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Tuscany landscape

Artimino
Resembling a perfect painting, Artimino is picturesque and beautiful. Nestling in the green hills of Tuscany, Artimino is quaint and medieval and has been known for its famous Medici ‘Villa La Ferdinanda’. Ranging over the wine producing area of the Vino di Carmignano, the wine of this region was declared s a noble wine by the Grand Duke Cosimo III de’Medici.

The Etruscans named the area as Artumeno in the 8th century BC. History has recorded Artimino in its annals as numerous Etruscan burial chambers were found in the areas of Comeano and Poggio a Caiano around Artimino. The Roman style is still found in the names of the villages and the farmhouses in this area. The Castle of Artimino was constructed in the Middle Ages during the 10th century. Due to the focal strategic point of Artimino there were constant tussles between Florence and Pistoia. In the middle of the 14th century, Artimino came under the rule of Florence.

Beautiful as a natural park, Artimino and the areas around it was bought by Cosimo I de’Medici. He named the area as ‘Barco’, and desired to create a game reserve there. The park stretched over the hilly regions of Artimino till the edges of Vinci and was called the ‘Parco Reale’. The Medici family considered it their hunting grounds and constructed a wall around the park to prevent the game from escaping. Hunting was considered an enjoyable sport as well as a lucrative form of entertainment due to the fact that the skin and meat of the game was valuable.

The Grand Duke Ferdinand appreciated the beauty and value of Artimino and took charge of the cultivation areas and the houses of Artimino to create the royal ‘fattoria’ or the estate. The royal architect Bernado Buontalenti, was commissioned to build a beautiful palazzo that could house the entire court. What transpired was the gorgeous Villa La Ferdinanda in 1594. With incredible architecture, this amazing villa was structured at Poggio a Caiano. The lovely villa is just 15 minutes away by car from Prato, the capital of the province and also from Montelupo Fiorentino and Vinci. The awesome city of Florence is just 20 minutes away from the villa.

The village of Artimino is guarded by a huge tower that was used as a look-out by the “protezione civile” or the civil authorities for fires or if they were going to be attacked by enemies. With the harmony of linear form and lovely features, the Villa La Ferdinand possessed the fantastic architecture of a 100 chimneys built at various angles in different forms and shapes. This was incorporated as one of the villa’s incredible features due to the fact that Ferdinand who loved to hunt could keep his guests warm always. The Villa houses grand ballrooms, enormous suites, small chapels, wine cellars and the Etruscan Museum.

Adorned by lovely frescoes by Pontormo, Andrea del Sarto and other famous artists, the Villa La Ferdinand has two adjacent buildings. One of the buildings called the ‘Corridoio’ or Corridor housed the grooms, valets, and servants, but has been converted into the Hotel Paggeria Medicea as seen today. The second building is the “Palazzo del Sig. Biagio Pignatta” is constructed in the same style as the first building. The Palazzo del Sig. Biagio Pignatta has been named after the valet of the Grand Duke Ferdinand I, who lived on the first floor. The ground floor was originally the riding stables of the noble family but has been transformed into the famous Restaurant Biagio Pignatta offering delicious international and traditional cuisines and the wines of Artimino.

The area of Artimino comprises of 732 hectares out of which 72 hectares face the South and are used as the wine growing area with the cultivation of Sangiovese, Canaiolo, Cabernet Sauvignon, Trebbiano, San Colombana, Mammolo, Occhio di Pernice varieties of grapes. About 400 meters away from the Villa La Ferdinand, the fattoria in the medieval village produces the famous Barco Reale and the Vin Santo wines. The olive groves evolve over 180 hectares with the fattoria producing the renowned cold pressed oil. Visitors can enjoy traditional snacks served at restaurants in the village of Artimino with its ancient stone buildings, quaint shops and Romanesque churches. Artimino offers the spirit of the medieval ages and the essence of natural beauty.

Leslie Halloran
Please check out my website at: www.lihdesigns.net

“A frog in the well does not know the sea.” – Japanese Proverb

Tuscan recipes

Tuscan recipes: Zuppa Toscana

ZUPPA TOSCANA (NORTHERN TUSCANY)
This recipe was contributed by Michele Molinari, whose great-grandmother was from southern Reggio Emilia on the border with Northern Tuscany. She used to call it Zuppa Toscana because she said that was the way it was prepared in Tuscany; Michele has no precise details as to where it originated for sure.

