BY GIULIA FISCA
Our story begins a few years ago, when Michele, a Neapolitan Jack-the-lad, meets Bianca, an elegant and rather posh country girl from Saturnia. The two youngsters get married, start a family and embark on their journey together full of surprising and unpredictable events.
Michele and Bianca are a perfect match, one completes the other: on the one hand the resourcefulness, courage and desire to tackle new experiences; on the other, awareness, love of family and loyalty. Michele has great intuition, strong business sense and ploughs on past difficulties. He wants to invest in his future, to garner his skills. Bianca solidly supports him in his choices and in his chosen trajectory.
The two, after a stay in Rome, moved to Saturnia in 1976 and here they began their adventure by managing a Bar Tabacchi. Michele sold off the little he possessed and put in all his resources: in the town they said he used twigs instead of shoe laces. But poverty didn’t scare him, he overcame all obstacles and managed to offer Saturnia a vital meeting point. The venue immediately achieved great success as it was something quite new, both for the various services offered and for the sincere hospitality.
The desire to embark on new adventures and his general audacity pushed Michele to make another investment; in 1981 he bought a restaurant situated in an old stable of the old Ciacci castle, restored and renovated it ̶ thereby creating the only restaurant business in the area. Michele’s restaurant became the first in the province of Grosseto to be in the Michelin guide.
Here he devoted all his attention to cooking and grilling, flanked by his two sons and expanded his business by creating genuine Tuscan products which he also exported abroad. With a bit of luck and a lot of willpower, in a few years the family had developed a restaurant, a production kitchen, a well-stocked wine shop and a small hotel. With the passage of time Michele passed the business to his children who in 2015 dedicated themselves completely to catering. In 2016 Michele got sick and after a long period of suffering died.
Michele’s death created a terrible vacuum in the family which, as well as mourning him, had to roll up their sleeves and create a new stability.
Alessandro and Lorenzo didn’t forget their father’s lessons and, thanks to their experience, after several attempts discovered their proper path in life. They changed the previous set-up and ̶ while maintaining the original soul of the place ̶ modernised it. Today at the Due Cippi restaurant you can really breathe innovation in the air, but at the same time you sense great history and venerable tradition. The restaurant draws our attention with its large fireplace which dominates the dining room. The gastronomic offering is a traditional yet fun journey, with a great variety of grilled meats. The ageing of meat which Michele began with back in the 1980’s has become Lorenzo’s main focus with a selection of over three tons of meat undergoing it. The grill, managed with great professionalism and skill, makes the dishes really opulent ̶ magnifying flavours and at the same time assuring their authenticity.
The great knowledge of traditional products and old-fashioned recipes here offers unique dishes with true flavours that enrich the menu with originality and refinement. All raw ingredients used are carefully chosen and selected with attention to their source of origin ̶ in the first place the succulent Chianina meat which, depending on the season, is accompanied by very high quality ‘side dishes’ such as porcini mushrooms and local truffles. You can order a large selection of raw meats, sweetbreads, tripe, tongue and grilled lettuce seasoned with oil, garlic and anchovy. The large dinining room grill is the real star of this gourmet show which, apart from steaks, produces snails, blood puddings, pigeons, quails, tongue and many other cuts. And how can we not mention the other fabulous dishes here such as pappardelle with wild boar, polenta with black cabbage, pumpkin and lamb ravioli, Cinta Senese suckling pig and braised veal cheek; a long list of original and refined dishes, prepared with both simplicity and professionalism. Many ingredients are home-produced such as the excellent extra virgin olive oil, the fragrant bread and the crunchy schiacce. Every detail is chosen to be a note of a magical melody.
The well-stocked restaurant cellar has more than a thousand different bottles, all selected from the best Italian and French producers. Champagne occupies a special place: a fine collection of sparkling wines enhances tastes and aromas, thrilling even the most demanding gourmets.
Alessandro and Lorenzo carry on the dream of a great man, their father Michele: every day they show passion, dedication and commitment ̶ treasuring the guidance they received from him. Proud of their past, they look to the future as an intoxicating, luminous, goal to reach.
Info and reservations: Piazza Vittorio Veneto 26/A, Saturnia (Gr)/ Tel. 0564 601074/ iduecippi@gmail.com