Skiing, a stone's throw away

Mt. Amiata rises above Grosseto provence so it is in constant view wherever we venture here. Mt. Amiata is a dormant volcano that sports a vast, but not very steep or challenging, ski area. One can ski from any number of ski areas that almost circle the top of the mountain. Our trip to the mountain brought us to numerous Medieval hilltop villages and in several we stopped to enjoy the view (Montenero), peeking into a vast sculpture park in Seggiano (created by Swiss artist Daniel Spoerri but closed for the winter) and hoping to buy their famed, fragant olive oil from olivastra olive trees that has been produced in the region since Roman times. On the way up the mountain we saw the famed chestnut trees. Chestnuts are dense in calories, nutritious and can be used in many ways, including ground into flour for bread, pastries and a type of polenta. Here's what a Beth Elon says in her wonderful guide, A Culinary Traveller in Tuscany: Chestnut flour is best after mid-December, the moment when stone grinding begins. Hearty chestnut polenta is served with simple game ragu, fresh ricotta cheese, or sausages. There's also a chesnut bread--fiandulone--flavored with rosemary, and a puree made from boiled chetnust, la pichiona. The nuts are also prepared here like those sold on city streets, roasted on the ashes of an open fire in a long-handled hole-punched pan. In fact, when I was a poor student living in Florence all those many years ago, chestnuts played an important part in my sustenance. Coming home from art class on cold winter nights, I would purchase a cone of hot chestnuts and step into the bar and get a hot milk. This warm, siimple meal filled me up for easily less than $1, a real deal.

After stopping at the mountain and eating lunch, we headed down through Santa Fiore. Santa Fiore is known for its moutain water, the first fish farm (which we visited), its Roman church where you can see fish swimming under the floor (lit for a Euro) and its wonderfully intact frescos, and finally a church with the most impressive Della Robbias I've ever seen. Unfortunately, the photos from Santa Fiore are trapped in my new Blackberry as my camera battery suddenly died. Santa Fiore is a welcoming city and I mean that in historical terms as it was the one of the only places that accepted Jews escaping Nazi Germany when everywhere others were turning them away.