Castello del Trebbia

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CHIANTI VINEYARD

Today we went on a daytrip to a local Chianti Vineyard, located at the Castello del Trebbia.
We had an early start this morning because we had to eat and then walk a half hour across the city to the train station where our bus would pick us up. So Jess, Kayla and I trudged up the street and bumped into all the boys from Via Ghibellina (the street perpendicular to ours). Our trudging immediately turned into sprinting because Matt Bird was the ring leader this morning. He is about 6'2" and decided to powerwalk with his long legs because it was cold out. Needless to say, we ended up in two groups walking to the center: the giants/sprinters and the shorties/slowpokes. I hadn't even had an espresso yet, but adventure never waits!


We boarded the coachbus and settled in for an hour long ride across the countryside. It definitely didn't feel that long because the drive was beautiful, and even those who couldnt see out the window were content to doze quietly. I'd been up for less than 2 hours and I'd already done a mental 180 from being frantic to absolutely serene.


Now, when we left, all they told us was that we were off to a Chianti Vineyard. That was enticement enough, but then when we get there, we see a friggin castle! A Castle! The Castle was gorgeous! It is 900 years old and a family still lives in it and runs the vineyard! And they have olive groves for making oil too!


The castle was originally built by the dei Pazzi family; they were influential Florentine Bankers who competed with the Medici's. Then, one of the dei Pazzi's got super competitive and pissed off and killed one of the Medici's! The Medici's were so powerful that they stripped the dei Pazzi Family of everything, including the castle and their coat of arms. The only reason why a coat of arms still exists in the castle is because the Medici who moved in felt bad for the dei Pazzi's. It's a good thing that Medici felt sorry for them because the dei Pazzi's died out a couple of generations later, and without the coat of arms, their history could have been forgotten!


Anna Baj Macario owns and runs the vineyard now and is in no way related to any of the dramatic Renaissance famiglias. Her family simply bought the castle off the market a couple of generations ago. I guess her Mama was a 20 year old hottie from Austria who married this rich old Italian dude who bought the castle for her. The guy was 60, and within 8 years they'd had 5 kids! Anna is one of them.


I never saw anyone from the Macario family. Our tour guide was wonderful with excellent English and her name was Sarah (easy to remember). I have no clue who the hell she is or where she came from, but she gave a good tour.


The only other person on the grounds was Mario. And let me tell you, Mario swept me off my feet! I didnt think I'd find the perfect Italian man, but I did. I totally love Mario. I'd marry him if he wasn't 83 and the castle caretaker, lol! Seriously, he's got this old school contract that binds him to the castle unless he chooses to leave. He can't get fired, and when the Macario's bought the castle, Mario came with. It was a package deal. Mario has been working as the castle caretaker for 58 years! Inside, there are paintings of him everywhere! He's like a freeking relic thats permanently attached to the castle! And in every single painting he is wearing the same green tweed suit with a matching hat and a feather. I seriously love this man! hehee.


So after introducing us to Mario and giving us a tour of the castle interior, Sarah brought us down to the wine cellar. This cellar is the coolest thing ever! its the original cellar from 900 years ago and for the most part they use the antique equiptment to make the wine still! Its awesome. And there were these little nooks and crannies in the walls. Some looked like they were built in during the original contruction, but others look like they are from bricks that have crumbled away or broken over the centuries. These little spaces are crammed with the special reserve vines that have been fermenting since the fifties! Sarah did not mention these at all though! The only reason why I found them was because I'm the asshole who always stays behind when I go on tours so I can poke around where I probably shouldn't be, lol!


Next we walked past the old dungeon! The doors are really cool, but its used to store olive oil stuff, which was not cool cuz it totally ruined the aura. Its supposed to be where the bad guys rot, not where they bottle olive oil! Next we went through to the cellar where they make their extra virgin olive oil. I havn't the foggiest idea what Sarah said during this part of the tour though because I was still poking around in the wine cellar, mwahhaha! Mario caught me though and ushered me over to the olive oil. He chuckled though, so its all good.


After, we were ushered into this beautiful dining hall where we tasted two of their wines and had a homemade tuscan-style lunch. We had bruschetta with their olive oil, olive tapenade, and tuscan tomato sauce. Then we had pasta and pappa alpomadoro. I have no idea what exactly pappa alpomadoro is, but my friend Rockett calls it "orgasmic; sex on a plate." Yes, it was that good.


After wine and lunch we got to walk on the grounds and through the olive groves and grape vines. It was so pretty! I hope to take another vineyard tour at the end of the semester, because if it is that beautiful in January with snow flurries, I can't even imagine how breathtaking it is in the spring!

Bronzino

We arrived back in Florence mid-afternoon; it was too cold to walk in the vineyard for very long. I went straight from the bus to Palazzo Strozzi. It was original the Strozzi Family Palace (the Strozzi's were a Renaissance Banking Family like the Medicis) but when the Strozzi line died out the Italian government purchased it. On the ground level are cafe's and little shops as well as the ticket office for the Strozzi Museum. The second floor of the palazzo is where the actual exhibit spaces reside. The Museum is currently hosting a special exhibit of the Bronzino Collection. Bronzino was the court painter for the Medici family and one of the most important Renaissance artists (just beneathe The Masters on the scale of importance).


This is the first time ever that his entire collection is in one exhibit at the same time. In fact, several of the paintings have been recently acquired from private collectors or rediscovered in some form or other; this exhibit was the first time those paintings have ever been on display! And several others have been recently restored, and again this was their first exhibit since restoration! The only work not on display were pieces lost, destroyed or permanently installed in other places (i.e. frescoes in churches). Oh yeah, and one painting the Louvre has and they wouldn't loan it to the exhibit. Stupid French! But this exhibit was a once in a lifetime thing, so I totally went. And it was amazing! I wasn't allowed to take pictures, obviously, but I did purchase a book on Bronzino published specifically to compliment this exhibit. And the photos of the paintings are all in color and of such beautiful quality! It was one of the most enoyable afternoons of my life!


I know its difficult to appreciate how special this exhibit is if you are not a art-guru, but seriously, google Bronzino's Holy Family Series and you will totally understand how important he was to the Renaissance! And for you people reading this who don't give two shits about art, but have a sense of humor, google Portrait of the Dwarf Morgante (make sure to look at both of them, one from the back and one from the front!) Bronzino was hysterical! lol


Okay time for me to go to bed! Tomorrow I'm off to Siena for the day! ciao!

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Photos

Our Tourguide, Sarah
awesome name :-D

The Courtyard
This is the coat of arms I mentioned

The Courtyard
This is Mario, the Italian Man I fell in Love with! lol