take advantage of our discount coupons www.vivifirenze.it September October 2003 distributed free living & studying in Tuscany MEGA REVIEW Markets a guide to street shopping Castles open doors & guided visits After Dark for a grand night out
more on < vivifirenze.it > Culture Lower the O n Saturday 27th and Sunday 28th of September, Italy joins in the celebration of the 12th European Heritage Days. The Council of Europe created the event to increase public awareness of the importance of heritage, and to awaken the interest of young Europeans in their common history, and made it a key requirement that access to all properties taking part in European Heritage Days should be offered free of charge. Every year in September 48 countries from the Baltic to the Balkans, from Iceland to the Iberian Peninsular, celebrate the legacy of their glorious past, highlighting not only the dazzling diversity of Europe's heritage, but also its intercultural links (if you wish to pursue the subject further, you can visit the European Council official site on www.coe.int). Italy has chosen to celebrate its Heritage Days over the last weekend of September, and for the fifth year running Tuscany devotes the occasion to its extraordinary architectural, artistic and historic legacy of Castelli e Fortificazioni (castles and fortresses) with special openings, guided visits to over of strongholds and castles, fortresses and watch-towers, walled towns and fortified hamlets, many of < 2 > conquering a castle has never been so easy drawbridge by Maddalena Delli them restored in recent years thanks to the funds made available by the Regione Toscana. Thanks to the organizational support offered by the regional branches of the "Associazione Dimore Storiche Italiane" (Association of Italian Historic Mansions) and of the "Istituto Italiano Castelli" (Italian Institute of Castles), anyone will be able to explore about seventy of these hidden treasures and gain an uncommon insight into the Middle Ages and the Renaissance history of an area which in those times was the cultural (and often also the economic) hub of the world. Architectural styles and changes will exemplify for instance the evolution of defensive techniques with the invention of firearms, or how sombre Medieval strongholds were converted into comfortable and elegant Renaissance palaces in the 15th century. So if you haven't planned anything for the last weekend of September, put this down in your agenda and team up with your friends to rent a car, as many of the best castles are (quite obviously) perched on hills and definitely off the beaten track. Still, even the major cities and town have fortresses to offer for the less adventurous or the lazybones: Forte di Belvedere in Florence, the Fortezza Medicea and the tower of the Municipal Palace in Arezzo, the ring of city walls in Lucca (see page 10-11 for more!), the Torre Matilde in Viareggio, the Castello dell Imperatore in Prato, Castello Malaspina in Massa, the two fortresses (Fortezza Nuova and Fortezza Vecchia) in Livorno, the Fortezza di Santa Barbara in Pistoia, Palazzo dei Vicari at Scarperia in Mugello, are all conveniently located in the city centers and can be reached from Florence by public transport (see www.trenitalia.it for train schedules). This year's European Heritage Days will also feature a section called Aperto per Restauri, with special openings of sites currently closed to the public on account of ongoing restoration works and free admission to a great number of museums, monuments and archaeological sites, Culture as well as exhibitins, conferences, guided visits and more. The full national program will be available on www.beniculturali.it, while for details on "Castelli e Fortificazioni" (including participating places and contacts to book a guided visit where required) you should keep an eye on www.regione.toscana.it Please note that due to their nature, more than a few of the castles involved in the event are unfortunately unsuitable for disabled visitors. For more info call 055.2398376 between 10am and 1pm. < 3 >
