Archive for 'Food and Wine'

Lampredotto is a traditional Florentine street food which is considered a fundamental part of Florence's food identity. As is the case with much of typical Tuscan cuisine, it has roots in peasant diets. Typically served as a sandwich and sold at stalls in the streets, it is made from beef tripe, specifically stomach.

The dish is so popular that there is now even an app which can be downloaded to help you locate sellers in the city. While a favourite to locals and passionately backed by food bloggers, critics, chefs and laymen alike, the thought of the contents can put some people off.

Panigacci are a speciality bread from Podenzana in the Lunigiana, an area set within an isolated valley along the border of Liguria and Tuscany. It is a type of round bread, unleavened, cooked in the special traditional ways using special equipment. They can have a soft or crunchy texture and are thin and well cooked. They are then dunked in sauces, mopping them up and served with toppings called salumi, which are cured meats and cheeses. You can now buy pre-packaged panigacci in supermarkets but the best way to eat them is when they've been freshly made in front of you. Typically eaten as a snacking food or street food, they are a very popular local dish that you need to try.

2015 is the Year of Archaeology in Tuscany and, due to this there are many events taking place which celebrate the history of the region. Each summer in Tuscany, there are countless food festivals, one in almost every town and something on somewhere in the region each weekend.

This traditional passion for food and the commemoration of the rich historical heritage of Tuscany are being combined this summer in a series of special events, tours, shows, exhibits and dinners.

For the fifth year the Melodia del Vino festival is taking place in Tuscany. The festival aims to bring together Tuscan flavours, with the beauty of the surrounding landscape and good music. It is a cultural event which presents concerts in beautiful locations accompanied by delicious food and wine each year. As 2015 is the year of Archaeology in Tuscany, the festival also aims to tip its hat to this heritage as well this year which is why it is taking place at Rocca di Frassinello. This famous winery was designed by the internationally acclaimed architect, Renzo Piano and is the site of Etruscan archaeological discoveries.

Throughout the summer, there is no shortage of festivals in Tuscany – normally centred around food as all good festivals are – but there is one that stands out as just a little different. Vivamus festival, which takes place in the south of the region, is a festival that combines the Italian passion for food and fashion. Events take place in a variety of towns in the area from May through to August each year. The closing event takes place on the first of August 2015 in the picturesque town of Manciano. A three-hour drive from Florence and the bustle of that famous city, the quaint town of Manciano suddenly becomes a cultural hub of activity for the festival and will showcase what the Tuscan countryside has to offer tourists from music to fashion, history to cooking.