WHEN IN TUSCANY…
This morning I received yet another email with what is billed as an ‘in-the-know’ romantic weekend in Tuscany.
In Florence, they suggest places like Cammillo (and the most original goes to….), Boboli gardens (how in-the-know they must be), and Palazzo Strozzi (insert Miranda Priestly eye-rolling deep sigh).
(Side-note: are any of these particularly romantic?)
The whisper-in-your-ear approach, offering mass information cultivated via google, is getting a little old. I live for discovery and exploration—the stories that make places unique and are irreversibly imprinted on our hearts.
I’ve got 20 minutes before I’ve got to be out the door. As I finish my tea, I share with you a few of my most treasured Tuscan favourites that I’ve gathered over the last 15 years of life in Italy. My Italian ancestry might be Calabrian, but questa ragazza è molto toscana.
I have not even proofread this, proving how this is straight from my memory bank. Forgive any grammatical errors; sometimes I type stream-of-consciousness style.
FIRENZE
I’ve lived in a few different neighbourhoods in Florence: near Piazza San Marco and then on the south side in the San Niccolo neighbourhood. The best daily market is that of Sant’Ambrogio, to where I still trek. If you’re in search of meat, cheese, dry goods, and a chef vibe a la Mario Batali in crocs pre-problemi, the indoor warehouse is the place to be.
For an elegant cappuccio e brioche after you stroll the market, Cibreo Caffe nearby is always lovely. It doesn’t have nearly the same ambience as it did when Fabio was alive, bursting through with that beard and bass pitch, scaring the daylights out of me, but there are still a handful of the same faces. Word to the wise, don’t date sons of giant, white-bearded men who own businesses you intend to frequent long-term. (twas very young and we all did it, iykyk)
If you haven’t ever had lunch or been to one of the performances at Cibreo Teatro, I really encourage this as well. You have no idea what goes on in there unless you go, and it has an old school club vibe, minus pretension. Great value for money, fantastic fare, yummy dessert.
I am quite partial to the Oltrarno because I have a distaste for hordes of tourists. Forgive me. But this is indeed where you will find interesting boutiques and newer restaurants by young, up-and-coming chefs with a great deal of courage and just enough backing to make a go of it. We applaud them and must support. Please don’t be basic and limit yourself to Dell’Orafo and the usual suspects, though, admittedly, the times I’ve been there have been with Fiorentino male friends, and it was rowdy and fun, and I ate very well. But still, venture afield per favore, and spread the love.
For a great bakery, a slice of focaccia, my favourite cecina, or a perfect light salad, I make a beeline for S. Forno. I first dined at Il Santo Bevitore 11 years ago, and since then, the team has created an ever-loyal following. I also love how S. Forno has a few great dry goods to buy if you want to jam-pack your suitcase. In October, they make fab castagnaccio with pine nuts on top, which is one of the best discoveries you will make in Toscana in autunno. Il Santo Bevitore is lovely but not a must, sorry to anyone who loves it more than anything, but me thinks they simply do really phenomenal social media; food and service is a little meh.
If you can, plan your Firenze trip so that you’re there on the third Sunday of the month, when there is my all-time favourite market: the bio market in Piazza Santo Spirito. Here you will find all of the small producers who don’t ship— literally never. I cannot tell you how many times I’ve tracked down a one-woman show from a label, found their WhatsApp on some government paperwork online, and tried my best to be as convincing as Tom Cruise (re: filming MI Dead Reckoning in Italy during covid, also re: scientology) to buy wholesale or at least a good bundle and ship to London or the US. No dice. ‘You can buy next time you’re in Tuscany.’ This, my friends, is the Santo Spirito crowd. They’re not in it for fame nor glory nor expansion. They just want to be 80 years old, selling their honey on a Sunday, maybe having a lil flirt with yours truly. (I do love an older gentleman with electric eyes… see: Paul Newman, age 80).
Here you will find organic local produce, outstanding olio nuovo if you’re there in Autumn (ahoy Siro Petracchi!), allllllll the best honey in the area, handmade ceramics, tinctures and creams, the Parmigiano man who slices through whole rounds with string and the precision of a true artisan, and gosh what else…. jams, pastas, so many goodies. Poodles. Italians love poodles. These are not for sale of course but love to be admired all the same.
Here’s what happens next.
