Piccolomini Garden and Palazzo.... a Renaissance concept linking city and country

It is here in in Pienza in the Palazzo Piccolomini, standing on the piano nobile loggia that Aeneas Silvius Piccolomini , aka Pope Pius II ( 1458), went for contemplation and to look out over the valley of his youth and his giardino segreto, or secret garden.

Framing the landscape

Standing here, on this loggia, one feels lost in a moment in time, when a Renaissance mind thought beyond creating a beautiful formal garden. The big idea here was to link the palazzo to the garden and extend the vision out to the landscape beyond, in this case the breathtaking Tuscan country side of the Val d' Orcia.

The sandstone columns of the loggia frame the landscape that reaches as far as the eye can see to Mount Amiata.

The Piccolomini Palazzo and garden are in Pienza,

an incredible Tuscan hill town ( more on this soon). During our stays in Italy, James and I call the small Medieval Umbrian town of Panicale home. Panicale is only a short distance to the Tuscan border, so visits to places like Siena, Montepulciano and Pienza are easy and frequent. We are always drawn to Pienza probably because it is so rich in Renaissance architecture, it is famous for crafting the best pecorino cheese, it has good places for lunch, and if that is not enough it is simply beautiful. Oh, and I forgot to mention, inside the town walls there are very few cars to dodge.

On this visit our plan was to revisit the Piccolomini Palazzo so we could see the garden once again. This of course, meant taking the tour, which was

much more interesting in the past when presented by a guide rather than the new method with the dreadful audio device.... entering library, press option number 4. Tedious and robotic without a chance to ask questions.

Oh well, enough about that, we are here to look at the garden.

The inner courtyard of the palazzo is similar to the design of the outer loggias. The entrance to the garden opens from here. Reveal and conceal.... the garden really starts here inside the palazzo courtyard where one gets the first glimpse through the arcade and door. Step out the door onto an arcade of columns, where the secret garden unfolds. The central axis leads to an arch at the back wall, but before looking at what is beyond, we first walked through the garden. It is actually quite compact yet in scale with the palazzo..... it is a phenomenal concept and use of space.

Standing close to the center of the garden of evergreens and boxwood hedges is a look back at the palazzo from the garden.

There are three open loggias on the front of the palazzo that look over this formal garden also referred to as giardino pensile....a hanging garden.

Time for a look through the arch on the back wall of the hanging garden. A view out over this Tuscan landscape, as planned by Aeneas S. Piccolomini...Pius II. The greens of the garden are cool and serene....very ordered. The landscape beyond speaks to agriculture and to the wild.

Pienza is built on a hill so the view of the Val d'Orcia is commanding from here, with cultivated fields, grassy slopes with grazing sheep, outcroppings of crete, olive orchards on hillsides, farms and lines of cypress trees along dirt roads.

So here we have Renaissance vision of palazzo ( city), garden, and countryside all joined into one uninterrupted vision .

ARTICHOKES and FAVA BEANS......Here in Italy it is the season of artichokes and fava beans

We are always happy to be in Italy during artichoke season. Just look at these and tell me you do not want to buy the entire lot and cook them up. Well,we did not buy them all ....but probably more than our fair share. Let's see , so far we have made a saute of artichoke hearts with potatoes, artichokes with roasted peppers and potatoes as well as crostini with artichoke hearts and tuna sauce.

In Panicale we do our daily marketing at several shops around town. Our vegetables are often purchased here at the Fruttavedura, from the proprietor Yolanda. There is always, always something new to learn and since we had never cooked fava beans before, she told us exactly how to prepare them.

No problem. She picked out some young beans and bagged them up for us.

Here is James at the Fruttavedura selecting young artichokes for a painting. He is immediately attracted to the color and to the leaves. here in Italy fruit and vegetables are visual treats, as well as culinary treats, often still adorned in their leaves and long stems.

He also remembers to choose a few for our dinner.

Fava Beans seen here as a still life, are destined to become an ingredient for dinner.

This is a typical dish here in the spring season and it will often be on restaurant menus as a special.

