The Castle Dinner

A stay at Il Borgo would not be complete without dinner at their sister property – Castello di Santa Maria Novella. This 11th century structure which was destroyed and rebuilt in 1313 has significant importance to the surrounding area between Florence and Siena. Sitting atop one of the highest points in the area, the castle boasts spectacular views. Upon arrival, we received a warm welcome and a grand tour from Fernando, the director of the estate who eloquently gave us the condensed history of this stately property and graciously paused often to allow for the many photos being taken. The castle is meticulously restored to its original splendor sporting a grand courtyard where the local residents would gather. This night it is where we enjoyed a nice aperitif – a carafe of white wine with a sprig of Rosemary giving it a wonderful earthy aroma and flavor. We enjoyed lightly fried zucchini flowers and sage leaves and Tuscan pecorino cheese served with fig marmalade. Yummy.

Afterwards, our group of fourteen went into one of the many main dining rooms to enjoy a feast fit for Noble Italian families. The table was beautifully decorated with candles and fresh flowers. We started with the house wine, Chianti of course, and then enjoyed antipasti of perfectly ripe cantaloupe and local prosciutto, followed by handmade ravioli stuffed with spinach and fresh ricotta cheese. Our second plate or meat course was mildly seasoned thinly sliced beef served on a bed of arugula served with a delicious cherry tomato salad. Our servers were attentive and charming coming around and offering seconds of every dish. We topped the meal off with a light white cake layered with a delicate custard served with frutti di bosco – the fruit of the forest – flavorful tart and juicy berries handpicked from around the property. We all gave a well-deserved round of applause to Chef Claudio who gratefully accepted and was clearly pleased to see how much we all enjoyed his creations. Dinner at the Castle is always one of the highlights of a stay at Il Borgo.

A Day in Florence

Our full day trip to Florence started with a 3 hour guided tour of the main sights such as the Ponte Vecchio, passing by the Uffizi Museum, Piazza della Signoria, the amazing Duomo, the Central Market with endless food stands, and ending with the viewing of Michelangelo’s David in the Accademia. Our guide Elisa was very informative and like so many other local guides, her passion for the history of her home town comes through loud and clear as she tries to explain 1000 years of history in 2.5 hours! She appropriately gave us all a few moments in silence to admire David in all his grandeur. It was just the right amount of time and information for our group.

We all went our own way after the tour to discover our personal view of Florence. Some went shopping in the grand Straw Market, some went back to the Central Food Market and a few went to walk through the wonderful Boboli Gardens. I personally found a little trattoria on a quiet side street where I enjoyed delicious Tuscan fagioli (white beans drizzled with olive oil – simple and delicious) along with grilled vegetable calzone. Right on queue, an elderly gentleman came by my table with his old accordion to serenade me with what sounded like a polka in hopes of receiving a few coins for his efforts. But before I could respond, the waiter came out to shoo him onward protecting my tranquil setting . I will certainly return to this restaurant next time I am in Florence!

A bustling city alive with thousands of tourists, artists, and all types of business people, we were all trying to leave the city at the same time causing some major congestion. It took us about 1 hour to go 1 kilometer as we inched our way slowly to cross the Arno River trying hard to always leave only a 2 inch gap with the car in front so as not to lose your place in what could be considered a line. It’s a stretch calling this a line. Italians are not very good at lining up and following any kind of order, but it is a way of life here and it seemed no one was getting upset at the traffic – we just inched our way out of town back to our country estate of Il Borgo still buzzing with the energy of Florence.

Volterra

Volterra is an ancient Etruscan hill town situated between Siena and the west coast which is a little off the more heavily traveled path which we guessed would not have so many visitors. Upon arrival with no available parking spaces, we figured the secret was out. However, when we entered the city, there was a unique quaintness to this town – it did not seemed tainted by tourism in the least – mostly artists and residents filled the parking spaces outside the ancient city walls.

This town preserves its historical charm in a major way dating back almost 3000 years. Its magnificent Porta all’Arco is still one of the main entrances to the city since almost 300 BC made up of massive stones and the remnants of three heads that are believed to be Gods of Greek Origin. The Roman Amphitheatre is one of the best in all of Italy for acoustics built in 10 BC, buried in the 13 century to finally be revealed again in the 1950’s. The sightseeing and shopping were plentiful.

The symbol of Volterra is Alabaster and the month of June was a celebration of the local art of Alabaster sculpting. We happened upon a group of artists carving this soft white rock just outside the Duomo.

An afternoon rainstorm moved us into one of the many beautiful cafes where we joined in on a “happy gelato” festa. Hats, balloons, noisemakers and wonderful gelato – There is always a good reason to celebrate here!

Wine Tour of Chianti

Certainly popular – a tour of a few vineyards of Chianti is on most to-do lists while in Tuscany. This region consists of over 180 wineries just in the Chianti Classico region – Chianti (these days) is made up of at least 80% Sangiovese grapes which must be grown in this region in order to print the name on the label. These wines are heavily controlled by the DOC and DOCG (Denominazione di Origine Controllata and Garantita) – which tightly regulate the quality of wines that are produced here. The official seal at the cork signifies that the wine has passed inspection. Since the recent regulations, these wines have continued to earn world class status – no longer just for spaghetti night and a pretty candle holder! The recent releases of IGT’s or Super Tuscans (a nick name that stuck given by one journalist) has allowed for the creativity of the wine maker to blend other grapes such as cabernet and merlot and without the restrictions producing some very fine wines which are also recognized world-wide. The competition between all these winemakers is fierce and fun as most everyone knows of each family and their secrets!

