Experience Tuscany

Within the last twenty years the Chinese population of Prato has greatly increased to reach estimates of up to 20 thousand residents, although unofficial estimates are much higher. In 1988 there were 31 Chinese residents in Prato, 20 years later things have changed dramatically.
This is the largest Chinese community in Italy. The Prato Chinatown has been recently defined by the Washington Post one of a kind in the world. Indeed here non Asian people and Italians feel awkward, as if they were in China. Here you can find Chinese stores for any necessity. Food, home equipment and kitchen utensils, technology stores, restaurants, gambling places, and more. Some places do not even have Italian speaking personnel and some restaurants only accept Chinese customers. While the latter are of course extremes of a wide array of experiences, Chinatown in Prato is certainly an interesting reality to discover. The main artery is Via Pratese, where the largest and most furnished stores are present. Here everyday it is very hard to spot a wester face, and more often than not if you wish to buy something you need to speak some Chinese or hope a first generation Italian from Chinese parents works in the shop and comes to the rescue.
Why Prato? Well, the city has a long lived textile production history. During the centuries the city has been at the center of innovation and superior craftsmanship as far as the production of new textile materials and techniques is concerned. One example for all was the long lasting relation between the Russian Tsar court and the city. The fame of the town was world wide spread and the Chinese workers of the Zhejiang region, a very poor portion of China but with a long tradition in the textile industry, arrived in Prato to find work in the factories. Their presence was mostly filling black market jobs at the beginning. With time many grew to become entrepreneurs and started calling other Chinese people to Italy to hire them, thus creating an exponential effect. The last decade economic crisis has boosted the Chinese economy in Tuscany, as their products offered on the market have found a renewed interest due to the increasing cost of living. With time production has also improved, and if fifteen years ago “made in China” was synonym of the cheapest quality, nowadays things have changed radically.
Of course there still are many negative aspects that any integration process brings along. Some put off the newcomers capitalizing on cliches and local news reporting crime stories. The process has started nevertheless, and it is encouraging to see Italian and Chinese getting married, and the first or second generation Italians of Chinese descent embrace both cultures equally with all the difficulties that that also embodies.
A stroll in Via Pratese in Prato, Tuscany, certainly is an interesting experience to make. Whenever you are in Florence or are visiting the historic center of Prato, take an extra step towards this section of town. There you will find thousands of imported goods and foods from China, and will live a very contemporary reality of Tuscany.

Florence offers many Japanese restaurants in its city center, but there is one restaurant that sits on the outskirts of Florence, more precisely at Osmannoro, where you will also find Ikea, the factory store of Cavalli and much more.
Tomo Sushi is along via Pratese that connects Florence to Prato. A wonderful magnolia tree salutes customers that enter the restaurant. The interiors are quite sober and very comfortable. The open restaurant area sits more than fifty people, and is divided from the more private tables for groups that are surrounded by paper and wood dividers. Here customers sit the western style with a Japanese flavor, as there are no chairs and legs can be tucked in and under the large tables. The walls are adorned with beautiful kimonos and traditional Japanese puppets and masks. The atmosphere is rendered more welcoming thanks to traditional Japanese songs and music.
The service is very fast and each dish is decorated with careful attention. The menu includes much more than just sushi. You will find many kinds of miso soups, Japanese skewers, tempura, teryaki, cirashi, and of course sashimi, temaki, hossomaki, uramaki, gunkan, futomaki, and a large selection of udon, soba, and rice dishes. Everything is very good, although the sushi rice could be better tasting and less salty.
The sushi man is Japanese, as is one of the owners, and you can see him work behind the sushi bar preparing your dishes. The food is also served as specials. The usual boat of sushi could not miss a place of honor, although a great deal are also the sashimi and super sashimi platters. The fish is really good, tender and masterfully cut. A dish to try is the selection of cirashi, slices of sashimi resting on a bed of rice and sprinkled with sesame seeds. The rice for this dish is actually great.
Altogether the restaurant is very clean, with excellent service, average prices, and very good quality food. The restroom is extremely clean, not a side note to undervalue.
Tomo Sushi is the place where to go when taking a break from your shopping at the Cavalli store or the many other leather goods sotres of the area. The lunch menu is very good and even less expensive than dinner.

