Some Treasures of Tuscany

I was so fortunate last weekend to spend a few days in the Maremma region of Tuscany, staying with my friends Stefania and Paolo in their beautiful apartment in Manciano. The sun was wonderfully hot on their rooftop terrace, with such stunning views of the medieval town that it felt perfect. The rest of the house is protected by metre-thick stone walls, making it blissfully cool inside.Of course, some of us love the heat!

 Late at night, we saw so many stars from the terrace (to say nothing of the shadows cast by an imposing fortress built around 1424 when the town was briefly occupied by the Republic of Siena.)

Growing up out of the rocky hilltop was the nearby town of Pitigliano, whose history dates to Etruscan times, long before the Romans swept through Italy; long before Christianity.

The Etruscans hollowed caves out of the tufo rock which were later used as bakeries by the Jewish population that gave Pitigliano its second name, "Little Jerusalem". Jews fleeing persecution in other parts of Italy settled in Pitigliano which for several hundred years was a frontier town between the Grand Duchy of Tuscany and, to the south, the Papal States.

Sorano is another ancient town carved from the tufo rock of the area and also dates from Etruscan times. Today, it is filled with lovely little shops - some selling fantastic local cheese.

Like many communities in this part of Tuscany, it had been dominated by the Republic of Siena and later, the Orsini family. Both of which left their mark in great towers and fortresses.

I had no idea the coastline of Maremma, running along the Tyrrhenian coast from Grosseto to Capalbio, would be so beautiful, rivaling the far more popular and crowded Amalfi in places. I was fascinated by a thickly wooded promontory named L’Argentario.

Apparently, this has long been a vacation spot for wealthy Romans and includes such towns as the yacht-filled Porto Santo Stefano, and the colorful Porto Ercole, where the Baroque painter Caravaggio died of malaria in July 1610.

From view points, we could easily see across to the infamous island of Giglio (where the Costa Concordia crashed in January 2012, killing at least 30 people and injuring 64 with 4,200 evacuated from the luxury liner.) Stefania told me that on a clear day, the island of Corsica was also visible.

We took a delightful stroll through the nearby fishing port of Orbetello, with its blue-tinged lagoon.

And all this only a 90-minute drive north of Rome! Hmmm, I think I could be tempted to rent Stefania's cozy holiday apartment on the cool ground-floor and stay awhile....

Florence: Great art, great food, great friends, great discoveries

I made a few fabulous discoveries Thursday when I dashed up to Firenze, but I also enjoyed some  old favourites.

I wanted to spend the day with Ottawa friends Marcie and David, and we began with a lovely lunch at one of my favourite restaurants: the ever-reliable Osteria Pepo on Via Rosina, just around the corner from the Mercato Centrale. As always, I had their brilliant pappardelle al cinghiale (I love wild boar!) The sauce had surely been simmered for several hours to become so rich and flavourful.

But first, on my way their apartment, I stumbled across a tiny gem: a museum dedicated entirely to Umbrian master Perugino, the space dominated by a striking and dramatic fresco of the Last Supper. The Cenacle of Fuligno museo is located  in the refectory of the former convent of St. Onofrio on Via Faenza, once home to the Franciscan nuns of Foligno.

After the nuns were evicted in 1803, the Last Supper fresco in its refectory was covered with a layer of plaster. In 1845 the fresco known as "Il Cenacolo di Foligno" was cleaned, and the discovery was published as a work by Raphael. Debate raged for decades over the attribution until more recently, it was deemed to be a Perugino work.

This little spot seems to be open about four hours per week, and entry is free if you can guess when to arrive. I do love stumbling across art unexpectedly.

We were all interested in visiting my old favourite, the Galleria Palatina in the Palazzo Pitti, which also had an underwhelming exhibition on the role of dreams in Renaissance art. To me, the show failed to meet its brilliant premise.

But Santo Spirito more than made up for the lacklustre exhibit. I had never before been able to get inside this great basilica in the Oltrarno section of Florence but on this day, I finally arrived during opening hours and was richly rewarded. The enormous space, based on designs by Filippo Brunelleschi, is crammed with great frescos, paintings, and of course, the wooden crucifix sculpted by a 17-year-old Michelangelo and bearing an equally young, slim, fragile Christ.

Even better, after I made my way back across the Arno to meet people for a drink on the rooftop of the Hotel Continental (great views, shocking prices)  I also was amazed to find I could get inside Santa Trinita. This is another of Florence's stunning churches that closes for most of the midday, making it hard for careless travelers to get inside.

I was gobsmacked by the rich beauty of the Ghirlandaio frescos (Michelangelo was one of Domenico Ghirlandaio's apprentices) in the Sassetti Chapel depicting the life of St. Francis of Assisi. (No photos but above is The Resurrection of the Boy from the Web Gallery of Art.)

