Unsung Local Heroes III

Otello Miliani: a Testament to Hard Times

Otello Miliani

This post is compiled thanks to a volume published in 2017 by the CGIL, or Confederazione Italiana del Lavoro under the aegis of the Greve in Chianti city council. The interviews included in the volume were almost all carried out by Maria Giovanna Bencistà. I here translate and summarize an account from 2015-16 when Otello Miliani was almost 80, which runs over 37 tightly-spaced pages, interspersing it with salient details from the other interviews.
 

the territory around Badia Passignano; today practically a grapevine monoculture, in Miliani's childhood this land was dedicated to mixed farming

Otello Miliani was born in 1936 at Poggio al Vento, near Badia Passignano in the Val di Pesa, into a family of sharecropper farmers (who worked under the mezzadria system). His story, growing up, is typical of his time, yet simultaneously striking in its exceptionality. When he was born there were 13 family members in the house with the grandfather as head of affairs (capoccia) and the grandmother as head of the household (massaia) according to an age-old tradition.

Walking around Villa Vignamaggio

Past, present and future revealed in a Chianti valley
- part one -

Anyone who has seen the 1993 film version of Much Ado about Nothing by Kenneth Branagh, may recall the opening scenes where the male protagonists gallop home across a verdant valley towards the villa in Messina where the play's action takes place. The villa featured splendidly in the film is not in Sicily but in the Comune of Greve in Chianti, a 15 minute drive from Le Ripe: Villa Vignamaggio.

Although the Vignamaggio website includes a cursory (and not entirely accurate) summary of the Villa's interesting history, it excludes its context: the broad, sun-filled valley it dominates. 

The House of the Red Roses

La Casa delle Rose Rosse

At the edge of the village of Lucarelli, which lies along the valley below Le Ripe, stands a large stone house where some friendly, helpful locals live. The family kindly brought their tractor up to Le Ripe one day when the man who sometimes delivers wood got stuck in the mud.

The Beasts of Le Ripe

Local Fauna, a Taxonomy

Indigenous and introduced, the wildlife at Le Ripe, and in Chianti generally, is varied and abundant. This list only covers interesting four-legged mammals, for birds have been discussed in detail elsewhere: see posts on starlings, bird visitors, the nightingale and feeding birds while bees and a magnificent spider also make appearances in other posts. Traces of all the mammals below have been found in one form or another, and most have been sighted, at one time or another, at Le Ripe.

Wild Boar - Sus Scrofa

Of course this is really a wild sow; the mothers tend to move about in the company of one or two other mothers, with all their young, a kind of mothers and toddlers playgroup. The only time to fear the boar is when the mothers are protecting their young.

Crested Porcupine - Hystrix Cristata

The two most frequent traces of the porcupine: its striped quills which fall out easily when the animal is threatened; and the filching of bulbs from the garden. Bulbs are a special treat for porcupines.

Chianti Spectacular

Circuit routes through Chianti: 

the pick of the bunch - so far

Le Ripe is just opposite the river from Lucarelli which is 10 o'clock from Radda

Greve-Lamole-Panzano roundtrip

Vignamaggio, the villa and vineyard where the Monna Lisa was supposed to have lived and where Kenneth Branagh's Much Ado about Nothing was filmed

Unsung Local Heroes II

Enrico the Carpenter, Armchair Historian and Lover of Animals

The 'Evening Shadow' Etruscan sculpture from Volterra circa 300 BCE; Enrico has a reproduction of the sculpture in his house

We are very fond of Enrico and his family. They live in the village of Lucarelli, at the bottom of our hill, beside the river Pesa. A close-knit family of four, they have all been involved in our lives and work at Le Ripe since we first arrived. The son is an electrician and it was through him that we first encountered the rest of the family. Such was his involvement in the electrification of Le Ripe that one evening, when we turned off the outside lights the better to observe the stars, we received a call from him asking if everything was alright: from the valley he had seen the lights go out at Le Ripe and was concerned. Eventually his mother, highly recommended by our neighbours, came to help in the house, and her daughter, who sells her wares at local fairs and markets in her spare time, is a mistress of the cross-stitch and made our lavender bags. I trust I can say that we have become friends rather than just neighbours and beneficiaries of their skills and know-how.

