Mugello 2004

I'd been seeing Eileen for just a few months, so it was a big step to arrange a holiday together. We found a late deal for a very cheap week in a little cottage in Tuscany. Flights were to Forli, near Bologna, with Aer Lingus.

It's about a 100km drive from Forli to San Piero a Sieve, the town nearest to our cottage, but we badly underestimated how much the terrain would slow us down in the underpowered rental Pugeot. It's a main road, but it twists and winds a lot to get up to the Passo del Muraglione at over 900 metres above sea level. The result was that, rather than our announced arrival time of nine o'clock it was after half-past ten in the evening when we approached our destination.

To add to the fun, the site at Trebbio is high up above the town of San Piero, along a couple of kilometres of steep, unmade road. And it was very dark. We'd tried to phone the rental company's agent to say that we were going to be late, but just got an answering machine, telling us, in Italian, to phone the "emergency" number if required. When we tried the emergency number, we got an answering machine, telling us, in Italian, to phone the "emergency" number if required...

Following the rental company's directions though, we found the cottages. Everywhere was dark and deserted. More telephone attempts ensued, to no effect. So eventually, we decided to drive the few hundred metres further towards the castle. And discovered civilization! Well, a couple of inhabited houses, including the home of the temporary stand-in for company rep. She was very nice; spoke excellent English, and got us settled in to our rustic home.

We'd made the mistake of bringing no proper food to get us started, and shopping at that time of night was obviously out of the question, so dinner was a frugal oatcake and cereal bar affair. At least we had coffee. And we'd made sure we knew where to buy food the next day, Sunday.

Trebbio is a castle on a hill, in the Mugello, North of Florence. It owes its current, unmistakably Medici outline to rebuilding under Michelozzi in 1427 for Cosimo de' Medici. (There's a similar, more famous castle along the road at Cafaggiolo.) The castle remained in the family's hands for over two hundred years and was the boyhood home of Cosimo's descendant, aother Cosimo, who became Grand Duke of Tuscany. Trebbio is featured in a series of "lunettes" painted for the Grand Duke by Dutch artist Justus van Utens, and now in the Museo di Firenze Com'Era in Florence. If you look carefully at about the two-o'clock position, you can just see our cottage! The other, taller old house next to it is named after Amirgo Vespucci, who is supposed to have lived there.

On Sunday morning, after a (very) small breakfast, we went to buy some provisions. Bread, pasta, olives, wine -- just the essentials. Then we went into nearby Borgo San Lorenzo, the largest town and "capital" of the Mugello. As it happened, it was Festival time, featuring the citizens dressing up in the clothes of bygone times, and girls dancing on the steps of the town hall. Check out that can-can dancer kicking well above her head height. Everyone seems to be having fun anyway.

Florence is only 20 kilometres down the road: an easy day trip. Driving in the city is as frought as you might imagine and we chickened out quite early and parked a bit too far from the centre. It was a long walk. On the positive side -- no problems with traffic when leaving! In retrospect, train from Borgo San Lorenzo, or one of the intermediate stations might have been a better idea.

I had to make a visit to the cloister at San Lorenzo. It's so peaceful. Some day, I'm going to disobey the "strictly prohibited" signs and sneak in to the garden to steal an orange so I can plant the seeds.

Next day, we decided not to travel anywhere. We'd go for a walk in the beautiful countryside around Trebbio. It's incredible that the Mugello is so close to Florence, yet relatively wild, and quite unpopulated. Just the opposite side of Trebbio's hill, we got a superb view of the Lago di Bilancino -- "balancing lake", a man-made reservoir designed to control the Arno's floods. There's a lido on the lake, and lots of activities. Just a bit too far for us to walk, though.

Fortunately, the site at Trebbio has a number of pools for the visitors to use. Perfect for cooling off after a long hike. Looks idyllic? It certainly was.

Our cottage was rustic, quite basic apart from the excellent modern bathroom, but more than adequate for our needs. We weren't the only residents though. Around four o'clock each morning, the rats would start tap-dancing noisily in the roofspace above our heads, and one morning, I found this nippy chap on the bathroom floor. I rushed off to get my camera.

