Archive for 'Slow Food'

Built on the foothills of Monte Retaia in Tuscany is the tourist city of Prato! The River Bisenzio, a tributary of the great River Arno, meanders through Prato and helps create a pleasant scene for visitors. Prato has been inhabited since Palaeolithic times and is believed to have been colonised by the Etruscans. It is now Tuscany’s second largest city after Florence and is home to the second largest Chinese population in Italy after Milan.

Check out some stunning Carmignano luxury villas, only twelve kilometres from Prato if you wish to stay in this area for a few days.

Textile manufacture made up quite a lot of Prato’s economy as can be seen from the informative textile museum here. Also of interest to history lovers is the Datini Archives on display here. This is a collection of books and manuscripts that belonged to a merchant called Francesco di Marco Datini.

A town once enveloped by the cork forests that filled the hills around it, Suvereto is indeed a wonderful Orange Flag town to visit! This town is not only revered as a cultural hotspot thanks to its Orange Flag award, it’s also well known as being a loyal advocate of traditional Italian Slow Food and Slow Living traditions.

Also famous for its olive oil and wine, Suvereto is definitely a place to visit if you love your food and want to try exciting new flavours and recipes! Stay in a pretty vacation rental in Suvereto and experience a wonderful tourist experience

If you’re holidaying in Tuscany and are enthusiastic about tasting authentic homemade food products that invigorate the senses then you're in for a treat! This beautiful region of Italy has protected the cultivation and production of slow foods in direct response to the monstrous growth of the fast food industry in the country during the eighties.

Great food has been an integral part of Tuscany’s cultural heritage and thanks to the many people who fought hard to promote them in their local areas, you can still taste these exquisite old recipes today.

The following areas of San Miniato, Pistoia, Lunigiana, San Vincenzo, and along the rest of the Tuscan coastline has a wonderful selection of luxury villas and other great value holiday accommodation for visitors to stay in and explore the culinary trail of delicious slow food products that originate here.

Whilst on your holidays to Tuscany, you might like to take some time to learn about the fascinating ‘slow food’ movement that is an integral part of Tuscany’s cuisine tradition. This was a courageous stand made by a group of Italians in 1986 to promote the consumption of delicious homemade produce created using only the finest ingredients.

Many were dismayed at the rapidly growing number of ready meals and processed foods in local supermarkets and fast food restaurants in towns all across Italy so below are some of the delicious foods that Tuscany fought hard to, and successfully brought back into regular Italian cooking.


All of the locations mentioned below have a fantastic range of Tuscany villa rentals and much more to offer visitors who wish to explore the culinary history of this region.

Enrich your Tuscan holiday experience by exploring the areas of this region where famous Slow Food products are made. These are recipes for a range of products like cured meats, salamis, fish and breads that have been passed down through the generations and are still as popular as ever among food enthusiasts.

There is a fine selection of Tuscany vacation rentals in Ghivizzano, Casentino and Maremma for visitors to choose from, and these areas are also where the following tasty delicacies originated!

Ghivizzano town in the province of Lucca in Tuscany produces a delicious cured meat called ‘Prosciutto Bazzone’. The making of it starts with what the semi wild pigs from which it is made, are fed on. They graze on faro, apples, pears, acorns, chestnuts and scotta which is a leftover cheese by-product.

This gives the meat an intensely rich nutty flavour that is often enjoyed with another Tuscan slow food product called Pane di patate della Garfagnana. The curing process of Prosciutto Bazzone is a timely one as the meat has to be salted and seasoned before being pressed under weights for several months before it is ready; but tourists can be assured that this delicious delicacy is well worth the wait!