebrations followed by the medieval recalling of the Calcio Storico Fiorentino (the historical soccer). In the evening, music concerts and to end up the festival, the Fuochi di San Giovanni, traditional fireworks show.

Gioco del Ponte Where? Pisa – When? On June (last Sunday of the month)
Gioco del Ponte closes the list of events of the “Giugno Pisano”. The origins of this joust date back from the Classical Antiquity. It consists in a game which simulates a battle between two rival parts of the city – Mezzogiorno and Tramontana. The battle takes place in Ponte di Mezzo, the main bridge over the river Arno. There is a huge cart on a sliding rail in the center of the bridge and two teams of 20 men each, positioned one in the opposite side to the other. The aim is to push the cart as to conquer more than a half of the bridge. The winner is the team which conquers more numbers of matches. The joust is preceded by a historical parade along the river simulating a military procession.
Read more about Gioco del Ponte here

Giostra del Saracino Where? Arezzo – When? Twice a year, on June and September
The Saracen Joust has its origins on the Middle Ages, when the Christian word “saracen” was used to mention the enemies arabs of that time. The medieval tournaments were useful to keep soldiers trained during periods of peace. Arezzo's Joust takes place on the last Saturday of June and the first Sunday of September of each year. This period embraces the day of San Donatus, the Patron of Arezzo (August 7th). The Giostra is preceded by many trials some days before and by a historical parade just before the performance, which simulates a knights battle against the Saracen. This one, also called “buratto”, is a puppet which represents the king of Indies. The knight on his horse must hit the Saracen's shield on the target with his lance. There are 4 teams who chalange each other and the winner receives the prize: the Golden Lance.
Read more about Giostra del Saracino here

Monteriggioni di Torri si Corona Where? Monteriggioni (SI) – When? July (1st and 2nd weekend)
Great medieval festival, certainly one of the most significant of the Tuscan history recallings. The whole town is organized as a real medieval setting and visitors can make a full immersion in the past. There are many activities during the day you can participate like theater, textile and paper workshops. Besides, there are jugglers and celtic and medieval music shows to end up with a medieval dinner: ancient recipes, terrcotta glasses and dishes, wooden spoons and local hosts serving like a real locanda.
Read more about Festival Medievale Monteriggioni here

Palio di Siena Where? Siena – When? Twice a year, on July 2nd and on Aug 16th
Historical horse race which takes place twice a year in the main square of Siena, Piazza del Campo. Preceded by many trials in different days, “contrada” parties and historic parades. After the race, the winner gives a big party distributing wine to everyone. You can read also: Siena prepares for the Palio.

Mercantia Where? Certaldo (FI) – When? July (usually during the 2nd week of the month from Wednesday to Sunday)
Mercantia is the International Festival of Street Theater that has been taking place at Certaldo Alto for the last 20 years. It is a modern idea to represent antique art, culture and folklore. It is a mix of performances which involves circus, dance, comic, theater, puppeteers, storytellers, waders, mimes, jugglers and much more.
Read more about Certaldo events here

Giostra dell'Orso Where? Pistoia – When? July 25th
This joust is the Palio of Pistoia, a medieval festival in honor of San James, the Patron of Pistoia, which involves two different events: the horse race in honor of the Saint, called Palio and the joust match against the bear (which is actually a target shaped like a bear that must be striked by the knights on their horses). It seems that at that time bears were abundant in this area. The performance of nowadays is no longer a race but only the match executed by 4 teams, each one with 3 knights. The winner receives the Palio, a painted cloth just like the Siena Palio.
Read more about Giostra dell'Orso here

Volterra AD 1398 Where? Volterra (PI) – When? Aug (3rd and 4th Sunday of the month)
Medieval Pageantry of Volterra, similar to the one of Monteriggioni, when the city is animated by all kinds of characters of the Middle Ages like merchants, artisans, warhorses, knights, nobleman, ladies, musicians, jesters, flagwavers, crossbowmen soldiers. All streets and squares of the city are replenished by the medieval atmosphere. At the Archaeological Park below the Fortress, the simulation of a military camp with the representation of war machines, duels, soldiers and knights.

Tempora Artis Magica Where? Montieri (GR) – When? On August 6th and 7th
Medieval recall just like the one of Monteriggioni and Volterra, when this small village hidden in the Maremma's woods is all transformed in a medieval setting with all characters: artisans, merchants, jugglers and jesters, nobleman and ladies. There is an exihibition of medieval torture instruments. In the evening, a medieval appetizer in the theater's old cellars followed by dinner in the castle. After that, a performance of jugglers and fire breathing show. The day after there is the simulation of a witch maleficium process, Donna Caterina, the witch of Vallebuja. In the afternoon, many shows of flagwavers, crossbowmen and dance followed by the dinner in the castle based on recipes from the Middle Ages.

Medievalis Where? Pontremoli (MS) – When? On August (3rd weekend of the month, from Thursday to Sunday)
The medieval festival of Pontremoli recalls the year 1226 when the king Federico II has recognized this village as a Comune (a municipality). Along the streets and squares of the castle of this charming village set among the mountains of Massa-Carrara, visitors will get immersed in a medieval setting with all realistic representations just like the ones of Monteriggioni and Volterra. For 4 days, the party includes simulation of a real life of a village in the Middle Ages. In the evening, you can enjoy the Medieval dinner prepared by locals with antique recipes and local vegetables and herbs found here at that time.

Below you have a map of all the locations mentioned in this post:

Visualizza Medieval Festivals in Tuscany in una mappa di dimensioni maggiori

These are only a taste of the hundreds of Summer Festivals and Medieval recallings that take place every year in the magic territory of Tuscany...
Enjoy the Tuscan summer!

A day trip at Volpaia - wine, culture and beauty!

noreply@blogger.com (Adriana) — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 23:33:00 +0000

Volpaia is a charming hamlet in the heart of Chianti, Tuscany, also known as Castello di Volpaia. It is composed of a little village with around 40 inhabitants set in a breathtaking area surrounded of vineyards and olive groves. The typical landscape you might expect to see when you visit Tuscany, involved by a fairy tale atmosphere...

Castello di Volpaia is also the name of a winery which production has been connected with this village for centuries, passing from generation to generation to reach the present owners. The winery has the property of most buildings of this hamlet and has been maintaining its original features just like in the Medieval Times. In fact, what you will see outdoors are ancient villas, houses, churches and alleys. Just book a guided tour (see contacts below) of the winery and you will discover what's indoors: the vinification cellars, the aging cellars, the bottling plants, the wine shop and the olive presses. All is connected underground by a sort of "wineduct", stainless steel tubes to transport the wine from one building to the other keeping it all hidden under the old stones.

