“Everything you see, I owe to pasta.”
– Sophia Loren
Dante Alighieri, if he were today conjuring torments for seven rings of hell, would certainly include driving in Italy as a critical component of his Inferno. The autostrada between Firenze and Bologna would be reserved consignment for the most wicked among us.
We are in Tuscany, based at Savernano, the mother of Tuscan agriturismos. The enjoyments of this rural hilltop vineyard are well documented in the archives of this blog, so no need to be redundant. Davide and Eva, their engaging teenagers, and both sets of grandparents, devote themselves to our comfort and inclusion in their daily routines.
For the most part, given it is early in the season, we are the only guests. This intimacy with the rhythms of Tuscan village life enriches our insight and appreciation for spirito italiano.
From our central base in Tuscany, populated also by a petting zoo of enchanting animals, we commute via train or car to Firenze and Siena, to immerse ourselves in the twin capitals of Renaissance culture. Our annual return demands strict rituals – lunch at classic Ristorante Paoli (fresh salade cut at tableside by our joyful waiter Pascal, gnocchi con gorgonzola); being regaled by Ramone at his scarf stall, who charms with flair for fashion and customized “juuhzing” of tied silks; café lattes overlooking unforgettable piazzas crowded with visitors.
On such excursions, we assign ourselves fantasy identities for the day – gracefully aging Venetian patricians.
What are the meager benefits of such charade? In our playful esteem, we are granted access without notice to lobbies and toilettes at good hotels, street vendors and beggars exempt us with a bored “pass”, waiters address us in their best Italian, or possibly default to “cafe German.”
Mostly, we just have fun, and feel, ever so briefly, the thrill of life with unreserved Mediterranean passions – Looking for the heart of Tuscany (Cercando il cuore della Toscana)
All images captured with iPhone 6+
Click on any pic to ride photo carousel:
I can’t decide if I like the blog or the pictures better – both are so well curated. Thank you.
You are graceful for sure, but I don’t see the aging. You look like teenagers in the photos!
I love the fantasy identities!
And the photos are amazing. Can’t believe they were shot on iPhone 6.
And of course it is the photographer’s eye that is most important, and boy do you have awesome seeing.
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