Find here the map to get to Tomo Sushi:

View Tomo Sushi Florence in a larger map

Cinestrata is a very old Tuscan recipe. The tradition reports its origins back during the Renaissance period. This recipe is actually most typical of the Chianti region, and is has been almost completely forgotten even by Tuscan people, which over time have neglected this quite particular but excellent soup. During the Renaissance it was used to refund vigor into the body of the ill ones, or to replenish the energies of the newly wedded couples after their first night together.
There are still few families that today continue the Cinestrata tradition preparing it with chicken broth, egg yolks, Vinsanto, sugar, nutmeg, and cinnamon. The result is a yellow soup that reminds the color of a quite common Tuscan plant the Ginestra, or scotch broom.
If you feel like exporting this recipe from Chianti to your home, below is the recipe. You will find it peculiar but good, and especially reinvigorating!

Ingredients:
- 50 grams of butter
- 4 Eggs
- Half-cup of dry Marsala liquor or Vinsanto
- Cinnamon
- Nutmeg
- 1 pint of chicken stock
- White sugar

Preparation:
Separate the white from the yolks of four fresh eggs and set the yolks in a bowl. Add the Marsala or Vinsanto and the cold chicken stock. Mix everything thoroughly adding a pinch of cinnamon powder. Then filter everything with a sifter letting it drop into a pan. Set the pan on heat, add the butter cut into small pieces and cook, stirring often, until the mixture has thickened a bit. Now pour it into broth cups and sprinkle the Cinestrata with a little sugar and nutmeg, then serve.

“Underwater in Tuscany” is a scuba diving contest that will bring you to the discovery of the fantastic sea bottom in front of the Tuscan coast. The uncontaminated waters of Tuscany each year gain the highest recognitions from Italian national environmentalist associations. There are few other places with such clear and pure waters where thousands of animal and plant species thrive. You will discover such a high density of underwater flora and fauna that will leave you bewildered. Each year thousands of international scuba divers come to Tuscany to enjoy a safe and perfectly preserved underwater environment that allows hours of fun.
You will have the chance to be one of the two lucky winning couples that will spend three nights and three days on the wonderful Elba Island, which preserves some of the most spectacular sea bottoms thanks to the marine park of the island. Elba Island is part of the Tuscan archipelago together with other wonderful islands such as the Giglio and Giannutri. During your holiday in Tuscany you will have the chance to also discover these other wonderful islands with their wild natural environment and sea bottom.
What is to be won exactly? The contest includes two identical prizes of three nights for 2 people on the Elba Island. Your stay will be in a superior double bed and breakfast room with half board service, a personal boat with scuba diving instructor at your disposal that for two full days will lead you in the most wonderful spots of the Tuscan islands, and finally free ticket entrance to Tuscan museums. If you wish to have more details on the prizes visit this page.
To participate to the contest simply visit this page. You will have to introduce your email address and a password to access the simple game that once solved will bring you to the registration page and give you the possibility to win one of the two fantastic prizes.
Good luck!