You will go off to find a box, because you can’t fit it all in your suitcase. The box will then get stuck in customs, because there is no way in hell you know what the latest tricks are to sail it right through, which will lead you to forge a friendly working relationship with someone by the name of Francesco, who emails you every day to say ’no updates’ and digital equivalents of ‘eh, Italian bureacracy, (can share screenshots if readers are non believers). This will lead to many wasted hours on hold with various Albanians who speak mediocre Italian and no english. Fast forward (painfully slow) one month later, on a full moon, when you receive a ‘customs approval’ alert and you vow to never send a box again. Writer recommends: buy an extra suitcase in Italy and pay for extra baggage. Hell, buy an extra plane seat. Hire a donkey. Charter a ship. Just don’t ship a box. You’re welcome.
If you have not walked from the rose garden to Arcetri, you are severely missing out on one of the most glorious walks in the entire centre. Arcetri and Pian dei Giullari are the dreamiest, with open expansive views of olive groves. This is where I like to stay when I visit, and when I lived in San Niccolo, I used to do this walk sometimes twice a day. It is therapy, defined. Tall stone walls you ache to see behind, enormous gates that open once in a while for a sneaky view, the scent of jasmine and moss even off-season. Views of Firenze, views of the hills, views of distant villas that you’d pinch yourself to own one day. Boboli is lovely, sure, but it’s really all about the area outside the centre. Likewise Fiesole is charming and the walk up there is (very) steep but rewarding with gorgeous views, however, there are no tourists in Arcetri. If you’re hungry up in Pian dei Giullari you can have a lovely lunch at Trattoria Omero. Also with a charming view. There is no really gorgeous hotel in this neighbourhood so I of course have added that to my to-do list.
Okay moving toward Lucca because now my pears are poached and I’ve got just 10 minute before I need to scoot.
I’ve been to Lucca a few times and stayed for a few weeks this past October. I had a chance to get to know it quite well and understand its rhythms and talk to many residents. It’s a very livable city, elegant and well-maintained, though I don’t think one needs to stay as long as I did. My favourite part is le mure or the green loop around it, which is incredibly unique. The fortress-like walls on which the green pathway sits were built during the Renaissance. This is not your average footpath. It’s wide, it’s a decent distance if you’re a runner and want to do it twice, and it’s poetically picturesque. A line of symmetrical trees blocks the traffic beyond, so when le mure are abundant with leaves, it’s almost as if you’re in the country. In the distance, the Alpi Apuane relinquish that mountain-calm we all love so much, and are often snowcapped come wintertime. I prefer walking on le mure over walking through the centre, if I may be so honest.
For fruit, yes I stopped often at Gino Frutta but again, honesty prevails; my preferred places for produce were Ortrofrutta Lucca, where I went almost every day. There is also a great organic farmers market on Sundays just outside the centre where you can wait in line for an hour while everyone takes their sweet time, but the prices are just other worldly cheap and it is worth the snails pace. You could buy enough for a family of four for two weeks for the price of 4 match lattes in London. Something like that :)
In Forte dei Marmi, the shopping is glorious, the boutiques are gorgeous, the beach clubs are endless, and everything is $$$ as to be expected. I like a neighbourhood walk near California Park Hotel, where I can try to steal a peek behind tall gates and admire the Palm Beach meets Portofino meets Montecito style, and for a caffe I head to The Garden right in the centre, where the people watching is fab— tennis brights, golden tans, designer sneakers, etc. Yes I indulged in an expensive lunch at the beach at Gilda. If you want to be showy and drop a name, go by all means. It’s a vibe in the summer. But expect the showiness that Tuscans drive down to Maremma to escape. Though honestly if you go to Forte dei Marmi and don’t expect utter showiness then you indeed have been led astray. This town is bicycle-riding Loro Piana on summer steroids.
In Chianti, which is lovely but not as spectacular as my beloved Val D’Orcia, which is one of my many Italian second homes and where I host my Isabetta Tuscany retreats, one of my favourite properties is
Yes Borgo Pignano is gorgeous and Mike Moritz is a legend for bringing it to fruition, but I have an aversion toward properties that feel so very discovered by the Americani and Inglesi. A few summers ago I stayed at Le Fontanelle and I cannot describe to you the charm and the beauty. Are the rooms perfect……. mmmm but don’t pay so much attention. Just stay there. Service— impeccable. There are two properties on the property. The grounds are magnificent. Just go, enjoy, then go to Pignano, so you can have the best of both worlds.