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Climbing beneath the sheer face of Monte Nona in the Alpi Apuane (Walk 12)
Autumn (September–November) is a very promising season as visitors are few and far between. Italy stays on daylight saving time until the end of October, meaning long walking days (it gets dark around 6–7pm). Foliage can be spectacular, with brilliant reds and hues of yellow and orange during the grape harvests. Leaves scrunch underfoot and in the woods you risk bombardment by falling spiky chestnuts. The sole negative note comes from the Sunday gunshots and yapping dogs who belong to the hunters. November is probably best avoided as it is notoriously foggy.
At lower altitudes, winter (December–February) can be simply superb if chilly, although snow will cover upland routes. Brisk crisp weather is usually the norm. Conditions are excellent for birdwatching along the coast as huge numbers of migrational species stop over. Remember though that days are shorter – expect it to get dark as early as 4.30pm in midwinter.
Accommodation
Tuscany has a huge range of excellent accommodation options, including charming towns and villages, castles and villas.
At the end of each chapter introduction is a short section suggesting suitable bases with accommodation for exploring that particular area, with brief details of transport links too. Suggestions for middle-range hotels and B&Bs, affittacamere (rooms to rent) and walkers’ refuges handy for the walks are given in Appendix C. Most accept internet bookings and credit cards. For a vaster choice, including self-catering houses, agriturismo (farm stays) and campsites, either use an online agency such as www.booking.com or contact the tourist offices listed in Appendix D.
It is not usually necessary to book a long way ahead, with the exception of the Italian public holidays: 1 January (New Year), 6 January (Epiphany), Easter Sunday and Monday, 25 April (Liberation Day), 1 May (Labour Day), 2 June (Republic Day), 15 August (Ferragosto), 1 November (All Saints), 8 December (Immaculate Conception), 25–26 December (Christmas and Boxing Day). Weekends are naturally busier too, especially in the art cities such as Florence and Siena.
When calling an Italian landline, always include the first 0 of the area code. On the other hand, numbers beginning with 3 (mobile numbers) and emergency numbers need to be dialled as they stand, ie without a zero. If ringing from overseas, preface all Italian telephone numbers with +39.
Rifugio Battisti
Food and wine
A guide to Tuscany could hardly be considered complete without at least a passing mention of the vast culinary delights in store for visitors. And walking demands substantial nourishment.
A visit to a fresh produce market is a good introduction to local fare. In addition to the season’s fruit and vegetables, which come in colourful photogenic stacks, suggestions for picnics include tangy ewe’s milk cheese, pecorino, although a request for un formaggio locale (a local cheese) will always turn up something interesting. A must-taste for carnivores is finocchiona, a soft garlicky salami-type sausage flavoured with wild fennel seeds, which melts in the mouth. With a bit of luck there’ll also be an open-sided van selling porchetta, luscious roast suckling pig flavoured with herbs galore and served in thick slices. These can be consumed with the typical saltless bread sold in huge floury loaves at the panificio (bakery). In addition to the markets, delicatessens and supermarkets unfailingly have tempting displays, and most will make up fresh rolls (panini) on the spot with your choice of filling.
Pecorino cheese comes in a range of flavours
Bakeries also have treats suitable for rucksack transport: delicious heavy-duty spicy biscuits such as cavallucci and ricciarelli, or the omnipresent Siena speciality panforte, crammed with dried and candied fruit, honey and nuts.
In restaurants, a good rule is to be adventurous and enquire as to the day’s special: Che cosa avete oggi? Two memorable antipasti (starters) are bruschetta and crostini. The former are thick toasted slices of bread with a hint of garlic, a dribbling of olive oil and some fresh tomato, while the latter are morsels of toast smothered with home-made pâté, sausage, mushroom spread or whatever takes the cook’s fancy that day.
One topping might be fragrant nutty tartufi, namely truffles or earthnuts, edible tuberous fungi that grow underground. They are grated and sprinkled over pasta also such as pici, thick home-made spaghetti. As soups go, you’ll come across acqua cotta, literally ‘cooked water’, a simple tasty brew made with a variety of vegetables, while caciucco consists mostly of fish. Despite its uninviting name, pappa al pomodoro is delicious; this simple thick soup is made with leftover bread, fragrant tomato and basil. Olive oil, preferably the cold pressed extra vergine variety, reigns over the lot.
Game meats such as cinghiale (wild boar) are widespread and found in pasta sauces or hearty stews, an alternative to the legendary oversized Florentine T-bone steak. Tender coniglio (rabbit) features on menus in country trattorias, as does buglione, a deliciously rich lamb and tomato stew. Tegamata di cinta senese translates as a mouth-watering casserole of Siena pork cooked in wine.
Rabbit and fried artichokes are on the menu today
Vegetables are usually served as a side dish (contorno) and will be strictly seasonal. Carciofi fritti are tiny purple artichokes battered and fried, and flavoursome local greens include cicoria (bitter chicory).
Those who make it to dessert may opt for panna cotta, literally ‘cooked cream’, a divine blancmange-type sweet flavoured with caramel or fruit. For a memorable after-dinner treat you can’t go wrong with a handful of cantucci, crisp almond biscuits dunked unabashedly in a glass of sweet, rich, amber-coloured Vin Santo.
And so onto the subject of bottled treats. It’s a tough task, nigh on impossible, trying to sum up the wines of Tuscany in a paragraph…suffice it to say that your taste buds will be extremely happy. A few key place names conjure up wondrous red elixirs: Montalcino, Montepulciano and Chianti (see Chapter 5 for more on this one). Following are brief notes on several of the special names from areas covered in this guide. It’s especially exciting to be taking a walk through the vineyards that produce these memorable wines.
The full-bodied red Brunello di Montalcino (aged in oak barrels for at least four years) must head the list, while those on a budget can enjoy the younger Rosso di Montalcino made with the same grapes. Another one to look out for and hailing from neighbouring hills is the intense Vino Nobile di Montepulciano, first made back in AD790. The Maremma hinterland produces a robust red, Morellino di Scansano, while the island of Elba does a Rosso and a Bianco, which can be a little fizzy but never sweet.
The southern reaches of Tuscany are home to some memorable white wines. A delicate crisp white from tufa country is the Bianco di Pitigliano, while San Gimignano’s superb dry Vernaccia is another: an earlier version of it, presumably fuller-bodied, reputedly prompted Michelangelo to say that it ‘kisses, licks, bites, thrusts and stings’.
What to take
Clothing will depend on the season and personal preferences. In spring and summer, T-shirt, shorts and sun hat are perfect, while winter will mean layers of wool or fleeces with the addition of a windproof jacket, hat and gloves. Long trousers are recommended for potentially overgrown routes. The following checklist might be useful:
Lightweight