Tuscany apartments Il Vigno rises among the uncontaminated hills of Tuscany. This organic farm includes 4 lovely and fully furnished apartments that can accommodate two, four or six people at a pinch. They all get their names from local plants that grow in the wild and are typical of these lands. Like the apartment Ulivo, romantic and cozy, it’s the ideal for a couple. Larger apartments like Quercia and Ginestra have one double bedroom and a comfortable sofa bed for two more guests. On the estate of the property is also a farmhouse independent from the other apartments. This is La Casa del Torrente (see picture above), a larger accommodation in Tuscany that welcomes up to 6 people with its 95 square meters of size, two double bedrooms and one sofa bed. Here you will also get more amenities like a fireplace for colder winter days, a satellite TV set, a private terrace and a gazebo for your al fresco dinners.
The formula at Tuscany apartments Il Vigno is that of self catering apartments, but you will be surprised to know that breakfast is included in the price! After breakfast you can head straight to the swimming pool to relax sunbathing and enjoying the world famous Tuscan landscape from the property terrace. Else you can start your day with a fun day trip. This Tuscany farmhouse is indeed located in a very favorable position close to many itineraries of great cultural and gastronomic interest. The many towns, monasteries and villages will keep your holiday interest at its highest. Near the property you will discover the native house of Michelangelo Buonarroti, the renown sanctuary of La Verna bound to the life of Saint Francis and his stigmata, the precious towns of Anghiari, Monterchi and Sansepolcro, where Piero della Francesca’s works are preserved. If you would like to go a little further, within just one to two hours drive you will get to cities and towns like Perugia, Arezzo, Siena, Florence, Montepulciano and Pienza.
Prices also include swimming pool usage, mountain bikes, hiking maps, consumption of organic products grown on the property, and heating for the colder months! Visit these Tuscany apartments and see their pictures on ThriftyTuscany.com.

Great news for those that wish to travel in winter to Tuscany to ski and enjoy the wonderful Tuscany mountains in the Pistoia province. There is a touristic agency that offers great discounts on transportation and monetary incentives on mountain lifts for groups of people that are of at least 15 people. More info here.
The Tourism Promotion Agency also offers great advantages for weekend and weekly stays. Half board stays of three days and two nights start at only 175 euros per person including your accommodation and all the mountain lifts for two days. A full week stay with half board service is only 480 euros per person! And if you decide to stay at Cutigliano Doganaccia, the price is even lower, at 145 euros for the weekend and 410 for the whole week!
You will be able to enjoy well over 60 kilometers of wonderful ski slopes in an amazing natural setting. Here modern lift equipment satisfies all skier levels. The equipment includes from the simplest stand-up ski lifts to the protected and fully enclosed high lifts that lead to the peak of the mountain. From these privileged points of view you can really appreciate all the beauty of Abetone and the Tuscany mountains.
Less expert skiers can learn this wonderful sport at ease thanks to the many school camps that everyday gather practicing skiers with teachers that for a few hours teach all the techniques to become an excellent skier. There is a fantastic discounted rate also for those who are total novices to skiing and do not even have the equipment. For just 330 euros per person you will have half board stay for two nights, two days’ worth of ski lifting, 4 hours of one-on-one ski lessons, and two days boot and ski rentals, while for a week stay the offer is even better. You get all the above for six days at 725 euros per person. Prices are lower if instead of Abetone you choose Cutigliano Doganaccia. Weekends are for 275 euros per person and weekly rates are at 605 euros per person! For more info on these great rates please visit this page and this page. Unfortunately you will have to use a translator to get them in English. At the bottom of each page is a form to request info and reservations. You can fill it in English and it will be answered to in English.
These great rates are valid for the entire 2010 season. For as little as 810 euros per couple you will be able to stay one full week in Tuscany half board and enjoy the wonderful mountains and great little towns that have made the history of this portion of Tuscany. Towns like Fiumalbo just wait to be discovered after a full day on the white peaks. Learn to appreciate the local cuisine, so different from all other parts of Tuscany, and experience a great winter in Tuscany!

