As is often the case, it’s only 10 am and I already have a hungry eye trained on the upcoming lunch – even though I had a hearty breakfast just two hours ago! There’s something wrong with me, I know. But rest assured: my mind will remain focused on today’s topic. And today’s topic is: “How to have an exquisite yet affordable lunch under Florence’s midday sun”. Well, the answer to that is as simple as ABC: go to one of the following eateries! They’re typically Italian and all located in the heart of the Florentine capital. They will fill you with delight without emptying your pockets. I love them!

Fratellini, Via dei Cimatori, 38r. – Divine, inexpensive paninis since 1875. Prepared before your eyes by the friendly brothers Armando and Michele. You’ll have your snack right in front of the shop – which actually isn’t much more than a hole in a wall, – and will rest your mini glass of wine on wooden shelves marked with convenient numbers. You’ll also be spoilt for choice: porchetta  (suckling pig), wild boar and pecorino, tuna and capers, and my big favourite : goat cheese and sundried tomatoes!

Da Nerbone, Mercato Centrale. Open daily for lunch except on Sundays. – Since 1874, the cucina povera  (peasant-style cooking) at its inexpensive best. Primi, bollito, lampredotto  (a Florentine specialty)… Your taste buds will thank you! At lunchtime, the shop owners, merchants, tourists and townfolks (mainly male) literally invade this lively eatery. With a little luck – that is if you manage to elbow your way through, – you’ll be able to sit at one of the small nearby tables.

Next week, I’ll tell you about the two other places…

When I go to Frassanelle – one of the estates featured in our Trust & Travel catalogue, – I sometimes turn into a cavewoman. Or a “grottowoman”, to be more precise. A metamorphic experience that has made me realize that the Stone Age would have suited me beautifully…Frassanelle lies near Padua in the exquisite Veneto region. The story begins in the nineteenth century with Count Alberto Papafava, ancestor of the current owners of the estate. One day, this nobleman – who happened to be a romantic painter as well –  undertook to rearrange the garden of his large property so that he would have a broad palette of “landscapes” to paint from without having to go anywhere else. “Okay, Gentlemen, I want you to put up some sort of a hill right here, dig out a small pond over there on the left, and while you’re at it, please be kind enough to delve me a grotto back there into the rock…”

Excavated as requested, Count Papafava’s fake grotto was modelled on the natural caves found in other parts of the large surrounding park. For a very compelling result, I must say.

Yes, this vast artificial grotto still exists today! And you can, if you want, explore every corner of it. Free visits are organized weekly for our guests staying at any one of our Frassanelle rental houses.

Secret passageways, internal lakes, huge stone slabs, stalactites, stalagmites and startling lights… Chances are Count Papafava’s grotto will awaken your neolithic instincts!

A few weeks ago, we visited together the Bosco della Ragnaia, an extraordinary garden nestled in the hills of my beloved Tuscany. Today, I’ll be leading you up the garden path a little further… and I’m pretty sure you won’t mind!

An annual exhibition named Artigianato e Palazzo will be held in Florence this year from the 11^th to the 13^th of May. Fot its visitors, it is always a great opportunity to kill two birds with one stone – anyone knows of a gentler phrase to say this?

The first “bird” is the exhibition itself. Organised since 1995 by Principessa Giorgiana Corsini and Neri Torrigiani, this three-day event presents the work of some 80 highly skilled craftsmen who recreate their workshops in the heart of a beautiful Italian garden: the Giardino del Palazzo Corsini. Traditional guilds and age-old techniques are proudly featured: jewellery-making, ceramics, goldsmith’s craft, pottery, printing, inlaying, hat-making…  working with bronze, wood, glass, iron, marble, paper and fragrances… Your senses will be filled with ravishment.

The second “bird” is this very garden I have just mentioned, the garden of the Corsini palace. It is usually closed to the public. So the exhibition is a unique occasion to visit this historic and magnificent gem created in 1625! Along its many paths and alleys, you will see statues dating from the second century and walk past orangeries surrounded by hundreds of lemon trees in terracotta pots.

This garden also offers an interesting glimpse of the grand Corsini family, one of the oldest in Italy. The Corsinis own two of the estates (Barberino and Marsiliana) – seven houses in all – featured in our rental portfolio.

Have a good week!

Website: www.artigianatoepalazzo.it
Entrance 6 to 8 Euro

If I have always had a passion – and, I think, some flair – for design and interior

decoration, I most certainly owe it to my dear Mom, who was an accomplished expert in these fields. My eyes light up as soon as I have to deal with architecture, furniture, fabrics, glassware, lamps and carpets. When any of the Italian estates in the Trust & Travel  catalogue needs some refreshing or refurbishing, I often like to team up with the local craftsmen to do the job. In Tuscany, the highly skilled artisans are legion.