 

little Lucarelli, beside the Pesa: the church was built in the 20th century, replacing the ancient San Pietro on the other side of the valley

Summer Sights

A Perfect Summer's Day

a delightful new angle on Panzano from the vineyards above Querceto, accessed on unsealed road from the 222 towards Castellina

Often around mid-August the weather begins to change. There may be big, cathartic storms or simply a gradual change in temperature. This year it is the latter: the great heat appears to be subsiding; we are now enjoying hot but not unbearable days,clear skies and blissfully cool nights.  

this year we have been regaled with a second Birth of Venus

The Italian national holiday of Ferragosto (August 15th), which hails back to Emperor Augustus who proclaimed a holiday in his own name, has been and gone. The ferie, or vacations (explicitly from work), have passed their peak. We took advantage of the peace and quiet of the holiday to explore directly around Le Ripe. Here are some photos from the day.

San Leolino, Panzano

A Charming Church

the view from the church, looking west

It is a truth universally acknowledged that churches are to be found in the most panoramic sites. San Leolino, near Panzano in Chianti, is no exception. 

The oft-cited explanation for churches' prime locations is: they got there first. More accurately: they frequently took over from other cults and civilizations which got there first. The Etruscans preferred hilltop sites for their towns and their necropoli, often situated on two adjoining elevations. (One wonders if it was simply for defensive reasons.) Panzano is a case in point: of Etruscan origin, it was also inhabited by the Romans who were keen on elevation, when available. 

the elegant 16th century facade with its asymmetrical portico or loggia

Unsung Local Heroes I

Paolo the Woodsman

woodwork

log splitting demonstration

stacked logs: this pile is three logs deep

"A force of nature" is how he has described himself. And, modesty apart, we tend to agree. Paolo has been an important part of Le Ripe since 2006 when we first met him, perched on the roof of our barn which was to become the Fienile cottage. He and the master builder Pasquale were responsible for restoring the buildings at Le Ripe over two years. Over that time we came to appreciate Paolo's great energy, enthusiasm for hard work and knowledge of his world. 

Le Ripe from Afar and Farther

Le Ripe Views

We often tell our guests to explore the high unsealed ridge road which leads from Panzano to Volpaia. 

Because you can see the San Leolino Church along the way, because Panzano and Volpaia are both worth a visit and because it offers beautiful views. 

One of these views is of Le Ripe. 

Actually Le Ripe is pretty hard to discern from afar unless you are very familiar with it and the terrain. 

Here are two photos which show our property from the ridge road.

Le Ripe is identified by the tiny beige blob on the hill just above and slightly to the right of the telegraph pole seen in the middle distance. With a bit of imagination you can even see the cypresses.

Le Ripe History

il podere Le Ripe
- Le Ripe the farm -
a brief history

Le Ripe photographed from beside the river Pesa, July 1946 - note two haystacks, one of wheat and one probably of oats

The old farm buildings and property called Le Ripe lie just within the Castellina commune, cheek to jowl with the Radda commune (all our neighbours are in Radda) in the province of Siena, right at the border with the province of Florence, very near Panzano in Chianti, in the commune of Greve in Chianti. Over the centuries Le Ripe and its inhabitants would inevitably have been caught up in conflicts large and small as those borders were contested, shifting back and forth.

the strada provinciale 2bis looking towards Florence province and commune of Greve in Chianti

towards province of Siena and here, commune of Radda in Chianti

The farmhouse, barn and concimaia or midden were most likely built several hundred years ago by tenant farmers (mezzadri) who needed to make the best use of the land allotted them: they didn't waste the flatter land on buildings, it was needed for crops. 

Le Panzanelle - a special local restaurant

a must-do at Le Ripe

Traditional yet stylish, friendly and good value: Le Panzanelle is a must!

The day we first saw Le Ripe in September 2003 we also first lunched at Le Panzanelle which had been open for little over a year. It was a significant day for us which could not have been celebrated more appropriately. 

Founded by two women, friends from Panzano, it owes its lilting name to them: 'the girls from Panzano'. We are extremely lucky as the restaurant is right at the bottom of our hill. You can even walk there and back (it takes about 15 to 20 minutes each way, down and uphill), although we advise taking a torch for the return journey in the evening, unless there is a full moon. The most beautiful time of year for this walk is in the first half of June when there are fireflies everywhere in the fields and over the river: truly magical.

fireflies in June

Nada and Silvia are helped by their husbands (it's an excellent arrangement as they do turn and turn about so that there is always someone at home with the children), but there are more cooks in the kitchen and friendly waitresses. One of the best things about the restaurant is its popularity amongst locals as well as tourists. When Le Panzanelle celebrated its 10th anniversary there were crowds of locals and friends at the party.

main dining room Le Panzanelle

A Historic Wayside Inn

The Bar Ristoro Lucarelli
a local institution since 1890 

 In the valley below Le Ripe, strung along the Strada Provinciale 2bis, lies the village of Lucarelli. The focal point of the village for decades has been the Bar Ristoro which has an interesting history. It is worth a visit just to have a coffee and see, above the counter, the old photograph of the current owner's great grandfather who founded the inn in 1890.

