Small Town Gems in Tuscany
Sometimes, during our tour season and in between tours, I get an opportunity to take some time to visit a place I haven’t experience before. In Tuscany there are so many places that warrant a visit, like Florence and Siena come to mind, of course, as well as Volterra, San Gimignano, Arezzo, and Greve in Chianti. These are just a few more well-known places that people think about when planning a Tuscany trip.
Florence, the center of the Renaissance, is unmatched with its art and iconic historical architecture. Siena’s famous horse race, the Palio, is an extraordinary event that takes place twice each summer, and its medieval architecture pretty much stands as it did 500 years ago. Volterra and San Gimignano, walled medieval cities, have much to offer travelers to enjoy. Volterra’s beautiful vistas, historic city center, and a Roman theater are fascinating, and San Gimignano’s towers give visitors a sense of what life was like in medieval times. For wine lovers, Greve in Chianti makes a perfect spot to visit what seems to be countless wine producers. Arezzo has an exciting jostling tournament on the first Sunday in September, mostly attended by locals, which is filled with costumes, marching bands, and topped with a magnificent display of horsemanship by each neighborhood’s cavalieri (knights).
However, if you are fortunate enough to have the luxury of time, there are so many little gems to discover throughout the region. I remember once walking through the city center gate of Pienza and smelling the savory fragrance of cheese from the local shops. The smell of cheese is the result of Pienza being Tuscany’s “capital” of pecorino cheese, the outcome of the excellent, flavorful sheep milk that comes from the pastures in Val d’Orcia. I learned the cheese makers came from Sardinia, in an effort by the government to repopulate abandon farms in the 1960s; free land was offered to these Sardi farmers, who then created this amazing array of dairy products over the years.
One summer, my associate Ottavia and I, came upon the little town of Collodi, which is located about halfway between Florence and Lucca. This was for many years the home of Carlo Lorenzini, who wrote “The Adventures of Pinocchio” under the pen name Carlo Collodi. Now this fairy-tale town is nothing like a Disney World exhibit, instead, its “real” center of town still preserves its medieval appearance. Another tourist attraction in Collodi is Villa Garzoni, known for its Italian Garden where Carlo Lorenzini's father worked as a gardener.
Pinocchio Park is a place where families can enjoy nature and children-centered attractions. I loved the simplicity of the place; the park is nestled in a spot with mature trees all around. As you move through the park, bronze sculptures speckle the landscape, including Pinocchio and the Fairy, the Fox and Cat, Jiminy Cricket and the Blue-haired Fairy all from the story of Pinocchio, greet you along the way. It’s like walking through the tale with each step you take. The museum at the park’s entrance, houses a collection of Pinocchio books, artifacts, and paintings.
As you can imagine, this park is loved by children who get to spend a day in a fairy tale, with a playground, a crafts laboratory where children can create their own characters with pens and paints, and build their own Pinocchio hat and long nose. There is even a vintage merry-go-round, a life-size chess board, and other games to play.
My favorite part of the day was the most adorable, little, outdoor theater where we came upon a group of children, most appearing to be on a school field trip, who were surrounding the stage called “ilpiccolo teatro dei bambini”. I was captivated by the enthusiastic interaction of the children with the puppets. Some of them standing up from their seats frantically screaming at the puppet who was intentionally counting incorrectly, resulting with the children in the crowd attempting to correct the puppet. It was as if the children were in a suspension of disbelief, thinking the puppets were real, acting as if they were negotiating with a real person.
I’ve experienced such a phenomenon before while attending a puppet show in Palermo. There is a little theater there designed in a way that makes the puppets almost appear life size. The absolute proficiency of the movements of these puppets by the puppet masters brings the audience into the story and helps them lose themselves during the performance. Then, at the end of the show, as the crowd cheers, the puppet masters step out onto the stage holding their puppets. Just before your eyes adjust to the scale of the puppets, you get a sensation that the performers are giants stepping out from backstage. It’s truly a wonderful experience, which I recommend to visitors of Sicily.
In addition to Pinocchio Park, there is the Historic Garzoni Garden, designed in the eighteenth century, which is located a few minutes’ hike away. The delightful array of plants, waterfalls, manicured walkways, flower beds, fountains, and towering statues provide a peaceful environment for a relaxing walk. The path includes the Scala d'Acqua, a waterfall flanked on both sides by steps, where the damp breeze has a cooling affect as you climb your way to the top. Also nearby is the Butterfly House, a large greenhouse where thousands of colorful, tropical butterflies fly around and feed on plants in the exotic garden. Back in the day, the Garzoni family were the lords of the land; their beautiful villa and gardens are itself a reason to spend some time in Collodi.
Traveling west of Florence is the City of Vinci, known as the birthplace of the artist Leonardo da Vinci. Surrounded by vineyards and olive tree farms, the city sits up on a ridge consisting of a historic city center, and as you would imagine the home of the Leonardo da Vinci Museum (Museo Leonardiano di Vinci) in the Conti Guidi Castle. The thirteenth century Church of Santa Croce in Vinci still has the baptismal font in which Leonardo was baptized. I found the small sculptures on the walls surrounding the baptismal font intriguing. The minimalism of the pieces on the white walls depict various stories from the Bible that draw you into the baptismal room. I later learned they were created by Cecco Bonanotte, one of the most prominent, living sculpturers in Italy. In 2000, he created the Porta Nuova (New Door) for the new entrance to the Vatican Museums.
Having some free time after a tour, our Itinerary Director, Ramona, and I had a day to take in many of the sites of Vinci, including the museum. Having traveled throughout Italy the past 12 years, I’ve come across many Leonardo da Vinci touristy exhibits that catch the eye of tourists; however, none of those types of exhibits could match a visit to this museum and city. Filled with real operational, mechanical machines that are accompanied by the corresponding original drawing by Leonardo da Vinci and a description in many languages, the Museo Leonardiano di Vinci gives the visitor a sense of just how brilliant this man was. The Carro Armato (tank), a tortoise shaped vehicle, was designed to have eight men power its movement by turning cranks connected to gears that turn the wheels. Openings around the tank could be used to position cannons giving the ability to fire in every direction. And just like more modern tanks, there is a turret at the top of the machine giving the operator an observation of the surrounding battlefield.
Another ingenious device on display is Leonardo’s fully automatic saw designed to use hydraulic energy to efficiently saw wood, stone, and even marble. Having a copy of Leonardo’s actual drawing, gives the visitor a detailed illustration of all the working parts of the device. There is also a room, "Leonardo and Anatomy", devoted to his study of the human body displaying many drawings and notes. After visiting the museum, I came away thinking he must have worked every moment of his life when he wasn’t sleeping.
In a separate building, there is a display of the great master’s most famous paintings in an exhibition of life-sized, digital reproductions that take you through the artistic life of da Vinci. Of course, there is The Last Supper, which I had seen the original for the first time earlier in the year in Milan. The world’s most recognizable da Vinci painting, The Mona Lisa, has a description explaining how the painting was started in 1503, and followed Leonardo to Milan, to Rome and finally to Amboise, France. I was surprised to learn that the painting was never delivered.
To complete the Leonardo immersion, we took a short trip to the hamlet of Anchiano, which is the location of the farmhouse where Leonardo was born. Inside the simple home is a hologram film of Leonardo telling stories about his life and work. As we left the farmhouse, we were treated to one of the most beautiful sunsets over the vineyard landscape surrounding the village. After a day in Vinci, you come away understanding that Leonardo da Vinci was and is the greatest genius of all time, and a visit to Vinci makes for the perfect day trip in the hills of Tuscany.
