What is Tuscany like in January?

January is usually one of the coldest months of the year with February. However, there are usually a few days of winter sun, which are perfect for walks in the countryside or for visiting cities and towns!

Average temperatures range between 3°C and 10°C (37.4°F – 50°F) during the warmest hours of the day and between 0°C and 5°C (32°F – 41°F) at night. Occasionally, temperatures drop to -5°C – 0°C (23°-32°F) or below at night if we get a cold wave, like the one we have been experiencing for the past few days.

Days are still short: the sun goes down around 5pm. Trees are leafless (except for olive trees, cypres trees and some oaks) and so are vines.

Some restaurants and other tourism-related businesses might be closed after January 6th, because the second half of January is traditionlly a very slow time of the year. Of course this also means that you can get great deals, so if you decide to travel in winter, January might be a good time of the year to visit Tuscany without breaking the bank!

Once again, we would like to remind you to beware of the slippery icey roads after dark. Snow chains and winter tires are mandatory from November 1st on, so make sure your rental car is equipped if you decide to visit Tuscany in January.

Weather-related legends and popular beliefs

The coldest days of the month are usually the so-called “giorni della merla” (literally, the blackbird days), that is, January 29, 30 and 31. Snowfalls or cold waves are in fact quite common at the end of the month.

(Photo of our village under the snow by Alice Rossi)

The name of these three days comes from a legend.

The tale goes that a long time ago, January only had 28 days. Blackbirds were white then. They lived happily among the trees, and every winter they impatiently waited for the cold days to come to an end. One January, on the 28th day, a bold blackbird rejoiced and shouted to January, ” Lord, I don’t care about you anymore, winter is over!”. January was enraged by this disrespectful outburst and asked February to lend him three of its days and made them the harshest and coldest days of all! The blackbird scared and worried moved its family away from the trees to a stone chimney on the top of an old farmhouse. For three days of terrible ice and cold they hid in the chimney and when February 1st arrived with a warm sunshine, the blackbird and its family emerged no longer white, but black and sooty. This is why blackbirds are born black and February only has 28 days instead of 31!

This is not the only weather-related story as far as January is concerned, though. The first 12 days of the month are called the Calends. According to a popular belief going back to the Roman era and possibly earlier than that, you can predict what the weather will be like over the following months by looking at the weather of the first days of January. Each day corresponds to one month, so January 1st corresponds to January itself, January 2nd corresponds to February, January 3rd corresponds to March and so on. If the weather on that day is good, the weather in the corresponding month will be bad, and viceversa. I remember my great-grandmother used to mark these things down on her Frate Indovino calendar!

If you forget to keep track of the weather during the Calends, you can observe the weather on St. Paul’s Day (January 25th). There is another old saying which says “delle calende non mi curo, se a San Paolo non fa scuro“, that is, “I am not worried about the forecasts of the Calends, if the weather is good on St. Paul’s Day”. It means that if the weather is good on St. Paul’s Day, the year will be a good year.

(Photo of our village under the snow by Alice Rossi)

Another ancient tradition consists in placing 12 half walnut-shells filled with a pinch of salt on your window sill on the night between January 24th and 25th. Each shell corresponds to a month. The shell which, on the following morning, contains melted salt will indicate that the corresponding month will be dry and hot. The shells still containing salt will indicate humid, rainy months.

What is in season in January?

Not much I am afraid. If you like oranges and clementines, however, this is the best time of the year to find delicious citrus fruit, even though they are not produced in Tuscany.

As for vegetables, broccoli, cauliflowers, seakale beets, fennels, radicchio, spinach, artichokes and cardoons are all seasonal products. If you have a chance, make sure you try deep fried artichokes and cardoons or a cardoon pie (sformato di carducci).

The end of the Holidays

The first six days of the month are still festive: the Holidays officially end on January 6th, the Epiphany, which is a very important religious holiday in Italy. Traditionally, it was more “important” than Christmas Day itself. The characters of three Wise Kings were added to the Nativity Scene and presents were exchanged.

Stockings were hung by the fireplace and at night parents… no sorry… the Befana… would fill them with treats and small presents for the children. If they had been naughty, they would also get garlic and coal! I still remember the sugar coal that my mum used to place in my stocking…!

The beginning of Carnival

Soon after the Christmas holidays are over, the Carnival celebrations start. It depends on Easter of course: the earlier Easter Sunday falls, the earlier Carnival begins.
The towns and cities celebrating Carnival with pageant parades like Viareggio will start organizing events.

Bakeries and pastry shops will start selling the traditional Carnival sweets such as cenci (or crogetti as we call them in our area), fritters, and bomboloni! Watch out for “naughty kids” celebrating because you could find yourselves covered in spray foam and confetti!

Maremma, my home

Five years ago, I would have told you to run from the Maremma as fast as you possibly could lest you get sucked into the monotony of country life.

In my defence, I was young, reasonably foolish and utterly spoilt. To think that I could have looked at this magnificent corner of Southern Tuscany and moaned about the lack of after-dinner entertainment! Not my finest moment, for sure. But I had come to the Maremma to teach English and take a year off before starting university. I never expected to find my home.