The reasons why this place is a great choice for a day trip in Tuscany - if you are staying anywhere between Siena, Florence, Arezzo and Pisa - are:

1 - To visit one of the most charming and well kept medieval hamlets in Chianti, enjoying not only the beauty of the historical heritage but an awsome panorama as well;

2 - To taste some of the best quality wines of the area, among them 3 types of Chianti Classico D.O.C.G. (promise to write more about the wine labels in a future post), a top quality Supertuscan, white wine, desert wine and some more new wines the owners are also producing in Maremma;

3 - To enjoy a wine tour followed by wine tasting or a splendid cooking lesson, during which you will not only have fun but learn a lot about wine: how its made, how to taste it and how to match it with;

4 - As an option, according to your available time for your trip, but totally recommended, to have lunch in one of the delicious restaurants you find there or, by appointment and according to her availability, maybe a lunch or dinner in the owner's Villa!

5 - This is one of the few places I know in Tuscany which offers a complete tour inside the olive press too, and where you can really learn a lot about extra virgin olive oil, what does it mean, how its made and how it can be tasted;

6 - To purchase great quality products at the direct sale for much less then what you'd pay in your own country (when you find it!)... If you can't take it home, take at least one of each product to taste during your stay, which is really worthy! Castello di Volpaia produces in addition 7 types of an excellent quality wine vinegar: a white wine vinegar, a red wine vinegar and aromatic vinegar of 5 different flavours. Besides, at the shop you will find a great quality honey produced locally and other products connected with wine, like crystal glasses, corkscrew and much more...

If you think a single day is not enough to make all those things, and probably you are right, the winery offers also accommodation in charming apartments and luxury villas located in the village or in a range of 2 km away, among the vineyards. In a week you will be able to do this and much more: for example long walks around the vineyards and olive groves; day trips to the many other castles, hamlets and wineries of Chianti; wine festivals if you come on summer or during the Vendemmia (on September) and visiting many other lovelly art cities in Tuscany, like Florence, Siena, San Gimignano, Volterra, Pisa, Lucca and much more.

Castello di Volpaia is also a wonderful venue for weddings! The Town Hall is at Radda in Chianti, 7 km away. It is possible to rent the beautiful roses garden and the pool area in the owner's villa and there is also a large room inside an deconsacrated church in the village. All can be set directly with the owner.

Consider this tip: stop by at Radda in Chianti, the cosy Chianti town 7 km from Volpaia, really worth a visit! You will probably pass through it on the road for Volpaia. Visit the medieval town and its great wine shops, wine bars, ceramic stores and for desert try the delicious local ice cream at the Gelateria. It's right on the road, in the same place as the local cinema.

Contacts:
Castello di Volpaia
Address: Località Volpaia - 53017 - Radda in Chianti (SI)
Tel.: (0039) 0577738066
Reservations: agriturismo@volpaia.com

Where is / How to reach it: The only way to get there is by car! It is possible to rent a car at both closest airports: Pisa and Florence or at Arezzo train station.

Visualizza Castello di Volpaia in una mappa di dimensioni maggiori

You can find more information on Wikipedia - Volpaia.

Have a look at the reviews on Trip Advisor.

All about the Palio of Siena...

noreply@blogger.com (Adriana) — Mon, 05 Jul 2010 17:41:00 +0000

This is the second part of the article about the PALIO of Siena, one of the most exciting festivals of Italy - in fact, this is the only local festival shown Live in a national channel (RAI 2) every year!

I was there the past July 2nd and would like to share with you about what was going on at Siena during the week of the Palio. As I told before, it's not only about that single day but there are many activities taking place some days before and after it, two times a year... so even if the July 2nd 2010 has already past, you're still in time to come for the Aug 16th and next years... or centuries!

I met a lot of tourists there, among them Canadians, Americans and Australians, who didn't have any idea of what was going on there. So, I think this post can help for the future ones who make some research before coming to Siena for the Palio.

The schedule of the Palio:

June 29th and Aug 13th at 9.00 am - "La Tratta": it's when all horses considered able to run the Palio are presented in groups called "batterie" and make a trial around the square to test their performance on the racetrack. After the batterie, 10 horses will be choosen to run the race.

June 29th and Aug 13th at 12.00 to 1.00 pm - "Sorteggio": on a stage in front of the Palazzo Pubblico takes place the public drawing of the horses to each respective contrada. This is when the horse is commited to the contrada and took to their own stable escorted by the contradaioli. The person in charge of the horse in the contrada is called "barbaresco".

June 29th at 7.45 pm and Aug 13th at 7.15 pm - "Prima Prova": the first of 6 trials around the square of the 10 horses with their respective knights choosen by the contrada. The knight is called "fantino". For the first trial the order of entrance in Piazza the day of the Palio has already been defined by a drawing.

June 30th and Aug 14th at 9.00 am - "Seconda Prova": the second trial. The contradas will enter in Piazza in the inverse order of entrance than the first one.

June 30th at 7.45 pm and Aug 14th at 7.15 pm - "Terza Prova": the third trial. Same order of entrance then the Palio day.

July 1st and Aug 15th at 9.00 am - "Quarta Prova": Inverse order of entrance.

July 1st at 7.45 pm and Aug 15th at 7.15 pm - "Prova Generale": the last trial before the Palio day, the entrance order is the straight one. Traditionally, this trial is preceded by the "Carica dei Carabinieri" - a beautiful demonstration of the militar policemen's cavalry - for me one of the top moments of the pre-Palio! The evening of the Prova Generale, usually all contradas organize a dinner in their own seats in honor of all protaginists of the festival and important members of the contrada. The fantino, who is not a member of the contrada, in this occasion is invited to seat at the table of honor. Tourists can't participate of this dinner, unless they get invited by the contrada members! After dinner, usually the contrada members visit the allied contradas to meet their leaders. This is when they make verbal agreements to impede the rival contrades to win or to favorite their own victory.

A parenthesis about the trials:

During these trials the contrada will be able to verify the conditions of the horse and the fantini (knights). The horse is leaded to the "Entrone" (Palazzo Pubblico entrance) by a group of contradaioli with their flags and drums who escort the horse and the fantino while singing their traditional songs. The fantino can be changed anytime until the last trial on the Palio day. The horse instead cannot be replaced. The horse is actually who wins the race, not the knight! Even if the knight falls down, the horse can win... it's said "cavallo scosso".

