Welcome 2022! We are all hoping it’s going to be the year things start looking up. But as I look back on the past year, I can’t help but feel so grateful or everything that we were able to do despite the ongoing pandemic. We stayed very close to home for the most part and we discovered so many wonderful things in our “backyard” that contributed to making it a special year in its own way. Here are some of them, one for each month of the year and something for every season, worth noting for your next trip to Italy:
Adler Resort, Bagno Vignoni
Last winter we spent a dreamy weekend at the Adler resort in Bagno Vignoni, one of my favourite hot spring areas in Tuscany. We love these hot springs so much in the winter. They are the hottest in the region, flowing at 50 degrees celsius (122 Fahrenheit), so I find them uncomfortably hot in warm weather but perfect in the cold. There is nothing like heading down to the outdoor hot springs in your dressing gown, first thing in the morning, not a soul in sight, just you and the rising steam. I like that everything is taken care of here, you can opt to do full board or half board but having it all taken care of makes things so easy and relaxing. The girls absolutely loved the kids club too. The visit was gifted for full disclosure, but I would 100% pay to go back and spend another wonderful, blissful weekend here.
White truffle hunting, San Miniato
A year ago we went on a truffle hunt not far from our new home in San Miniato — I’d been before on other hunts in San Miniato, also in Alba, Piemonte, and Canberra region (Braidwood to be exact) in Australia for farmed truffles — but this one was different. Luca, the tartufaio at Savini Truffles, and his amazing dogs, Giotto and Fiuto, were all so charismatic and the location was lush, varied and picturesque woods. I was hooked, it is still for me one of the most exhilarating, enlightening food experiences, following those dogs through the forest, digging up truffles (some duds too to be honest but it’s all part of the experience), and hearing Luca’s stories. Shortly afterwards, Luca and I devised a program to be able to share this experience along with my truffle cooking class in a private setting and this year it has been a highlight for me to bring this dream truffle hunt to other people.
La Tipografa Toscana, San Miniato
A few minutes drive from the historical centre of San Miniato, I discovered Martina aka La Tipografa Toscana and her letterpress workshop for the first time in March last year. I fell in love right away with the vintage fonts and tiny drawers filled with letters that she collected from all over Italy and restored herself, not to mention the smell of ink and paper that reminded me of my printmaking days. We had an instant connection and set to work on a collaboration to create a “Torta della Nonna” print last Easter and we’ve been friends ever since. Martina offers workshops to teach you to make your own letterpress prints and sells her prints on her website too.
Terre di Cocomo, Borgo a Buggiano
Last spring Emilio and Sara invited us to come and visit their beautiful, curated, organic farm and agriturismo, Terre di Cocomo, which is only half an hour from us. They cooked us their delicious Slow Food Sorana beans, which are grown on a precious patch of land on the banks of the Sorana river in the province of Pescia (which is how I found them), shared their tips for their favourite local sights (which led me to the incredible secret citrus gardens in Buggiano Castello below!) and even gave the girls a lesson in beekeeping. So warm and kind, you will be looked after and fed so well here!
Secret Citrus Gardens, Buggiano Castello
This was an absolute dream for me and I am still in disbelief at how I did not know about this until Sara from Terre di Cocomo told me about this event in her area. Held only once every two years, the residents of the tiny medieval town of Buggiano Castello, which lies between Pistoia and Lucca, open their private gardens to the public for this secret garden tour, known as La Campagna dento le Mura. Citrus grows very well in their special microclimate and the residents pride themselves on their beautiful collections of all kinds of citrus, some new and some ancient — basically everything I saw was something new to me. It’s a wonderful, absolutely unique experience that you might catch towards the end of April, beginning of May. Catch some more images and video of it on this Instagram post of mine from June.
Casa Gori, Pienza
In the valley just below the picturesque Renaissance town of Pienza, lies Casa Gori, a modest, inspiring little farm run by three young Tuscans who produce their own natural wines, beer (from their hops), olive oil and honey. In the warm weather their food truck combined with hammocks, big floor cushions and tables set under trees with stunning views over the Val d’Orcia make this a spot I never want to leave. They serve wonderful, fresh food made from their own eggs, vegetables and bread. Local cheese and salumi, hearty salads, creamy soup, cheese-topped crostoni or quiche made with the tiniest tomatoes all might be on the daily menu, to go with a beer or wine tasting.
