A Day at Villa di Piazzano

An ancient hunting lodge built in the fifteenth century by Cardinal Silvio Passerini, protected by the Medici family and friend of Pope Leo X – and today a luxurious 5-star hotel in the heart of the Valle dell’Esse, a secret treasure chest on the outskirts of Cortona, on the border between Umbria and Tuscany. Let’s see what are the services open to the local community and for those who do not stay directly in the structure but had the desire to know it and spend ‘moments of forgetfulness’ – so Totò described, together with poet Giacomo Leopardi, happiness.

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The Italian Pizza Champion is in Mugello

In Jonathan’s pizzeria you eat a pizza made with his special dough of ancient grains which is crunchy, crumbly and light because it is less rich in gluten and therefore more digestible. The raw materials chosen by the pizza maker are of the highest quality: the extra virgin olive oil is that of the territory (from the Trebbio company), the water has certain characteristics, as well as the tomatoes or cheese.

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I Due Cippi, the school of meat

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.

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Borgo di Celle, enchantment in the green

The restaurant is open every day and always offers an à la carte menu. The chef provides classic Umbrian cuisine using only the best fresh seasonal products, carefully selected and of the highest quality. Each dish is beautifully prepared and designed to bring out local aromas and flavours – brilliantly accompanied by an impressive wine list, drawn up by professional sommeliers.

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Tradition, taste and health in the gardens dedicated to the famous painter

The beef is exclusively from the Chianina breed (certified organic) or organic Angus, the pork is exclusively from the Black Pig breed raised in the woods of Aboca (when they say low food miles they mean it!) and it’s certified organic. The prosciutto too is local from the Nebrodi Black Pig, the poultry comes exclusively from organic farms and the other meats and game come only from local farms without the use of GMO feed or from the woods owned by Aboca.

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‘Dal Grigino’ classic dishes and flavours of both land and sea

The Tartare del Grigino is justly famous, but also the sliced beef flavoured with different spices and condiments and the superb Bistecca Fiorentina. And, if you start your meal with a classic Antipasto della Valtiberina (a triumph of cold cuts, cheeses and bruschette with local pate) or with the equally classic panzanella, noth[1]ing stops you from opting for a first or second course of fish: from tagliolini al nero di seppia su crema di zafferano up to prawn tartare and fresh swordfish or octopus carpac-cio paired with seasonal vegetables.

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Villa di Piazzano, an oasis of grace

At the end of the Val D’Esse, nestled under the hill separating Tuoro and Lake Trasimeno from the countryside below Cortona sits the tiny hamlet of Piazzano.  Just inside the border of Umbria, it is surrounded by farmland, olive terraces and woodland.  This ancient area may have gotten its name during the famous battle between the Carthaginian general Hannibal and Roman consul Gaius Flaminius in 217 B.C.E. when it is thought the Roman contingent set up a military camp there with a “piazza d’armi” or a parade ground.

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