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Click here for pictures from our trips to Tuscany.
What makes Italian cooking, and Tuscan cuisine in particular, so popular, not to mention healthy?
It isn't just the seductive blend of the finest ingredients well prepared; it is also the immediate attraction of vibrant, natural flavors, color and textures. A slice of woodoven-baked Tuscan bread, thick and crusty, covered with just pressed extra virgin olive oil is one of the simplest, yet most satisfying, of eating pleasures. Unlike cuisines which rely on complicated formulas, Tuscan cooking is straightforward and as beautiful and surprising as the land from which it comes.
Our program is about the tastes, sights, and aromas of Tuscany, and the incomparable beauty and sensuality of this region of Italy. The program focus is on the foods and wines of the area, but we have carefully planned our itinerary to combine culinary exploration with historical, artistic, and cultural interests as well.
Smaller cities and towns have been carefully selected, not just to avoid the typical tourist crush, but to highlight places often overlooked by standard tours. Though some major cities of Tuscany are included, emphasis is placed on a few, well chosen sights within them.
Guests will stay at the Villa Marzalla, a Seventeenth Century noble estate in the hills above the village of Pescia, 50 km. west of Florence. The Villa (fully described in accompanying brochures) offers a blend of traditional Tuscan beauty with modern comfort and convenience. Morning and evening meals will be offered at Villa Marzalla's professional restaurant and will emphasize traditional Tuscan cuisine. Midday meals will be in carefully chosen restaurants and trattorias that reflect not only the local delicacies, but also fresh, traditional food, grown and prepared within the region. These trattorias cater to the knowledgable tastes of local people, rather than the crowds descending from large tour buses. Our program stresses quiet comfort and unhurried pleasure. The group is small, never more than twelve people, creating an intimate learning opportunity.
There is an extensive agenda of local experts, chefs, farmers and artisans who will meet and travel with our seminar program.
The program is designed to alternate days visiting sites with more relaxed days for cooking classes, walks, and individual interests, thus sparing the participants the usual "cultural overload" of most tour groups. All group travel will be in a chauffeur driven minibus with sufficient time allotted for shopping and exploration. Visits within cities are usually done on foot, so comfortable walking attire is recommended.
Members of the group are encouraged to participate in all the group activities, but are certainly permitted to pick and chose activities as they wish. Suggestions for other possible visits and assistance with planning transportation are available.
Saturday - Departure from airport
Sunday - Airport arrival, chauffeured transport to Villa Marzalla, settling in and exploration of villa and estate, meet hosts, staff, and instructors. Dinner and evening program orientation.
Monday - Guided morning visit to Svizzera Pescistine, literally 'the Switzerland of northern Tuscany'. This high, hilly region where the estate is located, is filled with small villages dating from the Middle Ages. It is a location where one can truly see and experience genuine Tuscan peasant traditions. Lunch will be served at Il Frantoia, a restaurant located in an Eighteenth Century mill, used for pressing olive oil. This region is best known for its abundance of chestnuts and the restaurant specializes in these dishes, especially the unforgettable dessert, castagnaccio. Everything served here is produced in the immediate area and reflects the tastes and pleasures of the mountains. The secrets of Tuscan cooking will begin to unfold during the first cooking class, held in the afternoon, with ample time left over for exploring the villa's gardens and fields.
Tuesday - Guided visit to the hills of Chianti, with stops scheduled at private, local wineries and vineyards to sample the reds and whites of one of the world's most famous wine appellations. After lunch in the Thirteenth Century towered town of San Gimigniano, it's off to Siena for dessert!
Here in Siena, this gentle city of St. Catherine and the Palio, the aroma of fresh baked panforte and ricciarelli cookies drifts through the narrow streets, blending with painted faces of Medieval Madonnas. A leisurely walking tour through the city completes the day.
Wednesday - Guided visit to Vinci to see the lovely museum housing replicas of Leonardo's many inventions and to San Miniato, a town made famous by the film, "Night of the Shooting Stars." San Miniato was also the home of the Eleventh Century ruler, Countess Matilde, whose castle overlooks the village. Lunch will be served at Il Padule, and will include delicacies of the area. In the afternoon, there will be a cooking class at Marzalla, using local grown ingredients from Pescia.
Thursday - Guided morning visit to Pistoia. Once known as the bakery for Roman legions crossing the Apennines, Pistoia boasts a colorful, outdoor food market and numerous examples of Medieval, Renaissance, and modern sculpture. An optional afternoon visit to the Richard Ginori china museum and factory is planned for those wishing to learn about (and purchase) pottery and dinnerware on which to serve their Tuscan specialties. Others may chose to explore the grounds of the estate or the local hill country.
