Day 19: Chiocchio (Chianti)
The weather looks mixed as we set off after breakfast for a drive around the Casentino area of Tuscany. It is unclear whether the sun will win out or whether it will remain overcast. The Casentino is located in the eastern part of Tuscany, just to the south and east of Florence. It is relatively untouristed but no less appealing than the more popular areas like Chianti. The mountains top 3,000 feet and it is heavily forested as well as having a number of pretty hill towns scattered about.
The Abbey of Vallombrosa is our first destination….it is set in the midst of mountain resort areas and the Abbey is surrounded by hotels and hiking trails.
The ride up the narrow twisty road is mostly through the deep woods so the views are few and far between…but when they appear, they are quite spectacular. The abbey was founded in the 9th century by the Benedictines and over the years, the buildings have been added to.
http://www.monaci.org/index1.asp
When we enter the Abbey, there is a mass being said so we sit down and stay for the service. The mass is pretty well attended for a place so remote - perhaps the crowd is due to it being All Saints Day. We don’t understand too much of the sermon but the priest is very emotional and passionate in delivering it.
We were unable to see much of the inside because some of it is being restored and also because the mass was being said….but it is hard to imagine a better physical setting.
We continue on to Poppi on the back roads that descend from the Abbey to the plain…..the first part of the drive goes through more of the deep woods, and the red leaves that have fallen to the ground make a startling contrast to the naked trees.
As we continue on, the woods open up and we get some great broad vistas over the valleys and the adjacent hills.
Poppi is another one of those handsome Italian hill towns with narrow streets, stone buildings and an air of well-being even after 500 years. The castle is at the top of the town where there is a broad expanse with views in all directions. Since it is time for lunch and since we find a parking spot right in the front of the castle which is also in front of the Albergo Casentino’s restaurant, we decide that fate wants us to eat there.
The restaurant is vast and pretty well filled today…it is a holiday in Italy–All Saints Day. It is traditional to visit the family graves and also to have lunch in the country. They are able to seat us in a smaller overflow room with three or four Italian families and we have both a good meal and a good time watching the Italian families enjoy themselves. We split an antipasto plate–great prosciutto and salami along with Tuscan crostini followed by grilled pork ribs and roast potatoes for Diana and grilled sausage and spinach for me. After a very pleasant lunch complemented by the very nice house red, we walk across to the castle.
The castle tour is a lot of fun….you get an audio guide that has an actor impersonating the original lord of the castle and, while informative, it is very tongue-in-cheek and is a great contrast to the highly technical and stilted scripts that you frequently get. The castle is very fine….from the modern art in the courtyard
to the grand staircase inside
to the finely decorated room now used for meetings
s
and the 15th century frescoes in what had been the living quarters.
And I get the added bonus of climbing to the top of the tower for great views over the town of Poppi and the Tuscan countryside.
We return to Chiocchio just before dark and have a chance to rest before going out to dinner with Rita and Lino at a local restaurant in the next town over, Strada di Chianti. Lino had once worked at Il Caminetto and we get a warm welcome from the owner. The dinner is great….tagliolini with duck ragu for followed by a nice tagliata of beef for Diana, and polenta cakes with bacon and cabbage followed by delicious cervelli fritti (fried brains) for me. The wine is the best we have had so far…a 2000 Vistarenni Chianti from Codirosso…..and only Euro 14.00 a bottle. We drank two….
Off to Florence in the morning…
The Abbey of Vallombrosa is our first destination….it is set in the midst of mountain resort areas and the Abbey is surrounded by hotels and hiking trails.
The ride up the narrow twisty road is mostly through the deep woods so the views are few and far between…but when they appear, they are quite spectacular. The abbey was founded in the 9th century by the Benedictines and over the years, the buildings have been added to.
http://www.monaci.org/index1.asp
When we enter the Abbey, there is a mass being said so we sit down and stay for the service. The mass is pretty well attended for a place so remote - perhaps the crowd is due to it being All Saints Day. We don’t understand too much of the sermon but the priest is very emotional and passionate in delivering it.
We were unable to see much of the inside because some of it is being restored and also because the mass was being said….but it is hard to imagine a better physical setting.
We continue on to Poppi on the back roads that descend from the Abbey to the plain…..the first part of the drive goes through more of the deep woods, and the red leaves that have fallen to the ground make a startling contrast to the naked trees.
As we continue on, the woods open up and we get some great broad vistas over the valleys and the adjacent hills.
Poppi is another one of those handsome Italian hill towns with narrow streets, stone buildings and an air of well-being even after 500 years. The castle is at the top of the town where there is a broad expanse with views in all directions. Since it is time for lunch and since we find a parking spot right in the front of the castle which is also in front of the Albergo Casentino’s restaurant, we decide that fate wants us to eat there.
The restaurant is vast and pretty well filled today…it is a holiday in Italy–All Saints Day. It is traditional to visit the family graves and also to have lunch in the country. They are able to seat us in a smaller overflow room with three or four Italian families and we have both a good meal and a good time watching the Italian families enjoy themselves. We split an antipasto plate–great prosciutto and salami along with Tuscan crostini followed by grilled pork ribs and roast potatoes for Diana and grilled sausage and spinach for me. After a very pleasant lunch complemented by the very nice house red, we walk across to the castle.
The castle tour is a lot of fun….you get an audio guide that has an actor impersonating the original lord of the castle and, while informative, it is very tongue-in-cheek and is a great contrast to the highly technical and stilted scripts that you frequently get. The castle is very fine….from the modern art in the courtyard
to the grand staircase inside
to the finely decorated room now used for meetings
sand the 15th century frescoes in what had been the living quarters.
And I get the added bonus of climbing to the top of the tower for great views over the town of Poppi and the Tuscan countryside.
We return to Chiocchio just before dark and have a chance to rest before going out to dinner with Rita and Lino at a local restaurant in the next town over, Strada di Chianti. Lino had once worked at Il Caminetto and we get a warm welcome from the owner. The dinner is great….tagliolini with duck ragu for followed by a nice tagliata of beef for Diana, and polenta cakes with bacon and cabbage followed by delicious cervelli fritti (fried brains) for me. The wine is the best we have had so far…a 2000 Vistarenni Chianti from Codirosso…..and only Euro 14.00 a bottle. We drank two….
Off to Florence in the morning…
posted by Jim Zurer at 4:32 PM
1 Comments:
Jim and Diane, somehow I missed your report on Chiocchio, Rita and Lino. It was much fun to read of your time with them and it triggered such good memories of them, their house, the restaurants, the views, etc. I miss them and am glad they will be there next summer (I hope). We did have time with them last summer.
Poppi is fun. We stayed at the Albergo there and so can picture you at dinner and touring the Castle. Casey loved the panorama downstairs. You would probably get a kick out of us blog entry about the dead horse leg there. http://kzintoscana.blogspot.com/2006/12/my-time-at-poppi.html
Maybe some day we will be in Italy at the same time.
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