Unequalled Tuscany

“Tuscany left me a lesson forever: to get out of the tourist guides...”

"It is hard the traveler's life"... How many times I heard those words and made them mine.

I am passionate about seeing the world, planning itineraries, discovering cultures, appreciating art, design and architecture, contemplating what beliefs move people to do, to build and, in short, to live in a certain way so different from the one I know.

My eagerness to travel led me to discover it. My personal counter indicates sixty four countries on five continents.

On those paths I took, everything happened to me, with difficult situations that I would never have imagined going through, but always with enough luck or destiny for everything to work out well.

At the age of 18 I experienced my first mishap in solitude and that made me lose my fear of any complications. At that time I was living with an American family in Colorado, where I was fulfilling my dream of studying in another country. For spring break I decided to visit my aunt Alicia, who lived south of Los Angeles. After a few super fun days I took my flight back. In the face of a major storm, the pilot had to divert the route and landed with great difficulty in Sacramento. After the scare, I remember the desperate feeling of not knowing where I was. A grandfather pointed out to me on a map, hung in a corridor at the airport, the location of that city. My memory will always keep that phone booth from which I was able to warn that I would not be on time... After a long wait, much fear and two more flights, I arrived safely at my American home.

It is not a matter of narrating misfortunes but of sharing my experience, even on its difficult side, to encourage others to travel and discover more than just vacationing.

In adverse times, with no excursions possible in the near future, perhaps this column will serve to travel through the story or perhaps project a hopeful travel plan to overcome the pandemic.

Well... Let's get started!

To honor Italy, as a distant companion in times of coronavirus, Toscana is the destination of choice.

It is a vast region in north-central Italy whose capital is Florence, although its historic rival, Siena, also stands out (both destinations deserve a separate column).

Its valleys invite to a return to the Middle Ages, to discover walled villages, to walk through narrow streets, to cross routes between green fields with lines of cypresses crossing the horizon, to drink its exquisite red wines and to taste, believe me, the most delicious gastronomy.

The valle de Chianti, the most touristic one, is characterized by its wine cellars.

The Val d'Elsa is crowned by the extraordinary San Gimignano, a village with a medieval skyline that is wonderful. And I do not want to forget Monteriggioni, a completely walled village on top of a mountain, also visible from the road.

And finally my favorite, the Val d'Orcia. Unbeatable. The whole area has been declared a World Heritage Site. Its most renowned treasures are Montalcino, Pienza and Montepulciano, on the edge of the Val di Chiana.

Tuscany left me a lesson forever: to get out of the tourist guides and discover for yourself those sites that manage to surprise you. Places that do not appear in the routes you have googled. The fact that they don't stand out in the tourist listings allows these villages to maintain their spontaneity, because in them you cross paths with their inhabitants and not with herd tours avid of the touch & go or the unbearable selfie.

There you can also experience genuine Tuscan cuisine, which far surpasses that of the luxury restaurants and the highly rated gastronomic lodges.

In fact, one of the best pastas I ate was in a lost tavern, which Google reviews gave a mediocre 3.7 points with very bad reviews. I was stopping at the prestigious Castello Di Velona, a resort with thermal baths, highly recommended if one decides to break the piggy bank and treat oneself to a night at a five star resort for once in one's life. (And if it's with the excuse of a honeymoon, I'll celebrate that!)

The Castello's menu obviously started at 35 euros. It was a Sunday of pouring rain and intense fog. We went down to Castelnuovo dell'Abate, a little town a couple of kilometers away, where the only sign of life was the Osteria Bassomondo. Those pici toscani (typical handmade spaghetti), kneaded by an Italian with very little patience, at 5 euros, were highly superior to the pasta that, for example, I tasted on a beautiful rooftop in one of the most luxurious wineries I knew: the Antinori cellar, an incredible fusion between production and nature.

And the same thing happened in many other family little places. All of Tuscany is like that.

Now, not everything is so pink. To move from one place to another you have to rent a car because there is no convenient public transport. Not to mention the parking lots when you get to those tiny villages nestled on the mountain tops. In all historical centers, vehicle traffic is closed except for residents. Knowing how far one can go is a challenge. And be alert! The fines applied by the Italian communes are charged even months later to the credit card account given at the time of collecting the rental car. Not to mention public and paid parking lots.

In short, beyond its very small contras, inland Tuscany, with those valleys of another world, deserves every bad thing that may involve your visit. Especially if we add, as I said, the exquisiteness of its gastronomy, the pride of its red wine and the incredible cordiality of the citizens, of course rural, who live in such charming terroirs.

This column is dedicated to Tiziana and her parents, who hosted us for a few days at their unforgettable Agriturismo Poggio Istiano and their colazione fatti in casa.