It doesn’t matter where you are in the world, home always begins with a sense of belonging. For me, feeling like an outsider in a small Italian town called Manciano was enough to consider abandoning my post and returning to my family in Australia.

(Manciano)

And then I met a boy. There’s always a boy isn’t there? Sure he was cute, but more importantly, he showed me just how amazing, unforgettable and enchanting the Maremma could be.

If you’ve never heard of my home then you’re missing out. In my mind, the Maremma is small, picturesque and cosy. In reality, it actually makes up a quarter of Tuscany. But it does have a small town atmosphere, a sense that everyone knows your name (and your business) and an infectiously warm welcome, gratuitously extended to anyone who visits.

Its landscape is a mixture of pure natural beauty and a historical legacy that begins with the Etruscans and embraces Romans warriors, Medieval masters and Renaissance kings. From one end to the other, the countryside looks like its from the pages of a picture book and there are few other places in the world where you can go from paradisical beach to snow-flecked mountain top in a matter of hours.

In the midst of it all, the Maremmani maintain the very best of their agrarian roots, an unconscious respect for the environment and an appreciation of simple homecooked meals, where seasonality is king and everything is better with a good glass of local wine and a noisy dose of family.

I admit, I’ve become eccentrically besotted with the Tuscan Maremma. But it didn’t happen immediately. Instead, my adopted home snuck up on me. Surprised me completely. Beat some sense into my bratty brain and left me with an unexplainable, but unbreakable, affection for a landscape I stumbled upon completely by accident.

(Saturnia Hot Springs)

I’m now married to that cute Tuscan boy, who is really a born, bred and slightly over-patriotic Maremmano with a secret love of Thai cooking. He’d never admit it, but I think he’d swap a bowl of tortelli maremmani for a pad thai any day.

And me? There are days when I crave the Australian summer sun and Christmas at the beach, but I couldn’t possibly imagine myself living anywhere else. When it all boils down, home is so much more than where your heart is, where you hang your hat, or where all your stuff is, it’s also where you see yourself whenever you close your eyes.

I close my eyes and I see the countryside that’s immediately outside my bedroom window. Oak-covered plains the colour of acid, clusters of hills masquerading as mountains and the indeterminable Argentario Sea, which everyone insists they can see clearly, but which I am yet to get a glimpse of.

(The view from Elisa’s window)

And with this sight, comes a million mixed emotions. Affection for the locals of my small Italian town who call themselves Mancianese first, Maremmani second and Tuscans last, and only if they’re forced. Astonishment that I didn’t appreciate the small pleasures of a quiet day spent enjoying country life sooner. Amazement at just how much the Maremma has to offer its visitors. And pride for the effort made to preserve local tradition and the cultura contadini (farming culture) no matter what.

(Pitigliano)

The Maremma is without a doubt my home now and while it isn’t always la dolce vita, it’s pretty darn spectacular. Especially since I’ve finally accepted that I will always be asked whether I eat kangaroo, have ever seen a crocodile or watched ‘Le Sorelle McLeod‘ (‘McLeod’s Daughters’) when it was on television. I’m no longer an outsider, but curiosity gets the best of everyone!

Over the last 30 years most of these shops and professions have disappeared. Finding someone to fix a heel is practically impossible: it’s much easier to throw your shoes away and buy a new pair.

Three great craftsmen’s shops in Tuscany

In our village there is still a very skillful carpenter, Biagio Lampoglia, who has a workshop near our Casina di Rosa. He specializes in restoring old pieces of furniture, and the way he works is absolutely fascinating. His wife has a shop in the nearby village of Paganico called “La Medievale“, where they sell these restored antiques.

My great-grandfather and my grandfather were also carpenters. They actaully made the front door, the windows and some of the pieces of furniture that are still in Casina di Rosa. When we renovated the property, we asked Biagio to restore them and he did an amazing job. He brought them back to their old splendour, in a way that only a gifted craftman could do.

Another amazing “artigiana” is Lorella, the local florist. She is such a talented artist! Not only does she create beautiful flower arrangements but she actually makes beautiful crafts and decorations. She has a shop in the village called Fiori e Dintorni, where she also sells the traditional Tuscan ceramics by another local craftsman.

(Many thanks to Cristiano Brizzi for letting me use his beautiful photo)

In Pisa, “botteghe artigiane” have practically desappeared. There is one, though, which has been one of my favourite since I moved to the city to study at the University there in 1994: Max il Cuoiaio. Max il Cuoiaio is a leather shop which belongs to a craftsman who has been in the business for 30 years and who personally makes every single piece sold in the shop. If you ask him, he will proudly explain that he works according to the ancient local tradition.

I find extremely fascinating the fact that the workshop is in the heart of the ancient quarter of Santa Maria, which used to host the leather workers in the Middle Ages. The location was ideal, being close to the river banks where they could find abundant water, necessary to dress leather.

At Max il Cuoiaio you can find both coloured and natural leather bags, wallets, planners, keychains and suitcases and if you want anything special, they will be happy to custom make anything you want. Many students have the front cover of their graduation thesis (tesi di laurea) custom made.

