4th - 6th November
Castellina in Chianti
We woke up on the morning of the fourth to another glorious view of morning fog settling over valleys covered in golden vineyards - we were in Chianti country, after all. After a little drive we entered the small town of Castellina in Chianti. This was a lovely little town with its own castle and defensive walls. Castellina and the whole Chianti region was a defensive line for the nearby city-state of Florence in it's conflicts with its main rival Sienna. This inevitably lead to an increase in trade for Castellina. The town centre was very old-worldy and on the beautiful day we had it was very charming. There were also some Etruscan tombs, consisting of a number of stone chambers dug into a mound of earth with narrow linking corridors. The Etruscans were one of the most advanced tribes in the pre-Roman era, and the dominant force in central Italy in the pre-Roman era.
Sienna again
The next day we went for a little walk in the surrounding area of Castellina as it was another superb day. Later we headed back down south towards a meat festival we had seen advertised which meant driving past Sienna again, which was good for me as I got to take more photos of the place. Even though it was only a few days ago that we had last been in Sienna, we already noticed some changes - they had put the christmas decorations up whilst we had been away! While we were there I also took the opportunity to visit the Cathedral from the inside and this was a real treat. The outside of the building may have looked like it was made of Lego, but the inside was pure Beetlejuice! The Siennese must have been incredibly wealthy to build this place ad inside it is adorned with frescoes and sculptures from some of the big names of the Renaissance. The pulpit features incredible detail depicting the life of Jesus, the floor is covered in ornate designs and there are sculptures by Michelangelo as well as some great sculptures by other great artists including one of a Saint Eustachio by Andrea Bregno. The highlight for me though was the Libraria Piccolomini.
On entering you are surrounded by huge, colourful frescoes depicting the life of Pope Pio III and all along the sides of the room are huge tomes with the most intricate decoration on the pages. It was truly amazing to see.
We then headed for the hills, literally, as we wanted to be near Buenconvento as that was were the "Meat tasting festival" was taking place the next day. We found a suitable spot hidden behind a hut of some description (we had seen a lot of these pink shacks on the side of the road and I still don't know what they are for) and settled in for the night watching the clear sky for (and seeing) many shooting stars.
Buonconvento
On the 6th we woke up to some really dense fog. Pea soup doesn't even begin to describe its consistency. We were on top of a hill surrounded by fields but you couldn't see your hand in front of your face. We were in no rush to get to the Meat festival as the initial events were speeches and presentations, in Italian, of a new type of Salami so we whiled away the day playing guitar and generally amusing ourselves. Later we headed down to Buonconvento for walks around the walled town, and everyone we met was really friendly. No-one would let you pass by without a smile and a "Buonjourno". Even when we went for coffee we couldn't help getting chatting to a group of locals, although admittedly they were more interested in Nailz than us! Finally we showed
up at the meat tasting session to try the new product - Chiannini pig salami. Chiannini is the local breed of pig, which has it's roots in ancient traditions in this area. It tasted lovely, and we also were able to try some new olive oil which was also nice, if a little more bitter than more "settled" olive oil (when the new oil is made it is a bright green colour but after a few months it turns clear and has its familiar taste). At the session we also got to meet a local wine maker and taste their wares, which was also very pleasing! We had a good chat with Anna Lisa and she kindly gave us a free bottle which we enjoyed with some more Piccorino cheese later back at the van. Lovely.
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