To watch the trials it is enough to get place in the square or in the bleachers before the "pulito", I mean when the police officers will close the racetrack for the trial (you will know when at the moment you hear a canon shot). Obviously, to watch the Palio itself in the bleachers you need to book it through some of the private ticket sellers with much advance.

The Palio Day:

July 2nd and Aug 16th at 7.45 am - "Messa del Fantino": a Mass is celebrated by the archbishop in the Chapel of the Palazzo Pubblico.

At 9.00 am - "La Provaccia": the last trial before the Palio, the one with less interest by the contradaioli, as long as all is set for the Palio. After the trial, members reunion with the fantino and effectively enroll him for the Palio, handing over the "giubbetto", traditional jacket with the contrada's emblem and colors he will wear during the race and the "zucchino", the traditional handmade helmet. After this, the fantino can no longer be replaced.

July 2nd at 3.30 pm and Aug 16th at 3.00 pm - "Benedizione": after all members of the contrada who will participate to the Parade that precedes the race are dressed in their costumes, each contrada that participates to the Palio celebrate the rite of blessing the horse and the fantino in their own respective chapel. The priest says as conclusion: "Vai e torna vincitore!" (Go and come back as a winner!). After the blessing, the members of the contrada and representants of the Town Hall cross the city stopping by some important points to execute the "sbandierata" (traditional movement with the flags which are then launched up in the air).

July 2nd at 4.30 pm and Aug 16th at 3.50 pm - "Corteo Storico": the Parade starts in front of Palazzo del Governo in Piazza del Duomo and leads direction to Piazza del Campo. To the Corteo participate all of the 17 contradas of the city, even the 7 ones which are not running that single race.

July 2nd at 5.20 pm and Aug 16th at 4.50 pm - "Corteo Storico": the Parade enters the square, each group representing a contrada, in the order established for the race. The "drappellone" or "Palio" (hand painted flag which is the winner's trophy) is presented at the end of the Parade all around the city and the square until it reaches the judges platform.

July 2nd at 7.30 pm and Aug 16th at 7.00 pm - THE PALIO! The "drappellone" raised up to the top platform where the judges stay. All is ready for the race to begin!

To watch the Palio inside the square is totaly free, but you need to get there early, specially before the Corteo, as long as when it starts, all entrances to the square will be closed, except one from Via Duprè (behind the Palazzo Publico, right side looking at it). The last entrance will be closed at 7.10 pm / 6.40 pm and after that it is impossible for anyone to go in or out of the square.

IMPORTANT TIPS: there are no toilettes, dogs and small children are not allowed, strolls are not allowed! Inside the square there is a stand selling water and other drinks. Consider well your conditions before going inside the square and keep drinking water, it will surely be very very hot and you never know how long you will remain there because the start of the race can take 5 minutes as well as 1 hour or more.

What happens during and after the race:

There is a great silence when the horses and knights enter the square and the judge starts calling the contrada names, to enter in the position according to the pre-choosen order. The horses will be very nervous so they take a long time to stay in their position. Also, this time is important because it's when the fantini are making the last agreements for the race (those agreements are obviously not official).

Until they're not all aligned as the calling order, the last horse can't enter between the two ropes. The ropes will be released when the judges consider the alignment of the horses are ok and the last fantino decides to enter. If the judges think they are too messy, they call everyone to leave the position to start all over again the calling. That's when usually you hear the public to say that OHHHH! This phase can last what it takes and if starts getting dark, they can even resend the race for the day after! But don't worry, most times it doesn't take too long...

The race itself lasts about 2 minutes!!! It's only 3 turns around the square... when the last horse enters between the ropes, they are released and the race starts... everything can happen in these 2 or 3 minutes and the winner is almost never the favorite one! When the winner arrives, you hear 3 canon shots and that means the race is concluded.

The winner contrada members go meet the fantino and the horse, and receive the Palio from the judges. From this moment for the whole month and year is only PARTY! The contradaioli take the fantino and the horse up to their chapel making first a turn all around the city singing, playing their drums, flapping their flags and showing off the Palio and the horse... When they reach the contrada's seat, they will distribute wine to everyone! Anyone is invited to join the contrada party that night and drink wine to celebrate with them! And let's say, this is the best part!!! Specially when the winner stays a long time without getting a victory!

On July 2nd 2010 has won the contrada of SELVA, for the 37th time! Below you have the video I got from You Tube uploaded by ribelliamociora:

Hope this guide can help you out when you visit Siena in this time of the year and you can enjoy the Palio... the excitment is felt in the air in the whole city these days!

HOW TO BUY TICKETS FOR THE PALIO
In theory you need to contact directly the owners of apartments, cafes and platforms that face the square, or ask in your hotel.
For more info about how to buy tickets to wacth the Palio in the bleachers, contact the APT Siena, address: Piazza del Campo, 56 - tel.: (0039) 0577280551.

To watch the Palio live from the internet, visit SIENAFREE.

All info about the Palio, you can find on Il Palio and Palio di Siena websites.

A great post in the blog Italofile: Siena 101

Siena prepares for the Palio

noreply@blogger.com (Adriana) — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 21:21:00 +0000

Remaining on the theme about SIENA, city where I've lived for 5 years and to which I have a strong link with... let's introduce something about the PALIO. What is happening at Siena on June? I say I would only introduce the Palio here because I intend to write much more about that, or at least about what I've learned during those years, as long as there are many books, articles and researches available everywhere which are much more exhaustive than me in this matter.

First of all I need to say that the Palio - the medieval horse race which takes place at Siena twice a year, on July 2nd and Aug 16th - actually is not only about those two dates but it involves the whole city lifestyle all year long! It is about a Siennese lifestyle, not only a folkloric or a storic event and absolutely NOT a show to attract tourists at all. Anyway, as long as Piazza del Campo holds 200 thousand people or more, tourists are very welcome too!

The city is divided in 17 contrade (districts), each one with their geographic delimitations, their own church, their own community association and seat. The contrada is a little community inside the city, where people who belong to it (the contradaioli) gather together to have dinner, to decide things about the Palio or simply to spend their leisure time together. Each contrada is also a "team", represented by their own colors, their symble (most of them is an animal, like the "giraffe" or the "snail", etc) and their own flag.