INGREDIENTS
1 cup millet
1 cup borlotti beans
2 cups chickpeas
2 cups lentils
2 cups farro
water
1 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 white onion, sliced
2 garlic cloves, chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
5 sage leaves
10 plum tomatoes, chopped
2 bay leafs
1 cup green peas
salt and pepper
Soak the millet, borlotti beans, chickpeas, lentils and farro in water overnight, changing the water 2 or 3 times if possible. Rinse and drain.
Place them in a pot, cover with water, and bring to boil. Then simmer for about 2 hours, covered. Add salt towards the end of the cooking time.
Meanwhile, heat 1 cup extra virgin olive oil in a saucepan, add onion, garlic, celery, carrots and sage. Fry for a few minutes over a medium heat, stirring with a wooden spoon. When the onion and the garlic begin to darken, add the tomatoes. Simmer until the excess water from the tomatoes evaporates. Turn off and wait for legumes to be ready.
When legumes are cooked, take about 2 cups of the legumes and purée in a food processor or food mill. Return the purée to the pot.
Add the bay leaves, green peas and the olive oil mixture, simmer for 1 hour semi-covered. Add boiling water if needed to reach the preferred thickness.
For a perfect taste, serve the following day after preparing the soup. Serve hot with a swirl of extra virgin olive oil, ground pepper, and a couple slices of slightly toasted bread.

Buon appetito!

Leslie Halloran
Please check out my website at: www.lihdesigns.net

“A frog in the well does not know the sea.”- Japanese Proverb

Italy tour

Massaciuccoli Lake

Massaciuccoli Lake and Roman baths

Massarosa is famous for its splendid natural environment. Well-known since prehistoric times, Massarosa was inhabited during the Roman period and was so important that we still today find evidence of the ancient Roman Baths at Massaciuccoli. The environmental outings all along the famous Lake Massaciuccoli are amazing. There are the important habits connected to the ancient traditions.

Roman villa and old thermal baths Antiquarium
In Massacciuccoli Antiquarium are shown evidences of roman history, among which a beautiful mosaic floor. The visit to the museum is linked to the visit of the Roman villa within the thermal baths where in the summer takes place the review “Lune di Musica” (Music Moons). Already during the Roman period, the place was the seat of an harbour that afterwards became a marsh due to the withdrawal of the sea. the Massaciuccoli lake became a L.I.P.U. oasis. The lake, that was once an ancient coastal lagoon, became today the most important damp area in Tuscany (2.000 hectares).

Nature park of Migliarino San Rossore
The vast lake that the town stands on is the Lago di Massaciuccoli, a unique bird reserve that is part of the nature park of Migliarino-San Rossore. Boat trips around the lake are on offer on Piazzale Belvedere Puccini, usually with a Puccini soundtrack.The oasis can be visited on foot going along a pile-work pathway that goes across the marsh and allows to observe the most characteristic environment of the lake, ideal for bird-watching lovers. Visits are possible on canoes, small boats and even on boats (departure from Viareggio).

Gastronomy
The area boasts numerous traditional food festivals, including pupporina, tordello, porcini mushrooms and polenta. We can eat there as well some interesting special dishes from Roman times :
Garum (sause from fish)
Mulsum (wine with honey)
Pane ficatum (bread with figues)
Torta di farro (cake from farro cereal)
Castagnaccio (cake from nuts)

Leslie Halloran
Please check out my website at: www.lihdesigns.net
“A frog in the well does not know the sea.”- Japanese Proverb

Villas in Lucca

A few minutes from Pinocchio Park in Collodi, immersed in the countryside of Lucchesia, you will find the magnificent Nobility Villas that were the summer residences of the Nobles and also representative places.

Proceeding from Collodi towards Lucca, the first you will encounter is Villa Torrigiani, a luminous example of Baroque architecture, and it’s possible to visit the inside which is finely furnished and has an ample park.

Then you come across Villa Mansi which was the residence of a very important family of Lucca, ascent to the honours in the field of silk commerce. The building, built in 1500, was reconstructed the following century then the Mansi entrusted the architect Filippo Juvarra to transform the garden which was divided as seen today, into four side by side sections.

Villa Oliva and Villa Grabau are both found in San Pancrazio. Villa Oliva, was constructed by the Buonvisi family in 1500, in the course of the centuries it has changed owners many times, and once a Consistory to the presence of Pope Alessandro VII, stayed there. Today the residence has been restored and about 5 hectares of park that surround it, is characterised by the presence of really appreciable rare essences, waterfalls and fountains.

Not far away is Villa Grabau, again from 1500, born on a ravine of an ancient medieval village, thanks to the work of the Diodat family. After many transformations, the actual aspect can be attributed to a German banker married to Carolina Grabau. Immersed is a spectacular Park, characterised by an English garden, an Italian garden and the lovely Teatro di Verzura, where today summer performances take place.

