Ciao Toscana - Autumn Winter in Tuscany

CIAO TOSCANA AUTUMN & WINTER IN TUSCANY

AUTUMN AND WINTER IN TUSCANY

TUSCANY WHERE EVERY SEASON IS MAGICAL Every season is special here. In wonderful green surroundings, where the nature, art and landscapes are all equally impressive, Fonteverde, Bagni di Pisa and Grotta Giusti are the perfect starting points to explore Tuscany’s infinite beautiful sights in Autumn and Winter.

Autumn is a time for harvesting grapes, with the fragrance of must, freshly picked mushrooms and the most recent olive oil lingering in the air. Sunny days are ideal for walks through the woods and the region’s old villages. Winter is a time of small market stalls in the squares and a thousand little churches brimming with the most vibrant Christmas spirit. Then, as the season continues, Tuscany enters into Carnival mood and becomes romantic for Valentine’s Day. The spa water is here to stay whatever the season: when the first cold spells arrive, it provides an intense and profound dose of wellbeing, and after the festive season it helps us rebalance and get back in shape. Come and discover the magic of the seasons, the wonderful cuisine and the regenerating power of the water. Open your heart to Tuscany. She’s waiting.

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POTS, PANS AND DELICIOUS FLAVOURS

CREAMY FARRO WITH NOBILE DI MONTEPULCIANO RECIPE Creamy farro with Nobile di Montepulciano, cavolo nero and cannellini bean purée.

INGREDIENTS For the bean purée: 150 g of dried cannellini beans ( left to soak overnight ), 25 g of celery, 25 g of onion, 25 g of carrot, 50 g of extra virgin olive oil, 30 g of tomato paste, salt and pepper. A bouquet garni of celery, sage, bay leaf, garlic and carrot. For the farro: 50 g of extra virgin olive oil, 300 g of farro, 25 g of shallots, 0.75 l of Nobile di Montepulciano, 0.75 l of vegetable stock, 40 g mature pecorino toscano. Plus: 50 g of diced Tuscan bread with crust removed, 75 g of rigatino, 150 g of cavolo nero, 25 g or extra virgin olive oil.

METHOD Cook the beans in water with the bouquet garni, dice the vegetables, brown them in oil, add the cooked beans with a little of the water in the pan, and the tomato paste. Cook for around 20 minutes and add salt and pepper to taste. Blend this to make a purée, adding more water from the pan if necessary.

Brown the chopped shallot, add the farro, heat and add the wine. Cook until the wine completely absorbs. Add the vegetable stock and salt, and cook, adding some more stock if necessary. Mix in the pecorino to make it creamy.

Wash the cavolo nero, remove the central stem, cut into julienne strips, then brown in a pan with a little oil and add some salt. Toast the bread cubes coated with oil in the oven. Brown the strips of rigatino, and dry on kitchen paper.

PRESENTATION Place the farro in a bowl using 8 cm rings, pour the hot bean purée around it, garnish the farro with the sautéed cavolo nero and crispy rigatino, and garnish the bean purée with the croutons and extra virgin olive oil.

Salvatore Quarto has had a career that has given him immense personal satisfaction and won him awards, leading to his appointment as Executive Chef at Fonteverde. His Puglian roots have bequeathed him with a passion for everything Mediterranean: a world of simple and wholesome ingredients, of the freshest vegetables, of unhurried, superb cooking and desserts with the fragrance of almonds. He loves cooking so much that, according to him, the sound of onions gently frying, a flavour, or a colour, that are all perfect fill his heart with joy. This recipe is full of all this passion, with simple ingredients that, when carefully prepared and combined with Nobile di Montepulciano, become an incredible and highly sophisticated dish.

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SIGNOR APERITIVO

SHELLEY, A COCKTAIL AS WONDERFUL AS A POEM Fabio Serra is the expert cocktail barman at Bagni di Pisa. He works in the supremely elegant Shelley Bar, which takes its name from the English poet who stayed in these very rooms at the beginning of the 19th century. Which is also why Fabio decided to christen this cocktail with the poet’s name. He gave it a bright colour and a fresh and powerful flavour, with tones of Cointreau and vodka. Like a portrait, a tribute brimming with flavour and sensations to a life lived in pursuit of art and romanticism.

RECIPE 2.5 cl of vodka 1.0 cl of lime juice 2.0 cl of Cointreau 2.0 cl of raspberry liqueur Serve cool in a stem glass and decorate with fruit.