Unusual. This is probably the mildest adjective you may think of. Crazy but brilliant surely follow the train of thoughts of anyone that for the first time hears about and sees the Ponte Vecchio Challenge.
It’s been ten years now that every year in December from the 18th to the 20th golfers from all over the world challenge each other on a very unusual “green”. These champions have to use all their precision golfing skills to make it from Ponte Vecchio to green platforms, and try their best not to make a…whole into the water! The tee is indeed off Ponte Vecchio straight over the water surface of river Arno. Special platforms with synthetic grass are anchored to the bottom of the river and float on the water surface. These are the patches of green that golfers participating to the Ponte Vecchio Challenge have to hit and make the ball stay on. It sounds and is extremely difficult, as these little island are not at all large. Players can choose among three distances from the Ponte Vecchio; the further the more points they can gain. The game develops along the course of two full days and the Round Robin Medal game formula is employed. There is a total of 12 players, each representing their own nation. They are divided into 4 groups by draw, and the first round is played as teams. The best of each group passes the first round to go into semi finals and then finals against the winners of the other groups.
The 2009 edition was won by Norwegian Ian Are Larsen, that also won the 2008 edition. Who will win the 2010? If are passionate about golf, do not miss the next December 18 to 20 in Florence! This is a great time to be in Tuscany to enjoy the Christmas atmosphere at its peak and see the wonderful city of Florence under clear winter skys in all its beauty. The inauguration ceremony is also a nice event to attend on the morning of December 18. Sky divers drop from above to land exactly on the first golfing platform.
If you would like to have a better idea of all this event in Florence, Tuscany, entails watch this video as it gives you greater insight on the Ponte Vecchio Challenge.

Get the Flash Player to see this player.

A very unusual way of discovering Tuscany, a new experience to rediscover an ancient relationship between man and nature. This and more is the Donkey Trekking program that Gli Amici dell’Asino have developed in Tuscany dedicated to adults and children in particular.
This association was born near the city of Arezzo on the Casentino mountains to foster the appreciation of donkeys as sensitive animals as loyal companions during excursions at the discovery of historic trails off beaten tracks. Thanks to the employment of donkeys, you will be able to visit places and discover historic landmarks that would really be hard to reach otherwise. The slow pace at which donkeys move is especially attuned to that of children. The family oriented organization of all the activities makes of these excursions and this association the perfect occasion to spend a splendid family experience in Tuscany. You and your children have a wide range of choices to learn to love and respect these wonderful animals. The grounds of the association offer large spaces for short donkeyback rides on the estate. But if you and your family are more on the “adventurous” side, the best is to go for a day trip excursion of the wonderful Casentino mountain with a donkey.
These excursions are guided and offer the emotion of riding these animals fully equipped like it was once customary. You will travel the Tuscan lands as peasants carrying their goods and belongings used to up until just a hundred years ago or even less. The saddled donkey will have to carry you, your food and other equipment through the mountain trails of an unspoilt natural landscape. There are many already established excursions, but the association helps each person and family by customizing and adapting them to their needs.
During these excursions you and your children will learn that the famous stubbornness of donkeys is reserved only to mean and cold-hearted people. They become very obedient as soon as they encounter a gentle hand that can understand their immediate needs. You will immediately be conquered by the nice sensitivity of donkeys.
This is a great activity to do in Tuscany. The next organized trips are the following:
Weekend of May 1 and 2. You will discover the Arno valley in the Arezzo territory, it’s medieval castles, wonderful landscapes and millennial woods.
Weekend of June 5 and 6. A trip through the hamlets and the wonderful hills of Tuscany.
Weekend of August 25 and 26. The National PArk of Casentino Forests and its “green cathedrals” will unveil wonderful biodiversity treasures.
Weekend of October 2 and 3. Greeting the coming of fall with its thousands of colors, sounds and fruits in the Arno valley aboard a donkey!

For more info please visit www.gliamicidellasino.it.

