... and finally!

As if to celebrate the end of January, we awoke this morning to a couple of centimetres of snow. This was followed by the sun coming out, so it really looks magical here right now. Here are a couple of pics ...




Some trees ...

View from my house up to Alpe Faggetta.

View in the other direction towards Monte Fumaiolo.

Carnevale!

Although, technically, the Italian carnival season started on January 7th, immediately after Befana, it is this weekend that many of the comuni start their celebrations in earnest. And to celebrate, I though I would show you a mouth-watering plate of frittelle, the traditional carnival sweet. They are basically little sweet fritters that come in many varieties. These in the picture are stuffed with creme patissiere. Very yummy for breakfast with coffee :)



Carnival is an ancient festival connected with the Catholic Church. During the six-week period of Lent, Catholics prepare for the commemoration of the death and resurrection of Jesus by repenting their sins and living austerely. Traditionally, Carnival which leads up to Lent was a period when people used up all the luxury food items and had parties to get it out of their system before Lent began. Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent falls on 17 February this year, so until then 'let the good times roll!'

I am planning to visit one of the local Carnivals next weekend, so should have some pictures to post then.

Anghiari

About 6 miles down the mountain from Caprese lies the defensive hilltop town of Anghiari. Right on the border of Tuscany, and hence on the edge of Medici control, the town has always been of strategic importance and on 29 June 1440, a famous battle took place here between the Florentines and Milanese. Although a famous event, immortalised in a now lost Leonardo fresco (once in the Palazzo Vecchio in Florence), only 1 person was actually killed (in an accidental fall off his horse!). The event is marked today by a foot race up the hill from the battlefield to the main square of Anghiari - a great excuse for a festa and fancy dress! Today the sleepy town stands sentinel overlooking the flat plain of the Tiber valley with it's patchwork fields of sunflowers and tobacco plants.

Weather Report update

Well, it didn't snow heavily but a beautiful phenomenon here are the ice forests at the top of the mountains after a night of freezing fog. All the trees become encrusted with ice turning everything into a crystal wonderland. A wonderful place to witness this spectacle near Caprese is the hermitage of La Verna where St. Francis of Assisi took refuge and where he recieved his stigmata. The small monastery sits aloft a strangely shaped mountain (Michelangelo painted it in several of his works including the landscape behind Adam and God scene of the Sistine Chapel ceiling) which forms part of the Casentino National Park. Here are a couple of views taken this morning.

Weather report

Well, after a few days of sunshine and cold, I can now report that it is snowing. The weather report said rain but I guess we are high up. It's very light and not settling at the moment, but that could change. It is January, I suppose.

Video Blog: Arancello

My friend Franco came round with some fresh organic oranges from Sicily. We can't eat them all, so we decided to turn them into arancello, the orange version of the liqueur limoncello. If you want to know how to make it yourself, watch the video ...

Arancie

My friend Franco popped by today and gave me a load of organic oranges from Sicily. These tend to be driven up from the south by the producers at this time of year and sold at roadside stalls or markets. Looking forward to some fresh orange juice for breakfast tomorrow and perhaps a bottle or two of Arancello (Limoncello made from oranges ;)).

La Befana vien da notte ...

Befana is the traditional Italian Christmas celebration which takes place on the 6th January, the feast of the Epiphany. Tradition says that at night on the 5th January, an old woman or witch, Befana, comes into your house and fills children's stockings with either sweets and gifts for the good or coal (carbone)for the bad. If she sees you while she is visiting she will hit you with her broomstick (manico di scopa)which she also uses as a form of transport. For anglo-saxons, the effect is like a weird mix of Christmas and Hallowe'en as the shops are full of witches on broomsticks. In fact, it is believed that the festival is older than either of those and dates back to pre-christian Roman times. Later, the festival was christianised and Befana becomes part of the story of the Epiphany as an old woman who showed hospitality to the three Kings or Magi on their way to find the baby Jesus.

I can happily confirm that I woke up this morning to find a mixture of sweets (Kinder assortment ... yum) and coal in my stocking. The coal was lovely ... mint flavoured ;)

Video Blog: SNOW!!

I have decided to add a new feature to this blog in the form of a video blog which I will be posting from time to time to give you a flavour of the sites and sounds of eastern Tuscany. As we woke up this morning to a few centimetres of snow I thought I'd share that with you. Enjoy! Later video blog posts will be more informative, I promise!

Caprese Pics

Some pictures of things referred to in my last post ...

A view of Caprese Michelangelo

The church of San Giovanni Battista where Michelangelo was baptised.

The sign to that effect

Caprese Castle: Michelangelo's birthplace

Welcome to Caprese Michelangelo

Caprese is a small village in the east of Tuscany in the province of Arezzo which I stumbled across a few years ago, while viewing properties in Umbria. I fell instantly in love with the small community as well as the property I was taken to see there, which now almost four years later is my home. There are about 1,700 'capresani' who are spread out through the wide collection of hamlets which make up the village. Perhaps her greatest son was, however, Michelangelo Buonarotti (yes, the Michelangelo) who was born here on 6 March 1475 and baptised in the tiny church of San Giovanni Battista. It was many years later that the comune officially adopted his first name as the village's surname which is now proudly called Caprese Michelangelo.

I decided to start this blog to record my experiences here in Tuscany as well as to share them with my friends, family and other interested parties. So, welcome or Benvenuti a Caprese Michelangelo!