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SPA BLISS

THE EQUILIBRIUM PHILOSOPHY, NOW ALSO AT GROTTA GIUSTI Equilibrium is the aim of our philosophy of wellbeing. It’s a new approach to health and personal care that comes from thousands of years of spa culture in Italy and that could only happen here, where our springs of the purest spa water flow from the earth. Today, after a long time spent researching and fine-tuning, the Equilibrium philosophy forms the basis of all our courses and treatments at our spas at Fonteverde and at Grotta Giusti.

This is why we have chosen this philosophy in our spas for you, that considers the wellbeing of both the body and the mind together. Equilibrium leads to new awareness, a new approach to stress management, and a new relationship with diet and movement. It offers you beneficial cures and treatments and teaches you how to achieve a new lifestyle that is healthier and more aware.

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TUSCAN EVENINGS

HOTEL EVENTS In autumn and winter the nights start drawing in, and in Tuscany it’s always a wonderful time of year. We have organised lots of events to make all your evenings special.

At Fonteverde The new seasons bring special evenings and events with them. Christmas Eve dinner and Christmas Day lunch, New Year’s Eve dinner, and traditional bingo. All this and live music, tastings and presentations of the best luxury Italian craftsmanship. And entertainment and surprises for children too. In winter the Sparty Nights at the Spa continue: the first Saturday of every month and 2 and 5 January, from 8 p.m. to midnight.

You can swim in the thermal pool, and revel in the Bioaquam and Etruscan circuits with sauna, stove and Turkish bath.

At Bagni di Pisa It will be a winter full of flavour, fun and relaxation. We’ve organised Christmas Eve parties, a New Year’s Eve dinner, and a New Year party in the Shelley Bar. There’ll also be themed dinners, tastings and piano bar entertainment. Every Thursday in winter will be magical with our Notte alle Terme evenings. Between 8 p.m. and midnight, you can take a dip in our thermal pools and whirlpools and experience the sauna and Turkish bath, with aperitifs with live music, drinks and snacks.

At Grotta Giusti We call it our special Saturday Night Spa: on one Saturday each month, from 8 p.m. to midnight you can enjoy our Bioaquam circuit with underwater whirlpools and aperitifs with buffet. And you can have a relaxing massage by the pool and visit the wonderful thermal cave too.

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LOCAL EVENTS

TUSCANY ALL AROUND US EVENTS NEAR OUR HOTELS In Tuscany there’s a succession of traditional events, celebrations, exhibitions and displays all year round. Autumn and winter are times for preparing for the Christmas and New Year celebrations, and each town and village has its own special history and traditions. Here, autumn and winter are the perfect seasons for visiting all the museums, going for walks through the old town centres and for exploring all the culinary delights and artistic treasures. And if your starting point is Fonteverde, Bagni di Pisa or Grotta Giusti, it will all be even more wonderful.

Fonteverde

Bagni di Pisa

Toscana Gustando, Montepulciano, 12 and 13 November A chance to sample the wines and flavours of Tuscany in the wonderful medieval setting of Montepulciano, with all the produce the region has to offer. A doubly delicious journey through Tuscany’s delicacies. www.toscanagustando.it

Dalí. Il sogno del classico.

Festa dell’Olio Cetona and Sarteano, December Exploring the world of Tuscan extra virgin olive oil, with tastings and traditional bites to eat. Find out more about two treasures of Mediterranean cuisine in two villages that are world-famous for their oil.

Pisa, Palazzo Blu, 1 October 2016 - 5 February 2017 "Dalí. Il sogno del classico” is a large exhibition revealing all that inspired Salvador Dalì, the master of surrealism, from Italy and the great masters of the Renaissance and other golden eras in art. www.palazzoblu.it

Grotta Giusti Lucca Comics & Games Lucca, 28 October - 1 November The most famous festival in Italy for comics, animation, illustration and games. A world event that brings together authors, publishers, fans and legions of cosplayers impersonating their favourite characters with breathtaking perfection. Simply unmissable. www.luccacomicsandgames.com

The National White Truffle Market Exhibition San Miniato, 12, 13, 19, 20, 26, 27 November and 3, 4

Chestnut festival

December

Pescia, 23 October, 30 October, 6 November

In the old town centre of San Miniato, an open-air exhibition of the wonderful flavours of Tuscany’s white truffles, with food and wine. More than 120 exhibitors await connoisseurs and experts from all around the world who get together to enjoy one of the world’s most precious foods. It’s also a festival, with awards for the largest truffle and the oldest truffle seller. www.sanminiatopromozione.it

