A tour in a winery in Tuscany to discover traditions
I would have never thought that some of the old traditions I have discovered during my working experience at Fattoria del Colle were the same I already knew and grew up with. It has simply been a rediscovery.
I was born in Chiusi, a small village located on the border between Tuscany and Umbria, south of Siena. It is an old town with Etruscan origins surrounded by countryside and small lakes.
I have always wished to leave the countryside, and sometimes I did, to look for different spaces, different ways of living and views. Always very nice!
the kitchen of the farm
At Fattoria del Colle, located between Crete Senesi and Val d’Orcia and not far from Chiusi, I have found a place projected into the future but with strong ties with the past and its traditions. It is a place that makes its key feature the old customs, the old tales, the old winter games and folk evenings, nature and contact with it.
All this is a precious cultural richness which it is worth to transmit to all the guests who come for a visit or for a holiday in Tuscany.
And the interest that all this inspires in them is evident..
I remember once, I was carrying out a guided tour of the estate trying to catch the attention of a group who’s wish was to visit a real old farm, beside their interest in wine .
I had the impression that at the beginning they where thinking I was telling something I had only heard about, but when I specified that at home I had the same old jars for the extra virgin olive oil that I was showing them, their interest immediately changed. This increased when I showed them the old kitchen with the original fireplace. It has a corner used in the past as an incubator for the small chicks during winter. I added that my grandmother used to bring the chicks next to the fireplace to protect them from the cold winter. This habit was the same until some years ago in large and small houses. I thus became a witness and not only a teller!
All of this I had already experienced in my childhood in the small village I was born in and the experience at Fattoria del Colle helped me to rediscover and to share with people some of my most vivid memories:
My grandmother who every Sunday morning made hand made pasta and ran behind me screaming because I pressed the pici against the table ruining her job.
The vegetable garden so dear to my father and so rich in fresh vegetables and fruit all year long.
The long walks in the countryside looking for chamomile or mauve and other medicinal plants.
The hand made jams! How delicious and what fun to prepare them at home!
Whatever they are, our roots are so important that each one of us should be aware of their value and utility, without loosing the curiosity to discover the new and the modern, of course!
Alessia Bianchi