We all stopped for lunch in the charming town of Radda in Chianti in the heart of the Chianti Classico Region denoted by the Black Rooster. Here we sampled typical Tuscan cuisine such as crostini, various cured meats, pecorino cheeses served with marmalade, rich tomato and bread soups, risotto salad, and pasta. With meals such as these, it is no wonder the afternoon siestas are an important part of the day!

Chianti continues to allure pleasure seekers, wine enthusiasts, cyclists and general back country travelers with its stunning views along winding roads over looking fields peppered with wineries and traditions which date back centuries - A Benedictine monk once wrote over 1000 years ago that the red wine of Badia a Coltibuono in Gaiole in Chianti (the Abbey of Good Culture) is of high quality and the white is quite good too!

Chianti Festival

It was simply fantastic luck that our stay near Montespertoli coincided with the annual Chianti Wine Festival. Now I must admit, many of the festivals tend to be geared towards tourists – but here, our group was practically the only people sporting cameras. We arranged our visit to arrive just prior to the parade complete with the local marching band and gigantic oxen pulling carts of wine bottles and local children throwing flower petals. There were no Sponge Bobs or Caspers here – just the local townspeople dressing in country farmers attire joining together to celebrate their agricultural heritage.

There were several wine booths where we could sample the local Chianti and keep the souvenir glass and holder. Endless food booths lined the streets selling sweets, nuts, olives and a variety of other local goodies. Our good friends came down from Bologna to join us along with their two dogs Bebe and Rocky. It was such a great treat to have them along and a bonus to have them translate some of the happenings for us.

We all went into dinner – with Bebe and Rocky too (Italians love animals) and had a magnificent five-course dinner in a beautiful restaurant in the heart of town – 16 of us at one long table just like the pizza dinner the night before. Dinner Italian style! How fun! We poured ourselves out of the restaurant a few hours later only to find that the party was getting bigger as the night progressed… We wobbled back to our vans passing many families making their way to the Carnival rides and grabbing prime spots from which to watch the midnight fireworks – Many of our group stayed up and watched from the comfort of the balconies of Il Borgo which overlooked the Festival Town of Montespertoli only 8 kilometers away. Location and timing!

Arrival Dinner

Our group arrived on Saturday - some from Rome, some from Venice, some from the states and a few from the coast. So for this reason, we kept first night’s dinner low key and all walked down to the local pizzeria after getting settled. Coming from the larger cities, everyone was pleasantly surprised at the low cost and good quality of the pizza, the large fresh salads from local gardens, overflowing bowls of pasta of course, and carafes of locally produced wine and Italian beer. Our young waitress Barbara seemed genuinely enthused to take our order and tried her best to speak English to make sure she understood our wishes. She like many young Italians love America and hope to visit someday.

We all sat at one long table out on the patio enjoying the fresh Tuscan country air. Only an occasional scooter screamed by keeping us alert to the contrasts of the old and new and slow and fast co-existing and intertwined in daily life - all part of the rhythm of the land.

The British Lady in My Dashboard . . .

The best way to guarantee that you have a GPS loaded in your rental car in Italy is to rent one before you arrive. Then when you pick up your car, it will most likely have one, as well. I took the advice of many people to use a GPS – life is so much easier supposedly.

Because I didn’t want any extra wires or risk losing my rented GPS, I reconfigured the one on the dash to English – a very proper British English Female Voice – and She and I got along just fine in the beginning only speaking when an upcoming turn was approaching, until she missed a very important one. She may have fallen asleep during the long ride up from Montalcino to Montagnana, I am not sure. Good thing I had my trusty Michelin map and more so, my trusty eyes not missing the sign to get to the small town where Il borgo is located. So I forgave her and we moved on.

The next day, I programmed in my trip to Badia a Passignano – one of the estates where the well known and fabulous Antinori Wines are produced. Not wanting to be directed to the Strada or highway – I selected the “shortest route” instead of the “fastest route” which I imagined would take me through the secondary roads. The secondary road was more like secondary roads to secondary roads. She took me through a back road so steep and so narrow that I had to twice use the button that automatically brings in the side view mirrors to pass through large stone walls on either side of me. Shortly after, as I was being grateful that no one was coming the other way, along came a pickup truck where I then had to back up a steep hill to let it pass. Five kilometers of this does not sound like much, but it felt good loosening my stuck grip from the wheel when I arrived back onto the main secondary road.

As for Badia a Passignano, it is a marvelous estate complete with a castle and small village – a cooking school – and the excellent Osteria di Passignano where you will be greeted by the gracious host Marcello Crini and enjoy one of the best dining experiences in Chianti paired with the excellent Chiantis of Antinori. Bravo.

As for the British Lady in my dashboard – like the rest of us, she is far from perfect and I am still glad to have her along.