Besides making leather goods from scratch, the shop also repairs damaged goods, but only if they are made of pure leather.

Contrary to what one would expect, prices are very reasonable. And they have an online shop (both in Italian and English): tradition meets modernity!

Old Trades of Tuscany

Slow travelers to Tuscany might find the “albo degi antichi mestieri di Toscana” interesting. It is an online database listing all the “artigiani” in the region who are keeping alive some ancient trades. I wrote a post about it a while back: “Antichi Mestieri”: Old Trades in Tuscany. It could provide some good ideas for alternative day trips which will take travelers to beautiful places off the beaten path and provide them with a great learning opportunity. There is no better way to get to know the culture of a place than to learn about its history and the way local people used to live.

I can’t wait to take my child to visit some of those workshops, hoping that in a few years they are still thriving and a great living reminder of Tuscany as it used to be.

Italy Blogging Roundtable

This is the eigth post in a monthly series called The Italy Blogging Roundtable. Here you can find the posts of the other bloggers who participate in the roundtable. Our topic this month was “crafts“:

Alexandra (Arttrav) – Stefano Giusti, Modern Luthier

Jessica (Why Go Italy) – The Guide to Crafts in Italy

Melanie (Italofile) – Marble Run: Shopping for Traditional Marbled Products in Italy

Rebecca (Brigolante) – Crafts in Umbria

I haven’t been blogging very regularly this month, because, as most of you who read my blog on a regular basis know, we have just had a baby: Liam! He has certainly turned our lives upside down, but we are finally finding new rhythms and adjusting to our new existence as parents.

2011 has been a great year for us. We have welcomed Liam into our lives, I got tenure, we bought a new car, we had a fabulous season with our vacation rentals in Tuscany and, thanks to that, we made several new friends!

There were some sad moments. We lost some dear ones, who are and will be certainly missed. But life is like that: it’s made of great moment and very sad ones. I am simply very thankful that I have amazing people around me to make the “ride” so pleasant.

Let’s hope 2012 is a serene year too, both for us and for all of you who are reading this post.We have much to look forward too!

This year, we will spend New Year’s Eve at home, trying to keep our eyes open until midnight! As usual, there were many interesting events that we could have attended in Pisa, or Siena.

New Year’s Eve in Pisa will see music in the squares of the city: a great street party and fireworks. In Siena, there will be the usual concert in Piazza del Campo. We won’t be drinking spumante, but we might be celebrate with a bottle of milk in our hands!

To you all, a very very happy new year! We hope it brings our way many new interesting people and, hopefully, some old friends too!

I discovered what I knew already: we have amazing, generous friends, who didn’t hesitate to join in the fun and contributed fabulous posts. You can see the links to all the submissions here, in the comments. I have tried to add all the links that I received.

But, rules are rules, and only a selection of the posts received could be selected for a special mention in this post! And it was so difficult to choose only 5, because I loved all of the contributions! You will find my selection at the end of this post (you can’t ruin the suspense…)!

I meant to write this post well in advance and schedule it to be published on the 14th like the posts of the other ladies. Unfortunately, I only managed to write the three paragraphs above before I went into labor!

The most amazing gift

That’s right. We got the most incredible gift this month: our son Liam. He decided to arrive in a hurry, on December 8. I had always joked about the fact that I was sure he would come on the 8th, which is a holiday… and that’s always bad news in hospitals, because all the most experienced doctors are off, and the younger med students cover all the shifts. And that is exactly what happened!

I went into labor at 6.30 am and at 2.28 pm he was born. There were a few bumps along the road, and everything was a bit more complicated than we had hoped or expected to be, but that makes us appreciate even more the value of being together.

For this reason, when I think of what I should write about “gifts”, I can’t think of any greater present than my family… including the dog!

The second most amazing gift

Time… oh what a distant memory!!! Time to sleep, time to eat, time to answer email and even write this post… Now I truly appreciate every moment I can get for myself!

But then I think that the time I can’t dedicate to myself is time well spent with my beloved ones.

The gift of dreams

Over the past 10 years, I have been working hard to advance in my academic career: a PhD, two post-doc reasearch grants, publications, presentations at national and international conferences, participations in research projects, etc. I have been working as a non-tenured researcher and lecturer in English Linguistics at the University of Pisa since 2004, always with short-term contracts which guaranteed no job security whatsoever.

From tomorrow, I will finally be able to call myself a tenured researcher! I still have a hard time believing that I did really get the job I have been working so hard to get… Many times I have thought that I would be better off giving up on my “dream” and dedicating my time to something else. Now I am happy that I hung on and that my friends and family were so supportive.

The gift of hope

This year has brought me so many beautiful gifts that I am kind of scared of completely rejoicing… Superstitious Italians! I have all the fears that new mothers have, all the worries that most people have before starting a new job, all the questions that such big life changes bring about…

But I also have hope. Hope that I can be a good mum and a good scholar. Hope that my family and friends will be on my side and will support my new path. Hope that I will be abe to show them how much I love them and appreciate every little thing they do for me.