Friday - Guided visit to Lucca, the city of wide, beautiful walls, numerous ornate churches, and the hearty soup called Minestra di fagioli e farro. A tour of the city will include a stop at the famous sculpted tomb of Ilaria del Caretto, a romantic early ancestor of the present owners of Marzalla. After lunch, at Colleverde, a trattoria in the green hills above the city, the group will stroll through the formal gardens of the Royal Villa Marlia, the exquisite Eighteenth Century home of Elisa Bonaparte, older sister of Napolean.
Saturday - Free day for personal explorations and interests.
Sunday - Guided visit to coastal Tuscany, known locally as Versilia. Here the group will visit Torre del Lago, the beautiful lakeside home of the composer Puccini. The group will then visit Pisa and see the famous leaning tower and cathedral of this former maritime republic. Lunch will be served in the beach town of Viareggio where one eats cacciucco. This Tuscan version of French bouillabaisse is only one of many seafood dishes served. If time and weather permit, the group will visit the marble quarries of Carrara, high in the coastal mountains, where Michelangelo sought the stone for his statues of the David and La Pieta.
Monday - Guided morning visit to the Montagna Pistoiese. This rugged mountain area, in the Apennine, holds the ancient Roman trails to Bologna and is filled with rushing streams, sheep, wild mushrooms, and delicate berries. Lunch, served at an upland refuge with its own wood-fire bread oven, will focus on these select delicacies. The group will also see, taste, and learn about the making of ricotta and pecorino, the delicious cheeses made from the milk of sheep grazing peacefully near the restaurant. An afternoon cooking class will be held at the Villa.
Tuesday - Guided visit to Florence, the majestic Renaissance treasure. Ample time will be given for exploring the many historical and artistic sites, but highlighted among them will be the large fresh food market of San Lorenzo and a tour of the Palazzo Davanzati, a fully furnished Fourteenth Century home, complete with its kitchen utensils and cook books. To provide enough time for museum visits and shopping, lunch will be at a typical Tuscan rosticeria and restaurant which has both a stunning view of the city and fragrant woodoven cuisine.
Wednesday - Visit to a frantoio, literally the local olive press, where the farmers of Pescia take their olives to be pressed into thick, green, extra virgin oil. Included, of course, will be lots of sampling and time to purchase the fresh oil, stored in giant, terra cotta urns. An afternoon cooking class at the Villa, with a focus on the proper use of olive oil and other local ingredients.
Thursday - Free day, with planning and direction from the staff for individual and small group excursions.
Friday - Preparation and departure for airport.
N.B. - The directors reserve the right to make minor substitutions in the itinerary should the need arise.
Site Description of Villa Marzalla
The Azienda Agricola Marzalla is a Seventeenth Century estate nestled in the hills above the village of Pescia, approximately 50 km. west of Florence and 12 km. east of Lucca. Taking advantage of this convenient and picturesque location, the owners of Marzalla were among the first in this area to participate in the Agritourismo movement sponsored by the Italian government. Agritourism, as it has become known, offers an opportunity to visit and stay in working, producing farm estates in Tuscany. Marzalla produces the two famous staples of Tuscan life, wine and olives, which not only provide a lovely landscape for the guests but an opportunity as well to wander down farm lanes among the vines and to sit under one of the innumerable olive trees, as well.
Guests will be housed in the comfortable suites of the fully restored buildings of the estate. Each of these suites consists of a large double bedroom, a full bath, an ample sitting room, and a fully equipped kitchen. A lovely rustic garden area leads down to an olympic sized swimming pool. Terra cotta urns and an occasional farm cat sunning on the wide lawns adds to the ambience. Meals will be served in the villa restaurant, in yet another of the restored buildings. Dominating the landscape of the estate is the large, noble, villa which has been the padronal home of the family of the current owners since the Seventeenth Century. A smaller Sixteenth Century villa, down the hill, completes the setting.
The Azienda Agricola Marzalla is a family-run business.
Flavia Caldarazzo, our charming hostess, has enjoyed many years of entertaining guests in her villa. She speaks English and is always ready to share her knowledge of this region, where she can trace her roots back to the year 1000 A.D.
Susanna Cecchi de' Rossi is the master chef. Her skill in teaching the art of Tuscan cooking (in English) is only surpassed by her ability to prepare these wonderful foods.
Candida Cecchi de' Rossi, the supervisor of the residential arrangements, is always available to make sure everyone's stay is as comfortable and pleasant as possible.
Mark Haskell, the founder of Friends and Food International and director of the U.S. activities of the program, is an international development consultant and lives in Washington, D.C., and the Vaucluse region of France. He is also a working professional chef and attended the University of Sienna, in Tuscany.
| Web Page: http://www.ffii.us/Tuscany |
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Revised: 2005-02-10 |
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Web Page Author:
Rasmussen Designs
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