The Streets of Siena

The city of Siena sits in the middle of Tuscany, surrounded by fantastic landscapes, charming hill towns, and sweeping valleys. A UNESCO World Heritage site, Siena is a city of ancient brick buildings which hug medieval streets, steep lanes, beautiful piazzas, and architectural wonders.

One could easily spend several weeks (or a lifetime) exploring the wonders of Siena. But my recent visit didn’t afford me the luxury of time - I was simply passing through on my way to a week long trip to the Val d’Orcia in south central Tuscany (see end note re: current travel restrictions in Tuscany) . All I had time for was a leisurely walk through town and a nice lunch.

Siena’s cathedral under a beautiful fall sky

Walking toward the historic center of Siena, the dominant feature is the view of 13th century cathedral, its dome and campanile (bell tower) rising high above the rooftops of the city. Up close, the cathedral wows with its marble facade, elaborate portals, sculptures, gargoyles, and mosaics. The bell tower, with its striking black and white stripes, stretches high above. No time to go inside on this trip, that will have to wait for another visit.

Piazza del Campo, Siena on a sunny fall day

Siena’s most recognizable landmark is its shell-shaped central square, the Piazza del Campo. Long ago this sweeping open space served as Siena’s marketplace. Today it is a gathering spot for locals and visitors alike (and their dogs, who enjoy laying on the warm pavement on a chilly fall morning). The piazza is famous for the architecture of the buildings that ring it, the Palazzo Pubblico (City Hall) and the tall tower, the Torre del Mangia. The Piazza del Campo is also where the famous Palio horse race takes place. On the day of my visit in late October, sun and warmth radiated off the brick surface of the uncrowded piazza.

The Palazzo Pubblico and the Torre del Mangia, Siena

The piazza is also home to the beautiful Fonte Gaia, the Fountain of Joy. The fountain was originally an important source of water for the city. Today it is appreciated as a work of art for the graceful marble reliefs which enclose it on three sides. I have not seen a fountain of this type in other Italian cities, both its shape and the carved surround make it unique to Siena.

These may be Siena’s most famous sights, but Siena is more than just famous landmarks; it’s a beautiful city with streets and squares perfect for wandering.

There are medieval buildings, churches and convents, roof tops, steep streets, and arched alleyways giving glimpses of hidden corners. Taking time to soak it all in is a joy, even if you just have a few hours to wander through town.

The roof tops of Siena

Note: Italy is now seeing a resurgence of COVID infections and, at present, many daily life and travel restrictions are in place. My trip to south central Tuscany was complaint with all restrictions that existed in late October and the first few days of November. Look for upcoming posts over the next few weeks about several of the villages in the Val d’Orcia that I visited during my week-long trip. I hope these posts will be a reminder of the beauty of Italy that awaits when travel is once again possible.

Autumn in the Val d'Orcia

Tuscany is incredibly diverse. The land includes hills, valleys, mountains, forests, rivers, marshlands, lakes, and coastlines. There is even an island - Elba. Tuscany boasts small hilltop villages that few tourists have discovered, popular walled cities such as Lucca, the bustling port city of Livorno, Florence which is famous for its art and architecture, industrial areas and transportation centers. Whew - I could go on and on describing all the different aspects of Tuscany.

But when you ask someone to close their eyes and picture Tuscany, the image they are very likely to conjure is one of soft hillsides dotted with farmhouses, winding roads lined with tall cypress trees, fields terraced with grapevines, and groves of olive trees. This classic image of Tuscany comes from one specific area - the Val d’Orcia.

A classic Tuscan landscape, just outside of the small hamlet of Montichiello in the Val d’Orcia

The Val d’Orcia lies in south central Tuscany, beginning just south of the city of Siena. The whole region - comprised of the municipalities of Montalcino, San Quirico d’Orcia, Pienza, Castiglione d’Orcia, and Radicofani - is a UNESCO World Heritage site. There are no big cities in this region. Small towns and even smaller picture-perfect hilltop villages are scattered throughout. Driving around the Val d’Orcia provides one astonishing view after another. Gorgeous at any time of year, seeing the Val d’Orcia in fall is a special treat.

After the harvest, grape leaves turn gold and red on the vines

The colors of autumn, as the leaves on the grapevines turn gold and then red, the olives ripen on the trees, the valleys and oak forests shimmer with color, are nothing sort of breathtaking. I was fortunate to spend a week in this area in late October / early November - peak color season. Each day brought changes - deepening hues on the grapevines, vines which seemed on fire as their red leaves climbed up stone walls, waves of yellow in the fields, ground covered with oak leaves which crunched beneath my feet as I walked, and the sound of acorns falling from the trees.

As a bonus, the autumn skies had ever changing cloud formations and mornings often began with deep fog rolling down the valley, cloaking familiar sights in an air of mystery.

As for the autumn sunsets and moonrises - wow.