When springtime arrives, all activities connected with the Palio start to become more intense. Outside the city beggins the selection of the best horses. More than 1 hundred horses pass through a vet inspection and then through many tests on racetrack and in the Piazza as well.

In the city, many activities are promoted by the contrade. Each contrada has their own holidays, usually connected to the Catholic saints calendar, which highlights the evident relationship between Palio and Religion. On their patron saint's day, they organize a big party: the contradaioli who play a role in the contrada dress in their costumes and with their flags and drums, they start leading a kind of parade around Siena, visiting all other contrade one by one in sign of respect and friendship. Sometimes there could be a strong rivalry between some contrade, in this case they usually don't visit each other. The other members of the contrada who don't have a representative role in the parade just follow it, bringing instead of a costume a hanky with the colors and the symble of the contrada on their neck. The parade ends up again in the contrada where takes place a large dinner party for all members, with their own specialties and lots of good wine.

Only members of the contrada can join the dinner and all activities organized inside the contrada, unless you get invited. The only exception for that is when a contrada wins the Palio, so usualy it opens its doors and serve wine for all... most of them make the wine gush out from the contrada's standpipe!!! All activities promoted outside of the contrada, instead, are public so anyone can watch and take pictures as they want (for example the parade).

Well, so if you come to Siena on June, July or August and by chance you see all those colorful flags, hear the drums everywhare, see those longs tables and lots of people having dinner outdoors or watch one of those parades with people dressed in costume flapping flags, singing and playing drums, so don't be disoriented no more, because now you know what all of this means!

Next Palio will happen on July 2nd in honor to Madonna di Provenzano (Our Lady of Provenzano), the protector of Siena. So, from now up to that date Siena prepares for the Palio. On the next days the 10 horses will be selected for the race and will be submitted to a last test on the square before they will be assigned to each contrada. The assignment of the horses is made by drawing. After that there are 4 days of trials with the horses in the square and one last trial on the same day of the Palio. As the Palio, the trials can be watched by the public as well...

To be continued...

Watch the clip of Piazza del Campo, by Canale Tre Toscana on Facebook

More info about the Palio: Official Palio di Siena - Il Palio

More info about Siena and the Palio: Siena 101

Siena by night - Around the pubs

noreply@blogger.com (Adriana) — Fri, 21 May 2010 21:57:00 +0000

I was so pleased I got an invitation of a blogger girl, friend of mine, to write a post in her wonderful Blog in Portughese: GIRO PELA TOSCANA by Roberta Ristori.

Roberta knows I have lived for 5 years in Siena and asked me to tell a little bit about that splendid city. I thought talking about the nightlife would be very interesting because maybe this theme is often underestimated. So I prepared a short guide with some options of where to go at Siena by night, based mainly on the most haunted places among the residents (including myself as I keep going to Siena to meet my friends).

I would like to share with you the translation in English of that post.

Siena offers many historic and cultural atractions, places to visit and things to do during the day. But what about the nightlife at Siena? I would like to share with you some tips, specialy towards the young guys who look to have some fun; in the end travelling involves also amusement, entertainment and socialization.

As long as Siena is the seat of two Universities - Università di Siena and Università per Stranieri di Siena - this city hosts a wide population of young people who come from everywhere abroad or from other regions of Italy to study. That's the reason why, in the contrary of most people may think, there is much youth and much nightlife in the city.

Starting by PIAZZA DEL CAMPO - the main square! It is the place where, specialy on summer, people of all ages, residents or tourists, gather to have dinner, to eat a PIZZA or to taste a delicious GELATO (Italian ice-cream). Talking about pizza and gelato, I recommend the pizzeria "Il Bandierino", right there in the Square, opposite to the tower. The pizza is good and prices are reasonable.

The Gelateria (ice-cream shop) I like the best in the whole Siena is located right there close to Piazza del Campo, in Via Rinaldini, almost at the corner with the pizzeria "Il Bandierino". Try the "mousse", it's a home made ice-cream recipe mixed with cream, really delicious!

After dinner, the meeting point in particular for the young ones becomes the "La Birreria", located right there at the Square a few meters from the pizzeria "Il Bandierino" on the same side. "La Birreria" has outdoor tables and chairs overlooking the square where they serve cocktails and drinks, appetizers, pizzas and even meals. Anyway, the place is haunted by young people specialy at night because it is among the last ones to close.

In alternative for dinner, many times the guys prefer to go to a pub (places really inspired in the British pubs) and have some delicious sandwiches or appetizers there while drinking excellent kinds of beer: German, Scotish or Irish beers!

I can recommend in particular three pubs I used to go often to at Siena:

"The Dublin Post", or well-known simply as the "Irish", located in Piazza La Lizza, right in front of La Lizza gardens and Siena bus station. This pub offers an outdoor space opened during the warm season, besides there is a great indoors environment with two floors, in typical Irish style where they organize also many events - the larger one is certainly "St. Patrick's Day", the oficial Irish party. In the pub you will be able to taste the typical Irish beers: Guinness, Harp and Kilkenny as well as other drinks, cocktails and sandwiches. Practically, this is the meeting point for all foreigners visiting Siena.

"Kroeg", not too much well-known by tourists by highly haunted by local residents and students, located at Via Pian d'Ovile, nr. 70. The pub offers excellent German beers as well as good sandwiches and appetizers. The place is cozy and the building still preserves the original features like vaulted ceilings and arches made of typical Tuscan "terracotta". During the winter season the pub offers a great programme of live music. There is a free parking right in front of the pub and a private parking right there downhill, anyway it is possible to reach it easily walking from the town center.

"Loch ness", a wonderful Scotish pub, very spacious - probably the largest one in Siena - with its typical British style decoration. Located "fuori le mura" (outside the walls), in Via Monte Santo, nr.1 at the corner with Viale Vittorio Veneto, the one which surrounds the city and right in front of the "Fortezza" (the Fortress). With background music, it is a nice place to go and talk to friends while tasting their delicious Scotish beers and whiskies.

Well, I think these are nice tips specialy for those who doesn't want the commonplace and prefer to know places haunted by people who live in the city and not only by tourists. So, have fun but remember: drink moderately!

And this was the post that was published by GIRO PELA TOSCANA by Roberta Ristori - Brazil. I'm really glad of this contribution and will hope to publish some of her texts very soon!

What I forgot to say is that it is absolutely safe to walk around Siena at any time of the day or the night! In 5 years living there I never saw never bad happening... Enjoy!

