Poetical Flowers

Posted on June 11, 2021 by Francis

The Prato Fiorito, that mountain presenting its grim fortress-like appearance in the Lima valley

shows a completely different and gentler look on its northern face.

It’s the difference between a scarp and a dip slope: gone are the steep rock buttresses known as ‘le ravi’ and, instead, a wonderful Elysian field spreads out containing the most varied collection of flora found anywhere in Italy.

Why is the mountain not wooded like so much of the Apennines? Clearly there was a time when trees covered its slopes. They were felled centuries ago for fuel and construction and the cleared land given over to sheep and goat grazing thus preventing the regeneration of new forests. Instead, the calcareous soil has given birth to hundreds of flower species including some of the rarest orchids.

In May the Prato Fiorito’s slopes are covered with myriads of ‘Narcissus Poeticus’ or the ‘poet’s daffodil’.

It’s a most apt name for not only does it bring to mind the Greek legend of Narcissus and Wordsworth’s lakeside golden host but also Percy Bysshe Shelley’s own visit to the mountain while staying at Bagni di Lucca, which inspired his poem ‘Epipsychidion’ (trans: ‘concerning or about a little soul’) especially those lines beginning.

Of flowers, which, like lips murmuring in their sleep
Of the sweet kisses which had lulled them there,

(For more of the Shelley connection see my post at

https://longoio.wordpress.com/2013/06/07/the-elysian-fields-of-prato-fiorito/)

I had meant to go the Prato in mid-May to see the wonderful display of Narcisi but was told that everything was late flowering this year, particularly on the Prato. May was so full of rain that I delayed my visit until yesterday and then it was a little late for the full display which only lasts around a week. It was a slight disappointment, perhaps, but still a gorgeous morning to spend in this paradisiacal place.

As with all lovely things there is a dark side to Narcissus Poeticus – as Shelley’s contemporary Keats writes ‘Ay, in the very temple of Delight Veil’d Melancholy has her sovran shrine’. All daffodil species are poisonous but this one is more poisonous than any other and eating it will give rashes, vomiting and severe headaches. However, just sniffing its perfume remains seductive and in the Netherlands and southern France Narcissus Poeticus is cultivated for its essential oil used in the making of perfumes where it combines the fragrances of jasmine and hyacinth. Two perfumes brands, ‘Fatale’ and ‘Samsara’, are based on this oil.

Recently, Narcissus Poeticus has returned to many gardens as part of the search for heritage horticulture. Its simple form, contrasted with the standard rather showier common daffodil, has produced a hybrid known as ‘Narcissus Actaea’ which has won a Royal Horticultural society award and can be now found in several garden centres such as this one:

https://www.rhsplants.co.uk/plants/_/narcissus-actaea/classid.2000008267/

Of course, even in Italy there are several mountains brimming over with fancy waves of this beautiful flower in May and June. Monte Linzone in the Bergamo Pre-Alps is famous for its crop of Narcissi and is a favourite excursion spot for those staying in Milan (as I used to do). Monte Croce which is near us, in the Garfagnana, is even called ‘Monte delle Giunchiglie’ (jonquils) and has what many regard as even more spectacular displays of this delicate flower.

You can read my post on Monte Croce at:

Elysium on Earth

And more of the Prato Fiorito at:

A Perfect Shelleyan Day

Narcissus Poeticus has even helped save a heroine and her pet from the depth of Outer Space where ‘no-one can hear you scream’. It was the spacecraft ‘Narcissus’ which enabled Ellen Ripley (acted by Sigourney Weaver) to escape with her cat Jones in that cult film ‘Alien’

and I managed to get off the Prato Fiorito in time yesterday morning before rumbling thunder proclaimed another afternoon of dramatic cosmic storms.

A Protecting Veil?