I follow the cooking directions we were given at the Fruttavedura and the beans come out perfectly tender and delicious. The other ingredients are prepared, the pecorino grated and the pasta water is heating up.

Once the Umbricelli pasta is ready it is time to toss it with the artichokes, fava beans, pancetta and pecorino, some local olive oil and a bit of reserved pasta water.

Fava beans......a new favorite!

da Masolino

James is contemplating the menu that hangs outside the door at

Masolino's Ristorante. I think that he is trying to convince himself to order something other than Bruna's famous Fararona, the guinea hen that Masolino's is known for. He also loves the sassolino, which is a small gnocchi.

I can't help myself, I always order pasta here. At times I also have a secondo, a second course, yet sometimes after the pasta I just have salad or a contorno, a side dish. My problem, is I always want to order everything on the menu.

The Belfico family are the family behind this restaurant for 59 years. There are always smiles and delicious food and wine to be found here in this traditional cucinacasareccia (home cooking) Umbrian restaurant. This is a warm, friendly and inviting place. Whenever we first arrive in Panicale, we cannot wait to drop in on them to say, "Ciao Andrea, Ciao Stefania, Ciao Bruna...Sonia...Luisa, Ciao tutti.", and of course, to see how everyone is.

If the weather is warm we like to sit on the balcony, but the interior has warm and lovely glow. So what is on the stove tonight?

It's fava bean season, so the special tonight is Tagliatelle with fava beans, pecorino and pancetta, of course,we both order this. Heavenly!

This combination of flavors and textures is simply wonderful. The fresh and tender earthy beans with local pecorino paired with the slightly smoky flavor of Umbrian pancetta all tossed together with perfectly cooked handmade pasta, is a dining must this time of year.

Tonight we each order a second course, James a grilled filet of beef with lardo and truffles.

For me, beef as well, tagliatta with arugula and parmesan.

The wine Andrea selected for us was a Montefalco Rosso.

We will dream of this in the months to come.

Stefania makes an incredible tiramisu. The dessert I ordered was brought over, kindly, with two spoons. As soon as James saw the tiramisu and recalled just how good it is, he ordered his own. Whew! I thought for a moment I was going to have to share this with him.

After we finished our desserts, Andrea sent over 2 glasses of Vin Santo.

Drinking Vin Santo after a perfect meal while sitting on the balcony of Masolino's with a soft warm breeze and the sun setting..........

Does it get any better than this?

On the balcony at Masolino's we enjoy the sun setting over Umbria.

Buona notte tutti.

First Stop in the Morning...Bar Gallo.....Due cappuccini, per favore

The day starts here.......at Bar Gallo with cappuccino, and sometimes a cornetto con marmellata. Aldo and Daniela own Bar Gallo and serve an incredibly good cup of coffee, and an enormous amount of hospitality. Daniela always gives my cappuccino a sprinkle of cacao!

Bar Gallo is the center of activity here in Panicale that goes well beyond a cup of coffee or a cone of gelato. People are here are neighbors, catching up on important news as well as much chiacchiere (chit chat). Visitors , like us, are made to feel welcomed. There is something about this town that embraces you, that draws you in.....and Aldo's is part of the spirit and soul of Panicale.

Aldo is the source for information here. He has told us about festivals, written out maps with directions and given us tips on extraordinary place to paint and draw in the area, places that we never would have found on our own. In the bar, we ( especially James) have an opportunity to practice speaking and listening to Italian..........and getting our bad pronunciations politely corrected. Believe me, we will take all the help we can get!

Often in the morning we find our new friends Katia and Massimo here with their family. They too have been very kind and have introduced us to many people on this visit. Grazie!

Bar Gallo is a lively place.

Bar Gallo may be our first stop of the day, but then sometimes before dinner, whether dining in or out, we stop in for an apertivo.

For me that might be an Americano, made from that wonderful red colored Campari, and for James una birra grande alla spina (beer on tap). Aldo provides a light snack, sometimes chips, and other times a bruschetta. Yesterday, a bruschetta pomodoro, and another with tonna and carciofi( tuna,that was like a pesto with fresh artichoke on toasted bread.). Simple goodness.