San Galgano and the sword on a rock

noreply@blogger.com (Adriana) — Tue, 11 May 2010 22:08:00 +0000

SAN GALGANO for me is a mystic, magical place. I think it is one of the places in Tuscany I like the best. Maybe because I've allways been passionate by European miths and legends. Have you ever heard of a story about a sword on a rock? To whom did you think this sword belonged? To King Arthur's you might imagine... No!! That sword really exists, in Tuscany! It used to belong to "San Galgano" and is till now stick in a rock inside the Montesiepi Chapel, a small church set uphill close to the" San Galgano" Abbey. The sanctuary composed of a deconsecrated Abbey downhill and the Church uphill with its surrounding dependances i located 30 km West from Siena, between the Tuscan towns of Monticiano and Chiusdino. This territory is also well-known as Val di Merse, the most exuberant piece of the Province of Siena in terms of wilderness.

But, who was San Galgano? The story tells about Galgano Guidotti, born at Chiusdino on 1148, who became a proud knight and during his youth was overpowering and thoughtless like all other knights of his time and area. In fact, that period of the Middle Ages was full of angry, violence and fighting. Later in time, Galgano realized how useless his life has been to then and started to suffer with the lack of purpose in his life. That's why he decided to retreat on the hill of Montesiepi to live a hermitage and penitent life looking for peace and contemplation of God. As a sign of abdication of any form of violence and with the intention to use it like a cross in front of which to pray, Galgano took his sword and sticked in a rock cropped on the ground. One year later he died and four years after his death, Galgano was declared a Saint by Pope Lucio III. This was year 1185. The Round Church has been built around the sword on the rock during the following years after his death.

Some decades later, on the 1218 the cistercian monks started the construction of San Galgano's Abbey. The sanctuary has still a great relevance in Tuscany as a religious complex. The monastic community has been strongly stricken by the plague of 1348, when started their decline. On 1474 the monks decided to move to Siena, to the present "San Galgano" building (now it holds the Letters College of Siena University). This made the original Abbey to get abandoned and ruined little by little till when it has been deconsecrated in the 1789.

San Galgano's Abbey now has become the stage for many events, performances and concerts, specially for Italian operas. The events are open air because there is no more roof, lost many centuries ago. I have been there to see Puccini's “Tosca”, and it was simply amazing, as because part of the story takes place in a church. Besides the fact of beeing open air, there was almost a full moon which has moved alog during the performance, and in a certain point the moon was exactly centered inside the circle of the facade's eye – it is a whole now because there are no more stained glasses. Well, the moon was literally inside the whole, it was simply magic!

A place absolutely not to miss when you visit Tuscany, specially if you are staying close to Siena, it's only 30 km away... I know people who made this trip by bike!! If you come on August you will see limitless sunflower fields along the way...

Tip: have a look on the Concerts Summer Season to get the schedule of SAN GALGANO.

For further information visit San Galgano's Info Website.

I also recommend the following post of the partner blog At Home in Tuscany with more useful information and links.

Read more also: The Magic Flute in San Galgano and San Galgano Abbey

Chianti and wine - "Cantine Aperte" is getting close

noreply@blogger.com (Adriana) — Tue, 04 May 2010 23:29:00 +0000

May has come, so spring with all colorful flowers and mild sunny days, the best season to visit Tuscany. Besides, the last Sunday of May, every year, there is CANTINE APERTE. "Cantine Aperte" means open cellars, this is a national movement promoted by an association called "Movimento Turismo del Vino". That day all associated wineries in the whole Italy promote free activities for visitors who go around, winery by winery, to taste their wines and visit their cellars. Usually, each winery organize an exclusive program of cultural and gastronomic events either. This year, Cantine Aperte is scheduled for the May 30th.

In this post I will give a special attention to a specific wine producing area in Tuscany: the CHIANTI. The name "Chianti" is automatically connected with wine, because it was the first Italian wine to become famous worldwide specially for that peculiar round body bottle covered with a straw basket (called "fiasco" in Italian). As usual, the wine receives the name of its production area and in the case of Chianti there are two types: "Chianti Classico" - a territory that includes 4 or 6 municipalities between Florence and Siena - and "Chianti" which is a much wider territory from the Pisan and Lucchesi hills, passing through the Florentine hills up to Arezzo hills and includes also the area around Siena.

The reason why I invite you all to come and visit this region, specially during "Cantine Aperte" is because I have lived and worked for one season in the Chianti Classico area. Specifically I have stayed in Radda in Chianti, working in the winery CASTELLO DI VOLPAIA. The best to be there in this special day is why you will have the opportunity to taste almost all existing types of "Chianti Classico" wines and have the chance to visit magical places. Most wineries stay in paradisiac settings among the soft rolling hills, covered of vineyards and olive groves, besides most of their offices and direct sale stores are located in those charming hamlets or castles kept as well as seven hundred years ago...

A few tips on which wineries to visit in Chianti:

- Villa Vignamaggio - a curiosity about this winery, among others: it has been the setting for the movie "Much Ado About Nothing" by Kenneth Branagh based on Shakespeare's homonymous piece.

- Badia a Coltibuono - one of the older wineries in this area, founded by the monks "vallombrosiani" who started to make wine on the 11th century; the best feature of this estate is the Abbey, besides is one of the few which offer cooking classes.

- Castello di Meleto - the most impressive feature of this winery is the castle... yes it is set in a real castle with the watchtowers and everything.

- Castello di Volpaia - this is where the place where I've lived and worked for 10 months on 2006, but this is not the only reason why I recommend it... it is a beautiful place to visit and differently to Meleto, Volpaia is not actually a castle but a medieval hamlet which has been perfectly preserved and the most interesting about it is that the cellars are still now UNDER the church or UNDER and INSIDE the old buildings. P.s.: offers cooking lessons too.

- Castello d'Albola - the setting is also a typical Tuscan hamlet built in the Middle Ages, in Italian the word "Castello" is used also for that.

Obviously all of them make top quality wines, not to mention luxurious hospitality, wine tasting, direct sale and produce extra virgin olive oil as well.

To have a map of the participating wineries click on the official website of the Movimento Turismo del Vino Toscana. As the site is in Italian language only, go on "Mappe" and than click on "Chianti Classico" to have the map with the location of all wineries you can visit on May 30th. Forgot to say that in that special ocasion wine tasting is for FREE.

That's pretty much what I had to say about "Cantine Aperte" in Chianti for now, so please keep following me for more tips on Tuscan wines, wine tours and wine tasting in Tuscany.