The Villa Reale di Marlia was once residence in 1805 to the sister of Bonaparte. In the following centuries to the Grand Duke of Tuscany and then the King of Italy, Vittorio Emanuele II, who gave it to Prince Carlo. Fallen from grace for many contracted debts from the nephew of Carlo, in 1918 started the indiscriminating sale of furniture, furnishings and the Villa. So the family of Conti Pecci-Blunt entered on the scene, who bought the property saving the park from disaster, restructuring and conserving it with passion and even today maintaining the splendour intact like the example of the Viale delle Camelie or the marvellous Teatro di Verdura.

You will find Villa Bernardini in Vicopelago. The construction was finished in 1615, and since then has conserved unchanged and enriched the furnishings and park of the ancient property.

Leslie Halloran
Please check out my website at: www.lihdesigns.net

“A frog in the well does not know the sea.” – Japanese Proverb

Pisa

Pisa Ships

A spectacular series of ancient ships unearthed near Pisa and the city’s vanished past as a thriving port are the subject of a new exhibition in Rome .
Pisa, Un Viaggio nel Mare dell’Antichita (Pisa, A Journey Into The Sea Of Antiquity) features the reconstructions of two ancient ships and numerous finds testifying to Pisa’s long maritime history and its links with the Mediterranean over 2,000 years .

The exhibit was inspired by the unexpected discovery of Pisa’s ancient harbour in 1998, when workmen uncovered the remains of an ancient boat while digging the foundations of a new State Railways building .
Since then, an astonishing 20 ships have been unearthed in the area, as well as a host of other items, including navigational instruments, human and animal bones, ropes, incense burners, oil lamps, and writing implements .

The exhibition features a selection of these finds, as well as reconstructions of two of the boats, displayed in the order in which they were uncovered .
The first of these is the Alkedo (‘The Seagull’), a six-person rowing boat that sank when the River Arno flooded in around 10AD .
Archaeologists uncovered over 90% of the original structure, now kept underwater in a special wood preservation centre in Pisa .
The next vessel is a river canoe, nearly half of which was still in perfect shape when it was dug up .

This is followed by the reconstruction of a fishing hut from the 1st century AD, displayed with a selection of the plates, pans, oil-lamps, amphorae and terracotta jars that were found inside .
After looking at the flora and fauna from the area, the exhibit then features a series of sections exploring different archaeological aspects to emerge from the digs .

These first of these, “Life On Board”, showcases a range of cooking equipment and baggage uncovered from the boats, while “River Life” includes a selection of baskets, fishing equipment and wickerwork .
The next two sections look at items imported and exported by Pisa during its maritime heyday, including amphorae that archaeologists believe contained sparkling wine, as well as a variety of pottery products, in which Pisa did a brisk international trade

The final section looks at the process of unearthing the finds and explains a project to build a permanent museum in Pisa, expected to open by 2009 .
Il Porto delle Meraviglie’ (the Port of Wonders) as the archaeological site has been dubbed, lies some ten kilometres inland, near the Tuscan town of San Rossore .

Although the cache of boats dates back to between 200BC and 500AD, archaeologists have also found an Etruscan-built stone pier and wooden breakwater from the 5th century BC. Other remains suggest the port may even have been operational as much as 300 years earlier .
From this, experts have deduced that the Pisan port was operational for about twelve centuries, acting as a gateway for routes to Naples, southern Italy, Marseilles and Carthage .

This was a particularly surprising discovery given that scholars were completely unaware of its existence before the ships were unearthed. The port is not in fact mentioned in any surviving documents .
The other remarkable aspect of the Porto delle Meraviglie is the excellent condition of the boats .

Although hundreds of wrecked Roman vessels have been found over the years, only sections buried under cargos of amphorae are usually protected from decomposition. More often than not this leaves only the base of the ship, which tends to yield little new information .This has also meant that scholars usually only have mercantile vessels to work with, as warships or fishing boats rarely carried the pottery jars .

However the situation at the Porto delle Meraviglie is unique .
In the 5th century AD, devastating floods repeatedly swept the area – once a harbour connected to the sea by river – silting up the site so rapidly that the ships were preserved in outstanding condition .

The conservation process was further aided by the mineral content of the damp sand in which they were buried, together with several strata of clayey soil. These prevented oxygen from reaching the wrecks and triggering decomposition .

The show will run in the San Michele a Ripa Grande complex, where the Culture Ministry is also housed, until May 31, after which it travels to San Sebastian in northwest Spain .

Leslie Halloran
Please check out my website at: www.lihdesigns.net