Le Vaschette, Livorno
Since moving to San Miniato, this spot has become our summer escape. Only 40 minutes drive away, and just outside of Livorno, these Etruscan ‘pools’ that are actually quarries carved out of the sea-splashed rocks make the perfect natural pools for a quick escape to the seaside. The signage isn’t good, but roughly right after Calafuria you’ll find the Vaschette, you just have to park on the side of the road and you’ll find a dirt track leading from the road down to these beautiful pools. Bring suncream (there is no shade and umbrellas are hard to put up on slabs of stone) and good shoes to get down there. On the way back, stop at La Baracchina Rossa for a spritz!
Ristorante da Maria, Giglio Island
It’s a big call but I think that Da Maria has to be my favourite dining experience of the year (very closely followed by Maggese below). I’m sure a lot had to do with the fact that we were on our favourite island (here’s another post about it), where even three days here makes me feel like I’ve been away for weeks. It was also the birds eye view from the top of Giglio Castello’s fortress-like town, the sea breeze blowing through the restaurant, but then the raw tuna tacos, best ever spaghetti con le vongole and fresh fig and ricotta crostata (see this post here) kind of sealed the deal. Pure happiness.
Secret Garden, Florence
Funnily enough I don’t normally get invited to take a cooking class but when Francesco and Filippo, the two brothers at Secret Garden (their family home transformed into a B&B), invited me to visit I was curious. Francesco is a chef and Filippo a sommelier, together, they run their cooking class business (which is called Effe alla Seconda) in the kitchen of their old home. It isn’t traditional Florentine food. It’s rather “cheffy”. And it’s entirely delightful. What you will learn are classic and new techniques, new flavour combinations even, and you’ll have a beautiful lunch in the garden with nicely matched wine. We made cappelletti pasta filled with baccalà mantecato (my favourite Venetian dish ever) and served with a smooth roasted pepper puree — baccalà and peppers are a wonderful combination — and sarde a beccafico, but a modern version of the classic Sicilian one, and one of my very favourite ways to eat sardines.
Puscina Flowers workshop, Montepulciano
I first met the sisters of Puscina years ago in 2015 (see here) and have long been a fan of everything they do, from their floral compositions to their beautiful, organic flower farm near Montepulciano. I hadn’t seen their stunning new studio for workshops, however, until last autumn when we came with our family gathering workshop for a family treasure hunt. It is the perfect place for learning how to create a bouquet, hand dye linen ribbons or enjoy their beautiful meals (yes, they cook too!). Everyone loved the treasure hunt too — we were split into teams, and each given a bouquet and a map of the farm to find the same flowers to recreate the bouquet before sitting down to a beautiful meal of handmade pici, roast pork and homemade cakes.
Maggese, San Miniato
This wasn’t a new discovery this year but let’s say I was able to rediscover it and spend more time here this year (it is after all just 100 metres from my house). Maggese opened in May 2019 but found itself having to close over most of the pandemic, re-opening again this year. Chef Fabrizio Marino has a long history working with vegetarian cuisine (ex Joia in Milano) and a passion for Japanese flavours and extremely local products (how he gets Japanese flavours with local products? Fabrizio sought out Tuscan-made soy sauce and miso, made with local legumes like lentils and chickpeas, for example) and as a result, his restaurant offers flavour packed, beautiful and surprising vegetable-based dishes. You can do à la carte, but I would wholeheartedly recommend trying the chef’s menu, so you can taste a bit of everything (the antipasto above is one of the best things I ate last year, it is Fabrizio’s “insalata russa” or Russian salad). You won’t want the evening to end.
Osteria Golpaja, Villa Pietriolo, Cerreto Guidi
I chanced across this place on a google search for a restaurant last minute when we had friends visiting during the White Truffle Festival and everything in town and all our usual favourites were booked. We didn’t have to go far — 20 minutes away, and it’s the same distance from Vinci where our friends were — and they had one last table. It was perfect. Part of the organic, sustainable farm Villa Pietriolo, they produce their own wine and olive oil, but the classic Tuscan menu too is based off everything that comes from the farm, from the Cinta Senese prosciutto, the wild boar and the vegetables. We had an unforgettable wintry meal, refined yet comforting, of salumi, chestnut pasta with wild boar ragu, cabbage involtini with mushrooms and potatoes and housemade panettone. Judging from the views it would be beautiful in the summer here too.
I hope you are inspired by some of these Tuscan treasures, I’m looking forward to new ones to share with you this year too!