Posted on March 5, 2021 by Francis

The other morning I observed Archie, our youngest feline family member, now approaching his second birthday (which brings him to the equivalent of twenty-four human years in age..a young man in fact!) having fun with something. It turned out to be a mouse, that ‘wee, sleekit, cowrin, tim’rous beastie’ beloved of Robbie Burns. One part of me said ‘let him have his bit of fun – it’s his instinct anyway’; the other part felt sorry for the teeny rodent and so, after a few minutes and a few extra paw strikes from Archie, I took the petrified thing, which was playing dead, into my palm and transported it to a safer part of the garden and let it scurry off into the adjoining wood’s undergrowth.

I just wonder what happened to the poor creature; at least it had a couple more hours added to its brief existence.

I thought about how we too are placed in that tiny field mouse’s situation for a larger part of our lives than we care to remember. We too are being watched by predators and our greatest spots of vulnerability are carefully noted. Are they the body-snatchers ready with their pods to clone us and produce our equivalents in everything except for the individuality of our personalities?

Are they the tripods striding on their ungainly telescopic legs across the rural landscape to a little village where inhabitants are celebrating with merry-making the capping of their sons and daughters who have reached their sixteenth birthday so that they might become less rebellious and have all traces of original creative thought extinguished in them?

Are they the alien beings who regularly hover above Garfagnana’s Monte Palodina in their flying saucers eager to abduct incredulous humans living in the surrounding villages? Newspapers in our part of northern Tuscany have indeed reported a significant increase in UFO sightings around that mountain whose extra-terrestrial qualities I have already described in a post here https://longoio2.wordpress.com/2016/01/25/ufos-return-to-garfagnana/

At the same time, these sightings have been linked to the current pandemic situation which, in Italy, shows little sign of abating and threatens to turn the whole peninsula into a red zone worthy of a Martian invasion.

We are being watched. That is for sure. Whether it is the epidemiologist investigating probably the biggest news story since the dropping of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima or whether it is the conspirer ready to proclaim it is an internationalist plot to reduce the world population and to place humanity under big brother mind-control the fact is we are all being watched by unknown beings. They are not like the great cat paws toying with the lives of small mice. They are quite the opposite: invisible viruses ready to launch themselves on unsuspecting giants…us!

Many can, of course, deny this scenario. Flicking through often irresponsible social media I noted a video posted by a right-wing Italian staying in the UK. It showed the Brighton seafront filled with crowds enjoying the sunset and, as he was proud to point out, with only a handful wearing protective masks.

Of course, there are still heated debates about wearing masks or ‘mascherine’ as they are called here in Italy. But then there are debates about the wearing of compulsory seat-belts and bicycle helmets. Health and safety increasingly control our lives even in the more relaxed milieu of that corner of Tuscany where arguments are now raging about the impending imposition of safety barriers on Lucca’s walls. If somebody’s kid falls off the city’s imposing but unprotected sixteenth-century ramparts then whose fault is it? The city council or the unvigilant parent?

One thing is certain: there will be no protecting hand to save us from the perils of the world’s present nightmare as the mouse was saved from Archie’s razor talons and sharp teeth by my intervention. As to the vaccine let it remain our personal decision.

It is clearly up to us to decide where and what we are and if we cannot decide then I truly believe in the protecting veil of the Mother of God as so wonderfully evoked in John Tavener’s inspirational piece of music.

The Bird’s Peak

Posted on May 4, 2020 by Francis

The Apuan Alps become increasingly rugged the more north one goes. By the time Piazza al Serchio is reached the mountains more than deserve their appellation ‘alp’ as they do not at all look out of place in the Dolomites, such is their rocky jaggedness.

The Pizzo d’Uccello (1,781 m high) stands out among the other peaks of the Apuan Alps above all for its north face, which presents a sheer cliff almost 2,700 feet in height placing it in the same league as the most difficult climbs of the Alps. Indeed, it’s nicknamed the ‘Matterhorn of the Apuans’.

materpizzo

The Pizzo also marks the boundary between the upper Serchio valley (Garfagnana) and the Magra valley (Lunigiana) and, until the first half of the nineteenth century, was on the political border between the Duchy of Lucca and the enclave of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany which included Casola in Lunigiana. Today it marks the border between the provinces of Lucca and Massa and Carrara.

