Italy – Discovering Authentic Tuscan Villages
One of the many joys of writing “Authentic Luxury Travel” is meeting people who share my love of real experiences and wandering off the beaten path. Case in point:
Dear Elizabeth,
I was just wondering if you could be interested in maybe suggesting some of your “followers” a trip to Italy – Tuscany, but a less known part of Tuscany.
Why here and why you? Because as you write, you are still interested in authentic places and in travelers (not tourists). I am enthusiastic of everything that is still authentic – so I could help you in creating an itinerary. In this part of Tuscany, the inhabitants are still Tuscan since generations (not English or German who bought a farmhouse ten or twenty years ago) and there are lots of things that are part of the history of these lands that could be discovered.
If we could create an itinerary in a season where not really many guests are coming, but where the weather could be lovely (in example end of April or May, or end of September and beginning of October) also the prices could be very affordable.
If you will answer I will appreciate it. If not, I wish you anyhow all the best.
Kind regards,
Maura
Pratello Country Resort
Dear Maura,
If you have time, please write a short itinerary, suggesting places to stay and places to eat and things to do (such as public markets, interesting little shops, walking trails, wine tasting, cooking lessons, and so forth).
I think this could make a nice article for Authentic Luxury Travel.
Elizabeth
Five days in Tuscany, by Maura
Peccioli is a small village in the northern Tuscan countryside with about 5000 inhabitants – all of them living here for generations. It is a small jewel where life is still people-oriented and not chaotic. Even if you have heard and read about Tuscany, about its beauty, about its cities of arts, maybe you never heard about Peccioli.
You can walk through narrow alleyways, sit in a small cafe in the main square, walk up and down the steps to the terrace with view of the Tuscan countryside and you won’t regret coming to this side of Tuscany.
You can stay at Pratello Country Resort, a beautiful villa dating back to XVII century, but completely restored and converted into a hotel. Pratello is a luxury resort, but still affordable if you chose the right time to stay here. It has a friendly atmosphere where everybody can feel at home.
You will be introduced to the history of the villa and its garden by a friendly receptionist who will explain in detail how it is that Pratello is a small place with a great past and it is part of the main Italian and Tuscany history.
Pratello will also offer you some mountain bikes to ride around: do not miss the “Tempio di Minerva Medica” in Montefoscoli. Only 6 km. from Pratello, you can reach it by bike in less than half an hour and find a temple in an architectural style that is quite uncommon for the area. Are you good bikers? Then continue from Montefoscoli to Palaia and enjoy this tiny village and its churches.
If you are visiting Tuscany just to relax and to enjoy real Tuscan life, then visit Peccioli on a Tuesday morning and enjoy the local market. After that you can stop for lunch at “La Vecchia Carraia,” a traditional pastry-shop in a corner of the main square that also offers a few seats for guests who want a real meal. Pastries, cappuccino and every meal are simple and unforgettable.
Continue then towards Lari, a charming castle-village. For its beauty it is really surprising that it’s not crowded by tourists. It’s full of atmosphere and you and its inhabitants can have it all almost for your own. Stop at L’ Antica Osteria al Castello – great Tuscan recipes with genuine ingredients in a lovely familiar atmosphere. If it’s nice weather, eat outside!
You can also have special experiences here at Pratello and in the surroundings. What about truffle hunting with tasting after it? In April we still have the Tartufo Bianchetto, and in October we can start the hunting of the precious Tartufo Bianco.
If tasting some recipes with the Tartufo is not enough for you, you can drive just a few kilometers towards Pontedera and stop in Forcoli in one of the small shops selling Pizza e Cecina. Everybody knows about Italian pizza, but not everybody knows about the Cecina – a chickpea focaccia. It was originally prepared only in Livorno, but now also in the province of Pisa. If you go to another region and you ask about a Cecina, they’ll look at you as you are asking about the moon.
As you are in the area and you have visited some less known Tuscan places, now you have to also visit some touristic places (there is a reason why they are so touristic!). So I would say avoid San Gimignano and visit Volterra, a famous Etruscan town worth a one day visit. There are many tourists, but there is also still a lot to see.
That’s it for the moment. I am looking forward to your comments.
Maura
Lovely advice, on our recent trip to Italy we avoided more “touristic” places in favor of those less traveled. I will look forward to Peccioli and others on our next La Dolce Vita trip.