The gift of friendship

I need to thank all the friends – both those that I get a chance to meet in person and those whom I only get to meet online – for their wishes, their kind words, their gifts and most importantly their patience! Especially my Italy Blogging Roundtable ladies, Alexandra, Jessica, Melanie and Rebecca, who have allowed me to participate even if I am so late in posting this month!

The gifts I won’t buy…

And an apology… I am afraid this year, we won’t have time to go Christmas shopping. Normally, I love shopping for Christmas presents! I am one of those people who don’t care about the actual monetary value of presents: it’s the objects that matter not their price. Since we always end up spending a lot of money on the gifts we give the younger members of the family, we play a little game with our grown-up family memmbers: we cannot spend more than 5 euros on each other’s presents. And the presents must be chosen carefully for the person they will be given to. They can be handmade, or bought. Finding 5 euro presents is really difficult, more than one would expect! But that’s what makes it so much fun!

I usually go shopping at the Christmas markets in Pisa. There are lots of stalls selling hand-crafted objects, and if you are patient enough, you can easily find the most suitable gift for everybody.

For more expensive presents I love the shops in Corso Italia and most of all… Antichi Vizi. See this post about the best places for Christmas gift shopping in Pisa.

This year, I am afraid we will be handing out hugs, kisses and best wishes for the holidays and the new year!

And now my choice of guest posts for the Italy Blogging Roundtable!

Once again, I would like to thank the people who sent their contributions to this month’s Italy Blogging Roundtable! All the posts were amazing, but I needed to choose 5 so here we go:

• Gifts by Letizia of Alla Madonna del Piatto, near beautiful Assisi!
• (In Italian) Pensando al Natale…idee regalo per (piccoli) viaggiatori by Silvia
• Holiday gift giving? Why wait! by Eugene of tgiFLORENCE
• My Italian gift – and one for you by Lisa of Renovating Italy
• Gifts, Christmas swaps and short pastry citrus cookies by Giulia of Juls’ Kitchen
• (I am choosing 6 because one is in Italian)Simple gifts from the heart by Melissa of Diario di una studentessa matta

Choosing was almost impossible. The quality of the posts was incredible. Please see the comments this post for the full list of the posts! Thanks!

Italy Blogging Roundtable

This is the seventh post in a monthly series called The Italy Blogging Roundtable. Here you can find the posts of the other bloggers who participate in the roundtable. Our topic this month was “gifts“:

Alexandra (Arttrav) – Top 5 Christmas gift ideas from Renaissance Florence

Jessica (Why Go Italy) – Italy Roundtable: 8 of My Favorite Italy Gifts

Melanie (Italofile) – Give the Gift of Italian Culture

Rebecca (Brigolante) – The Blogging Gift

I know some people believe Christmas is too commercial, etc. But for me the holiday season is all about giving and sharing with the people you love and care about! One doesn’t have to give big presents: even a card is enough to say “you mean the world to me”!

Anyway… this year, I am very happy to dedicate this December 1st post to “gifts”…

Join in the sharing spirit of the Italy Blogging Roundtable this month!

Many of you will know that, since May 2011, five of us have been writing a monthly post on a given topic and we call it the Italy Blogging Roundtable. Each month we decide the topic in advance and the only rule is that it has to be connected to Italy; the posts are published on the same day, and cross-linked so that readers can enjoy our diverse experiences. You can see posts by the other participating writers here: Alexandra from ArtTrav, Jessica from Why Go Italy, Melanie from Italofile, and Rebecca from Brigolante.

Normally we don’t tell anyone the topic in advance, but our post for December 14 is an exception.

Why? Because we want you to participate. The topic is “Gifts” (or presents). It’s inspired by the holiday season, but does not have to be limited to “Christmas gifts.” For this month, we’re inviting bloggers to expand upon the topic of “gifts,” somehow connected to Italy, on their blogs.

Here is how to participate:

1. From Decemeber 1 to 13 2011, post on your blog about “Gifts” (and Italy).
2. Include in your post a reference to the fact that this is part of the Italy Blogging Roundtable’s invitation to post on this topic.
3. Include, at the end of your post, links to the roundtable blogs: ArtTrav, At Home in Tuscany, Why Go Italy, Italofile, Brigolante.
4. Let us know by tweeting it with the hashtag #italyroundtable. If by chance you don’t use twitter, email it to one of us (my email address is info@athomeintuscany.org). We’ll each read them all, and retweet some too!
5. On December 14, 2011 we’ll post on the same topic and include links to our favourite posts by the larger community. We’re aiming to link to five posts submitted by others, but that depends on how many people participate!

We really hope many of you will join in in the “giving” spirit of the season!

Indulge me… check out my Tuscan Advent Calendar!

I created this Tuscan Advent Calendar last year, but I have just updated it for the new holiday season! Every day a little “e-gift”, a small fact about Tuscany and the holiday season to discover and… well, I can’t spoil the surprise!

No cheating though, you need to open one day at the time and hopefully, you will like the last “gift”!