The Pizzo can be accessed by skilled rock climbers via its terrifying north face but it can also be climbed via its gentler south approach from the col known as il Giovetto. In 2005 in the company of two friends and their dog I climbed up from the Serchio valley to the Giovetto and the Foce a Giovo (not to be confused with that other ‘Foce a Giovo’ to the south, described in my post at

https://longoio3.com/2017/10/24/the-grand-dukes-stratospheric-road/).

This is a map of our route. We ascended via paths no 187 and 181 and descended via the purple-coloured track which we had to sometimes share with massive marble bearing lorries.

pizzo-uccello

The day of our ascent was perfect and the footpath, which had some rather dodgy tracts requiring scrambling on all fours, was very pleasant.

The views are absolutely fabulous and, while the Dolomites are of course unbeatable for sheer beauty, these Apuans come up a very close second.

Our descent took us to the Orto di Donna, which should have been once a pleasant valley, but is now somewhat defaced by the excavation of marble.

It’s surrounded by bold peaks including Monte Pisanino (which I’d ascended on a previous occasion), Monte Cavallo, Monte Contrario and Monte Grondilice. I just hope that one day mountain tourism will bring in more money than marble mining, for this whole area is of a surpassing natural beauty and should not be spoilt further.

I’m so glad I did this hike. I was rather fitter than now and I’m not quite sure whether I could manage it again in full. Perhaps I might attempt the ascent from Vinca on the other side of the ridge, a village I’ve described at

https://longoio3.com/2018/01/22/the-flying-mule-track/

Who knows? It would be great to do at least part of this walk sometime for it gives one a truly stupendous stratospheric feeling.

Monte Argegna

Posted on April 11, 2020 by Francis

One of the places we managed to see before the dramatic changes affect ing our planet this year was the sanctuary of Our Lady of Safekeeping (Della Guardia) of Argegna which is situated in the commune of Giuncugnano near the Carpinelli pass which divides Garfagnana from Lunigiana.

We first visited this delightful area in 2005 and were taken by the expansive level lawn in front of the sanctuary, unusual in such a hilly area.

Fifteen years later we passed by the sanctuary, stopped for a short while there and still found it as charming as ever.

The sanctuary dates back rather more recently than we thought. It was built at the end of the nineteenth century. In 1944 German forces set fire to it and in 1945 the sanctuary was strafed by British planes. Fortunately it was subsequently restored.

The sanctuary’s festival is held on the last Sunday of August and hopefully we might even make it there this year if the quarantine is terminated.

Here are some photographs I’ve managed to find of that first visit in 2005. Looking at places we visited in our past can be a reassuring thing to do in these troubled times.

At nearby Piazza del Serchio we passed by an old steam locomotive of a type in regular use in this region until the nineteen fifties and employed anew to haul special vintage train summer excursions on the Serchio railway line. Let’s hope that they return soon!

Calling All Wireless Set Lovers!

Posted on February 19, 2020 by Francis

The fortress of Mont’Alfonso which crowns the hill dominating Castelnuovo di Garfagnana was in a sorry state not so long ago. Slowly crumbling away its only use was as a local’s small-holding complete with geese and goats.

Happily, thanks to EU money, the fortress has recently undergone an extensive restoration project: its walls are once again magnificently impressive and its guardhouses and gatehouses have been excellently reinstated.