Culture Culture operas, concerts and ballets A melomaniacs' paradise Zeffirelli s Aida rom September 30th to October 5th the Teatro della FPergola - now the leading drama theater in Florence - will go back to its roots as an opera theater, which on 14th March 1847 hosted the world premiere of Giuseppe Verdi's "Macbeth". This time it will host Verdi's Aida in a very special staging devised by Franco Zeffirelli for the 2001 celebrations on the centenary of the Verdi's death. In case you do not know him, Zeffirelli is a Florentine director with a rock-solid Hollywood reputation: his film credits include "The Taming of the Shrew" (1967) starring Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton, "Otello" (1982) with Placido Domingo and Katia Ricciarelli, "Hamlet" (1990) starring Mel Gibson in the title role and Glenn Close as by Maddalena Delli Gertrude, "Jane Eyre" (1996) starring William Hurt and "Tea with Mussolini" (1999) with Cher. He has also worked on many stage productions, especially opera and Shakespearean titles. Thanks to his ingenious stage devices and directorial solutions, this "Aida" - originally created for the tiny theater of Busseto, Verdi's birthplace - has been able to adjust to much bigger stages losing none of its original power. The extraordinarily young cast has been selected among the very best international talents and also features Carla Fracci, former étoile of the Teatro alla Scala in Milan, who is also the author of the choreography. More Giuseppe Verdi to open the 2003/2004 season of the Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino (also called Teatro Comunale), the leading music institution in Florence. From September 9th to 19th Mark Elder and Nir Kabaretti will take turns on the podium to conduct "Il Trovatore". One month later - from October 9th to 19th - it will be the turn of Mozart's delightful "Le Nozze di Figaro", and later in the season the theater will offer two more operas: Verdi's (well, yes, more of him again!) "Rigoletto" in November and Bellini's "La Sonnambula" in January. But the winter season of the Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino offers also eighteen great concerts (including Beethoven's symphonies conducted by Zubin Mehta) and ballets. ORT, the Orchestra Regionale Toscana - which will be playing at the Teatro Verdi throughout the season - for some years running has launched its season with a couple of movie-related events. This year the Orchestra will play Chostakovich's music to accompany "The New Babylon" by Grigori Kozintsev and Leonid Trauberg (USSR, 1929) on September 25th-26th, while on October 2nd-3rd New York composer Carl Davis will conduct the ORT in his own music for Rupert Julian's early version of "The Phantom of the Opera" (USA, 1925) starring Lon Chaney. With seats as low as 7.00, this is certainly an unusual experience worth trying and unmissable chance to enjoy some early cinema masterpieces. Teatro della Pergola www.pergola.firenze.it info 055.2264335 Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino www.maggiofiorentino.com info 199.109910 Orchestra Regionale Toscana www.orchestradellatoscana.it info 055.281993 Theatergoing tips Teatro della Pergola, Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino and Orchestra Regionale della Toscana/Teatro Verdi are among the venues offering discounts - usually ranging between 10 and 30 percent off the full price - to Student Card holders: further details on page 32 of this issue of ViviFirenze. Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino also gives students the opportunity to view show rehearsals and to visit its workshops. Let me also remind you that a new joint ticket desk for the theaters of Florence was opened earlier this year on the 4th floor of the Rinascente store in Piazza della Repubblica and is open Tuesday to Saturday from 1pm to 8pm. Vivifirenze 10% Discount < 4 > < 5 >
Culture current exhibitions in Florence Time Matters T ime seems the leitmotiv underlying many of the exhibitions which are held in Florence across the late Summer and early Fall this year. In fact two of them - one at the Archaeological Museum in Via della Colonna, the other one organized by the University at Palazzo Pazzi- Ammannati in Borgo degli Albizi) explicitly mention "time" in their titles. The former concentrates on how man has contrived to measure time, matter and space in different eras and cultures, while the second one focuses on the relationship between time and nature and how the environment changes as a result of natural phenomena. "Secret Rooms - Vanished Rooms" at Palazzo Medici Riccardi tries to recover the long-lost memory of a Medici museum that the palace housed for a short time in the early 20th century, while "Orizzonti" at Forte Belvedere tries to bridge the gap of time by establishing a relationship between the classical skyline of the Renaissance city and the modern shapes created by a number of contemporary artists. more on < vivifirenze.it > Caravaggio and the rest Until October 12th, Palazzo Strozzi hosts a major exhibition devoted to Italian still life painting over the span of more than two centuries from Caravaggio to the 18th century. On display, a selection of over two hundred works assembled by Firenze Mostre from Italian and foreign museums as well as from many private collections. The exhitibion therefore provides a great opportunity to admire a unique range of paintings celebrating the beauty and vitality of nature in a triumph of colors and styles. Info 055.2660278 or www.lanaturamorta.it Until September 28th Secret Rooms - Vanished Rooms Palazzo Medici Riccardi info 055.2760340 Until October 26th Orizzonti - Belvedere dell'arte Forte Belvedere info 055.2001486 Until November 9th Time, Matter, Space Museo Archeologico Nazionale info 055.235750 From September 30th Daniele da Volterra and Michelangelo Casa Buonarroti info 055.241752 From October 4th The Time of Nature Palazzo Pazzi-Ammannati info 055.210866 by Maddalena Delli From late October: The Great Art of Ancient Peru Palazzo Strozzi info 055.2660278 Palazzo Strozzi, Palazzo Medici Riccardi and Casa Buonarroti offer discounts to Student Card holders (see page 32 of this issue) < 8 >
official poster by Ciruelo Cabral OutofTown Comics & Games storm Lucca Stripped for two weeks & teased by Pietro Salvadori L ucca is a delightful postcardtown less than one hour's drive from Florence, and quite deservedly considered one of the more pictoresque and best preserved Tuscan cities. Enclosed in its astonishingly intact 16th C. ring of walls whose top is large enough to house a large promenade complete with plane trees and decorative gardens, the old city center has a myriad churches of all sizes and shapes and the characteristic oval-shaped Piazza dell'anfiteatro, whose buildings mark the shape of the old Roman theatre. It goes without saying that if you haven't already been there, Lucca is one of the destinations you should definitely put at the top of your list when planning your next day out, and autumn is certainly the golden season a visit. < 10 > From 5th to 7th September the city walls will be laden with flowers for Murabilia, an amateur gardening show, and for the whole month the "Settembre Lucchese" provides a variety of events. Better still: if you make sure to make your visit fall between October 18th and November 2nd, you will also have the opportunity to witness a very different kind of colorful happening: for two weeks every year this cheerful and pictoresque old-time paradise turns into the European capital of Comic art, hosting a huge number of attractions scattered all over the city center - conferences, exhibitions and tradefairs - concerning not just comic books and cartooning, but also role play games, animation, modelism and multimedia art. The event - known as Lucca Comics & Games - is unstoppably growing in size and fame since 1966. This year it celebrates the tenth anniversary of its "Games" branch - which mainly involves introducing, organizing and sponsoring role play games - with an exhibition on the Dragonlance fantasy saga boasting the presence of Tracy Hickmann, one of its creators. Thanks to the Games fair the city, during this period, breathes a funny but evocative atmosphere, and in fact it is not unusual to meet - even in the center or on the city walls - groups of young people dressed in Medieval costume, brandishing polystyrene swords, masked with fake druidic beards or acting like jugglers. Of course you can join the craze or just walk around and enjoy the unusual scenario it brings to life. The "Comics" branch of the event, wider and better established, offers a busy program with the monographic exhibition of Emanuele Luzzati, a leading Italian illustrator of the 19th C. with a lifetime's drawings and samples from his elegant animations; there will also be a workshop on cartoon scripting held by the famous scriptwriter Jean Van Hamme, and several thematic exhibition about romance stories, japanese manga and a tasty insight into the relationship between food and comics. This year's poster for the event features a drawing by Argentinian artist Ciruelo Cabral with a flying dragon attacking the tree topped Guinigi Tower, one of the most famous sights of the city. Lucca Comics & Games ends triumphally with a huge trade fair held from October 31st until November 2nd in the big Palasport located out- OutofTown side the city walls, while the exhibitions and cultural happenings will start on