A small gift that can be a big help

As most of you will know, several areas of Italy have recently flooded, with great losses of lives and things. Here are the bank details to donate to support the areas of Tuscany which were most hit:
To help the Isle of Elba:
Description: Emergenza alluvione – Elba 2011 – Raccolta Fondi e Beni
Account holder: Pro alluvionati Isola d’Elba
Bank: Banca dell’Elba Credito Cooperativo
IBAN Code: IT91U0704870740000000004013
To help Lunigiana:
Description: Donazioni alluvionati Lunigiana
Account holder: Partito Democratico Provinciale di Massa Carrara
Bank: Cassa di Risparmio di Carrara
IBAN Code: IT82U0611024500000082067680

A heartful thank you!

To all the friends and family members who have sent generous and beautiful gifts for our baby. Let’s hope he makes up his mind soon and decides to come out!

For the first time in 17 years, I have had the chance to spend October and November in my home village and see the fall “happen” in  the countryside, rather than in the city. It has been a very unusual fall for sure: almost summer-like in October, and still very warm in November;  not a drop of rain, the trees just starting to turn brown at the end of the month… But it has been pleasant. I haven’t needed to wear a winter coat yet. Which is good… as my winter coat doesn’t even button anymore…! I have to walk with my baby bump hanging out of it!!!

Anyway, I am ready for some Christmas atmosphere now! My favourite shop in the village, Fiori e Dintorni, is all beautifully decorated and packed with great Christmas stuff! My last project before the baby comes is to decorate the house, so this week I need to get a Christmas tree (and shop around for some new decorations… a yearly pleasure!).

Tomorrow Tuscany celebrates Festa della Toscana: the anniversary of the abolition of the death penalty and torture in 1786. Tuscany was the first “country” to end capital punishment, and this, I believe, is a good reason to be very proud! We won’t do anything special, I guess, but it’s a nice feeling to know that you are from a place that has supported the value human life for 225 years!

What is Tuscany like in December?

December is one of my favourite months of the year. It is essentially a festive month, with the holidays, the markets, the decorations, the delicious Christmas desserts!

It marks the passage from fall to winter, and can be either relatively mild or very cold. Average temperatures range between 7°C and 13°C (44°F – 55°F) during the warmest hours of the day and between 2°C and 4°C (35°F – 39°F) at night. Occasionally, temperatures drop to 0°C (32°F) or below at night if we get a cold wave, which is not a rare event in December.

(Photo by fuyunam)

December is usually not the rainiest or coldest month of the winter, but occasional bad weather is to be expected. Snowfalls are rare, and snow rarely sticks for more than a day or two. Ice is much more common and people planning on driving should be very careful in the early morning and in the evening.

Last year (2010), we had a very very cold December, with 10 days of temperatures below 0°C (32°F) and several snowfalls, but in general, you should not expect a white Christmas. In fact, most Christmas days I can remember were sunny and mild.

Something to keep in mind if you are planning on visiting Tuscany in December is that days are very short: the sun doesn’t rise until 7:30 am and by 4:30 pm it is already dark. So if you are planning a daytrip you should make sure to leave indoor visits for the late afternoon.

You will need to dress warmly and to wear waterproof footwear as well as a warm scarf at least, especially if you come from a place where winters are mild. If you come from a very cold country you will probably find the weather very pleasant.

(Photo by TomStardust)

Everywhere it will be too cold to eat or sit outside, so when you choose your accommodation, make sure to opt for a place that is cosy and warm indoors rather than for a place which has nice outdoor spaces, because they will be wasted.

A very important thing to be aware of is that Italian homes are generally colder than North European or North American homes. Temperatures in the houses rarely go above 18°C – 20°C (64°F – 68°F; by law, every year a maximum temperature is allowed so as to reduce pollution and conserve energy). Do not expect a temperature at your accommodation which will allow you to go barefoot and short-sleeved in the house: you will have to dress warmly indoors as well as outdoors (please check our post about Hot and cold…life without a/c and heated floors).

In terms of landscapes, in December most trees will have lost their leaves. Olive trees, some types of oaks and cypress trees of course will still be green. Actually, with the cold, olive trees turn to silver, which is so pretty! If the olive harvest is particularly good, some people might still be picking olives.

Vineyards will be bare, and vines will have been pruned already, so not much to see there. But you can still visit wineries and enjoy the first vino novello of the season!

(Photo by evan.chakroff)

If you are “lucky” enough to be in Tuscany during a snow fall, you will have the chance to see the region in a very unusual way!

(Photo by silviabe)

(Photo by pietromoleti)

It is not infrequent to see the countryside covered in a white layer of frost in the morning.

(Photo by Carlo Micheloni)

Once again, we would like to remind you to beware of the slippery icey roads after dark. Snow chains and winter tires are mandatory from November 1st on, so make sure your rental car is equipped.

What is in season in December?

In terms of fruit, December is a very poor month. You will find oranges, grapefruits, kiwis, apples and pears, which, however, are not typically produced in Tuscany.

As for vegetables, broccoli, cauliflower, artichokes, cardoons, turnip tops, fennel, leeks, radicchio, and spinach are in season.

You might still be able to find chestnuts and mushrooms if the season has been good.

Persimmons will also be ready and hanging from their pretty leafless trees.