Mont’Alfonso now hosts several events ranging from food initiative to beauty contests to art shows to car rallies. One of the most memorable of the events we have attended was that dedicated to the great Italo-Argentinian composer and creator of the Nuevo tango Astor Piazzolla whose family it was lately discovered originated from a village in Castelnuovo comune, that of Massa Sassorosso. This gorgeous event with live music and a barbecue is described in my post at

Don’t cry for me Sassorosso

The fortress was built as a garrison of the Duchy of Ferrara to defend the border with the Republic of Lucca. Constructed between 1579 and 1586, it was an Este military garrison in the 16th and 17th centuries and during the Napoleonic period (1805 – 1814) was part of the Principality of Lucca and Piombino.

The fortress was sold back to the Este property in 1814. At the beginning of the twentieth century it passed into the hands of private individuals. The fortress, which had already deteriorated over time, was further damaged by the appalling earthquake that hit the Garfagnana in 1920.

It was only from 1980, that an impressive restoration project has been carried out on the fortress greatly contributing to the cultural and economic revitalization of the upper Serchio valley.

The fortress is also planned to become an important alternative energy research hub rather like the one we visited in Wales: the Machynlleth alternative technology centre.

We found out another use for the fortress yesterday. After attending Santa Croce hospital Castelnuovo we visited Mont’Alfonso. It was a bleak foggy day and we were the only visitors present. In the ‘casa delle arcate’ – the former officers’ mess – we discovered an astounding museum dedicated to vintage wireless sets. It was truly a delightful discovery for us radio hams.

“Radio: Voice of History” is the title of the exhibition of over eighty rare and precious pieces, part of the collection donated by a certain Armando Goldoni. The utterly captivating and certainly nostalgic presentation is a sort of itinerary of the history of radio from its golden years of the 1920s through to the 1960s and from the first ‘crystal sets’ to the sophistication and fashionable design of an item which, before television was certainly the centre-piece of the domestic scene.

(All photos courtesy of Alexandra Cipriani)

The display aims at highlighting not only the technological and aesthetic evolution of the ‘wireless set’, but also its social and cultural function. From being a novelty in Italian homes it spread rapidly throughout the country becoming the first mass communication medium, used for news, political propaganda, both popular and classical music and sports commentaries.

There’s also a section, recounting the contribution of this area of Garfagnana to the history of radio through Francesco Vecchiacchi (1902-1955) who was born in Filicaia, a hamlet in the municipality of Camporgiano. Francesco worked at Magneti Marelli (which still exists today as a major automotive firm manufacturing car dynamos and electronic components), where he took over the direction of the Radio Laboratory directing his research towards new achievements in electronic technology, the transmission of radio signals through radio links and inventing, during the Second World War , innovative radar systems.

The free admission exhibition is open to visitors from Monday to Friday from 9 to 1 pm; on Tuesdays and Thursdays, in addition to the morning, also from 3 pm to 5 pm at other times by appointment only.) More information can be had by phoning 0583 – 643201 or emailing montalfonso@provincia.lucca.it.

Nuts About Chestnuts

Posted on September 21, 2018 by Francis

In Italy school classes started on September 17th after their very long summer break of over three months. Of course, those students who have failed their exams will have spent much of their summer revising their subjects and for teachers there’s a lot of preparation time involved, so it’s not all sunshine, beaches and ice-cream for many.

The ‘feste’, however, continue and now that today is the autumn equinox the ‘sagre’ (or food festivals) concentrating on local produce are ready to launch.

‘Castagnate’, or chestnut festivals, abound in this Apennine part of Italy. Their main features are products made from the flour of the chestnut tree, or Castanea sativa (not to be confused with the somewhat inedible Horse chestnut prevalent in the UK, well-known to any schoolchild who has enjoyed playing ‘conkers’.

Actually, horse chestnut or Aesculus hippocastanum has its useful medicinal purposes in treating such ailments as varicose veins, haemorrhoids, enlarged prostate and diarrhoea. If eaten raw however it’s a useful way of doing someone in as it contains a poison called esculin. This was a particularly popular procedure in mediaeval times.