For instance, I came to work with the makers of the superb world-renowned Busatti furnishing fabrics while renovating the Villa Montecucco  and Castello di Galbino, two of the houses which we rent out in Italy. These beautiful high-quality fabrics have been fashioned for the last 170 years by the Busatti family. The firm’s workshop is in the hilltop village of Anghiari, and it can be visited. You’ll see that they still use very old looms, which, as the Busatti will tell you – and I suspect they’re right, – produce much better weaves than any modern loom could.

When you feel them in your hands, you’ll know right away that the Busatti fabrics are top notch. Not to mention the designs, patterns and colours! I personally fancy the stripes and the vivid tones – the greens, purples and yellows. This is what I call “rustic elegance” at its best, typical of my beloved Tuscany.

I’ll see you next week. Take care in the meantime!

This week, I am taking you to a most unusual “mystery garden”.  It is nestled in the small Italian town of San Giovanni d’Asso, not far from one of the gems of Tuscany, Siena.Relatively few people, even in Tuscany, know that this garden exists. True, it has only been around since 1996 – even though some of its parts convey the impression of being quite ancient. Blending the Italian style garden and the contemporary work of art, this enchanting and secretive place goes by the name of the Bosco della Ragnaia. It even has a nickname: “The Reinvented Renaissance Garden”.

Designed by the American artist Sheppard Craige – who is still working on it, – the Bosco della Ragnaia features two distinct yet complementary sections. On one side, an open field bathed in the matchless Tuscan daylight and where Sheppard has been able to build and plant from scratch. On the other side, a shady woodland where one comes across lofty oaks, trimmed hedges and, the icing on the cake, a peculiar “collection” of manufactured objects.

So, be prepared for some perplexing or bewitching encounters… The Altar to Skepticism, the Oracle of Yourself  and the Center of the Universe  – to name just a few of these man-made entities, – will undoubtedly challenge your imagination!

I first met Sheppard Craige at a luncheon held at La Foce  – another of the estates that I work with and which has its own famous garden. “When I first moved here years ago, Sheppard told me, people heard about my project and thought I was a nutcase. But it didn’t take long before everybody got enthusiastically involved.”

And you will be enthusiastically pleased, I’m sure, when you visit the Bosco della Ragnaia during your next trip to Tuscany. 

See you soon !

Website: www.laragnaia.com
Open from dawn to dusk. Free admission.

Last night, I managed to break into a cocktail party where I met a slightly eccentric English aristocrat:

– Catharina ! Posh name ! With a C or with a K ?

– With a K. Or with a C, I don’t mind, have your pick!

– Well… I’ll take the K. And, if I may, what is your curriculum vitae, Katharina with a K ?

My curriculum vitae ?! Well…  I don’t remember how I worked my way out of it, but this gentleman’s question gave me an idea. Why not take advantage of this blog to give you, dear readers, an overview of my curriculum vitae?  And for those of you who might eventually want to go into the subject a little deeper, here’s the way: http://www.trustandtravel.com/philosophy.html

In my twenties, I used to work in a wine-growing estate in Tuscany. One day, its proud owner came up to me and said: “As you know, Katharina, part of my estate is now vacant, and sadly dormant. I would like to bring it back to life; open its doors to nice people – travellers, vacationers, friends – and share with them the life we have the privilege to enjoy here. Do you think you could help me, pretty young lady, to carry through this wild venture?”

We stared at each other for a few seconds and… “It’s a deal! Let’s get down to work!”

After helping this spirited Tuscan to refurbish and decorate his vacant estate – which in itself was an outstanding piece of the Italian historical heritage, – I went out and found his first clients. Instantaneous success and word of mouth did the rest. Many other estate owners in the area called on me to restore and convert – with the “wise traveller”  in mind and without altering their quintessence – the houses, villas, castles, farms and fortresses situated on their lands.

That’s how Trust & Travel  was born, an agency I founded more than 20 years ago and which I have been managing since then. Today, it serves as link between one hundred exceptional properties and the wayfaring souls seeking to be at one with Italy.

There you are! Now you know, more or less, my curriculum vitae. Or, I should say, my curriculum Italiae!

“I need a new look, I need a new look!” Every time I run into Madame Loiseau, one of my Paris neighbours, this is what I hear: “Don’t tell me I don’t, because I do! Il faut que je change de look!” And every time I catch myself vocalizing: “Pleeease, Madame Loiseau, you’re absolutely perfect the way you aaaare!” And by magic it brings a huge smile back to her face.

She’s right though: she could use a new look.

Anyway… I have given my blog a new look – as some of you, dear readers, may have noticed. Not that it scared anybody away. But I felt the need to talk about my countless passions for Italy in a more personal tone and appropriate setting. I wanted this blog to flow a little bit more like a piece of music. To use a broader range of colours on my online canvas. Am I making any sense?

Also, from now on I shall be more regular in my blogging habits. I will be adding a brand-new post every week, rain or shine, in the same way as I have my capuccino e cornetto every morning, rain or shine – or else I turn into a scarecrow for the rest of the day. I’m not kidding.

So, keep your look – you’re perfect the way you are, – and see you next week!