Photo: Valdelsa.net

Last weekend saw the annual Boccaccesca Wine and Food Festival held in the medieval town of Certaldo in the heart of Tuscany. This beautiful Tuscan town is divided in two areas, the old medieval part known locally as Certaldo Alto and is situated at the top of the hill and comprises of beautiful brick buildings along narrow streets which are mostly car free and the remaining more modern town sprawls out below. The festival is held in the old town which makes a perfect backdrop to this celebration of food and drink.

This Boccaccesca is a very popular event and visitors come from far and wide and fill the narrow streets to enjoy the sights, sounds and smells of this culinary food event. The streets are lined with market stalls purveying all the best produce the region has to offer. Anyone who has been to this event before will tell you it is probably wise to come equipped with a couple of shopping bags because there is so much to tempt, such as tasty cheeses, meats of all descriptions, fungi, preserves and all types of nuts from the region. As well as the wine tasting classes by renowned sommeliers, there is any amount of wines you can buy especially the local Chianti or Brunello of Montalcino. 

As if that is not enough in addition to perusing the fascinating food market there is also a fantastic array of street food on offer. For a lot of people this is the highlight of the event. As we are now well into Autumn this hot food is very welcome with speciality soups such as ribolleta and hot game meat, pizzas, speciality burgers and various pasta dishes are available, to name but a few. Of course, anti pasti is also prominent, including pecorino, salami and prosciutto together with speciality breads which are an important part of this regions cuisine.

There are also demonstrations from top chefs to enjoy as well as cooking classes to get involved in. Plus what's more appropriate in these utterly wonderful surroundings than some renaissance style street theatre to enjoy.

Certaldo is such a pretty medieval town and well worth a visit anyway. The old town has a number of palaces including Palazzo Pretori which dominates the town centre and of course there are the museums and churches to discover.

If this all sounds irresistible to you, why not consider a weekend away next year. October is the perfect time to visit the region as the heat is not so intense. Simply catch a flight to Florence airport and make your way the 25 miles or so to this idillic hillside town and enjoy the best Tuscany can offer.

Before you go, why not treat yourself with one of our beautiful Italian leather shoulder bags by Pratesi, Chiarugi or Paolo Masi that are handmade in the region and fill it up will the local specialities. 

Perfecto!