No such problems with the Castanea sativa, however. Some of its very edible products are:

Chestnut jam. (Crema di Marroni). Absolutely delicious. I like it spread on crumpets.
Chestnut flour pancakes, usually rolled up and filled with ricotta cheese, Nutella and , in some areas, pancetta (a type of bacon).
Chestnut honey.
Bomboneccio. A sort of chestnut cake made with chestnut flour, pine kernels, fennel and raisins.
Pane casereccio. Chestnut flour bread.
Mondine. Roast chestnuts

It’s fascinating to visit the Castagnate festivals just to watch these products being made. Every area has its own particular recipe and names. For example, our ‘Castanaccio’ is called ‘Migliaccio’ in Florence.

What is remarkable is that chestnut-derived products were scorned at by the immediate post-war generation since they were associated with poverty and famine – indeed were called ‘food for the poor’. Now, of course, these items have regained their full worth as wholesome and tasty items rather like polenta. I wonder which ‘poor man’s food’ have become fashionable again in the UK? Faggots, tripe, offal, chitterlings, oats? Do let me know please. It could be useful after March 29^th next year.

The main Castagnate festivals in our area are the following:

Item	Date	Place	Features
1	October 7, 12.30	Camporgiano	Polenta festival
2	October 7, 15.00	Metello, Castelnuovo di Garfagnana	Local products
3	October 8, 14.00	Cascio, Molazzana	Local products, food trail
4	October 14, 14.30	Trassilico	Local foods and products
5	October 14, 14.30	Castiglione and Trassilico	Local foods and products
6	October 21, 12.00	Pieve Fosciana	Local foods and products
7	October 28, 12.00	Pontecosi lakeside	Local foods and products
8	November 11, 11.00	Lupinaia, Fosciandora	Stalls, old trades, local products

CastagnataCascio

Two useful web sites to explore are at

http://www.sagretoscane.com/

And

http://www.eventiesagre.it/cerca/Eventi/Sagre/Ottobre/Toscana/

Here you can research into what kind of food festival you are looking for, where it is and when you want to visit it.

What about chestnutty things happening in Bagni di Lucca?

Last year there was a castagnata but to date I have found not indication of one for this year. Maybe later on?

The following events, not necessarily to do with chestnuts, are on the menu, however.

22-3 September. All day. The fabulous paese dei balocchi or Toyland for children of all ages, inspired by Carlo Collodi’s immortal book about a famous puppet’s unpredictably elongating nose.

28 September. 9 pm. Il Volo della farfalla, theatrical evening in memory of a young actor, Stefano Girolami.
29 September. Patron saint feast with procession at Granaiola.
30 September. Bagni di Lucca’s second-hand street market and attic sale.

Further afield there is the big castagnata at Marradi which takes place every Sunday in October.

There will be plenty more happening, of course. The main task, however, is to enjoy this extraordinarily warm autumn before the weather changes and we huddle around a wood fire.

JAZZ PREVIEW FOR CASTELNUOVO GARFAGNANA IAM FESTIVAL

Posted on May 29, 2018 by Francis

The biggest names in classical music together with young international stars meet in Castelnuovo Garfagnana from June 22nd to July 8th 2017 for the International Academy of Music Festival.

There will be twenty concerts by some of the best international artists in the International Academy of Music Festival, an event that, since 2003, brings to the Serchio Valley some of the best chamber music interpreters and is now in its sixteenth year.

The event, sponsored by the Tuscany Region and part of the “La Toscana dei Festival” regional project, attracts yearly around two hundred musicians from all over the world to entertain Castelnuovo and the Serchio Valley, thanks to the organization of Castelnuovo di Garfagnana’s Civic School of Music.