One day, we were sitting in the sunshine under the pergola and a large, handsome rat appeared on top of the wall, looked us over and disappeared. That was the only sighting we had, although the noise continued.

I could hardly visit Tuscany without saying hello to San Gimignano. A long drive, but I thought it was worth it. It's only a little town, and I know practically every square metre of it, but I just love the atmosphere. Even hordes or tourists don't spoil it for me. On this visit, we'd just missed the festival by a week or so (I wonder who was Queen this year).

Next day was 24th June, the festival of San Giovanni, St. John the Baptist, who is patron saint of Florence. The main event in Florence is the historic "football" at Santa Croce (see my earlier article) but it's for the fanatics only. Actually, we missed most of the pomp and ceremony, just catching a bit of renaissance flag-waving in Piazza della Signoria.

We decided on a visit to the Boboli Gardens, and found the outer courtyard of the Pitti Palace full of Ferraris. The Ferrari Club were having an outing. I can recommend the little cafe inside the inner courtyard for a beer and a snack. We stayed on the Oltrarno for dinner, at Il Santo Bevitore (I make that "The Blesséd Drink"). We timed our arrival perfectly to get the last unbooked table because the restaurant got very busy as the evening went on. The food was divine. (I've been back since, and it's still fabulous.)

Later in the evening, we watched the San Giovanni fireworks before driving home.

The next day was our last, so no excursions, just a restful time at home. The current owner of the castle kindly allowed us and a German family to see around the castle gardens and visit one of the public rooms, with a guide giving us a brief commentary in English and German. At one point, she mentioned (in German) "developing the estate for tourists" and the small German boy asked his mother "What are tourists, Mummy?" She replied, dryly, "People like us, dear."

In the kitchen, we were offered a small glass of Vin Santo. Very hospitable.

That evening, our last, we decided to try San Piero a Sieve for dinner. It's a small town -- hardly more than a village -- but in typical Italian fashion, sports quite a number of small eating places, mostly quite basic osterie and pizzerie.

We followed a painted sign off the main road and found the Taverna dei Medici, very artfully created in a restored medieval building with brick vaulting. I think it was a barn or hayloft!

Technically an enoteca, or food and wine bar, the Taverna dei Medici was very atmospheric, and the food was good. We'd arrived around nine and there were very few people at the tables, and wondered how the place stayed in business. By eleven though, diners were arriving in droves. We probably should have come down on that first evening instead of starving!

Then the short drive home, mostly upwards. I'd timed the drive from the main road up the steep, rough track at about an average of ten minues. I reckoned it was smoother to keep the speed up and let the suspension absorb the bumps, rather than try to pick a way round the river channels and potholes. It was fun, with the added excitement of an unfenced drop back into the darkness of valley on the left side.

Our flight home was in the evening, so we had time to spare on our last day. We loaded up the Pugeot and went a short distance in the "wrong" direction to visit the gardens of the Villa Demidoff, at Montorsoli, not far from the outskirts of Florence. Originally a Medici estate, the former palace had already fallen into ruin and disappeared when it was bought by Russian aristo Prince Paolo Demidoff, who had the current villa constructed from the Medici's coachhouses.

The gardens are extensive and full of features and constructions, but in some of the more wooded parts there is an interestingly humid and opressive air. It was not entirely a surprise when we saw a snake drop into the Demidoff's outdoor bathing pool and swim across it.

By about midday, we had fully explored the park and departed on the first, short leg of the trip home. We stopped in Borgo San Lorenzo and looked for a place to have lunch. Everywhere was closed for lunch!

Then we found a promising-looking enoteca "Cantina de' Savi" with tasty snacks and wine by the glass. Hip, trendy and definitely with an eye to the tourist development of the Mugello -- well worth a visit.

Then it was back across the mountains to the little airport at Forli. (The arrivals hall is a tin hut and passengers have to push luggage from person-to-person on the unpowered baggage carousel. It's a Ryanair destination, but Aer Lingus were only using it while Bologna was resurfaced. The airport, not the city.)

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