Grapes are ripe and ready, it’s the right season for “Pan coll’uva” – the Tuscan grape bread

Pubblicato il 21 Settembre 2013 da Genni

It’s September and, as season wants, the vineyards over here are bursting with lush, fragrant bunches of grapes ready to be gathered. As by Tuscan folk tradition, then, this is the period of the Pan coll’uva, the grape bread. Typical of the areas of Florence and Prato, this sweet focaccia with grapes is also made in the Maremma inlands where it goes by the name of schiaccia con l’uva, the grape flatbread.

This characteristic Tuscan cake is cooked during the harvest period, using the grapes less suitable for making wine, the canaiola variety, considered of lower quality for its tiny berries full of seeds. And as by tradition, simple, but genuine, ingredients are used for this sweet bread that was intended for the men after a long and tiring day in the vineyards during a well-deserved break.

This cake was made to gather everyone around a laid table, to forget the fatigue of the day under the sun and to celebrate the harvest just finished, or as an afternoon snack in the vineyard. As with all folk recipes, the original has changed during the years, adjusting to tastes and likings, some preferring it higher, others lower, some adding the spices they prefer or a tastier sugar.

Whatever the choice, one tradition remains: the grape bread must strictly be eaten cold, so that the taste can adjust to the union between grape and sugar, turning every morsel into a sublime experience.  Why not give it a try?

Ingredients: 700 g of small black grapes, 300 g of plain flour, 10 g of fresh baker’s yeast, 200 ml of lukewarm water, 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil, 1 teaspoon of salt, 2 tablespoons of sugar + either 7/8 for covering.

In a bowl put the flour, the yeast, the olive oil and the sugar. Add the lukewarm water slowly and start kneading as with bread, continuing to add water and kneading all the time. Once done add the salt and shape into a ball. Leave it to rise for a couple of hours covered with a tea towel and far from possible temperature variations. In the meanwhile wash the grapes and dry them.

Once the dough has risen separate it into 2 balls, one slightly larger than the other. Roll the bigger one on a baking sheet covered with flour. Take a 26 x 32 cm baking tin, pour a trickle of olive oil and place the rolled dough, eliminating the surplus around the edges, leaving however a high rim. Cut some of the grapes with a knife, so that they release some juice, and spread them on top. Then cover it all with 350 g of grapes. Sprinkle 3/4 tablespoons of sugar and pour a trickle of olive oil.

Now roll the remaining dough and delicately place over the grapes. Eliminate the surplus dough, pull up and over this the rim of the dough below and seal the edges with a fork. Decorate the upper layer with the remaining grapes. Sprinkle the grapes with another 3/4 tablespoons of sugar and another trickle of olive oil. Turn on the oven and bake for 50/60 minutes at 150 °C, or a least until golden.

And Buon Appetito!

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Olive Oil and Wine Trail of Montalbano, the hills of Leonardo – Strada dell’Olio e del Vino del Montalbano, le colline di Leonardo

Pubblicato il 16 Settembre 2013 da Genni

Between Pistoia, Prato and Florence there is a mountain range called Montalbano which embraces villages from all three mentioned provinces. The landscape is marked by forests, vineyards, olive groves and sowable land, as well as historical Etruscan ruins, medieval churches and 16th-17th-century villas. It’s a magnificent unpolluted natural setting ideal for walks, trekking, touring by bicycle and birdwatching.



The starting point of this trail is Serravalle Pistoiese laying on the slopes of Montalbano, in an area centuries ago contested for a long time by Pistoia, Lucca and Florence. However, the town has changed its ancient military aspect to a more peaceful natural appearance in which vineyards and olive groves rule over the scenery. Today, however, visitors can still admire the Lombard Tower of Barbarossa, 42 metres tall, and the Rocca di Castruccio, a medieval castle in which every year on August 17th and 18th is held the Quarter Palio. This palio is an archery competition between 4 quarters with roots going back to 1306 when the town was held under siege for 80 days by Lucca.



Above all, this is the area where the great Leonardo was born and grew. Born at Vinci, the surrounding countryside must certainly have influenced our juvenile genius in forming his sensibility, as one can notice in his very first drawings. A landscape of hills, with terraced vineyards and olive groves supported by dry stone walls that are much the same as in Leonardo’s time. Seen from above the ancient part of the hamlet of Vinci is almond-shaped, which is quite unusual for this part of Tuscany. With the tower of the Conti Guidi Castle and the bell tower of the church of Santa Croce it resembles a two-masted sailing boat and for this reason the historic centre is known as the ‘Castel della Nave’, the Ship’s Castle. Every year half a million visitors come to visit the Museum of Leonardo, which I personally recommend to visit, and the farmhouse in which he was born.



