Discovering Tuscany

Discovering Tuscany

Travel History and Local Traditions

 A Trip to Tuscany is a unique experience and must definitely include an in-depth visit to Florence, the capital of the Renaissance, day trips to beautifully landscaped small villages perched on the hills that have so much inspired painters and more recently film directors and producers.

One of the most interesting cities is undoubtedly Siena, in the southern part of the region, a medieval city of ancient origins which still preserves its treasures intact, so much so that it is among the Unesco Heritage site.

Tuscany also boasts a remarkable winemaking tradition; some of the most important Italian wines are produced in the province of Siena, such as the world renowned Brunello di Montalcino.

Local Typical Food products are also very important; just think of the famous Florentine steak and panforte and ricciarelli, typical Sienese sweets.

You will be welcomed by local guides and escorts, with knowledge of local places and traditions

Trips range from 2 nights and 3 days for city itineraries to one week for broader programs and 14 nights and 15 days for journeys across multiple regions, designed and customized for thematic groups, family holidays and business trips.

Siena is world-renowned for the Palio, a breathtaking horserace featuring local neighborhoods, known as Contrade, famous for their ancient traditions

A Knowledge Tourism that features local customs, values ​​and traditions to better appreciate:

Museums that reveal an archaeological, historical and artistic heritage, the rediscovery of local treasures and traditions through art, literature and architecture that preserve the memory of the places and local realities visited.

Characteristic ancient villages shaped since ancient times by the skilful hand of man and ancient agricultural practices.

Local Gastronomy, the result of ancient traditions and linked to the territory.

Traveling in the company of people who live and work in the places you visit

Italian text courtesy of Costanza Riccardi

A Tuscan Countryside Medieval Castle and Arms Museum

Monteriggioni stands on a hilltop surrounded by olive trees and vines. Its castle dates-back to the early 13^th century; it was built by the Republic of Siena as a defensive outpost against Florence. The Medieval Town maintains its original architectural features and is unique among Tuscany’s borghi. The stone outer wall is 570 meters long and features 14 rectangular towers; they made a great impression on Dante Alighieri who defined them as giants in hell. Walking on top of the walls provides a spectacular view of the countryside, the Chianti region and the Elsa Valley.

The Arms Museum houses faithful reproductions of medieval and renaissance weapons and armor as well as siege machines and techniques. Each room is devoted to a specific moment in Monteriggioni history. Visitors can wear the armor and handle the weapons.

The Church is located on the main square and is the best-preserved property in the borgo. Also built in the 13^th century, it consists of a single interior space with a rectangular end. Its elegant façade displays a doorway with a stone arch topped by a round window while the renovated interior has plastered walls and domed vaults; the bell dates to 1299. The church is also home to a 17^th century painting of the Madonna and Rosary which the town celebrates every year in October.

Porta Franca is the main entrance to the borgo; it stands below a tower with a pointed arch and facing towards Rome. In the past it likely had a drawbridge over a moat. To the left of the arch is an inscription commemorating the founding of Monteriggioni in the 1220s, while a plaque on the right celebrates the new Italian state in 1860.

Porta di Ponente is the gateway facing Florence. Some battlements incorporated in the walling above indicate that the defensive wall was probably lower. Similar battlements in the facing of the walls on the east side. To the right of the entrance, which used to have an outer protective wall, a plaque quotes lines from Dante that mention Monteriggioni.

In Medieval Times, on the southwest side of the outer walls, there was a third gateway, later walled in; the upper part is still visible from the outer road. In the 16^th century, the base of the outer walls was reinforced with an earth rampart in response to the introduction of new and more powerful firearms.

A Medieval Travel Experience in Tuscany

Dante in the Marche Region: Poetry Food Wine and Eroticism

Dante Alighieri was a statesman, poet and father of the modern Italian language. May 29^th2015 was the 750^th anniversary of his birth in Florence. As a literary figure, Dante is placed alongside Homer and Shakespeare, creators of larger than life characters.

The Divine Comedy, his defining work, is, among other things, a first for the Italian language and a representation of the spiritual, personal and political circumstances of his time. The latter led Dante into exile from Florence, including in Marche, where he provided profound inspiration to the local culture.