(Photo by blackit)

Don’t be surprised if you find white grapes in the supermarket: it’s traditional to have grapes and nuts at Christmas for good luck! Actually the tradition would require for everybody to have 7 different types of fruit on Christmas day, which is always a challenge, especially after an enormous meal!

The hunting season is in full swing so restaurant menus will be rich in game meat dishes, especially wild boar and pheasant.

The holidays

December is a festive month. The first holiday of the month is on December 8th: we celebrate the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Schools are closed, and if the holiday falls on a Tuesday or on a Friday, there might be a long weekend for everybody.

December 8th traditionally marks the time when people start decorating the house for the Christmas holidays and the opening of most Christmas markets!

(Photo by Babj)

Some Christmas markets you might not want to miss:

• Natale alle Logge in Montepulciano
• Mercatino di Natale in Pisa
• Mercatini di Natale in Siena
• Florence Noel, the German Christmas Market and the traditional Fierucola di Natale in Florence

In December, the cities and their stores will be decorated with Christmas trees and other ornaments. They are very beautiful after dark! Don’t expect the rich North American decorations, though: they are more modest but still magical!

(Photo by andangio)

Christmas in Tuscany is the most popular holiday of the year and is traditionally spent with family. We even have a saying: “Natale con i tuoi, Pasqua con chi vuoi”, meaning spend Christmas with your family, Easter with whomever you want.

A common misconception is that, on Christmas Day and St. Stephen’s Day, restaurants will be closed. Museums, stores, and most attractions will be, but many families will choose to go to a restaurant so most of them, at least the least touristy ones, will be open and busy. If you plan on spending Christmas in Tuscany and having your big Christmas lunch at the restaurant, make sure you book ahead of time.

Depending on the area where you choose to be, restaurants might organize a big dinner on Dec. 24th and be closed for lunch on Christmas day. It depends on what is traditional in the area.

(Photo by davide – diploD)

In our area, we celebrate Christmas at lunchtime on the 25th with a huge home-made meal, usually made of 8 or more courses! You can read about Christmas in my family here: Christmas is almost here!

Something you should absolutely not miss are the traditional Christmas sweets, especially those from the Siena area: ricciarelli, cavallucci, panforte and panpepato. They are to die for!!!

If you happen to be in Tuscany around Christmas time, you should not miss the nativity scenes. There are some live re-enactments which are really beautiful.

For a long time, the Nativity Scene, called Presepe, was the only decoration in Italian homes. Now it is not so common anymore because it takes up some space, but every home will probably at least have a small one. You can read about presepe here: It’s Not Christmas Without a “Presepe”.

(Photo by Pteropus)

The last holiday of December is of course New Year’s Eve, or as we call it here “l’ultimo dell’anno“. Traditionally, New Year’s Eve is either spent at home with friends and family gathered around the table for the “cenone” (literally big dinner) or celebrating in a square, where concerts and other events are organized in every major city and town.

Every restaurant will organize a “cenone”, and you need to book well ahead of time. The prices are usually higher than normal, but the meal is made up of many more courses than usual. You will certainly be served cotechino or zampone and lentils, which is the traditional dish to bring good luck for the new year!

A special Advent Calendar

Last year I had fun creating this very special Tuscan Advent Calendar! It’s just for fun… and it has a nice surprise at the end! But hey! Don’t rush to open the last “window” though! Have fun!

Spending Christmas and the New Year in Tuscany

Every year we post some special offers for Christmas and the New Year in Tuscany. Check our vacation rentals websites for further information: links are in the side bar! Thanks!

(Photo by TomStardust)

And if you want to know more about the holidays in Tuscany, you might find these pages interesting:

• Christmas in Tuscany
• New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day in Tuscany

I am totally meteoropathic… I can only function if my natural rhythms work, if my reference points are right. A year like this, with a never ending summer and a never coming autumn confuses me. And my stomach.

Normally, I would welcome the first cold days happily snuggled under a blanket on the sofa with a cup of thick hot chocolate in my hands.

Or toasting bread in the fireplace to prepare the first bruschette with our bright green new olive oil. Or maybe roasting a sausage on slow burning embers… That is November comfort food to me: the smell of food must mix smoothly with the smell of burning firewood.

This year, it has been too warm to even cook a soup… and I have… but we have had to eat it with our windows open!

When I sat down to write this post for this month’s Italy Blogging Roundtable, I realized that all food is comfort food to me (and that is not necessarily a good thing… LOL), and that different seasons come with different comfort foods.

Fall Comfort Food

When the autumn comes, there are three things that really need to be on our table at a certain point: polenta with wild boar, castagnaccio and pumpkin risotto.