Living in Rome: 18 month anniversary

I am now marking my 18-month anniversary of living in Rome, yay! To veterans of living in a foreign land, the number probably sounds insignificant. But since I left Canada with a primarily goal of stretching my money to stay for just three months, reaching 18 is a milestone!

And although no one has asked this of me, I thought I would offer a bit of advice on what I've learned so far.

I have learned to fear and hate the Italian post office. I'm doing my Italian taxes now and it's mind-numbing. I can confirm that it's much cheaper to order coffee standing at the bar than it is being served at a table - but I never stand at the bar because I love sitting in cafes, savouring my cappuccino and drawing out the ritual for as long as possible.  I really enjoy shopping at the mercato and chatting with the (mostly elderly) ladies waiting their turn with the fruit and vegetable vendors.

No surprises there.But on the chance my experiences might be useful for someone else, here are a few other things I've learned.

1. Get Documents
Not everyone can do this, of course, but obtaining an EU passport was the best thing I did to prepare for this move. I thank my lucky stars that my father was born in Ireland which makes me a citizen of that country and therefore entitled to a European passport. Anyone considering a move to Europe would do well to scour the family tree to see if there are any links that would lead to an EU passport.

I'm not sure that I really understood when I got that passport (after much hassle, I might add) just how valuable it would be. It has opened many doors, from giving me access to employment and health care in Italy, to reducing the already overwhelming amount of bureaucracy involved in living here.

2. Make Contacts
The second most valuable step was connecting with people living here in Rome before I arrived. I reached out to people I didn't know, but who were in the same business (journalism). Through a chain of connections, I have become friends with someone at the Italian news agency who has been incredibly kind and helpful, particularly in linking me with work opportunities. It hasn't been easy but Anna Maria has opened doors for me, given me advice on navigating the hellish bureaucracy, introduced me to the right people.

Making contacts is vital before, during, and after a move. Emailing strangers isn't always easy - I know because I'm very shy - but there is an enormous pool of help and generosity out there.

3. Make Personal Connections
It is hard sometimes to practice a foreign language AND doubly hard to meet Italians when you don't speak the language. But a year ago, someone turned me on to a web group Conversation Exchange, which connects people who want to practice new languages with a native speaker also interested in practising new languages.

A bit like online dating, I met several people who weren't a good fit. However, I have also met some wonderful, generous people and made Italian friends (all of whom speak better English than my Italian.) It has given me lots of language practice, insights into life in Italy, and helped ease the inevitable loneliness of living in a foreign country.

4. Middle age is okay
Okay, this one will likely seem very odd, and obviously doesn't apply to everyone who wants to move to Italy (or anywhere else.) But changing one's life and leaping without a net isn't only for 20-somethings. Frankly, I'm not sure I could have made a move to a new country, a new language, a new life when I was much younger than I am now.

Partly, that's because I was SO ambitious for so long.  Everything I did from about age 15 to 50 was in the cause of moving ahead in my career. I still have plenty of personal ambitions, but I think that only now am I able to think about those.

Now, my goals have changed, broadened and softened and this has made room for a wider life.

5. Use Courage
I really don't see myself as a courageous person, possibly because I know how hard it is to force myself to do difficult things. But, I have learned not to fear fear. It is always going to be there, but it doesn't mean you have to let fear run your life or contain it to something smaller than you want.

Courage is like a muscle; the more you make yourself exercise it, the more habitual it becomes to use it. Whether it's learning a new skill (and looking foolish in the process) or going to the movies alone or moving to a new job, a new city, a new life - the only way to do it is to accept the fear and then push through it.

6. Accept Loneliness
Just as it's important not to fear being afraid, I think it's really important to not fear loneliness. It is going to happen sometime, somewhere to everyone so you might as well accept it, let it happen, learn to cope. Trust yourself,  and believe that you will be okay. Loneliness will come and go, it won't last forever.

Titian

A luminous exhibition of paintings by Italian artist Titian has been showing here in Rome, at the delightful Scuderie del Quirinale, the former stables of the Italian presidential palace, turned exhibition space.

The paintings range from my favourite, Flora (seen above) which now lives in Florence's Uffizi Gallery, to his late altarpiece, “The Martyrdom of St Lawrence” which has been wonderfully restored for the exhibition.

Born as Tiziano Vecelli or Tiziano Vecellio in about 1490, Titian - as he is known in English - lived for about 86 years and became known as one of the most important members of the 16th-century Venetian school.

Unlike many artists, Titian won acclaim during his lifetime. Some sources say he was known by his contemporaries as "The Sun Amidst Small Stars" (a quote from Florentine writer Dante's Paradiso),

Art historians say that Titian was extremely versatile, equally adept with portraits, landscape backgrounds, and mythological and religious subjects. That versatility is on display at the Scuderie, with canvasses ranging from self portraits to altarpieces to landscapes to rather scary depictions of mythological themes.

The exhibition has been arranged in chronological order and it was interesting to see the changes as his style developed and expanded throughout his lifetime.