October 18th. Lucca Comics info: 0583.48522 and www.luccacomics.com Tourist info: 0583.91991 and www.lucca.turismo.toscana.it How to get there: by car - A11 motorway towards Pisa Nord and exit at Lucca Est by train - Lucca is regularly linked to Florence S.M.N. station; the railway station is located five minutes' walk from the city walls and historic center. During the days of the Fair, a special bus service will run between the staion and the Palasport FLORENCE AND ABROAD REAL ESTATE AGENCY Florence and Abroad specializes in both short and long-term rentals in the city centre, surrounding districts, hills and countryside. The English-speaking staff has wide experience in assisting faculty members, international students, business people and travellers to find their home-away-from-home in the art capital of the world. Via San Zanobi, 58-50129 Florence Italy Tel.:++39 055 487004 Fax:++39 055 490143 e-mail: fa@florenceandabroad.com http://www.florenceandabroad.com < 11 > Illustration by Emanuele Luzzati
more on < vivifirenze.it > Vivifirenze 15% Discount Folklore Fall at Chianti celebrates the grape harvest Impruneta S eptember is the month of grape picking, one of the merriest harvests in the farming world. A number of events and festivals are held throughout Tuscany and provide visitors and locals alike with a great chance to enjoy themselves as well as taste the local wines. The best known and certainly the oldest of such events is the Festa dell uva at Impruneta, an old town just South of Florence. The festival was first held in 1926, one year before the Chianti consortium was founded. For the entire month of September the town of Impruneta bustles with activity as the four districts Fornaci, Pallò, Sant Antonio and Santa Maria put the finishing touches to their allegorical floats, which on the last Sunday of the month (September 28th this year) will parade around the main square and compete for the prize awarded by a panel.the parade is accompanied by folk performances involving hundreds of participants, with much merriment and singing of praises < 12 > Lunch Menu Fisso a 15.00 Euro first and second course, side dish and mineral water Dinner by Candlelight After Dinner from 22:00 all drinks at 5.00 Euro Via del Proconsolo, 73/75 r - 50122 Firenze Tel. & Fax 055 291403 - www.caffebigallo.com by Maddalena Delli to wine. The event never fails to pull crowds and provide a merry spectacle. Another major traditional event is held at Impruneta in October during the week of the feast of the local Patron Saint, St. Luke (Oct. 18th): the Antica Fiera di San Luca has been held for over one thousand years and like any event of Medieval origin it mixes agricultural roots with popular culture, sporting contests and religious implications. Impruneta is a traditional farming town, and these events attest to its peasant history. It is also a major center for the production of terracotta including the world-famous cotto paving tiles, and in recent years it also has become a popular tourist resort and gateway between the city of Florence and the Chianti region. The town stretches around Piazza Buondelmonti with the basilica of Santa Maria and its image of the Madonna dell Impruneta, believed to be miraculous. Tourist office: 055.2313729 See also www.comune.impruneta.it How ot get there: CAP buses departing from largo Fratelli Alinari (more info on www.capautolinee.it or call 055.214637) Reastaurant Always Open The fairy-tale of Impruneta as reported by Lucy Apale flame lit up their faces, coloring their skin in golden and reddish hues. Only the rustling of the leaves broke the quiet of the lukewarm and silent night a night that looked promisingly long and full of expectations: only a few more minutes and it would become the keeper of a big secret. San Martino Chiantigiano An enchanted world to discover Florence, May 15th 2003 Dear Mom, My stay in Florence is going very well. It is such a great city! I am sending you the fairy tale I was speaking of on the phone:it is beautiful, just like everything else here. Everything had started the day before, when little Leonardo, while playing in his grandfather Ciccio s attic, found a big dusty book, thick, so thick, similar to the ones that his grandfather kept in the showcase in his studio. And that book was indeed the P-volume of that set, which his grandfather thought had gone missing when he had moved from Florence years back. Leonardo started leafing through the pages of the big book: it was full of painted and colored pictures!