I grew up in a family of hunters, so game meat has always been available in our home. As soon as the first clouds start gathering upon the Cappelli family’s roof, my mum digs out corn flour and my dad is sent out to shoot some stuff! The fireplace is lit and the first layer of hot polenta appears soon after on the old wooden pastry board, where my grandmother gravely proceeds to cut it with a piece of cooking string. Apparently that is a sacred operation and there is absolutely no other way to test the quality of the polenta… Portions are distributed on everybody’s plates and literally buried under wild boar stew! The occasional guests might ask for the vegetarian option… polenta with olive oil and parmesan cheese. They are usually indulged, but they are likely to get my mum’s and grandmother’s sullen look, which unveils a mix of wonder, astonishment, pity and condescension and translates as “Who could possibly not want to stuff his face with wild boar stew?! There must be something wrong with them… maybe they might prefer a bit of sausage instead?! ” (I know Rebecca and Alexandra will cringe when they read this! LOL)

(Photo by Okapix)

They will be ok with castagnaccio and pumpking risotto, though! Castagnaccio is a thin, dense cake made with chestnut flour, water, olive oil, raisins, pine nuts or walnuts and rosemary. Very simple, but another “must” of my autumn cravings. As soon as the first chestnut flour is available on Monte Amiata, out comes the old castagnaccio baking tin! It’s perfect with the first vino novello!

(Photo from Tuscanfoodie)

I won’t say much about pumpkin risotto as it is not really a traditional Tuscan dish, except that in our variant, the pumpkin is likely to be sautéed in olive oil rather than butter.

(Photos from Memorie di Angelina)

Winter Comfort Food

Winter is a terrible season for my figure (not that the other seasons are any more merciful…). As soon as winter arrives, so does Christmas with the holiday sweets: ricciarelli, cavallucci and panforte. No point in even trying to resist: I have to have ricciarelli at least. For those of you who don’t know what these heavenly sweets are, well, they are traditional Christmas almond cookies typical of the Siena area. You can buy the industrially prepackaged ones, but if you happen to spend some time in a place where there is a bakery that makes them fresh every day, stock up.

(Photo from MyMySays)

Of course, with Christmas also comes the traditional boiled meat meal: you use the meat to prepare broth where you cook some tortellini or home made egg pasta, and then you eat the boiled meat as a second course with some sauces (usually home made mayonnaise and salsa verde, a green sauce made with parsley). This for me means essentially fighting with my cousin over a plate of boiled tongue. I know… it does sound revolting, but it is one of those things that I need to have before the holiday season is over (did I mention that besides being hunters, my family is also a family of butchers?) and it’s delicious!

Then New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day come. And there is no lucky end or beginning without a steaming hot plate of zampone or cotechino with stewed lentils!!! “Every lentil is a golden coin“, my great-grandmother used to say, and who doesn’t need that or the high cholesterol level brought about by a large portion of cotechino?!

Then Carnival comes (I told you winter was tricky…) with all the traditional fried sweets: crogetti (the local name for cenci – thin fried pasta covered in pastry cream, or honey and icing sugar), zeppole (small balls of fried pasta filled with pastry cream and rolled in sugar), and bomboloni (doughnuts or cream puffs).

(Photo from Amiche Cuoche)

Last but not least, Father’s Day comes on March 19 (St. Joseph’s Day) with the traditional rice fritters!

No wonder, the spring starts full of good intentions for future diets…

Spring Comfort Food

Spring means only two things to me: nespole (loquats) and strawberries. As soon as the first nespole become available I have to have them at the end of every meal. Too bad they don’t last for very long!

And of course strawberries with whipped cream, and maybe cherries! Lots of them!

Summer Comfort Food

Summer too is mostly about fruit and vegetables: the sweet tomatoes, the succulent peaches, and the watermelons!

But there are two things that I absolutely have to have: prosciutto and melone and ice-cream.

(Photo from Cool Cook Style)

I think I am a very generous person in many ways, but there is one thing I do not share: ice-cream. When ice-cream crosses the threshold of our apartment, I have no friends: I become territorial with the freezer and very protective! LOL

There is no sharing when it comes to gelato: it can take all my sorrows away, and it has to be all mine! My husband says that I “morph” when it’s around! If I am stressed, the smile comes back on my face after the first bite. If I am happy and he steals a spoonful of my ice-cream I turn into a real harpy! So beware!

Year-round Comfort Food

There is one thing that can always cheer me up and I think it’s pretty much a universal thing in Italy: Nutella. Nutella is a hazelnut chocolate spread, as if there were any need to introduce it…

It’s soul-healing power is such a stereotype in this country that there is a scene in Nanni Moretti’s movie “Bianca” which has become a symbol of this! If I had a euro for every time that I have dreamt of a jar of Nutella like his!!!

A Journey Down Memory Lane

There is one very Tuscan comfort food that I remember from my early childhood years and which my great-grandmother Tilde used to prepare whenever she was looking after me. It was typically my “merenda“, my mid-afternoon snack, and it has always had a special place in my heart and stomach: pane col vino e lo zucchero, that is a slice of stale bread soaked in red wine and covered in sugar.

(Photo from I love spaghetti and you)

I know that many of my non-Italian readers will be horrified by the idea of a granny incorporating wine in a child’s snack (probably as much as reading about my soft spot for boiled tongue! LOL), but, believe me, it hasn’t killed me or any other child over the centuries and I am ready to bet that that was a much healthier snack than most processed stuff that our children eat on a daily basis.

I remember licking the plate!

The winter variant, when it still used to snow regularly in the village, was to use  a glass full of the first snow from our kitchen’s window-sill instead of bread!

