The Cappella della Madonna di Vitaleta on the road from Pienza to San Quirico d'Orcia

In 2001 I came to live in Italy. I had some fun, wrote a journal and this is the blog of my story...

"Tuscany is a state of grace. The countryside is so lovingly designed that the eye sweeps the mountains and valleys without stumbling over a single stone. The lilt of the rolling green hills, the upsurging cypresses, the terraces sculptured by generations that have handled the rocks with skillful tenderness, the fields geometrically juxtaposed as though drawn by a draughtsman for beauty as well as productivity; the battlements of castles on the hills, their tall towers standing grey-blue and golden tan among the forest of trees, the air of such clarity that every sod of earth stands out in such dazzling detail. The fields ripening with barley and oats, beans and beets. The grape-heavy vines espaliered between the horizontal branches of silver-green olive trees, composing orchards of webbed design, rich in intimation of wine, olive oil and lacy-leaf poetry. Tuscany untied the knots in a man's intestines, wiped out the ills of the world. Italy is the garden of Europe, Tuscany is the garden of Italy, Florence is the flower of Tuscany." Irving Stone from my favourite book " The Agony and the Ecstacy" A fictional biography of Michelangelo



82. Cantine Aperte


On one day in the year hundreds of wine cellars all over Italy open their doors and bottles to the public offering free guided tours and wine tasting.



We met an English lady at Villa le Corti who works at nearby Castello di Verrazzano and decide that it might be worth checking out... After lunch in our woods we mosey on up to the castle. The tour of the very pretty gardens and cellar is amazing. We see the new, smaller French 'barriques' which are replacing the larger more traditional Tuscan 'botte'. We are also taken up to an amazing terrace, where the grapes are dried out to make 'vin santo' the local dessert wine, the terrace has great, panoramic views and we can even see our humble house over the hill in the distance. The owners have a huge collection of older bottles going back to the 1920's! At the end of the tour we are treated to a tasting of the latest releases, their Chianti Classico and their Riserva, whilst enjoying their beautiful terrace...





http://www.verrazzano.com/


Afterwards we pop into town for an ice cream and have a look round the once-a-month craft market. We then go for a drive and find ourselves at this beautiful spot between Panzano and Castellina. It'as a tiny hamlet called Piazza and what do you know they have a restaurant with an outside terrace! Osteria la Piazza. Of course this is too good to pass up and so we grab an outside table overlooking the Chianti hills... only one surprise awaits us... an unwelcomed visitor to Annette's salad... Mr Maggot!



(Original journal entry 25/5/03)
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