< For Raffaello Massi, a surgeon and psychiatrist by profession, Casalvento in Tuscany is a sober and luminous exercise in memory. Dr. Massi lives, works, and writes in Florence, and casts a clear-eyed gaze upon the passions of youth and their deceptions. A delicate reconstruction of an enchanted world. It is the world of the […]
In the late 19th century, agricultural life in the Tuscan countryside had an orderly rhythm marked by the seasons, rituals, and social customs. The lack of transportation necessitated the presence of a figure to connect the farms with neighboring villages. This was the Treccone. The term derives from the Tuscan verb “treccare” (to sell by […]
Small billhooks (roncolini) were used on every farm for processing Iris Pallida, at least four per family. They were used only for one month a year and were used to work the iris. Crafted by the local blacksmith from the finest steel available, they had a handle of chestnut or beech wood. They were used […]
In our Hystoric Chianti, harvesting juniper berries has always been a seasonal activity. Every year, from mid-August until the beginning of the harvest, every farming family took part in the harvest. On every farm, the elders taught the young how to harvest juniper berries. It was a true art. No branch was to be damaged, […]
Old Castellina was an Etruscan town situated at an altitude of 635 meters, halfway between Siena and Florence. It was once known as Salingolpe. <When I was taken to visit the property before purchasing it, I saw, along with a nearly dilapidated farmhouse, a meager plot of land on the top of a hill 630 […]