Volterra - from the Etruscans to the Vampires...

noreply@blogger.com (Adriana) — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 20:01:00 +0000

If you never heard of Twilight, you might be asking what do I mean with "vampires"? Volterra is now famous worldwide because of the second chapter of the successful saga Twilight, New Moon. The book written by Stephenie Meyer has become a movie with a wonderful photography, which shows in part the territory of Volterra. Who never heard of the story, this is about a human girl and a vampire who fell in love and must pass through many difficulties to stay together for the fact they belong to different worlds: human x vampire. Volterra appears on the second chapter of the saga, called New Moon, as the seat of the higher vampire leaders. The book and the movie have got much success among the teenagers and not only... among all those who has a crush on the fantasy or supernatural style.

The positive thing on all this is the higlight that Volterra and its surrounding lands received as destination. Actually, the scenes of the movie which show the town center have been shot not at Volterra but at Montepulciano, another one-of-a-kind medieval town in the Southern Tuscany. Volterra can only be seen from its outside, which doens't spoil all the publicity the town has got.

Located in the Province of Pisa, set in this hilly area of Tuscany that is one of the most breathtaking landscapes ever between Pisa, Siena and San Gimignano, Volterra is a large medieval town positioned on the top of a hill with many points of limitless views. From the road, the view of the town uphill is as wonderful as undescribable. The origins of Volterra date back from the Etruscans period, which starts on the Pre-history and meets the ancient Roman times. The Etruscans were the local population who occupied the whole terriotry of Tuscany and part of Lazio during the period mentioned before till they have been completely submitted by the Roman Empire. Many artefacts of that people like funerary urns, ceramics, sculptures among other things can be seen in the oldest museum of the town (and of the whole Europe), the Etruscan Guarnacci Museum, founded on the 1761 and located in 15, Via Don Minzoni. Not to mention the imposing Necropolis of Marmini, an important complex of Etruscan tombs and the Acropolis, the ruins of the antique Etruscan city.

It is also very clear at Volterra the presence of the ancient Romans. It is still almost intact a stunning Roman amphitheater, the Vallebona Theater from the period of emperor Augustus. The theater and the Archaeological Park which includes the Acropolis and the Roman baths can be visited with one single ticket, besides, the theater can also be watched from the top of a belvedere, as long as the medieval center has been built above it. The medieval and Renaissance heritage of Volterra are also amazing. First of all there is the imponent Fortezza Medicea (a fortress built by the noble family Medici who ruled Tuscany during most of Renaissance time) which can be seen from a long distance along the road to reach the Volterra. The city still preserves most of its surrounding walls, originally Etruscan, then reconstructed in the Middle Ages. The inside is simply beautiful, starting from the entrances of the city thrgough the main doors or some kind of small "terracotta" tunnels which work as secondary gates.

Walking along the narrow streets and alleys (cars are not allowed), designed by the unplanned construction of the buildings and houses, passing through charming wine bars, souvenir and alabaster* stores, restaurants, and other interesting corners, you reach the main square - Piazza dei Priori - where you have the Town Hall - Palazzo dei Priori - from the 13th century, of evident Florentine influence. Also the Cathedral and the Baptistery date back from the same period, preserving most of their original features except for the interiors renovated during the Renaissance when many artworks of important Tuscan artists have been added. There are many other Churches, Chapels and Palazzi (buildings) to be visited, as well as the Sacred Art Museum and the Civic Museum the so maybe just a one-day trip is not enough, just like every single town of this rich and enchanting Region!

So, for now I'll stop here... please keep following me for further information about Volterra and other tips.

*p.s.: The alabaster is a mineral which is plentiful present in the territory of Volterra. The type existing there is very similar to marble but is almost transparent. In fact, before glass have reached ocidental Europe, specially the white type of alabaster usually was used for windows, uplighter lamps, etc.

Here is a pic of me and my friends inside an Etruscan bath :-)

For more info, visit Pisa Province Tourism official website.

Lucca has a special place in my heart

noreply@blogger.com (Adriana) — Sun, 18 Apr 2010 19:41:00 +0000

Lucca... the beautiful Lucca! This is the place where my roots came from, which I had the change to visit for the first time so many years later. At that time I couldn't immagine how many times would have visted it again, studied there and got so linked to it as my own home.

Me and my father decided to make a research to dicover something more about our family - "Lucchesi" - and follow our genealogical tree. In the Immigration Museum of Sao Paulo (Brazil) we have found the papers which proved the entrance of our great great grandfathers who first arrived in the 1888. According to the stories we have always heard on our lives, we could find out that our family came from a district of Lucca called Balbano.

My parents and I have visited Balbano for the first time only in the 2008, and I can't even describe what emotion it was to step the land where our family's history has begun! We have visited the Church of St. Lawrence (San Lorenzo) where those relatives have been baptized, married and buried. The cemetery is right beside the church, and actually it was very interesting to visit it as long as it preserves the story of those people... this feeling is very strong in Italy and in my opinion it has to be appreciated. In fact, we realized that almost all of those people probably have been in some way our relative. There were many people with the surnames Lucchesi and Andreucetti, those which certainly belonged to our family.

The Church of San Lorenzo has been built in the 12th century, all made of stone, just like some of the surrounding houses. As I saw the stone house portrayed in the picture, I suddenly remembered the stories told by my great grandfather and the picture just came in my mind: he was a boy and used to live in a house built of stone, there was a cellar under the house where he used to go and pick the wine when the priest came up for dinner.

Balbano is outside the walls... but let's talk a little bit about "Lucca Dentro", inside the walls. Lucca has the most incredible and well preserved medieval walls all around the old town. And this is the first great attraction of this lovely city. Over the walls there is a wide public walk long about 4 km, where everyone goes to ride bikes, walk or make jogging. Those walls hide a little jewel of Tuscany, which deserves many other posts to describe each church, museum, square, tower... a majestic heritage with two thousand years of history - the Anfiteatro square is the prove of it - from the Roman times passing through the medieval times, Renaissance till the Belle Epoque and much more.

A nice walk along the streets and alleys will reveal delightful surprises, like the Cathedral of San Martino, the splendid churches of San Michele in Foro and San Frediano and many others, not to mention the Torre delle Ore (Tower of the clock), Palazzo Ducale and Palazzo Guinigi - the one with the tower which has a garden on the top.

