TUSCANY
TERRITORY
AND TRADITIONS
Tuscany is a region of central Italy. Its capital, Florence, is home to some of the most famous works of Renaissance art and architecture in the world, such as Michelangelo's David, Botticelli's works at the Uffizi Gallery and the Duomo. The territory of the region is varied, and includes the rugged Apennines, the beaches of the island of Elba in the Tyrrhenian Sea, the olive groves and vineyards of Chianti.
In the ninth century BC the Etruscans settled in the region giving it the name of Tuscia. Subsequently the Romans conquered Tuscany and united it with other territories giving it the name of Etruria. In the 6th century AD Tuscany was occupied by the Lombards until 774 and then regained. Later the region was disputed between the empire and the church, and some cities tried to make themselves independent thus forming the municipalities. In 1434 the government of Florence was taken over by cosimo de Medici The doctors extended their rule over the whole region, guaranteeing a long period of prosperity. In the seventeenth century, the end of the Medici dynasty and began with the rule of the Habsburgs - Lorraine. Finally it passed temporarily under Napoleonic rule, to then enter the Kingdom of Italy in 1860.
COUSINE
AND TRADITIONS
Tuscan cuisine is mainly made up of traditional dishes and desserts that have maintained their preparation for many years. The sacredness of bread, or the importance of not throwing it away but using it even when it is stale, is witnessed by a long series of ancient recipes that are still very common: panzanella, panata, ribollita, acquacotta, pappa al tomato, fettunta, vegetable soup, farinata, black cabbage soup or Pan co 'santi. Another characteristic of Tuscan cuisine par excellence is the use of white meat and game.
Tuscany is a territory in which traditions, customs, beliefs and superstitions coexist. Very famous is the Palio of Siena (famous competition of the districts with the jockeys on horseback), up to the palio of the somari, palio of the crossbow or palio of the small boats with wheels. To follow different types of rides, historical courts, historical football (or football in costume), sacred festivals and religious festivals. Until you get to tradions related to marriage and carnival.
Tuscany is certainly one of the most important wine regions in the world. Among the Tuscan wines it is a must to mention immediately Chianti, Brunello di Montalcino and Vino Nobile di Montepulciano, mainly based on Sangiovese grapes, and on the white side the Vernaccia di San Gimignano obtained from the homonymous vine.
TYPICAL DISHES
Florentine Steak
The Florentine steak is a cut of beef or scottona which, combined with the specific preparation, makes it one of the most popular dishes of Tuscan cuisine. It is a high cut including the bone, to be cooked on the grill or on the grill, with a degree of cooking "to the blood". It is obtained by cutting the loin (the part corresponding to the lumbar vertebrae, the middle of the back from the tail) of the Chianina calf: it has the "T" shaped bone in the middle, in English it is called T- bone steak, with the fillet on one side and the sirloin on the other.
Tomato Soup
Pappa col pomodoro is a "poor" dish of Tuscan cuisine, more precisely Florentine. The peasant origin of this first course is testified by its ingredients: stale Tuscan homemade bread, tomatoes, garlic cloves, basil, Tuscan extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper.
Lampredotto
Lampredotto is a dish of Florentine cuisine based on one of the four stomachs of cattle, the abomasum. It is a typical poor dish, still widespread in Florence thanks to the presence of numerous kiosks of the so-called "lampredottai", or lampredotto vendors, located in different areas of the city as typical Florentine street food.
Ribollita
It is a typical "poor" dish of peasant origin, whose name derives from the fact that once the peasant women cooked a great quantity of it and then it was "reboiled" in the pan in the following days, from which it takes the name of ribollita, because the real soup is heated twice, otherwise it would be a very ordinary soup of bread and vegetables.
Lard of Colonnata
It is produced with pork lard, seasoned in Carrara marble basins. Colonnata lard has a moist appearance, it is white with a slightly pinkish color and has a homogeneous and soft consistency. It has a delicate and fresh taste, almost sweet, finely sapid if it comes from the buttock area, enriched with aromatic herbs and spices used in the processing and with a fragrant fragrance.
Panzanella
The original recipe includes stale bread, red onion, basil, all seasoned with olive oil, vinegar and salt. In Tuscany and Umbria the bread is left to soak in water and then squeezed until it is crumbled and broken to mix it with the other ingredients; in the Marche the slices of stale bread are wet but not crumbled and the other ingredients placed on top as if it were a bruschetta.
Cacciucco
Cacciucco is a fish-based dish, properly typical of Livorno and Viareggio cuisine.