Neighbouring Cerreto Guidi, half way between Florence and Lucca, was founded by the Counts Guidi, who here built a castle next to the Via Francigena. A drawing by Leonardo depicts the town with its 14th-century walls and 8 towers. In 1555 Cosimo I de’ Medici built a villa, actually a magnificent hunting lodge, over the remains of the castle. Nearby the ‘farm-villa’ of Stabbia was built a couple decades later, again by will of the Medicis and was certainly worthy of them notwithstanding the rural intents. Cerreto Guidi’s town centre still conserves the splendours of its past in many architectural vestiges.



The cultivation of olive trees in the area of Montalbano dates back to the Etruscan age. Originally imported from Magna Graecia, Southern Italy, the climate of the Apennines was to prove not ideal for these Mediterranean trees. However borderline, the plants adapted growing smaller and with trunks always damaged by the cold, but owing to the hostile climatic conditions the olive oil produced in Northern Tuscany has unique and unrivalled characteristics. It is, in fact, less sour, more savoury and stable than southern olive oils.



Another important product of this area is its wine, this also produced since the Etruscan age, as testified by the wine vases discovered in the Etruscan tombs. The excellent quality of the Chianti Montalbano D.O.C.G. wine, and its companions, is due not only to the favourable features of the land, but also to the fact that here they have maintained the traditional production procedures. An unusual product of the area, instead, is chocolate. The region has a tradition of chocolatiers creating elaborate and delicious confectionery from chocolate, so much so as to be identified as the Chocolate Valley.



Today Montalbano is an ecological tourism niche offering a countryside, both rugged and gentle, charming little villages, historical architecture and a mouth-watering range of olive oil, wine, cheese, honey and confectionery chocolate to satisfy all kinds of whims.



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Olive Oil Trail of Mount Pisano – Strada dell’Olio Monti Pisani

Pubblicato il 9 Settembre 2013 da Genni

Mount Pisano is a ‘modest’ mountainous system located in northern central Tuscany, between Pisa and Lucca. It is considered ‘modest’ since the highest mountain, Mount Serra, is ‘only’ 917 m tall. The Olive Oil Trail of Mount Pisano is an association founded in 2002 by the will of individual olive oil producers or members of a cooperative and of the five municipalities of the Pisan side of the Mount: Buti, Calci, San Giuliano Terme, Vecchiano and Vicopisano. The aim of the association is to promote and enhance the territory and its resources, by means of itineraries through nature, history and tradition, as well as events. Here olive oil is the main product, obtained by traditional techniques of harvesting and pressing of the olives.


The territory extends itself from Mount Pisano to the plain stretching out towards the Tyrrhenian Sea. In this area the hills are covered with medieval villages and the remains of fortifications, while terraced olive groves lazily cover the slopes. In the centre of this region is the town of San Giuliano Terme, where history and nature have cohabited together for centuries. In addition to nature trails, the town has an important and historic health centre and spa, as well as historic villas, several remarkable examples of religious architecture, an almost intact Medicean aqueduct and several protected nature reserves.


South of San Giuliano one encounters Calci where the olive tree is the unique element of the landscape and the abundance of water leads to a particularly luxuriant vegetation and a profusion of mills for crushing olives. The hamlets on the hillsides have preserved intact their original structure together with the Romanesque and Medieval churches and monasteries. A special mention must go to the extremely beautiful Calci Charterhouse, actually the Pisa Charterhouse, a former Carthusian monastery and currently the home of the extremely interesting Museum of Natural History and of the Territory of the University of Pisa.

Proceeding towards Florence one reaches Vicopisano, which in medieval times was a flourishing fortified centre of the Republic of Pisa. Conquered in 1406 by Florence, Filippo Brunelleschi designed a castle that was built here in 1434. Of considerable architectural interest are also the 12 medieval towers and various 12th-century parish churches, as well as the Palazzo Pretorio, scattered around. Economical activities include ceramics, an activity in parallel with the production of terracotta, and bottling of a very famous Italian mineral water, famous for its beneficial properties.


Moving north one encounters Buti on the banks of the Rio Magno. Walking through Buti one can admire numerous churches, such as the Romanesque church of St. Francis in the town square, as well as various fortifications: the medieval Tonini Castle, dominating Buti, the fortified hamlet of Castel di Nocco on the road to Vicopisano and the remains of the Lombard Castle of St. Agata on top of Monte d’Oro, Golden Mountain, destroyed during the 12th century in the war between Pisa and Lucca. Another outstanding architectural witness is the Medicean Villa, located in the oldest part of town, extremely striking thanks to its beautiful garden adorned with statues, fountains and flowerbeds. Buti is also renowned for its chestnut baskets, hand-woven according to an ancient tradition.