San Martino Chiantigiano Suddenly the young boy s attention was caught by the drawing of a well, whose caption said: The Well of San Martino. Yes, of course, he knew that Well! It was in the garden of the San Martino restaurant, a place at Impruneta just outside Florence, along the Chiantigiana road. That beautiful illustration was spoilt with blot: it could be a wax stain or maybe the mark of a teardrop. Under the picture was a note: When the full moon will be high up in the sky and a little man with blue eyes will find the long lost pages again, the picture will clear and two souls will see the light again. San Martino Chiantigiano And that was when, mysteriously, the writing in the encyclopedia tome had appeared. Leonardo, who was a bright young boy, wondered whatever that sentence scribbled in pencil might mean, and why just him a young man with blue eyes should have found the book on a full moon With a small flame and the moon as their sole companions, an old man and his grandson set out into the night to rejoin a broken love. Suddenly they saw shadows next to the Well: the two lovers were rejoined and were flying hand in hand towards the moon. Young Leonardo rushed to inform his grandfather, who was immersed in thought by the fireplace. The old man stood up, kissed his grandson, turned to the window and began to tell him a fairy tale his own fairy tale. It was on a winter Sunday and he was taking a walk on the grass next to the Well. There he met two young people: a beautiful young woman with big blue eyes and long dark hair and a proud young man with broad shoulders and big hands. They told him their sad love-story. Against her own will, the girl had been promised as bride to a rich businessman from Genoa. That was why they could only meet in secret by the San Martino Well above Impruneta. The grandfather was listening raptly to their story when all of a sudden a chasm opened in the ground and swallowed the girl. Her lover s search proved useless: the girl had disappeared. The young man never stopped looking for his beloved: he remained by the Well for months, hoping for the young girl to reappear. He stayed there until his eyes closed forever.... Isn t that a charming story, mom? And I had such a lovely meal at the restaurant mentioned in the fairy tale! I am sending you a picture of the wonderful sunset I saw from its terrace. Kisses, L u c y
San Martino Chiantigiano The Restaurant All the most typical dishes from the Chianti area Cured lard from Greve Garlic bread with extra-virgin olive oil from Chianti Beans cooked in a flask Florentine steaks from Panzano Mushrooms from San Polo Fresh salad from the vineyards and much more. Very close to Florence and overlooking the Chianti hills, the San Martino restaurant is the place to enjoy all the special recipes from traditional Chianti cuisine. In a peaceful, warm and welcoming setting you can relax with your friends and enjoy the breathtaking view from our windows, or make yourself comfortable in the shade of the trees in our big garden, and spend delightful moments of pleasant living and great food. In order to always provide the best in quality and freshness, our menu is constantly updated with new dishes, prepared with fresh seasonal ingredients. We organize lunch and dinner business meetings Wine and oil cellars 150 wine brands We arrange wine and oil tastings Our kitchen is always open from 10am till late Reservations welcome Ristorante San Martino Chiantigiano S ItalianStyle An unmissable early Fall dainty Simply divine by Maddalena Delli chiacciata con l'uva translates as flat bread with grapes and it is a seasonal dessert available at the time of grape harvest roughly between late August and early October. Just like many other traditional Tuscan specialities, the recipe is a bread-based preparation with added seasonal leftovers, attesting to its genuine peasant origins. The grapes are black wine grapes usually of the sangiovese or canaiolo varieties, and often second-rate (that is, not good enough for turning into fine Chianti wine). In fact, large eating grapes are unsuitable because they are too watery and not sweet enough: in the oven the grapes must release their juice which, combined with the sugar, produces