Dusk in the Val d’Orcia, from the grounds of Agriturismo Cretaiole near Pienza

The Val d’Orcia is beautiful when viewed close up on a walk or on a drive, but is even more spectacular when viewed from high up in a hill town. There is something deeply moving about these small hill top villages, about the land here, and about the changing seasons view from above. It fills me with a sense of peace, hope, and the feeling that everything really will be all right with the world, everything in its season.

Fall seen from Montepulciano which lies just beyond the border of the Val d’Orcia

As Italy entered into a “soft” lockdown (less restrictive than last spring, more restrictive than summer and early fall), I felt incredibly fortunate that it was still possible for me to travel to this part of Tuscany and experience the wonder of autumn in the Val d’Orcia. The experience was not diminished by the need to wear masks outdoors, the lack of evening dining (the latest decree meant that restaurants had to close by 6pm that week), frequent hand washing and never being far from a bottle of hand sanitizer, and the closure of many shops. In fact, I think those restrictions gave me a deeper appreciation for the things we can still do and the beauty we can still experience. And next year, when (fingers crossed) things open up again, I hope that visitors will once again return to this region. The area will need our support to recover from this year of economic hardship and we will need the beauty of these places to help restore our spirits.

Sunset, near Pienza, early November 2020

The Olive Harvest in Tuscany

Late October into early November is olive season in Tuscany. Throughout the countryside, fields are dotted with olives trees, some in neatly trimmed rows and others standing alone, gnarled and ancient looking. They shimmer with green, purple, and nearly black fruit and the promise that they will soon yield the spicy, flavorful, wonderfully scented liquid that makes Italian olive oil so prized.

I recently had the opportunity to experience the harvest at one of my favorite places - the Agriturismo Cretaiole near Pienza, Italy. Cretaiole is a working fattoria (farm) with many olive trees. It is run by the Moricciani family who also operate a family farm (Podere San Gregorio) and large olive groves, all just beyond the city walls in Pienza. In all, they have nearly 3000 olive trees. They produce a superb organic olive oil under the supervision of family patriarch Luciano and son Carlo (who is also a professional olive oil tester for the province of Siena). This makes Cretaiole the perfect place to get a close up view of the olive harvest and also provides the perfect excuse to spend a week in southern Tuscany.

My goal was to learn about the harvest and to take lots of photos. I quickly found that it was impossible to just watch! Pitching in is part of the fun and doing so provided the chance to speak with Luciano, who has been harvesting the olives in this area since he was a child in the years after World War II.

Luciano Moricciani has spent a lifetime cultivating and harvesting olives. His Cretaiole olive oil is fantastic!

The first thing I learned is that olive harvesting is hard work! First the olives must be picked from the tall, dense trees. This can be done by hand, climbing up a ladder to reach high into the trees and dropping the olives into a basket. Luciano recounted the dangers of this - including the many falls and broken bones which were common in his youth. These days it is more common, especially in the larger groves, to use a power tool - a sort of vibrating rake - to shake the olives from the tree. The olives then fall into nets that have been spread out on the ground around the trees. This is the process used at Cretaiole, with 2 men performing this job over the course of a week or more (they have a lot of olive trees!).

Shaking the olives from the trees and into the collecting nets

As the colorful olives pile up in the nets, the many twigs that also fall from the trees must be separated from the olives by hand. The olives are then scooped into containers and, within a day, they are taken to the frantoio (olive press) where they will be separated from their leaves, washed, ground, and coaxed into giving up their precious oil.

Separating the twigs from the olives

A few days after taking the above photos, I was able to visit with Luciano and his wife Liliana at their farm, Podere San Gregorio in Pienza. In the farm’s cantina, the newly pressed oil is stored in large vats and the oil is put into bottles and tins for sale under the Cretaiole labe

Together we tasted the new oil on slices of bread alongside some of the other products from the farm (delicious prosciutto and salami), a local pecorino cheese, and glasses of red wine produced from Cretaiole’s vines. The new oil was a beautiful green color, fragrant, and very, very tasty.

This was a wonderful opportunity to talk to the Moricciani’s about their lives, their land, the business of the agriturismo, and the area around Pienza.

It is always a treat to be able to buy a new season olive oil straight from the farm, but it is even better when you’ve had the chance to participate in the harvest, although truth be told I did more watching and photographing than working. Still - I think there must be at least one or two of “my” olives in the big bottle of oil that I took home with me.

I will enjoy the bold flavor of Cretaiole olive oil drizzled atop a bowl of minestrone or over toasted bread throughout the coming winter. If you’d like to taste this wonderful organic extra virgin olive oil, Cretaiole ships 1 and 5 liter cans.

A huge thanks to Luciano, Liliana, and Carlo Moricciani for inviting me to learn about the olive harvest and for being such warm and generous hosts.

Contact information for Cretaiole website: cretaiole.it email: info@cretaiole.it

Classic Italian Motorcycles

What is it about a vintage Italian motorcycle that is so alluring, so romantic?

I can just picture myself, a scarf around my hair Audrey Hepburn style, arms wrapped around someone who looks a lot like Marcello Mastroianni, speeding through the Italian countryside.  Pure fantasy!  In reality, my motorcycle days were back in the 70’s, the countryside was rural Colorado, my then “fidanzato”, while cute, was no Marcello, and the motorcycle was Japanese made. Back then, Italy hadn’t yet entered my dreams.  