Returning towards the coast one comes on Vecchiano, expanding along the banks of the Serchio River. During the Middle Ages, this town was the scene of power struggles between Pisa and Lucca. On the peak overlooking the town and nearby plain is the Gaetani Castle, later Lanfranchi, also known as the hermitage of Santa Maria in Castello, a striking building dating back to 1136. Continuing west, one reaches the sea after crossing a very large, wild beach, which during most months of the year is full of colour and fragrances thanks to the presence of numerous blooms.


Besides for olive oil, since ancient times Mount Pisano has been exploited for the extraction of stone (some were used in the building of the Cathedral of Pisa), but much more intensely in modern times when quarries have literally altered the appearance of the mountains. Another typical product of Mount Pisan are the chestnuts, especially those from the centuries old chestnut groves of Molina di Quosa, somewhat atypical since they grow at an almost ground level. The mountains also offer an abundant variety of mushrooms. In the magnificent Natural Park of Miglarino-San Rossore-Massacciuccoli, stretching from the sea to Pisa, Viareggio, San Giuliano Terme, Vecchiano, Massarosa and Livorno, are reared a special breed of cattle called Mucco Pisano, from which various appreciated kinds of cold meats and salami are made. The park also provides tasty, organic pine-seeds. Typical dishes of the area are the cabbage soup, macaroni with rabbit sauce, tripe à the Buti way, the ‘sweet and strong’ cod, the Buti beans and the delicious Torta co´ bischeri (a short pastry cake with pine-seed and chocolate filling).

Truly the Olive Trail and Mount Pisano offer many good excuses to visit this small corner between the sea, Pisa and Lucca.


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Olive Oil Trail of the Hamlets and Castles of the Valdinievole – Strada dell’Olio Borghi e Castelli della Valdinievole

Pubblicato il 31 Agosto 2013 da Genni

Known in ancient times as the Valley of Fog or Clouds, Vallis Nebulae, the Valdinievole was once predominantly a marshland until Leopold II, King of Hungary and Bohemia, Archduke of Austria and Grand Duke of Tuscany, had it drained and transformed into a charming valley embraced by the hills sloping down from the Appennines. This region is to be found between Pistoia and Lucca, in central northern Tuscany, for centuries a crossroads of culture, trade and meetings. Ancient medieval hamlets and castles crown the valley from the hilltops covered with chestnut groves, while the dale is dotted by villages, villas, parks, thermal spas and a nature reserve, the wetlands of Fucecchio, le Padule di Fucecchio.

The Olive Oil Trail of the Hamlets and Castles of the Valdinievole has a network of roads that connects all the main towns with these small hamlets and castles. The most representative of these is certainly that of the Colligiana which unites the hamlets of Buggiano and Colle, passing through their historic centres, with their narrow streets and picturesque nooks, then out into the valley across woods, in a continue zigzag between sunlight and shade. Higher up on the hills the Via del Colli connects Uzzano and its castle to the tiny villages of La Costa and Pianacci. The Via di Cessana, instead, climbs through a territory where hamlets like Margini and Pievi, witnesses of how time stops, are forgotten.

Surrounded by olive groves, vineyards and chestnut woods, the medieval towns of Massa e Cozzile create together a single commune, each with its castles and Middle Age vestiges. At 5 kilometres, for those pursuing a different kind of tourism, is the renowned spa town of Montecatini Terme with its magnificent villas and luxuriant gardens. Nearby another spa town with two natural caves is the Etruscan Monsummano Terme. Under the shade of Mount Montalbano lies the Roman town of Lamporecchio, with its towers and medieval centre. International market centre for carnations is Pescia, also famous for its Old Flower market and 13th century town hall.

Visiting this area one not only discovers old town centres but also farm estates where one can stop and taste the extra virgin olive oil IGP Toscano for which this trail is well-known. Stopping at inns and restaurants one can enjoy the many local dishes among which those enhancing this olive oil, such as the bruschettas and the emmer soup. Other traditional recipes are the fried frogs from the wetlands of Fucecchio, the chickpea farinata with kale, while local products are the Tuscan salami, the finocchiana variety, the salty ham, as well as an assortment of cheese. The area is, however, renowned for the brigidini of Lamporecchio, thin golden coloured wafers with an anise flavour, traditionally sold at fairs and sagras in long, narrow, transparent bags. At Vergine dei Pini, near Monsummano Terme, can be found one of the most appreciated master chocolatiers of the world, winner of many international prizes. To discover him we suggest a visit at the end of January to Monsummano Terme to the event Cioccolosità.

Far from the madding crowd, this region and its 11 communes are a nook of Tuscany to visit off the beaten path.