OPENING JAZZ CONCERT

On Friday, June 22, the festival opens with a jazz session at 9.30 pm in Piazza Umberto I (Castelnuovo Garfagnana) with the Fresu-Bonaventura duo, a special event sponsored by Banca Mediolanum. It’s a musical dialogue with wind and brass instruments permeated by Mediterranean lyricism. Paolo Fresu and Daniele Di Bonaventura, together with the Filetta choir of the successful “Mistico Mediterraneo” project with the album of the same name, recently published by the prestigious ECM label, are here as a more intimate duo. Attracted by ethnic, classical and electronic music, the two jazz musicians present a sort of poetic distillation of the project that has long characterized their increasingly frequent performances. The duo recorded a new CD in the spring of 2015

It’s going to be a very lively concert that that fully reflects all aspects of the contemporary music scene.

Further info on the website: www.iamitalia.com

JAZZ QUARTET WITH PIERO GADDI AND FABRIZIO DESIDERI

On Friday June 29th Piero Gaddi and Fabrizio Desideri perform in a completely new project. They will inaugurate their collaboration with two professionals, percussionist Francesco Petreni and double-bass player Filippo Pedol, and mark the return of the International Academy of Music Festival to the beautiful ambience of Castiglione di Garfagnana. The Desideri-Gaddi quartet will present its own pieces: a jazz that knows how to move between spontaneous enjoyment and an always open frontier of research and experimentation.

Further information on the website: www.iamitalia.com

PORGY & BESS IN GIL EVANS’ VERSION

On Saturday 30 June, in the elegant setting of Piazza Umberto I of Castelnuovo di Garfagnana, a highly evocative opera, ‘Porgy & Bess’, will be performed.

George Gershwin’s ‘Porgy & Bess’, is performed in the fascinating version by Gil Evans. Against the unique backdrop of the Rocca Ariostesca castle, the wind and brass orchestra of the Puccini Conservatory of La Spezia will give the public one of the twentieth century’s finest as well as one of its best known works. Conducted by Alessandro Fabbri, the performers will play immortal melodies like ‘Summertime’ and there’s a great trumpeter Manolo Nardi in an evening of great music.

US Jeeps Cross the Devil’s Bridge

Posted on February 3, 2018 by Francis

Recently, photographs dating from the last years of WW2 have appeared on local Facebook pages.

I was particularly struck by this one showing the famed Ponte Del Diavolo / Ponte Della Maddalena at Borgo a Mozzano being crossed by Allied Jeeps in 1944.

Here is the fabulous bridge as I saw it the other week. How the weather changes from one day to the next!

With all the other bridges blown up by the retreating Nazi-fascist troops the mediaeval bridge at Borgo a Mozzano was the only way to cross the Serchio north of Lucca. I suspect Jerry didn’t blow it up because he thought no vehicles would be able to use it. He was obviously wrong…

Thank goodness Jerry thought that. It would have been another tragedy to have lost this lovely bridge to the ravages of war. For instance, there used to be an attractive mediaeval bridge at nearby Calavorno:

After the war a new bridge was built further upstream which anyone going from Bagni di Lucca to Gallicano will recognize:

I’m wondering whether the Devil’s bridge was tested for carrying capacity before the Jeeps crossed it. I would have loved to hear the conversation among the US troops at the time.

Of course, it’s impossible to cross this amazing bridge by car now as there’s a bollard stuck in the middle of its entrance. If it were possible to get past this I’m sure arrests would follow, quite apart from having one’s photo plastered on the regional newspapers.

It’s a sobering thought, however, that a bridge built in the twelfth century by that formidable woman, Matilde di Canossa, to facilitate the crossing of pilgrims to the Holy See via the Via Francigena was used in the twentieth century, not to save people’s souls but to save Italy from having to suffer further years of fascist-Nazi hell and help to found a new peaceful vision of Europe.

Here are some further photos taken during that ever more tragic last year of WW2 when Allied troops were fighting the final battles against the Axis powers along the Gothic line crossing our part of the world.

Let us remember the over sixty years of peace we have enjoyed as a result of Robert Schuman’s vision (not to be confused with the romantic composer who has 2 ‘n’s at the end of his name).

