The triangular square

Piazza Matteotti, Greve in Chianti

Piazza Matteotti, looking south

Greve in Chianti is arguably the liveliest, most interesting and possibly most hospitable town in Chianti, but its square is indubitably the most attractive sight in Greve. Roughly triangular in shape, it is also distinctive for its porticoes around all three sides and the chain of terraces above, from where residents, restaurants and bed and breakfast places enjoy the view.

the beautiful porticoes of Greve: shade in summer and shelter in winter

Simply good food in Florence

The Republic of Fabio Picchi

In 1979 Fabio Picchi opened his first restaurant in Borgo La Croce, a neighbourhood east of Florence's historic centre, in via de' Maggi and via del Verrocchio, next door to the Sant'Ambrogio mercato comunale, or public market. These days you will find 6 or 7 different establishments run under the name or variants of Cibreo all in and around via de' Maggi and via del Verrocchio.

assortment of herbs and flowers in former tomato tins, on display on the C.bio terrace

The name: cibreo is a homely Tuscan ragout or stew of chicken giblets once made by Fabio Picchi's mother; the leftovers were minced with artichokes and added to spinach pie. Apparently it was scrumptious although it is not on offer at any of his restaurants.
 

Markets and Festivals in Chianti

Some of the best local festivals and markets...

Greve's attractive triangular, porticoed square provides the perfect setting for a variety of markets and festivals during the year

Apart from three weekend markets selling fruit and veg, cheese, barbecued meats etc in Greve in Chianti and Castellina in Chianti on Saturday mornings and Panzano on Sunday mornings, there
are several antique/flea/craft and specialist markets as well as a selection of festivals on offer throughout the year in the Chianti area.

Palazzo Corsini and the Artisans

Artigianato e Palazzo
 A high-end craft fair in a special setting

the loggia of Palazzo Corsini, a former casinò or hunting lodge which was in fact a villa surrounded by a garden; the many Greek, Latin and Etruscan plaques on the villa wall were collected by an 18th century Corsini

the setting for the annual craft fair: in the 17th century the sculptures were placed on pedestals of decreasing height to give a greater sense of depth and perspective from the loggia. Some of the original sculptures are now housed in the Bargello while others are at either end of the bridge of the Santa Trinità.

one of the barn-like limonaie or lemonaries where 130-plus citrus trees overwinter in their huge terracotta pots

For the past 22 years, each May, in the middle of the month, a unique range of arts and crafts is on display in a unique Florentine location.

the parterre: neat box hedging is filled with sumptuous peonies; teucrium, cistus, roses and lavender abound - recent departures from the original purely baroque setting

Slow Food in Greve

 Greve does it again

You cannot deny that Greve is bursting with initiative. Last weekend it was the Flower Show, this weekend the town is hosting its annual Slowfood market which highlights the produce of a number of Italian Comuni or towns, from Grumes (Trento) in the north to Positano in the south. 

that lovely backdrop again, plus a stunning sky this weekend

Lucca's Garden Show

Verdemura, 

the annual greening of the city of Lucca

camelias sitting on grass; a simple but effective display

Lucca is a city famed for its magnificent walls. At the end of March each year these walls become the venue for a delightful gardening and outdoor living market and display called Verdemura, Green Walls.

For the first time visitor to Lucca it is the venue which is most stunning. Lucca's walls were built from 1504 to 1648 and were never used as military fortifications although they were considered a deterrent to the ambitions of Florence and the Grand Duchy of Tuscany. They stretch over 4 kilometres to enclose the entire historic centre. 

Florence's Slow Food Hall

il Mercato Centrale

- an historic market revisited

Florence's central market, located near San Lorenzo and the touristy outdoor market, is a piece of Florentine's domestic history. There are those of us who visited it as young tourists, to buy peaches for our picnic lunches in the Boboli gardens, or who recall 'the market gardeners and wild herb foragers who would sell their pickings much as in the Mayan markets of yore', to quote a friend. 
Nowadays even the ground floor stalls, shown above, look more like upmarket shops than market stalls.
This does not appear to detract from the quality of their ware although it probably affects the prices. All they same, they seemed to be humming when we visited on a weekday morning.