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The Mugello Chestnut Trail of Marradi – Strada del Marrone del Mugello di Marradi

Pubblicato il 25 Agosto 2013 da Genni

North of Florence is a wild landscape limited by mountains and hills that slowly decrease towards the plain alongside the Sieve River. This is the Mugello region, settled by a Ligurian tribe known as the Magelli and later occupied by the Etruscans, who built the first road network. The Roman conquest, and subsequent colonization, dates back to the 4th century BC, whilst in the Middle Ages it was home to numerous castles and during the Republic of Florence to many historical villas, among which the Medicean Cafaggiolo and Trebbio, as extensively commented in “UNESCO’s World Heritage List adds other 14 Tuscan locations”.

Here the landscape is dominated by chestnut groves and their fruits, the marroni, which, being the symbol of Mugello’s cultural, rural and gastronomic tradition, are the protagonists of this Food and Flavour Trail. For centuries chestnut trees have fed the people of these mountains with their fruit, and for this reason they have gratefully been called the Bread Tree. The first news of chestnut cultivation dates back to the early Middle Ages, and the period of maximum development was during the reign of Matilda of Tuscany, who determined the planting distance between one tree and the other. The distance was 10 metres, in this way the flocks could eat the grass in the undergrowth and the leaves were easily gathered as food and bedding in the stalls. Subsequently, industrialization and the abandonment of the mountains compromised the value of these chestnut groves that were absorbed by the forests. Fortunately in the ‘80s the inhabitants of the town of Marradi recovered the chestnut cultivation and today are internationally recognized among the top quality producers.

The chestnut harvest, done by hand, is during October and November. The flour is used for making a sweet polenta or for cooking excellent cakes, puddings and biscuits. Otherwise the chestnuts are used to make delicious marron glacés or a jam, which is more like a cream. Chestnuts are also to be found in many local dishes, such as the fried tortellini (pasta with a chestnut filling and fried), the chestnut stuffed pork or just simply roasted. Chestnut is also well-known for its fine wood, from which objects or furniture are made from. Furthermore, in the undergrowth of these groves one can also pick mushrooms and find precious white truffles. Other outstanding products of this rich, untamed region are the caprino cheese made from goat’s milk, the pecorino cheese made from sheep’s milk, as also the ricotta cheese, and the raviggiolo del Mugello cheese made from cow’s milk. In addition, there is the mouth-watering salami and pork meat of the Cinto Toscano pig, the organic emmer, the sweet tasting honey, not only chestnut but also acacia, the famous unsalted bread strictly cooked in a wood-burning oven, the potatoes (white, yellow and red), and obviously a sublime olive oil.

Many are the typical dishes one must try in this generous region. One can choose the black cabbage on toast or emmer salad as an appetizer. The first course offers a choice between the potato tortelli (pasta with potatoes) typical of Mugello, or the zuppa rustica, a soup of chickpeas, local sausage, bacon, Parma ham, green cabbage, potatoes, onion and peppers, as well as the renowned pappa col pomodoro, soup of bread and tomatoes, or ravioli with a delicious ricotta cheese filling. For the main courses one must remember that this area was the favourite hunting ground of the Medicis, so along with the duck in the ‘Mugello style’, there are roe deer with cream, stewed fallow deer, rabbit with apples and a Medieval pork belly cooked with juniper berries. To conclude for the sweet-toothed the chestnut cake, the torta in balconata made with almonds, walnuts and raisins, and the above-mentioned fried pasta with chestnut filling.

To digest all these scrumptious dishes one should take advantage and take a trip around the Mugello region, following the maze of paths, through age-old chestnut grooves and farm estates, which can be done on foot, horseback or by bike. Or otherwise visit the main towns and villages of the Mugello on a journey to discover an unusual itinerary between art and nature. Here, in fact, many little towns host uncommon works of art. In Borgo San Lorenzo, for instance, the Romanesque church of San Lorenzo conserves a precious Madonna attributed to Giotto. At Barberino di Mugello one can admire the magnificent Medicean villa of Cafaggiolo, as well as 16th century Villa Le Maschere and the 13th century Castle of Villanova. Dicomano, along the Sieve River, has some lovely old mansions to visit, while in the town centre one can stroll under the 17th century open gallery. Firenzuola, meaning ‘little Florence’, offers two medieval gates and a castle built in 1332. Beautiful Palazzuolo sul Senio still retains vestiges of when the Ubaldini were lords of the territory in the 12th century. The Medicean villa of Trebbio is near San Piero a Sieve, also renowned for its Medicean walls and many churches. Not to forget Scarperia and its magnificent 14th century Palazzo dei Vicari and Vicchio, birthplace of painters Giotto and Fra Angelico and home to goldsmith and sculptor Benvenuto Cellini.

Mugello, truly a casket of unknown precious jewels.


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