cato del tartufo bianco” which is held on the third weekend of November at Villa Pecori Giraldi. Those who wish instead to see a substantial and distinctive collection of memorabilia illustrating peasant life in the Mugello should head for Grezzano, beyond Luco in whose vicinity is located the Museo della Civiltà Contadina di Casa d’Erci. The museum is set up in a perfectly restored country house lying on the bank of the Erci torrent. The museum houses over two thousand implements, objects and documents related to rural life, and includes a botanical garden with trees and bushes typical of the Apennine woods between Tuscany and Romagna. The museum also gives space to a wide range of traditional crafts: from the carpenter to the wheelwright, the cooper, the shoemaker, the blacksmith and the mason, finally ending with the activities linked to the making of wine. In Grezzano we also recommend a visit to the Mulino Faini, a watermill dating from 1588 and that in the mid-1600s became the property of Florence’s Ospedale di Santa Maria Nuova. At the end of the 1700s the Faini family bought the mill which remained active up until 1988. Restored in 2001, the mill has preserved its original machinery and equipment, including a water turbine, a millstone, bolting machines, riddles, and scales. In 2002 it became part of the network of the so-called “scattered” museums of the Mugello (Museo Diffuso del Mugello). The presence of mills in the Mugello has been attested since the Middle borgo san lorenzo
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Ages; they were used to grind fodder, such as corn, barley and oats, as well as wheat and above all chestnut flour – a staple in the area at the time. Chestnut flour of Protected Geographical Indication (“Farina di Marroni del Mugello IGP”) is unquestionably a great quality product, ideal for preparing castagnaccio and other typical sweets. Only a few mills are still active today; however, besides the aforementioned one, let us point out Mulino Margheri situated in Ronta, a charming village in the municipal district of Borgo San Lorenzo. Entirely restored, and functioning, this watermill supposedly dates back to 845! On the premises you can buy different types of flour made from chestnut, corn and soft wheat. If you wish to add a bike excursion to your Mugello tour, you can rent bicycles and mountain bikes at the Mugello Bike shop, while those who also wish to be accompanied by a guide on a nature tour can contact the Cooperativa Ischetus. Horseback-riding is another possibility in the Mugello: in Vicchio, the riding school Maneggio Blackhorse offers wonderful rides under the supervision of a certified instructor, as well as individual and group lessons on its two training courses (grass and sand). Leaving Borgo San Lorenzo, we follow Via Faentina climbing up to the Colla Pass. Here the road forks, leading (right) to Marradi and (left) to Palazzuolo Sul Senio. We opt for Marradi and follow a long series of hairpin bends driving through amazing beechwoods and the unusual meadows that surround the village of Casaglia. As we ap-