Yet this post focuses on the first floor of the market which has been transformed from the gritty, colourful, rustic reality of the past into a stylish, cheerful, (upmarket in quality but not, it appears, in price), food hall crammed with goodies. Since spring 2014, this is where the hungry working Florentine or the tourist who is unable to deal with all the raw produce downstairs, can come to savour the finished products. 
As you climb the stairs (or take an escalator) to the first floor the first thing you see is the attractive architecture of the old market: cast iron neo-classical pillars, pietra serena columns, overarching wrought iron girding and tall arched windows which let in considerable natural light. 

Hot off the New York Times

Breakneck Tour of Central Chianti 

Despite making little mention of the sights to be seen between stops, this article from the New York Times has some (largely gastronomic/hedonistic)  pointers for

a 36-hour trip to Chianti

 - although no one should be foolish enough to imagine it suffices!

Festa Aprilante Panzano + Eroica

Panzano Allegro con Brio and Bikes

Giocondo Fagioli and his baskets made of rushes he gathers himself

In Panzano in Chianti every first Sunday of the month, every month of the year,  the Festa Aprilante is held. This is a market which stretches from the main square on the 222 all the way up towards the church and along the street where Cecchini the butcher reigns.

Panzano Market

The bounty from Panzano this morning

Panzano's weekly market is a small affair, but specially in summer it can yield a cornucopia of fruits, vegetables, even mozzarella and good cheeses, roast chickens and fresh bread.  This week we bought four types of tomato, radishes, sweet Tropea onions, fresh cannellini beans, friggitelle or small sweet peppers to braise in olive oil and garlic, melons to eat with prosciutto, white peaches, black cherries, red plums and small, tasty apricots. And fresh mozzarella, as good as in Naples.

The market is held every Sunday from early morning until about 1300. There are a few other stalls but the food is the thing. Every first Sunday of the month it is brightened and augmented by the Mercato Aprilante with its crafts, local produce and flea market.

shopping in Panzano

She searched the whole world over...

Panzano seen from the north

All She wanted was a light, fine cotton summer nightdress, long and possibly with long sleeves and a simple, classic, wash-and-wear white blouse. She searched assiduously and exhaustively for the same in some of the greatest, most well-supplied establishments, in three of the most consumer-oriented cities of the western world: Melbourne Australia, London UK and Florence Italy. 

Did She find said items? No, She did not.

On the off-chance, although She no longer nurtured any real hope that her simple requirements might ever be met, but drawn on by the inexorable magnet which motivates inveterate shoppers, She opened the door of the modest merceria or haberdasher in Panzano in Chianti's main square and uttered her usual, by now plaintive refrain.

The tiny, elderly shopowner, with her hive of well-set, blonded hair tottered up a ladder towards a shelf of tidy boxes and, handing them down, bid her look inside. Lo and behold!, She found, neatly folded and wrapped in plastic: a light, fine cotton summer nightdress, long and with long sleeves, and a simple, classic, wash-and-wear white blouse. All for an exiguous cost. 

She hastened out of the modest haberdasher clutching her prizes, hardly able to believe that, after all her travels and all her searching, little Panzano had come up with the goods.

the seething metropolis and consumer's haven of Panzano, seen from the south.

Note for visitors and inveterate shoppers:

Apart from a well-stocked haberdasher, Panzano boasts a jewellery store, a fine leather outlet, a smattering of craft shops, several grocery stores, a greengrocer, a florist, two butchers, several household and gift shops, a hardware store, a stationer's, a farm and garden supplies store and several wine shops. Not counting all the restaurants, cafés and wine bars. Not bad for a village.