At the end of the Val D’Esse, nestled under the hill separating Tuoro and Lake Trasimeno from the countryside below Cortona sits the tiny hamlet of Piazzano. Just inside the border of Umbria, it is surrounded by farmland, olive terraces and woodland. This ancient area may have gotten its name during the famous battle between the Carthaginian general Hannibal and Roman consul Gaius Flaminius in 217 B.C.E. when it is thought the Roman contingent set up a military camp there with a “piazza d’armi” or a parade ground.
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Driving across the flat plain which stretches between Castiglion Fiorentino and Marciano with its fields and sparsely scattered farmhouses, we come across a vast, open stretch of land, eleven hectares in all, home to the Centro Volo Serristori. Here all manner of light aircraft can be seen coming and going, particularly on the weekends – ultralights and small touring planes such as Pipers and Cessna.
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There has probably been a fortress on the hilltop overlooking Cortona since the 5th or 6th century BC, when the original Etruscan walls followed a course which roughly corresponds to the existing perimeter walls of today. However the first historical records describing a ‘strong and beautiful fortress’ date back to 1258 AD. Having been plundered and sacked several times during the wars with Arezzo it was sold to the Florentine Republic in 1411, together with the entire city of Cortona, although reconstruction work only began in 1527.
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The house and lands of Fontelunga have been in Lucia Catani’s family for more than two centuries, with a part of the house itself dating to 1491. From the moment the Catani family purchased the property at the end of the seventeenth century, “every member of my family was born and grew up here”, says Lucia.
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The Piazza collection grew naturally out an emotion: Sebastian and Megan remained astonished by the hollow silence that fell over the piazzas and streets of their town during the worst of the pandemic, so when life began to trickle back into the open air this spring, they realized just how important the social contact of these gathering places is, and the essential vitality it lends to the community. This new collection is based on that idea – the lively conviviality, light-heartedness and sense of belonging that the piazza filled with neighbors and visitors enjoys.
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A classic yet fashionable enough that is the Yacht Bar in Castiglione della Pescaia, a place that certainly does not need any introduction. Roberto’s passion also engaged his son Giampaolo who has committed himself with strength and dedication to the business. Over the years, in fact, the restaurant has kept its old enthusiasm high but still kept up with the times.
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The list of specialities is really long: you can choose from burrata, ricotta, mozzarella, cold cuts and fresh truffles as well as panzanella enriched with local vegetables, legume soups, ribollite and tomato soup. To ensure freshness and quality the list changes according to the season. Products such as ricotta, yoghurt, cheese and burrata are in fact offered only during specific times of the year, that is when the raw materials and their derivatives are available at the highest level of quality.
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The Casa al Vento property is located in the hamlet of Montemorli, not far from Poggibonsi. Here a nineteenth-century agricultural shed came to new life thanks to a preservation and restoration plan devised and directed by architect Giovanni Del Zanna. Works were carried out by EDILPIÙ and their workforce coordinated by foreman Cosimo Lecce, aka Mimmo, under the expert guide of technical director Alessandro Taddei. With their experience, they managed to valorize the building’s historical character while adapting it to the spaces and functions of a modern dwelling, equipped with state-of-the-art technological systems.
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In Grignanello today wines without added sulphites are produced following rigorous biological and biodynamic canons. The vineyards, more than 50 years old, extend for about five and a half hectares and are composed of the historic Chianti varieties: Sangiovese, Canaiolo, black Malvasia, Colorino, Trebbiano, and long white Malvasia. In the cellar, an evocative and magical environment, vinification is carried out in beautiful terracotta amphorae from Impruneta, from which red, macerated white and rosé wines are obtained, with an experimental production of passito.
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Today Il Pitena successfully continues its activity as a Lounge Bar, but, since 2019, it has been joined by one of the projects that Betty and Daniele care the most about: Il Pitena Vinosteria.
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BY GIOVANNI SALVIETTI For the municipality of Castellina in Chianti, summer 2021 is a symbol of the great return to normal and the municipal administration, in collaboration with cultural associations, has organised a rich calendar of events that lasts until autumn. Both adults and children can take part in the fun and learning […]
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The first historical evidence is found in a parchment of 1010 preserved in the Abbey of San Lorenzo in Coltibuono, in that document it is called plebes Sanctae Mariae quae dicitur Novella – the term novella in the Middle Ages was used to indicate a new piece of cultivated land.
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There are eight fragrances that make Bramasole a company of absolute quality and one of a kind: Dark & Sweet, Vetyvain, Tuberose Temptation, Venus Rose, Jasmine Bride, Dionysus Fig, Eternal Cedar and Alchemical Spice.
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ART 5 wooden doors and windows meet the highest standards in their field, designed to perfection and made using innovative technologies: «The world of doors and windows – says company vice president Stefano – has evolved a lot and uses technologies that were unthinkable until recently. The materials must be aesthetically pleasing and at the same time perform their function very well: we are always careful to minimize their impact, letting a lot of light and therefore the view of the landscape through».
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To get to the «Land of the Wigeons» you have to go up a hill, pass a little church, turn left, bear slightly left again and there’s the restaurant. It has a marvellously panoramic and truly enviable position. Inside we are welcomed by Maria Pia and Marcello, a couple who share both their work and their lives, she’s from Milan and he’s from Lecce. Together they had the idea of transforming a tavern into a modern, clean and welcoming restaurant, where Maria Pia’s cuisine blends perfectly with the artistic decor and the surrounding landscape.
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Torrita, once called “Turrita”, is first mentioned in a document dated 1037 where it is listed as the property of the Benedictine Abbey of Sant’Antimo near Montalcino. As a fortified town with a surrounding wall and four towers, it later served as a military outpost for the defense of Siena’s border with neighboring Montepulciano. Later still, the town held Florentine ambitions at bay until it finally fell to the imperial forces of Charles the First in 1554 and the entire area passed into the Florentine Grand duchy.
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