... 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 ;)).