Amerigo Dainelli

In 1888 Amerigo Dainelli left for South America with his wife Laura, in search of a good job. They embarked from Livorno and to pay their way worked as cook and maid aboard the ship. After many days of sailing they arrived in Montevideo, Uruguay where they continued working in the same professions. However in their two years on the other side of the world their future did not look as bright as they had hoped, so they decided to return to Italy and with their savings build a house and create a living for themselves.

So Amerigo and Laura set off once again, but this time there were three of them because in the meantime the first of their seven children had been born. Once back in Italy a friend helped them because their savings were not enough for their project: to build an inn and stables for the horses that were needed to face the steep climb towards Florence where in those days the bulk of agricultural products travelled: wood, charcoal, oil and the famous Chianti wine.
 

1936

One of their sons followed in their father's footsteps with his wife Lola who had two daughters, Iolanda and Fiorella. When Lola died Iolanda helped her father with the inn. She later married Armando and had two sons, Amerigo and David. Today it is David together with Iolanda, his wife Cristina and their children Valentina and Gabriele who run this historic business which since 1890 has been offering hospitality and refreshment to travellers and tourists.

1956

The Itinerants

Home and Away

Itinerant tradesmen and merchants in the past in Chianti

onion sellers

When older locals talk about the past, they often mention the itinerant workers and merchants who travelled through the area on foot or via infrequent buses. The ritual January killing of the pig occurred when the norcino pork butcher arrived carrying two satchels across his chest, one filled with spices and the other with the equipment to do the job. The norcino passed from one house to the next, staying overnight at each, working with the farm households to prepare the salami, hams and the various cuts of meat. At the end of the day everyone would celebrate with a special meal.

norcino's produce

Old people also talk about how a spice seller from Siena used to bring the mixed spices to the villages so that cooks could bake cavallucci, migliaccio and other native Sienese treats in the wood-fired oven after making the bread.

cavallucci

migliaccio

Once when Cappelli the Greve blacksmith (who does wonders with wrought iron) visited Le Ripe he told me how he and his grandfather (whom he called mio povero nonno, my poor grandfather), walked from Greve every year with their nanny goat to have her impregnated by the billy goat at Le Ripe....They walked the 14 kilometres to Le Ripe with the nanny goat, returned home on the bus, came back a week later and walked home again....That was simply how it was done.

billy goat

Chianina Cattle

A Noble Bovine Breed

 

 Whenever I glimpsed the Chianina cattle,  indigenous to central Italy, in old photos, occasionally at country fairs and rarely at pasture, I was always struck by their massive yet elegant build. A quick search on internet reveals that they are in fact the largest cattle breed in the world. The average Chianina cow stands 150-160 cm at the withers and weighs 800-1,000 kg, while the bull measures 160-175 cm, weighing 1,150-1,280 kg. Massive.

And elegant: they are near-white, long-legged and have beautifully-shaped heads, large eyes and long lashes which stand out against the white. 

It is also amongst the oldest breeds of cattle in the world, probably originating in ancient Roman times. Formerly used as a draught breed, (apparently at one time at Le Ripe there were two 'bovi' or oxen, as they called them), now they are bred almost exclusively for meat. The bistecca alla fiorentina is traditionally theirs.

Yesterday I was lucky enough to be invited to visit a nearby farm which breeds Chianina for the market. This was the setting, in the famous conca d'oro or 'golden basin' of Panzano. The day was overcast, but the scene is beautiful nonetheless.

Dario Cecchini

La Repubblica Gastronomica di Panzano

cow outside Cecchini's restaurant

A new Republic has been declared in the township of Panzano.

Our famous, some would say notorious butcher, Dario Cecchini, featured in international newspapers, including the New York Times, who challenged the monopoly of MacDonalds with his own brand of hamburger called MacDario (a name the US food giant blocked, threatening to sue him), a natural showman and provocateur, has now attached an enormous emblem/installation/homage to meat to the wall of his restaurant, 

a virtual Declaration of Intention:
the motto, Partito Consumista, requires no gloss.

Installations on restaurant wall. They are illuminated at night.