With Ashes Wednesday Carnival is over and Lent starts, the forty-day period that precedes Easter Sunday five weeks from tomorrow. There is a very Florentine biscuit that is prepared only during this period of the year, the Biscotti Quaresimali, or Lenten Biscuits. They are without doubt one of the most typical sweets in Florence during the Easter period.
Delicious chocolate cookies shaped to resemble the capitalized letters of the alphabet are prepared by the best bakeries and also sold in supermarkets only during this time of the year.
If you are looking for traditional flavors of the Florentine cuisine during Easter Sunday and Easter Monday, then you should stop in one of the several good artisanal bakeries of the city and experience the delicious Lenten Biscuits. By the way, children love them not only for the chocolate but because they are great to play with and eat! The best thing to do is try homemade biscuits, but grocery stores in the city carry Lenten biscuits made by small local businesses that keep the quality level high.
But of course if you are not going to be in Tuscany or anywhere near Florence during this time of the year you will need to prepare the biscuits at home, and if you like cooking here is the traditional recipe for the Florentine Lenten Biscuits.

Ingredients:
- 150 grams of white flour
- 2 egg whites
- 180 grams of powder icing sugar
- 30 grams unsweetened cocoa
- Orange peel

Preparation:
In a bowl, mix the sugar, flour and cocoa. Separate the egg whites from the yolk, and in another bowl whip until they have assumed a quite stiff consistency. Then mix the egg whites with the mixture of sugar, cocoa and flour until you get a creamy and not too solid dough. Now add the orange rind that you have previously grated. Be careful not to grate the white part but the orange peel only.
Grab your pastry bag (if you do not have one you will have to get it) and start shaping the dough into alphabet letters straight on the baking pan. Set a baking sheet on the pan first for best results. Heat the oven at 150 Celsius then set in the oven for 15 to 20 minutes. Your Lenten Biscuits are ready!

The flags of Palio of Siena are the protagonist of the La Città del Si, City of Yes, to celebrate the seven hundred years of Costituto Senese. The exhibit was inaugurated on September 26th 2009 at the Santa Maria della Scala in Siena with the title “The Dream of the Middle Ages”.
To create the exhibition many elements were recovered that tell the story of the Palio and the seventeen contrade. The Palio flags on show present interesting iconographic elements both graphically and structurally. The meticulous and careful restoration lasted more than three years.
The flags are part of the collection of Frederick Stibbert that on April 20, 1884 purchased from the merchant Gaetano Basetti seventeen silk flags. Twelve were placed at the center of the ceiling of a hall of his villa called the “flag hall”. The other five are still being searched for.
Some bear the manufacturing date, such as the one of the Panther made in 1826, the Giraffe in 1828 and the Goose in 1859, in addition to the initials or full names of the authors.
The original flags were replaced in the hall of the museum with faithful reproductions of silk, made by a Dutch specialist firm, and can now finally be admired by visitors as a sort of anticipation to the future museum of the Palio.
At the Santa Maria della Scala you will also find the ongoing exposition of the carrocci, the chariots, used iduring the historical parade of Palio. In particular, it is possible to admire the one designed in 1928 as a sort of triumphal chariot enriched by five panels on which are painted the seventeen Contrada through ancient allegories worthy of a miniaturist.
Frederick Stibbert was born in Florence in 1838 to an English father and Italian mother. He was educated in England and was a famous collector of art, weapons and armors from all ages that he collected and arranged in his villa on the Florentine hills. The property, together with the park that surrounds it, was given to the City of Florence by his will in 1906 at his death. Today his prestigious residence is the home of the museum dedicated to him.
Stibbert remained attached to his house in Florence, bought by his mother, Giulia Cafaggi, and home of the family. In 1859 he came into possession of a huge wealth, which he kept maintained with great commitment and vision, taking advantage of his multiple nature of international financier, passionate collector and traveler. Indeed, for nearly fifty years, in order to complete the project of his life, the transformation of Montughi villa into a museum, he could easily control the antiquity market across Europe.
His collection, about fifty thousand pieces, was collected between 1860 and the end of the century, and is composed of paintings from various eras, a large number of pieces of armor, swords and guns, especially from the Sixteenth and Eighteenth centuries from Italian, German and French schools.

For more info on the Palio flags exhibition please contact Phone: +39 0577 292340, email: urp@comune.siena.it
The exhibit is open Monday to Friday from 9am to 12,30pm and Tuesday and Thursday from 3pm to 4,30pm