a delicious jelly. Let me point out that although this is a dessert, it is not a cake proper, but true to its name a sweet sort of bread, which peasant women used to make out of the same dough and bake together with their bread. Therefore, beware of anyone trying to pass any plumcake-looking thing as schiacciata con l uva : in fact, the real thing is more easily found in bakeries than from confectioners! Last but not least, schiacciata con l uva is perfectly suitable for vegetarians and even vegans, because it contains no trace of eggs, milk or butter: just flour, water, yeast, black grapes, sugar and olive oil, with maybe the occasional additiom of rosemary leaves or fennel seeds. And do take my word for it if you have a sweet tooth it is definitely worth trying! Pizza to your doorstep Too tired to cook or go out? Reluctant to give up your comfy pijamas and go out on a rainy night? Caught with an empty fridfge by unexpected guests? Stuck at home studying for tomorrow's test? Wanting something tasty to nibble on your sofa while watching a video? A phone call is all you need to have a freshly baked pizza delivered to your doorstep in minutes! Of course you can also order beverages and icecream for desserts! Pizza Taxi 055.434343 ProntoPizza 055.716767 Pizza Express 055.608608 Pizza Okey! 055.288888 How to reach us: Motorway exit: Firenze Sud (South Florence) Direction: Greve Location: Impruneta Via Chiantigiana 6/a, Impruneta (FI) - Phone: 055.2301095 ristorantesanmartino@virgilio.it --- www.ristorantichianti.it < 17 >
more on < vivifirenze.it > ItalianStyle Applied A crash course in... marketing I n Florence, the long-standing tradition of holding markets is deeply rooted both in the city s merchant history and in the people's daily life. For over a thousand years, market stalls have been a permanent feature of the cityscape here, and markets are unmissable not only if you are looking for the best deals, but also if you simply wish to relish the delightful spectacle of genuine, colorful, witty Florentine character. The two main food markets are held in purpose-built buildings (see box opposite). They are the Mercato Centrale in Via dell'ariento (open Mon-Sat 7am- 2pm as well as Sat afternoons) and Sant'Ambrogio in Piazza Ghiberti (Mon-Sat mornings for the stalls both inside and outside the building). by Maddalena Delli For leather goods, knitwear and clothing shop around the San Lorenzo Market (in Via dell Ariento, Canto de Nelli and Borgo San Lorenzo; open 9am-7.30pm, winter closing on Mondays), while you will find the Straw Market under a 16th C. loggia in Piazza del Mercato Nuovo particularly well stocked with crafts like embroidery, lace and straw items, (Mon-Sat 9am- 6.30pm). This market is also known as Mercato del Porcellino after the nearby bronze statue of a boar, which is believed to bring you luck if you rub its snout. There are also speciality markets, like the plants and flower market under the portico in Piazza della Repubblica on Thursday mornings. The largest market in Florence offering a variety of goods from food to kitchenware and from lingerie to When business and beauty go hand in hand flowers, with by far the best choice in town of clothing and footwear is the Cascine Market, which is held every Tuesday morning in Viale Lincoln alongside the Arno in the Cascine Park. This is where the locals go looking for great deals and the latest fashion. Go there as early in the morning as you can to snatch the ItalianStyle Until the 1870 s Florence had one big market (known as Mercato Vecchio ) in the area now occupied by Piazza della Repubblica. The place was highly crowded and insalubrious, causing frequent epidemics, so the city council decided to pull it down and build three separate markets, one for each of the most densely populated city quarters: the Mercato Centrale in San Lorenzo, the Mercato delle Erbe (or di Sant Ambrogio) in Santa Croce, and another market in San Frediano beyond the Arno (which however was closed in the early 20th C.). The great hall of the Mercato Centrale was opened in 1874 with an International Agricoltural Expo, and to this date retains a singular beauty. Built in iron and glass by Milanese architect Giuseppe Mengoni designer of the