Yesterday, we joined a group of sitting outside at the bar

under the awning in the Piazza Umberto I....to enjoy the late Umbrian afternoon.....early evening with the sun still in the sky.

Really, what could be better?

Now it is time to go prepare dinner.

Tomorrow morning we will return to Aldo's for coffee

and greeted with " Ciao James, Ciao Elizabeth"

Festa di Lavora

Today is Festa di Lavora in Italy.........May Day.

A day to celebrate the worker.

Umbria is often called the "green heart of Italy". Here we are surrounded by agriculture. The fields are covered in crops of grains and lentils, the hillsides are terraced with olive trees and grape vines. It is all so beautiful, and all so much work for the farmers.

So, today is a day we can celebrate all their labor and achievement.

The first time we were in Panicale it was quite a surprise to see all the tractors driving through the Porta Perugina and into the piazza. Rain was predicted for today but the sun came out to shine on everyone.

Our best wishes to all the workers of the world.

Brava!

Buon Festa di Lavora.

Happy May Day.

A WALK THROUGH PANICALE, an Umbrian hill town

Driving up to Panicale the profile of the Campanile, or old Town Hall comes into sight at the height of this gentle but lively hill town.

This place has been occupied since 1300 BC. First by the ancient Aequi, then the Etruscans then the Romans.

In the Middle Ages it was an independent commune.The walls that enclose the town were built for fortification date back to 1276. There was also a moat that was filled in during the 19th Century.

The warm colors of Panicale beckon as we approach the town.

We enter Panicale through Porta Perugina, named for the Renaissance

artist Pietro Perugino ( 1445-15240

In the tiny church of St. Sebastiano there is a fresco by Perugino, that he painted during the time Raphael was his student.

Piazza Umberto I is the center of much of the town's activity. At any time of day the friendly Bar Gallo is open, it is where to start the day with coffee, return later for another coffee or gelato, and perhaps before dinner an apertivo.

The Renaissance fountain, which was originally a well is a good resting spot to watch the daily activity of the piazza. This is a holiday week (Festa di lavoro or May Day), so the piazza has been busy and there have been children playing in the piazza. The children's sweet voices fill the piazza on this sunny spring day as they play soccer or

hide and seek..........pretty interesting in this piazza that radiates with Medieval streets.

Walking through the streets of Panicale could not have been much different 500 years ago then it is today. The ever present sound of the swallows flying over the town, the aroma of food through open kitchen windows in mid afternoon,the stone facades of buildings with old wooden doors that open to houses that still remain centuries later.

It is all quite magical. The walk is full of texture and color, layer upon layer. The Medieval is here. The Renaissance is here.

(And best of all, for us, we are here!)

Climbing the narrow and ancient streets .....at times we feel like everything is up here....always, always climbing hills and stairs!

On our way up to the top of the town we stop in at the church of San Michele to see the newly restored painting The Adoration by Corporale as well as

The Annunciation by Masolino di Panicale.

Masolino, the important early Renaissance painter, as his name implies, was from Panicale.

Now we finish the climb to the top to the Piazza Podesta. We enjoy a rest as we look at the view.

Panicale rises above the Umbrian plain with panoramic views to Lago Trasimeno. Umbria is quite agricultural and here fields of different crops, grains, grapes,olives or legumes, can be seen across the plain to the lake.

A soft breeze is found here on the hilltop.

(Maybe James will post a blog on the Battle of Trasimeno and tell you about how the Romans were defeated by Hannibal and his War Elephants.)

But for now, here later in the day and into the evening there is sunset and time for dinner.

More on that soon, dinner that is.

Buona Notte!

Next..... People and Places.......... eating and marketing in Panicale.

Lavender

This is the week I set aside to prune the lavender. This usually occurs around the Red Sox Opening Day at Fenway Park, always a reminder for James and I to get certain garden chores done.

Right now, as I am out pruning in a New England heat wave, the path looks rather shabby!

But with work and time, along with some help of sun and rain.... miracles can happen!

I took this photo last summer when the lavender was particularly adorned in blue flowers and I am hoping that this summer the lavender path will compete and have the same allure of color and fragrance.

Back to work!