Lucca is also the birth place of Giaccomo Puccini, the great maestro of the Italian opera from the 19th century, who composed the music for many famous masterpieces like "Tosca", "Turandot", "Madamme Butterfly" and and many others. It is possible to visit its house - actually he had more than one house - and many museums dedicated to him. Come back soon to have further information about PUCCINI.

For more information about Lucca please visit the Official Tourism Bureau APT Lucca.

Learn more about Puccini and follow up the event's calendar of Puccini Festival Foundation.

Banner and link exchange

noreply@blogger.com (Adriana) — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 10:09:00 +0000

Welcome to Around Tuscany's banner exchange page. Below you will find banners and links of partner sites and blogs. If you want to be listed here, please CONTACT ME, link this blog to your site and send me your banner exchange link. If you don't have a banner yet I'll simply list your link below. Thanks you all for the support!

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Amazing North Italy, Italy travel guide to Piedmont Italy, North Italy. Focuses on Italian farm holidays and language holidays adventures. Italian holidays is THE family fun vacation for all! Check us out now.

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Around Tuscany - Official blog for the places in Tuscany
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Recommended Blogs:
Giro pela Toscana
At Home in Tuscany
Brazilian Abroad
Toscana Ai Vou Eu
Ms Adventures in Italy
WhyGo Italy
Vino con Vista
Tour Italy Now
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Katerina Fiore - Olio di Oliva e Sogni di Vino
Nile Guide Florence

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Pisa - more than a day trip

noreply@blogger.com (Adriana) — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 19:08:00 +0000

The first time I visited PISA was for the ususal day-trip. Most of people stays in another city, like Florence, Siena or Lucca and just catch a train into Pisa to see the Leaning Tower, stops by for half a day and then leaves. I was staying in Siena for my scholarship, on 1999. It was winter, which means that days are even shorter. We got a train, walked along Corso Italia where there are many shops, crossed the river Arno and reached Borgo Stretto, the historic center, to walk in direction to the main square, called "Piazza dei Miracoli". We made half a day trip only, so it was already the sunset when we reached the Tower, and the scene was very beautiful. At that moment I had no idea how many times I would have seen that scene!!!

Well, five years later I got another scholarship for a Master's degree at the Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna of Pisa, so I lived there for 6 months. It was when I really discovered this charming city... I rented an apartment with view to the Tower, with two more students, so everyday crossed the square to reach Piazza Martiri della Libertà for lesson. How many times I saw all that tourists taking pictures like if they were holding up the Tower and I thought just a few of them go further... It's enough to walk a little bit more and leave the immediate surroundings of Piazza dei Miracoli to discover whatelse Pisa has to offer, not only to see but specially to eat!

That's the best advice I can give you now... don't stop for eating right beside the Tower in one of those restaurants and pizzerias which offer a touristc menu! Specially for the PIZZA, to be avoid at all!!! You will pay more and receive low quality food... then you will go back home thinking how terrible is the pizza in Italy, you never immagined!!! It's just because you didn't eat it in the right place...

I'll have the chance to write more about it... for now, a tip is to save money at restaurant in order to spend it if you want to climb the Leaning Tower... yeah, it's very expensive!!! The ticket costs 15 Euros per person ONLY to climb the Tower and if you book in advance (according to the season, it's recommended), there is plus 2 Euros of booking fee. You can buy your tickets on-line on the Official On-Line Ticket Office of the Leaning Tower.

I have an idea to save money and at the same time taste a delicious pizza or if you prefer a "focaccia" with jam, mozzarella or what you choose to put inside or, even better, taste a local specialty called "cecina" - a kind of pie made with chickpea flour and extra virgin olive oil - all cooked in the wood burning oven. This is a traditional place owned by an elder couple from decades, called Pizzeria Al Bagno di Nerone. Actually there are no tables, it is just take away or you can seat in a few benches inside if you find space. Usually there are closed on Mondays and sometimes for other reasons with no forsight, but in the end it's family owned. You find this pizzeria if you walk along Via Carlo Fedeli, the street behind the Tower (right behind the Cathedral) which leads to the city center. You will reach a Roman bath (the Bagni di Nerone) and in the opposite side of the street you see this pizzeria. Send me a comment after you taste it and tell me if I was right!

For desert I propose the Gelateria Yogurteria Bagni di Nerone, close to the pizzeria, at civic number 7 which makes one of the best ice-creams I ever tasted not only in Tuscany, in the world!!! I'll tell you from now: Italian ice-cream is what I like the most in this country! The gelateria is closed on Wednesdays. They make also delicious yogurt, all recipes are traditional and home made.

I think after you ate in those two places, you can even leave Pisa... they are very simple, not for those who are looking for a refined restaurant or so... but those people don't even know what they're missing!!!

Anyway, I don't recommend you leave right away... there is still so much to see and to do... keep following this blog to discover!

p.s.: Below you can see what is Bagni di Nerone.

A scholarship in Siena

noreply@blogger.com (Adriana) — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 22:59:00 +0000

The first time I came to Italy was in the 1999 when I got a scholarship to study Italian language at the Siena Foreigners University (or Università per Stranieri di Siena - UNISTRASI). It was on January and I got the chance to live there for a month.

I think this is a great option for teenagers or young people who wants to visit a place, learn more about its lifestyle and catch the real atmosphere of the place: try to get a scholarship and enrol on a language course. Unistrasi is one of the best Italian language schools in Italy and the courses include not only regular lessons but also art and culture lessons out of the classroom, like a city tour around Siena, a guided visit to a Museum or short trips in the surroundings.

The scholarship I got is promoted by the Region Tuscany government's department dedicated to Tuscan people who's abroad, the Consiglio dei Toscani all'Estero (unfortunatelly the page is 100% in Italian language, but you can find the Associations around the world and contact the one which is closer to you). It refeers to everyone who has proved Tuscan origins and lives out of Italy. If you are sure someone in your family came from Tuscany, look for one of the many Associations in your country and join it, as you can receive all details on how to access these iniciatives. Mine is the "Lucchesi nel Mondo" Association, from Lucca. I belong to the Sao Paulo seat, in Brazil. Every year the Association brings many young people to participate to this scholarship. You must be up to 28 years old.

The Region Tuscany (I mean, the regional government, like a "state") pays the whole intensive course at Unistrasi, one month of hotel stay, lunchs and dinners, guided trips with teachers and art/ architecture experts and half air ticket. I would like to specify that teachers will ONLY speak Italian with you, including during the trips and outdoor lessons which is really great, but you will have much more benefit from all this if you study Italian at home before coming, I'd say for an year.