impressive Vittorio Emanuele II Gallery linking Piazza Duomo with Piazza alla Scala in Milan the building has huge glass windows providing a great deal of natural light, with the pleasing effect of an open-air market. In the late 1970 s an underground parking was created, while the massive hall was split into two floors: on the ground floor you will now find butchers, fishmongers, cheese stalls, general groceries and delicatessen, while the first floor is a triumph of colorful fruit, vegetables and flowers. best bargains. To reach it from the city center, take bus no. 17C and get off at the terminus. Other popular markets are held daily in Piazza Santo Spirito (electric bus no. D), Piazza delle Cure (bus no. 1), Piazza Dalmazia (bus no. 14 or 28), Via dello Statuto (bus no. 4 or 28), Piazza Alberti (bus no. 6 or 14), and there are a coulple of major Saturday markets in nearby towns like Sesto Fiorentino (Piazza del Mercato, bus no. 28 or 2) and Scandicci (Piazza Togliatti, bus no. 16). One piece of advice: when buying something that you suspect you may require to have exchanged or replaced later (for instance, if you are not so sure about the size), to avoi disappointment always remember to ask the vendors if you will find their stall in the same location on any given day! opposite the Verdi Theatre BOCCANEGRA RESTAURANT Via Ghibellina, 124r - Tel. 055.2001098 - ww.boccanegra.com < 18 > < 19 >
ItalianStyle The Italian way Lunch 12.30-14.30 Dinner 19.00-23.30 Food shopping en days since our arrival in Florence and having sampled Tthe different restaurants and trattorie in the neighborhood of our dwellings let s take the daunting step of cooking ourselves an Italian meal. by Dolores Maria LOBS RESTAURANT - Via Faenza, 75/77 - tel. 055.21.24.78 Firstly we need to go food shopping. This could well seem a banal task, but on second thoughts, if we put our reputation at stake with the grocer downstairs on day eleven, the rest of our delightful stay here could just as well turn into a living nightmare. So let s settle for a goal within our reach: we ll try to equip ourselves for an undemanding Italian weekday meal. Our chosen hunting ground should be one of those small food shops which still abound in the center of Florence, selling a variety of goods ranging from washing powders to fruit and vegetables: here we shall easily be able to find all we require. Let s practice a little before trying our hand at real food shopping for instance, we could simply buy a couple of bottles of mineral water and make the most of our visit to the shop to select a good model and watch her closely. Ideally she will be a smiling and somewhat overweight housewife with a natural bent for chatting. Of course we don t stand a chance of reaching her expertise in sampling a sliver of pecorino cheese or choosing the best prosciutto cut, but with some impersonation skills we will certainly learn the basics and play our little part in the shop pantomime. After all, our task is fairly simple: we need to purchase half a kilo of pasta, otto pomodori maturi (eight ripe tomatoes) of the San Marzano variety, un mazzetto di basilico (basil), una testa d'aglio (garlic) and olio d oliva (olive oil) to make pasta al pomodoro as a first course. some prosciutto toscano and a nice big mozzarella campana di bufala (buffalo mozzarella from Campania) will make a quick and tasty main course, so there is nothing else we need except a bottle of Chianti Gallo Nero to crown our meal and half a kilo of pane casalingo (home-made bread). By the way, you should not forget to make a fuss over the baking degree of the bread: if the hue of the crust doesn t seem golden enough, the shopkeeper will feel obliged to squeeze the loaf and let you hear its fragrance: don t be surprised, in Tuscany bread buying requires a trained ear! Mediterranean Restaurant Pizzeria with wood oven Osteria - Trattoria GODO CAFE BRUNCH P.zza Edison, 3/4 r Tel 055.583.881 Breakfast Baguettes Carpaccio Dessert Lunch Aperitif Appetizer Buffet Dinner AfterDinner Trattoria Buca dell Orafo Volta de Girolami, 28R Tel. 055.13619 < 20 > P.zza S.Firenze, 5/r tel. 055.2654272 paneeco@aruba.it - www.paneeco.com Via Maso Finiguerra, 10 -Tel. 055.21.21.06 every day, all day long