Delicious, and unforgettable!

Italy Blogging Roundtable

This is the sixth post in a monthly series called The Italy Blogging Roundtable. Here you can find the posts of the other bloggers who participate in the roundtable. Our topic this month was “comfort food“:

Alexandra (Arttrav) – Minestrone: my winter comfort food

Jessica (Italylogue) – Comfort Food is a Cultural Thing

Melanie (Italofile) – Comfort me with potatoes: A tale of two tuber dishes in Italy

Rebecca (Brigolante) – Eating in the Comfort Zone

Halloween and the All Saints’ Day Weekend are here already!

I’ve just realized it’s that time of the year already… Halloween or the All Saints’ Day long weekend! To me, it usually marks the first holiday of the holiday season and the beginning of the olive harvest, but this year it has arrived so quickly upon us that I am somewhat disoriented.

First of all, I am on my maternity leave: this means that I didn’t go back to teaching in September, so I was not counting days to the first long weekend as I usually do. It also means that we have spent over two months in Civitella, except for this past week when we came back to Pisa and time has literally flown by since we’ve been here.

Second, because I am so pregnant, I can’t help with the olive harvest anyway this year, so I didn’t need to organize my schedule so as to be able to participate. Plus, this year the fall has been so warm (it was still 25°C/77°F in Pisa yesterday…) and dry that we my parents had to start picking early, because olives are just falling from the trees.

Third, I had a big job interview last week (that’s why we are in Pisa) and I didn’t really think of much else up until then… And when I finally had the time and energy to start thinking about something else… well, we realized our baby was supposed to arrive in a month and we hadn’t bought anything yet!!! So we dedicated this past weekend to baby shopping… and we were shocked by the outrageous prices of baby stuff!!! People are out of their minds!!! Being our first child, we have nothing… and we also had no idea what we might need (I know… we must be the worst parents-to-be ever!!). So we did a lot of window shopping and then went and bought the most expensive stuff online, where you can really get great deals…

On presents for our baby and other generous thoughts…

To all those of you who have generously asked us about presents, we would like to say that we really don’t want anybody to feel obliged to send anything. Presents are neither required nor expected. Your loving thoughts are more than enough for us.

However, since some friends and family members have asked repeatedly, we have created a wish list online which is more of a “memorandum” for us than a true wishlist. You can find it here (the name is “gloriamarcel”). We would like to thank you all in advance, and to repeat once again that you don’t need to send us anything, really. And that we are just as happy if you contribute something to the fund for the people who suffered the terrible flood in Cinque Terre and Northern Tuscany last week. Their children are certainly in more need than ours at the moment.

A traditional Tuscan recipe for an alternative “treat”

Anyway, this morning I suddenly realized that it was Halloween when I saw lots of pumpkins outside the local food stores. That’s funny because pumpkins are certainly in season (and we have already eaten an enormous amount – I also need to thank Alexandra and Tommaso for the delicious one they gave us last week!), but the habit of decorating with pumpkins is not really in our tradition. I certainly remember carving pumpkins as a child, but not necessarily on Halloween.

What really reminded me that it’s the All Saints’ Weekend was a phone call from my mother asking me if I wanted some of the Schiaccia dei Santi that my grandmother has made. Of course!!! That is the typical dessert we celebrate with. We make  Schiaccia dei Santi (a type of focaccia)  and Pane dei Santi (a type of bread). They are typical of Siena and some areas of  the province of Grosseto.

They both include more or less the same ingredients but the “schiaccia” is thin, crispy and a bit greasier, whereas the “pane” has the consistency of a loaf of bread, even though it’s much sweeter. The peculiarity is that the dough is enhanced with walnuts, raisins and dry figs: essentially all the “poor” ingredients that are usually available at the end of the summer.

Now I can’t wait to be back home to have some!

If you want to try the traditional recipe of the Pane dei Santi (All Saints’ Day Bread – also known as Pane co’ Santi in Siena) here it is!

Ingredients

• 400g  walnuts
• 250g olive oil
• 50g brewer’s yeast
• 400g warm water
• 1kg all purpose flour
• 250g raisins
• 200g of dry figs
• 10tbs sugar
• 3tsp salt
• 3tsp pepper
• 1 egg yolk (to brush the surface of the loaf)

Sauté the walnuts with some olive oil in a small pan for a couple of minutes and let them cool down. Melt the brewer’s yeast in warm water.

In a large bowl, mix flour, sugar, salt, raisins, walnuts, olive oil and pepper. Add the yeast mix. Mix until you can make a ball with the dough. Cover and let it sit in the bowl for at least 6 hours.

When the dough has risen, cut it in 4 to 6 parts and shape them as you like (either as a ball or in an elliptical shape). Make a cross-shaped cut on the top of each one and let them rise for one more hour.

Brush with whipped egg yolk and bake for 30/35 minutes at 180°C (350°F).

Let the loaves cool down and enjoy!  You can store them in paper bread bags and they last for days.

You can eat them on All Saint’s Day or give your Halloween a Tuscan flavour!

Happy Halloween and Happy All Saints’ Day!