I always heard of many people coming from Argentina and Brazil, but those Associations are present all over the world. I know the "Lucchesi" is present in many places of the U.S., Australia and other countries - obviously where Italians have migrated in mass. There are also other Associations, for example at Sao Paulo there is the "Circolo Toscano".

Then, the first city where I stayed was SIENA about which I intend to speak many other times in this blog, because there is so much to say about it and also because there are many different approachs. At the moment I am talking about a scholarship, which is not so useful for tourists in general. But certainly this approach is related with one of the main features of this city. Because of the presence of an important and antique University and the presence of Unistrasi, which is a separated University dedicated only for foreigners, the city is really alive and full of people from all over the world (and from all over Italy too).

I took the winter course which is certainly not so exciting as the summer course but it was a great experience for me... my first time abroad, I was 19 years old, my first time in Italy and Tuscany... It was part study part tourism, as long as I stayed in the hotel and got some organized trips, which are part of the scholarship. But if you prefer to make a full immersion, there are longer courses of an year or two... this would lead you to rent a room in a student's apartment, to make your own shopping, to "cook" and also make parties at home... which reminds me that Spanish-French movie called "L'auberge espagnole" about Erasmus students living in Barcelona. Erasmus is an European scholaship which allows students to make one year of University in a different country of the European Union. There is also its extension to non-European countries, called Erasmus Mundus. There are many Erasmus students in Siena too.

This integration was one of the best experiences for me ever... to speak with people from so different countries! The most funny was to speak in Italian with Korean and Jappanese guys I met there. I'm a Latin-language speaker so for me to communicate in Italian was not so difficult, but I can understand how difficult it was for them. Also Anglo-Saxon speakers use to have some problems, as normal... there were also many Slavic speakers and many others. It was very intriguing start to distinguish the many accents of all those people... and the best was that we all felt as equals.

During this stay I didn't have the oportunity to meet many Italian people, except for the teachers and for an old man who started talking to me and my friends in the square. I understood maybe less than half of what he said, but he was very kind and started teaching us about the city... we stared to walk around and he kept telling us many things about the history, about the buildings, towers and monuments till we reached the Cathedral. He was certainly a Siennese (born in Siena), and that is why it was so difficult to understand his conversation. Later I discovered how difficult is to understand the Tuscan accent. Because there is no dialect in Tuscany, but their Italian is lightly different from the official Italian language, and the accent is really peculiar. Many years later I would have learned how to understand the Tuscan accent but I never got it... just some phrases or expressions!

I was talking about the old man I met in the square. The square is the famous Piazza del Campo. I couldn't believe my eyes first time I saw it... it is simply beautiful... build in the 1300's, with a shell shape. Piazza del Campo is the pulsing heart of Siena. In winter, everybody goes there after lunch, specially when it's sunny, and make the "sesta" laid down on the floor, sunbathing... There is no sea, but the scene is like if it was a beach! It's a shell, after all... On summer, everyone goes there in the evening, buy a drink in the surrounding pubs and just stay there seated down in the square drinking, talking, playing the guitar and singing with friends. Siena is a really quiet place, you can walk alone in the night through the narrow medieval streets and nothing happens.

Piazza del Campo is the place where the Palio takes place. It is a medieval horse race which keeps most of its features till now. I promise to dedicate one or more posts about that, because the Palio is the real soul of Siena. There is so much to say about it. During my scholarship I learned a little bit about the Palio and visited some "contrada" (one of the districts of Siena) seats and museums. But I could not see the Palio because it takes place only on summer. The Palio is raced twice a year, on July 2nd and on August 16th. The racetrack is around the square and the crowd stays in the middle. The square is built in a way that doesn't matter where you stay, you can always see the other side.

In short, it was an extremely intese month for me and one of the best experiences of my life. When I was in Siena I also visited many other places in Tuscany, which deserve many other posts, like Lucca, Pisa, San Gimignano, Volterra, etc... so keep following me!!! Oh, almost forgot...once we rented a car and went to Abetone, a small ski station. And that was the first time I saw the snow in my entire life... it was beautiful!!! I never tried to ski, we just went there to watch and to make a stroll... well, that's absolutely not my environment... but I loved it!

Hope this was useful for now... please comment and don't hesitate to contact me for any questions! Follow me on Twitter.

ABOUT

noreply@blogger.com (Adriana) — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 20:53:00 +0000

About me and about this blog...

My name is Adriana, I'm Italian-Brazilian and I have been living in Italy from November 2003, so it's been more than 6 years from now. The first 5 of them I have spent in Tuscany. The circs of life led me to move to Bologna, where I live now, but is not so far away and I keep visiting that splendid region to which I'm deeply tied with.

Starting from the beginning, my link with Tuscany actually comes from long long time ago... from my ascendents who came from Lucca into Brazil in the 1888. My father spent a long time gathering information about our roots, in order to clear those cloudy stories told by his grandfather about a stone built house set on the road into Viareggio, where he used to live when he was a boy, about the wine he used to pick-up down in their own wine cellar because the local priest would be coming up for dinner. Many many stories have reached me and my interest for my origins have allways grown up more and more...

I have subscribed to the "Lucchesi nel Mondo" Association, which have seats all over the world and at Sao Paulo I have studied Italian language and participated to many activities that allowed me to be allways in touch with the Tuscan lifestyle. The Association gave me the chance to receive a scholarship from the Region Tuscany government to study Italian language for a month at Siena in the 1999, and that was my first time in Italy and in Tuscany. I have no words to describe how splendid experience and how much I hoped to come back.

Back to Brazil, I graduated in Tourism at the Sao Paulo University (USP) and only in the 2003 I had the chance to come back to Tuscany. This time I decided to stay...

The reason I wanted to open a blog about Tuscany is because I would like to share this personal experience with everybody - and that is either the reason why I decided to write in English. Besides, as long as I have been allways working in the Travel and Tourism business, I think I can give a lot of tips for everyone who wants to travel all AROUND TUSCANY.

So, I hope you enjoy reading my posts and I invite you to share with me your experiences, to give me your feedback through the comments area and interact using all resourses of this blog. If you want to receive some professional advice on how to organize a trip AROUND TUSCANY, do not hesitate to CONTACT ME.

Contributions to partner blogs:

Brazilian Abroad: an interview in Portughese about living in Tuscany.

Giro pela Toscana: I was invited by Roberta to write a post about Siena by night, in Portughese.

WhyGo Italy - Italylogue: What to do in Lucca.