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. 

Chianti Classico and the Panzano Wine Festival

Vino al Vino

2014

Each year for the past 19 years the 20 or so wine producers from the area around Panzano in Chianti gather in the main square of the town to introduce their labels to the public. For the modest sum of 15 euros the taster acquires a glass (plus a glass-holder to hang about the neck and a handy booklet for taking notes) and is free to taste any of the local wines on display.

representatives (in no particular order), from the vineyards below

Candialle, Casaloste, Castello dei Rampolla, Cennatoio, Fattoria La Quercia, Fattoria Rignana, Fontodi, Il Molino di Grace, Il Palagio, La Massa, Le Fonti, Le Cinciole, Montebernardi, Panzanello, Renzo Marinai, Tenuta degli Dei, Vecchie Terre di Montefili, Vignole, Villa Cafaggio

I wrote on the Wine Festival here  but this current post intends simply to summarise what is on offer and describe the characteristics of this particular wine-producing area.

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!

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

Vino al Vino Panzano's Wine Festival

Wine to Wine

 a September Highlight

Every year in the middle of September Panzano holds its wine festival showcasing the local vineyards. In the main square of Panzano, right on the 222 between Florence and Siena you can buy a glass and pouch to carry it in for 15 euro and taste as many wines as you have a mind to.

There is live music, a festive atmosphere, the local shops and tradesmen are all open and welcoming and there are even things for children to do...

The new Antinori Winery in Chianti

Twenty-six Generations under One Roof

Past and present: the timeless beauty of Badia Passignano from a model at the Antinori Chianti museum

Present and future: the grand plan for the streamlined winery to outdo all wineries

You have to admire the audacity of the Antinori family: to plan, construct and complete a project of this size and ambition in a territory where modernity is often anathema.