A week or so ago, while watching Italian TV (a strategy for increasing my Italian vocabulary), an interview with the mayor of Lucca caught my attention. He was talking about an exhibit of classic Italian motorcyles. Even better, he said that the exhibit was being held in the beautiful setting of Palazzo Pfanner, one of the loveliest spots inside the historic city center. This was something I had to see.

The motorcycles filled both the entry courtyard of the grand palazzo and the limonaia (the outbuilding where the lemon trees are stored in cold weather). What a stunning backdrop for the beautiful classic motorcycles!

Scooters filled the entry courtyard to the palazzo. These are by Vespa and Lambretta, both companies began manufacturing in the 1940’s.

 If you’ve ever enjoyed a motorcycle ride, say a word of thanks to two inventors from the province of Lucca - Eugenio Barsanti and Felice Matteucci. They did not invent the motorcycle but they did develop and patent the first internal combustion engine (way back in 1853).  This type of engine, based on harnessing the power of exploding gases (sounds a bit frightening), provided an alternative to the steam engine and was a precursor to the modern piston engine. The original models of Barsanti and Matteuci were far too large to use on a motorcycle; it would take German engineers to make the first “modern” motorcycle (the Daimler Reitwagen) in 1885. How things have evolved from those early models!  And, since no one does style better than the Italians, the classic made-in-Italy models from the 1920’s through the 1960’s are not just means of transportation, they are stylish works of art.

 Some of the names are recognizable - Ducati, Lambretta, and Moto Guzzi. Other older brands have been out of production for years and are less well known (at least to non-Italians).  The exhibit included both the famous brands and the less famous.  There were even some American classics like Henderson and Harley-Davidson and the first American motorcycle brand, the Indian.

 Some of the motorcycles in the exhibit were very early models, some were war-time vehicles, some were designed for work, and some were clearly designed for fun and for speed. There was even a group with fancy side cars. All were fascinating, from the leather seats, to the spoke wheels, to the saddle bags and the somewhat primitive looking engine parts. 

The oldest model in the exhibit was a Galloni, a brand produced only between 1920 and 1931. The one in the exhibit was from 1924.  Moto Guzzi was represented with the largest number of bikes, but there were also models by Sertum, della Ferrara, Bianchi, and Benelli.

The exhibit was fascinating. It was visually interesting, it presented a different aspect of Italian culture and history, the setting was gorgeous, and I learned about Barsanti and Matteucci (and more than I ever thought I’d know about combustion engines).  Now, if only I could take one for a spin around the Tuscan countryside!

A Fall Day in Lucca

Fall is my favorite time of year whether I’m in the United States or in Italy. I love the changing leaves, the autumn scents (roasting green chile in New Mexico, chestnuts in Italy), the colorful gourds and pumpkins, and the feel of crisp air on my face. But to spend fall in Lucca - now that is seasonal bliss.

I spent a good part of this summer outside of Italy, returning in mid-September. With a two week quarantine on arrival, I watched from my window as the last days of summer slipped away and fall crept in. What a relief to finish those two confined weeks and step out into an Italian autumn.

Looking down from the walls into the city of Lucca

Fall began with a spell of stormy weather marked by cloudy skies, rolling thunder, falling tree branches, and periods of heavy rain. Everyone tried to take advantage of breaks in the storms to get outside, run errands, stop for an outdoor coffee, and go for walks. That’s exactly what my Saturday consisted of this past weekend. The best part of the day was a mid-afternoon walk along le mura (the walls that enclose the historic city center). It took place under dramatic skies and a mist in the air that almost, but not quite, required an ombrello (umbrella).

Storm clouds over Piazza Santa Maria, Lucca

The city walls are lined with trees which, at this time of year, make a colorful statement. Looking up into the branches is an artist’s palette of color. Looking down, the falling leaves cover the ground in shades of gold and yellow. Chestnuts fall and crunch under foot, their spiny outer shells and dark brown nuts symbolizing the season.

A tree trunk covered in moss and “Venus’s belly button”

Many of the trees along the walls are covered in moss (something I certainly don’t see in arid New Mexico).

This year, for the first time, I’ve noticed another plant growing through the moss on one of the trees - delicate stalks with small, round, green tops. I’m told they are called Venus’s Belly Button (officially Cotyledon Umbilicus). An internet search tells me they are used in homeopathic medicine. Fascinating!

As my walk around the walls continued, each bend in the path brought a different view of the increasingly dark and cloudy sky. It was an if an artist were painting individual scenes with expert use of light and dark against trees and sky. If only I could paint! Instead, I pulled out my camera in an attempt to capture the beauty of the day.

I could not have asked for a more perfect autumn afternoon or a more beautiful setting in which to enjoy it. I arrived home just as the mist turned into rain. Perfect timing, perfect fall day.

A storm brewing on an October afternoon in Lucca