Food writer Faith Bahadurian samples the best in Tuscany’s art, food and culture.
By: Faith Bahadurian
Last fall I had a major birthday to celebrate (or run away from), so went off to spend a week in Florence and Tuscany with my 22-year-old nephew, Patrick. I was a little worried about our May-December age difference, but we turned out to be well-matched traveling companions. I plotted out our plans for the week (leaving plenty of free time), while he took on more than his share of navigating Florence’s winding streets and carrying our many shopping bags.
We based ourselves in Florence, with a day trip by bus to Siena and San Gimignano, thankful that in November we’d be spared the worst of the summer crowds and heat. And we got lucky, never once rained on or unable to get into popular sites or restaurants.
Deluxe Travel in Princeton arranged our trip, an "independent group tour" allowing plenty of free time with just a little structure. It included hotel and breakfast, airport transfers, an art tour our first morning, and the day trip. One dinner was included, which turned out to be our least favorite. We stayed at the Hotel Machiavelli, a restored convent, which offered comfortable beds and blessed quiet at night, but hilariously miniscule shower stalls, not uncommon in such old buildings.
Our first day started with the art tour, by bus, driving the winding roads above the city so we could view the city spread out below. The river Arno wends its way through Florence, and is crossed by several bridges, including the Ponte Vecchio, dating to 1345. Today the bridge is lined with elegant jewelry and antique shops. An elevated walkway above the bridge was built by the Medicis to pass between their palaces without having to mingle with the common people.
Once off the bus, we continued on foot in the Centro Storico (historic district), as our guide discussed the architecture of the city, pointing out numerous palaces which now house shops and offices at ground level, with apartments above. The first floors were once used to warehouse the family’s stores of foods and other necessities, which were jealously guarded from view. Living quarters were above. So, rather than let their guests pass through the storage rooms, wealthy families built adjacent annexes just for entertaining.
That reserved nature persists to today, our guide informed us. Having survived the plague of the 1300s, various political and military upheavals, and the floods of 1966 that inundated the city’s priceless art and architecture, the Florentines are quietly proud of their heritage, and we found them to be extremely gracious.
We strolled around the piazza outside Santa Maria del Fiore, the Duomo, or cathedral, of Florence, and gazed at Ghiberti’s Baptistery doors, dubbed by Michelangelo "The Gate of Paradise," commissioned in 1401 to celebrate the city’s deliverance from the plague. Like many famous exterior artworks in the city, these are copies. The originals have been moved inside, as time, weather and pollution from Florence’s many small cars and scooters have taken their toll on the city’s art and architecture.
Then on to The Bargello, one of Italy’s national museums, where I was probably most taken with the statue of Giambologna’s winged Mercury.
The next morning we visited the Uffizi galleries, having purchased tickets online before our trip. This complex of one-time offices ("uffizi") was built for Duke Cosimo I in the late 1500s, and was used to display the Medici family art treasures. We browsed through every room, including a special Leonardo da Vinci exhibit that perfectly reflected my concurrent reading of The Da Vinci Code.
Even on a sunny day in Siena, the narrow alleys that wind between tall stone buildings were dark. How much grimmer it must have seemed when the plague struck in 1348, killing a third of the population.
But where the streets widened into one of the many piazzas scattered about the town, sunlight bathed stone and terra cotta, creating a fiery glow that is the color sienna. Nowhere was the glow more intense than in the dramatic Piazza del Campo, its vast expanse an invitation to linger and enjoy the day. Siena is home to the Palio, the spectacular horserace staged twice each summer since 1659. It is also home to the University of Siena, more than 760 years old, bringing a constant stream of students to study in the ancient city.
As we approached one bright piazza, Patrick, a few steps ahead of me as usual, was first around the corner and I heard him say, "You’re not going to be happy, Aunt Faith." As I rounded the corner to come within view of Siena’s ornate Gothic cathedral, I looked up from uneven paving stones to see… a wall of scaffolding. Like so many historical buildings throughout our stay, this one’s façade is undergoing restoration, covered with scaffolding surely as ornate as the stonework in back of it. But the very top of the façade, with its glorious frescos, was open to view, so I snapped away, telling myself "it’s all good."
On another day, outside of the Pitti Palace, we were taken with some of the artwork being sold by street artists. The work of one artist in particular, Joseph Moussa, caught my eye. An engineer originally, he is a deft draftsman, and his architectural renderings in ink and watercolor were irresistible.
Using my credentials as a food writer, I’d arranged for a complimentary cooking class through Lauren Scuncio Birmingham (www.cooking-vacations.com) at The Forconi estate in Montespertoli, about a half-hour outside of Florence. One of many such properties she works with, the estate has a working vineyard that bottles D.O.C. Chianti wines, plus olive groves and organic gardens. The restored villa, Podere dell’Anselmo, offers comfortable accommodations, horseback riding, and a swimming pool to cool off in during the summer after a day in Florence’s heat and humidity; it is truly the stuff that Tuscan dreams are made of.
Our chef for the evening was the vivacious Antonella who, while she did not speak English, communicated quite effectively through her vibrant personality, and with Sandra, the manager, translating. We made seasonal dishes for dinner, and enjoyed numerous slices of toasted bread liberally doused with the estate’s just-pressed olive oil it doesn’t get much better than this, my nephew and I agreed.
During the evening, owner Fabrizio Forconi’s wine consultant was visiting, and the two disappeared into the winery for some sampling, bringing me back a taste of inky red, tablecloth-staining red wine that was just weeks off the vine. We sampled various wines from the estate throughout the evening until I begged for mercy! including, in addition to Chianti and Bianco Toscano (a white blend), a wonderful dry rosé, all under the Podere dell’Anselmo label.
Later in the week, we visited the Galleria dell’Accademia, Europe’s first real art school, to see Michelangelo’s David, sculpted at the start of the 16th century when the artist was a young man of 29. Nearby was another culinary highlight of our trip, the Mercato Centrale, a two-floor food market where Florentines (and tourists) do much of their grocery shopping. At the Perini’s cheese and meat counters, I sampled wonderful cheeses and cured meats, but walked off with mostarda, mustard-spiked fruits preserved in syrup, to enjoy with cheese, choosing one made from mandarin oranges, and another made with chunks of pumpkin. Upstairs I bought dried porcini mushrooms to enjoy in risotto at home.
Just about all of our meals (and repeated samplings of gelati) were quite good. We sought out smaller places off the main piazzas, some from our very helpful Eyewitness Travel Guide to Florence and Tuscany. In Siena, we sought out the lovely Guidoriccio where I enjoyed pici, hand-rolled Sienese pasta. From an Internet tip we found Cammillo Trattoria in Florence’s historical district, where I splurged on white truffles over fettuccini on my birthday, and Trattoria Antico Fattore, where an Internet coupon netted us a small decorative ceramic plate, a free bottle of Chianti, plus a good dinner that included grilled pigeon and fried pumpkin flowers.
Our last dinner was the best. Le Fonticine (www.lefonticine.com) is named after the Luca della Robbia fountain that stands at its entrance. It has been in business almost 50 years, and after it was repaired from the damage of the 1966 floods, the owners Silvano and Gianni Bruci put on a big dinner for the community in the streets outside their doors.
We feasted on bresola with rucola (air-dried beef with arugula), ribbolita (Tuscan bread soup with beans and cabbage), risotto with zucchini flowers, spaghetti with fresh anchovies, veal chop Milanese, and lemon tart. Our wine, the 2003 Avignonesi Nobile di Montepulciano, was sublime, and the perfect end to a wonderful trip.