The terrible thing about what is happening in the UK right now is not just the false promises proffered by a rapidly weakening government but the division it’s causing in families, constituencies, political parties and, ultimately, the country itself. The wounds inflicted by this atrocious dogmatic nonsense are, in my opinion, similar to those caused by the policy of appeasement in the 1930’s and the changed imperial outlook after the last conflict.

Anyone for Lo Sci?

Posted on December 29, 2017 by Francis

There’s absolutely no need to go to Abetone for one’s skiing in the Bagni di Lucca area, especially if one wants to avoid getting skied over by mad fanatics. Much more relaxing is Cutigliano which is a lot closer. Looking, however, through some pictures dating from the winter of 2003-4 I see that we tried out the ski slopes at Vianova which is five kilometres from Careggine, a beautiful village on the slopes of Monte Sumbra, just to the north of Castelnuovo Garfagnana. Here there are three skilifts serving seven kilometres of pistes and, if there wasn’t sufficient of the white stuff, snow generating equipment.

Although best suited for family skiing the slopes should also satisfy more expert skiers. There are also a couple of reasonable places to eat nearby.

From Vianova there’s a dramatic road leading to the Turrite valley and the picturesque, semi-abandoned village of Isola Santa.

The route has some great views. However, if one skids on the often icy winter conditions it’s a long way over the edge down to the valley floor.

Isola Santa is on the road which takes one across the main ridge of the Apuan mountains via the Cipollaio tunnel. One can also continue back to Castelnuovo and find the return route to Bagni di Lucca.

We have very fond memories of these places when our sole means of transport was our scooter, when everything seemed so amazingly new and when we were a little younger…

Cascio’s Chestnut Festival

Posted on October 12, 2017 by Francis

The castagnata is an essential autumn festa in Tuscany (or indeed any other region of Italy where chestnut trees grow). There was a time when the chestnut (castagno) supported this area’s population through the flour it produced when ground by special millstones. The ‘bread of the poor’ was considered a little shameful during the years of the Italian miracle of the sixties and seventies when a largely rural economy transformed itself into a largely industrial one. Yet it was the humble chestnut that saw villagers in the apennine areas overcome famine in difficult times like the second world war. (Read Eric Newby’s book ‘Love and war in the Apeninnes’ to know more).

Now, a little like oysters which in Dickensian times were considered equally a dish of the poor, the chestnut has made a big comeback and indeed it’s quite fashionable to eat necci (pancakes made from their flour) or delight in just munching roasted chestnuts. (I’m glad there are still chestnut roasters in the streets of London, too). To twist around Dr Johnson’s notorious definition of oats as applied to Scots, the chestnut which once supported the population is now a fashionable and, sometimes, pricey fare.

We’ve been to several castagnate over the years. Our first one (and still one of the largest in Tuscany) was at Marradi but there are many others throughout the region. Just check this link to find out about others in the region:

http://www.frammentiditoscana.it/castagna-ottobre-sagre-feste-toscana/

In our Lucchesia area there are many smaller ones but all are delightful. I’d put Lupinaia, Trassilico, Careggine (this October 15^th) and Pontecosi (on the 29^th of October) among our favourites. This year we returned to Cascio which has the added advantage of combining both necci and crisciolette, a dish peculiar to this village. (Do look up my post at https://longoio2.wordpress.com/2016/08/01/whats-a-criscioletta/ to find out what these delicious things are and how to make them).

The Cascio castagnata was very well attended though we did have to spend a little time queuing. But it was all worth it. After all these feste are social occasions and a queue here is always a good occasion to mix and chat and is certainly not to be treated like the typical supermarket queue rush.

In Cascio’s sweet church we were treated to a great concert by the Coro delle Alpi Apuane. Italy is famous for its male-voice mountain choirs whose sound is somewhat reminiscent of Welsh valley choirs and even Russian ones.