Titian died of a plague that raged through Venice, where he lived almost his entire life and the city most associated with his work. It is said that he is the only plague victim who was ever allowed a church funeral. (I'm sure that my friend Annie, who knows Venice extremely well, could pinpoint his burial site.)

Experts say that his painting methods, particularly in the application and use of color, would exercise a profound influence not only on painters of the Italian Renaissance, but on future generations of Western art.

Letizia's beautiful holiday apartment

My dear friend Letizia has a beautiful B&B, a true oasis in the mountains above Assisi that gives the visitor the perfect break from the sometimes-frantic pace of travel.

And now, she has added a really lovely holiday apartment attached to the B&B where she and her family live! I recently had a tour of the new spot and it looks perfect: two bedrooms, two bathrooms, an excellent kitchen that is fully equipped (naturally, as an expert cook, Letizia would pay close attention to the kitchen) to say nothing of all of her beautiful views across the valley to Assisi.

The furniture was selected with care and an eye to authenticity, as were the cool tile floors, linens and of course, new firm beds. The perfect escape.

In this blog post two years ago, Letizia explained how she and her husband Ruurd struggled to establish their B&B, and cooking school; and their most recent expansion.

Congratulations, Letizia! I'm only sorry that my photos don't do this beautiful new holiday rental justice. (Except for the top photo of her herb garden, which was taken by Letizia herself!)

Here's a photo of a plate similar to the original found in the farmhouse purchased by Letizia and Ruurd and which inspired the name of their B&B Alla Madonna del Piatto.

Really fresh bread from the source

Recently, my friend Letizia took me to a very interesting, inspiring farm/mill/bakery just outside the Umbrian town of Bevagna.

From the field right onto the table, family-owned Granarium says it is committed to producing bread the old-fashioned way.

That means the Lucarelli family, working in the green heart of central Umbria, controls every step of the food production process: from planting to harvesting the grain, grinding it, baking it, and even selling it.

Their company, Granarium, is serious about the "zero-kilometre" production method - every step of the process occurs right on the farm - the way grandpa would have done it.

It has to be, for there really is no other alternative for a small farmer to remain financially viable and independent, says Gian Piero Lucarelli, who founded Granarium on the family farm with his sister Patrizia less than one year ago.

Their philosophy also offers real benefits to the consumer, who can buy flour, bread or other bakery products from Granarium and know everything about its origins, he adds. "Our goal is to offer the consumer a product of high quality, in absolute transparency of all stages of the supply chain," Lucarelli said as I visited his small, clean plant located a few kilometres outside the town of Bevagna.

"A chain that is shortened by connecting the consumer with the earth...because this is my idea of where it all started".

The Lucarelli siblings, whose company motto is "Where grain becomes bread", are so enthusiastic about their operation that they offer public tours of the facility, located next to the family home.

Granarium's small retail shop is open to the back production facility, so customers can see every step, including the point where the grain is ground into flour using two massive, 1929-era millstones made of natural stone.

That distinction is important because most "stones" used today for grinding grain into flour are artificial, rather than made of real stone, and as a result, these can heat up during the grinding process, tainting the flour with a scorched odour.

The grain also passes through various cleaners, sifters, humidifiers and other stages in the process of becoming flour and being consumed.

No chemicals or preservatives are added to the grain during this process, say the Lucarellis, sticking to their philosophy of creating a product that grandpa would have recognized.

Shaped by hand, the dough rests in rising trays until it is ready to be baked in a wood-fired oven fuelled by beech to get the best heat and aroma into the product.

Small sacks of fresh flour, from white to whole-wheat, are available as well as breads of all types, focaccia, ready-to-go pizza, sweet cakes, biscotti, and even gift packages.

Besides being sold on-site, Granarium products are also available at regional farmers' markets.

Out back, three tall green silos contained the grains harvested by the Lucarellis from 15 hectares of land where they also produce lentils and chickpeas that are available for sale in the Granarium retail store.

Loveliest of Trees, the Cherry Now

My mother died this week after a long life and a short struggle with cancer. Although she was 87 and her health had been in decline, I am still in shock.

Mom loved plants, trees, flowers of all kinds, and gardening. I know she would have enjoyed these beautiful cherry trees that have been blossoming this month at the Parco Lago dell'EUR in the southern part of Rome.

The cherry trees were planted by the Japanese embassy in Rome more than 50 years ago.

When I saw them, it reminded me of the poem by A.E. Housman "Loveliest of Trees, the Cherry Now".


Loveliest of trees, the cherry now
Is hung with bloom along the bough,
And stands about the woodland ride
Wearing white for Eastertide.

Now, of my threescore years and ten,
Twenty will not come again,
And take from seventy springs a score,
It only leaves me fifty more.

And since to look at things in bloom
Fifty springs are little room,
About the woodlands I will go
To see the cherry hung with snow.