Urbino is remembered by Dante in the 27^th canto of the Inferno in a dialogue with Guido of Montefeltro, the local lord. Fiorenzuola di Focara owes its notoriety for having hosted Dante Alighieri in a baker's house where the poet experienced the emotion of strong wind gusts lashing the promontory on which stands a castle by the sea creating the most incredible and dangerous currents.

The Gradara Castle and rocks live in the hearts of lovers all over the world; here, the love story between Paolo de Malatesta and Francesca da Polenta - better known as Francesca da Rimini – blossomed, came to a tragic end and was eternalized by Dante in the V canto of the Inferno. You can view the altarpiece by Giovanni Santi, father of Raffaello Sanzio - Raphael.  

Pesaro is not directly cited however it maintains strong connotations to Dante because Gianciotto de’ Malatesti, nicknamed the Cripple, was mayor of this seaside town and is buried here. Dante consigned him to Hell.

Fonte Avellana Dante spent much of his life in the footsteps of Pier Damiani, to whom he dedicated the 21^st canto of Paradise in the Divine Comedy. He also visited Mount Catria in search of a peace and tranquility denied him in his native Florence.

Dante and the Gastronomical Traditions of Marche

There is a rich presence of food in the Divine Comedy and his other works, including lentil soup laced with wine, figs, apples, honey and vin santo; in all, 14 courses are cited in the Convivio. Also well-known are the cantos dedicated to the gluttons in both Hell and Purgatory that accompany his constant hunger; he even coined the neologism scuffare - to eat avidly and noisily. There is a rapport between diet and eroticism: the gluttons come right after the lustful in Inferno’s 6^th canto and, in Purgatory, those that fall to temptations of the senses are presented in the last of the seven frames.

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Some Dishes inspired by Dante

Tartare of Madonna Bellaccoglienza these are the classic waffles from Abruzzo wrapped with aged cheese, making them into cannoli. Madonna Bellaccoglienza is the sensual protagonist of the novel in verse The Flower which Dante wrote translating from the French Roman de la rose.

Glauco Omelette a cheese omelette, served hot and in wedges, with algae or herbs that make it gently magical. Glauco, the legendary fisherman of Boeotia, places his catch on a bed of herbs, then sees them take heart and jump back into the sea. He ate the algae, turned into a fish and became a marine deity.

Suppa alla Beatrice a barley soup of barley with tricolor vegetables sprinkled with grated aged cheese.
Beatrice, dressed in white, red and green, announces that God’s righteousness is not afraid soup, referring to the curious Florentine custom of forgiving even the most serious crimes if the perpetrator could eat a soup dish at least 7 times at the crime’s site without getting arrested. ("Paradise" 33^rd).

Mense alla Virgilio the Piadina of Romagna. Virgil, acting as a guide to Dante in the Divine Comedy,

tells him from the Aeneid that the Trojans acquired the custom of eating piadine with their food during

a stopover in Africa; a culinary tradition they introduce in Rome and later in Romagna (Inferno 1^st).

Salse alla Ciacco a spicy Bolognese mustard. Ciacco is a Florentine character know for the

prodigious appetite, and placed among the gluttons in Hell by Dante. The colors of the sauce – white,

red and green – symbolize the Christian Faith, Hope and Charity.

Anguille alla Vernaccia the famous eels from Bolsena and Cornacchio are marinated in Sardinian or

Ligurian vernaccia and roasted over olive wood coals. For Dante, a condemnation of Pope Martino

IV to Purgatory (24^th) who spent more time on food and less as St Peter’s Vicar.

Honey and Fossa Cheese from Monte Diana a classic accompaniment and an aphrodisiac which in

theological terms unite knowledge (milk) and justice (honey). The reference to Diana – goddess

of the moon and of night – is the ancient etymology of Mondaino, a town now famous for its fossa

cheese (Paradise 18^th).

Torta di Frutti Misti a pie made of apples, pears, figs and plums, present in all religions.

Vini dei Colli di Romagna famous area wines – sangiovese, albana, rebola, vini di sabbia.

Acqua Lete available commercially today. When Dante reached Earthly Paradise, he was

immersed by a beautiful woman named Matelda in the Lete River, so named because capable of

removing one’s sins – a baptism. Emerging from these waters, one could continue the journey to

Celestial Paradise (Purgatory 28^th).