In the San Michele district of Pescia, famous for its medieval reconstructions, there’s a culinary festival to celebrate the fruit that adds its inimitable fragrance and flavour to autumn. You can try their "frugiate", the local name for chestnuts, and delicious "necci", chestnut flour rolls stuffed with lots of sweet and savoury fillings. www.rionesanmichele.it

Viareggio Carnival 2017 Viareggio, 5 - 28 February One of the most famous carnivals in Europe. Twenty days of satire and fun with parades of allegorical floats with giant papier maché on board, night-time parties, pyrotechnics, dances, theatre festivals, gastronomic events and some great sports. www.viareggio.ilcarnevale.com

La Città del Natale Montecatini Terme 5 November 2016 - 8 January 2017 For a whole month Montecatini Terme turns into Christmastown, with colours, lights and music. It’s an event for children, who can meet fantastical characters, listen to fairytales and stories, and explore a town where the spirit of Christmas is all around. http://cittadelnatale.it

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THE CHERRY ON THE CAKE

FLOATING IN THE DEPTHS Grotta Giusti is home to a true wonder of nature: a subterranean thermal lake, hot, clear and deep. This year, on 12 and 13 November, is the thirty-fifth anniversary of the first dives in the lake. Over the past three decades the lake has been explored, it has been used as a set for photo shoots and it has inspired its own discipline: "spa diving", which combines subterranean diving with relaxation techniques.

Today, we offer our guests two unique experiences. The first is "spa floating", which begins with relaxation techniques and continues with floating in the thermal water on the surface of the lake. The water temperature, the thermal vapours, the feeling of weightlessness and the surroundings are relaxing and provide an overwhelming sense of wellbeing. The second experience is "spa diving", which takes you down to the depths of the lake using breathing apparatus with our instructors. Here the beauty of the setting is combined with the wellbeing of the thermal water and the charm of surroundings that have remained hidden and unexplored for millennia. It’s like diving back in time and into the heart of the earth, feeling its welcoming warmth.

35° TH

anniversario ANNIVERSARY 7

MICE & WEDDINGS

WHEN EVERYTHING IS SPECIAL For business, for unforgettable occasions.

Our historic residences are architectural jewels set in the lush Tuscan countryside.

They were built centuries ago to host glittering occasions for the Grand Dukes of Tuscany and the European nobility. Their rooms and grounds have welcomed, hosted and entertained kings, queens, aristocrats and great artists. Today you can choose these beautiful, historic places for your most memorable occasions, be it for business events or to celebrate the most important day of your life.

All the resorts are fully equipped for business meetings and events, with conference rooms and audio-visual technology. When it comes to weddings and special occasions, our hotels will make every single moment unforgettable. We will work with you on every detail of your event and provide you with our finest rooms, filled with frescoed ceilings, stained glass and sumptuous furnishings. We also organise receptions in our grounds, amid the wonders of Tuscan nature. We add our own special touch to true Italian hospitality, turning it from professionalism into passion.

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CHIA LAGUNA, SARDINIA

WELCOME TO THE NEW ERA OF HOTEL BAIA Hotel Baia is the most delightful new addition to the Chia Laguna for 2017. It sits on the Chia promontory, where the view stretches out over the whole bay across to the old watchtower, the lagoon populated with flamingos, and the Mediterranean scrub, with the bluest sea in Italy just a stone’s throw away. Guests are greeted in the new reception area that leads to new pathways through the greenery, passing by a herb garden and the new half-Olympic infinity pool.

For lovers of good food and drink, the Hotel Baia has a new poolside bar and two new luxury restaurants serving delicious, creative menus perfect for any occasion: La Pergola with a buffet and show cooking for hotel guests, and Whiteluna for à la carte dinners with sophisticated Mediterranean flavours.

The 80 new rooms are very bright, white and welcoming, with exposed beams on the ceilings. Stepping into the new Suites and Junior Suites is like walking into a dream: spacious and beautiful, with clean lines that draw the eye towards the spectacular view over the sea and surrounding nature. From every room, every Suite and every area of the hotel, the beach is just a stone’s throw away.

Discover the new Hotel Baia: designed to amaze you and to be as beautiful as Chia’s sea.

NEW 2017

For more information tel. +39 070 92393431 – travel@chialagunaresort.com

New rooms & suite New pool New restaurants New reception New bar New alleyways and connections within the hotel’s grounds

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CON TUTTA LA NOSTRA PASSIONE

Reservations Mail: travel@ihchotels.it Tel: +39 0578 572333 italianhospitalitycollection.com