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Mouth watering wild strawberries in fresh cream. True Italian style. This simple and the sublime dish was served up to me at Trattoria Sostanza, Il Troia as it’s often called, after I dined on a decadent dish of baked chicken smothered in butter.
Many different kinds of Pecorino cheese adorn a shop in San Gimignano in Tuscany. What is your favorite?
The Pisa Baptistery of St. John must endure the popularity of the Leaning Tower when, it’s beautiful in its own right. Snapped this photo right before a terrific rainstorm.
Decades of tools, handed down from generation to generation outlined on the worktable of master wood carver Filippo Romagnoli located in Chiantishire near Firenze. His grandfather’s original frame work hangs in the Louvre. Over the decades they fashioned furniture, candelabras, chandeliers, etc. to adorn some of the most famous Florentine homes. I visited his workshop in June 2016 and was able to see where the master works, and learn about the history. His work continues along with corzetti pasta stamps, rolling pins and much more. These are are available to you via his Etsy shop. His Facebook page has great videos and photos of his work.
Why did the wedding cake cross the road? Deep in Chianti in the town of Panzano, we had lunch at Solociccia a restaurant of Dario Cecchini – the Butcher of Tuscany. He has several restaurants near his famous butcher shop – Anticia Macelleria Cecchini. and the day we visited they were just bursting to the seams with wedding guests. I looked out the window from our table and noticed that traffic had stopped – so the cake could cross the road, TO GET TO THE RECEPTION ON TIME. Voila!
Last summer I visited this lovely winery, caseificio (CHEESE!) and olive farm located in San Casciano Val di Pesa, roughly halfway between Florence and Siena in Toscana. Nestled in a remote location with breathtaking views of the countryside, it’s well worth the drive. We had the normal tour of the place, learned about the cheese and olive oil production and then settled down to TASTE!
This is the amazing view from Castello di Monteriggioni in Toscana. As the sun set after a long day of touring, wining and tasting we settled in at the Fattoria, Castello di Monteriggioni near Siena. Before dinner we walked all around this little town where there are no autos allowed. Built in the early 1200’s, Monteriggioni is an excellent example of a medieval walled town. You can find mention of this fairyland in Dante’s Inferno. Photo taken in May of 2012.
Wine tasting that is. At Castello Verazzano in Tuscany in May 2012.