It is a fish soup made up of different qualities of fish, crustaceans and molluscs, generally octopus, cuttlefish, cicadas, scorpion fish and other so-called "poor" fish, set to cook at different times, depending on the different cooking time required from the type of fish, in tomato sauce and then placed on slices of toasted and garlic bread placed on the bottom of the plate.
STARRY
RESTARAUNTS
ENOTECA
PINCHIORRI
Via Ghibellina 87
Firenze (FI)
+39 055 242757
BRACALI
Via di Perolla 2
Ghirlanda (GR)
+39 0566 902318
CAINO
Via della Chiesa 4
Montemerano, Manciano (GR)
+39 0564 602817
PICCOLO
PRINCIPE
Piazza Giacomo Puccini 1
Viareggio (LU)
+39 0584 401806
ARNOLFO
Via XX Settembre 50
Colle di Val d'Elsa (SI)
+39 0577 920549
IL FALCONIERE
Località S. Martino Bocena 370
Cortona (AR)
+39 0575 612679
ORO D'ARIA
Via dei Georgofili 11R
Firenze (FI)
+39 055 200 1699
WINTER GARDEN
BY CAINO
Piazza Ognissanti 1
Firenze (FI)
+39 055 2716 3770
OSTERIA DI
PASSIGNANO
Via Passignano 33
Badia A Passignano (FI)
+39 055 807 1278
SILENE
Strada Provinciale Altore 9
Pescina (GR)
+39 0564 950805
LORENZO
Via G. Carducci 61
Forte dei Marmi (LU)
+39 0584 874030
GIGLIO
Piazza del Giglio 2
Lucca (LU)
+39 0583 494058
ATMAN
Via Borghetto 1
Loc. Spicchio, Lamporecchio (PT)
+39 0573 803432
OSTERIA
PERILLA'
Borgo Maestro 74
Rocca D'orcia (SI)
+39 0577 887263
IL PIEVANO
Via Spaltenna 13
Gaiole In Chianti (SI)
+39 0577 749483
BORGO
SAN JACOPO
Borgo S. Jacopo 62/R
Firenze (FI)
+39 055 281661
IL PALAGIO
Borgo Pinti 99
Firenze (FI)
+39 055 26261
LA
TENDA ROSSA
Piazza del Monumento 9
Cerbaia (FI)
+39 055 826132
LA TRATTORIA
ENRICO BARTOLINI
Località Badiola
Castiglione della Pescaia (GR)
+39 0564 944322
LA
PINETA
Via dei Cavalleggeri Nord 27
Marina di Bibbona (LI)
+39 0586 600016
LUX LUCIS
Viale Ammiraglio Morin 67
Forte dei Marmi (LU)
+39 339 796 1426
BUTTERFLY
Via Statale 12
Marlia (LU)
+39 0583 307573
LA BOTTEGA
DEL 30
Via di Santa Caterina 2
Castelnuovo Berardenga (SI)
+39 0577 359226
I SALOTTI
SP146
Chiusi (SI)
+39 0578 274407
CASTELLO
DI FIGHINE
Località Fighine 123
San Casciano dei Bagni (SI)
+39 0578 56158
LA LEGGENDA
DEI FRATI
Costa S. Giorgio, 6/A
Firenze (FI)
+39 055 068 0545
LA BOTTEGA DEL
BUON CAFFE'
Lungarno Benvenuto Cellini 69R
Firenze (FI)
+39 055 55 35 67
LA
TORRE
Str. Spicciano 7
Barberino Tavarnelle (FI)
+39 055 806470
IL
PELLICANO
Località Sbarcatello
Porto Ercole (GR)
+39 0564 858111
BISTROT
Via Achille Franceschi 14
Forte dei Marmi (LU)
+39 0584 89879
LA
MAGNOLIA
Hotel Byron, Via Enrico Morin 46
Forte dei Marmi (LU)
+39 0584 787052
ROMANO
Via Giuseppe Mazzini 120
Viareggio (LU)
+39 0584 31382
POGGIO
ROSSO
Localita' San Felice
Castelnuovo Berardenga (SI)
+39 0577 3964
MEO MODO
Località Palazzetto 110
Palazzetto (SI)
+39 0577 751222
CUM
QUIBUS
Via S. Martino 17
San Gimignano (SI)
+39 0577 943199
AL 43
Locanda dell' Artista Loc. Canonica
Lucignano 43 San Gimignano (SI)
+39 0577 955025