Vinci, Leonardo and Italian excellence

Let’s go to Vinci for a trip, it’s winter, it’s cold, but when the sun shines the need to go somewhere green becomes a must: Vinci is the winner city  of this daytrip, a small town located on the Montalbano hills – and we’re obviously talking about the birthplace of Leonardo ‘da Vinci’. Vinci landscapes and Leonardo will be the protagonists of the following pics:

Vinci, Tuscany
Vinci, Tuscany
Leonardo Souvenir
Leonardo Souvenir
Vinci, Tuscany
Vinci, Tuscany
The Vitruvian man - Vinci view
The Vitruvian man – Vinci view

imagehere you can visit a sort of dislocated museum, in the sense that there are several units which are part of the ‘Museum of Leonardo’ in the city of Vinci.

The first visit to do is the Castle of the Guidi Counts in the city center: here you can have a taste of the exhibitions:

rotable crane - first model used to build the Florence' s Dom
rotable crane – first model used to build the Florence’ s Dome
crane in action
crane in action
Four spindle spinning machine
Four spindle spinning machine
Gold-beating machine, Vinci Museum
Gold-beating machine, Vinci Museum

here you are the wooden series: instrumental tools and shapes, a tank model, Leonardo’s wheels studies applied to a bicycle

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Wooden Tank model by Leonardo Da Vinci
Wooden Tank model by Leonardo Da Vinci
Mechanical wing model by Leonardo da Vinci
Mechanical wing model by Leonardo da Vinci
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Wooden structure representing the tool and crane used to build the top of the Dome of Florence
Shades and lights reflecting the Vitruvian Man

Then the series of work of arts dedicated to the painting and the study of perspective:

Reflection and perspective with Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci
Reflection and perspective with Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci
The study of wheels - wooden machines by Leonardo
The study of wheels – wooden machines by Leonardo

Here is the Leonardo’s painting in which he was able to introduce the power of linear perspective to go towards naturalism in painting. You can see the deepth of the landscape and natural pose of the characters by looking at it moving to the right, from Mary’s point of view: if you do so, you can enjoy the very point of view and right perspective:

Leonardo's Annunciation
Leonardo’s Annunciation

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Trip to Anchiano, birthplace of Leonardo
Trip to Anchiano, birthplace of Leonardo

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Books and videos about Leonardo history by Archivio Luce
Books and videos about Leonardo history by Archivio Luce

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#NoteOfTheDay by Rag’n’Bone Human

 

Landscapes of autumn: high level of pleasure in Tuscany countryside.

Well, the autumn has started some days ago, but Tuscany doesn’t seem to be aware of it. So lucky. That’s the reason why, on last Saturday I decided to have a trip in the countryside and breath a little of freshness and smell those flavors and perfumes you can only have among the fields, trees, olives, grapes, under the sun.

It took just 1 hour to get there, in Montefioralle, Greve in Chianti – Florence area.

It was love at first sight, a very small village (like mine) on the top of a silent hill that looks like abandoned, a ghost village. I passed the day just in front of it, where a little family of farmers welcomed my friends and me to have a little tour there with a final wine tasting stop. Glamourous.

Tuscany - Montefioralle, Greve in Chianti countryside
Tuscany – Montefioralle, Greve in Chianti countryside
Vineyard in Tuscany countryside
Vineyard in Tuscany countryside

It was lovely to spend hours just by staring at those colors: graveyards were half yellow, half orange, pale orange, and also red, maybe brown too. But the grass was so green that it was hard to think those leaves were going to fall down and cover it completely.

Also, while listening to our favorite team leader explanations and descriptions about the wine process and olive oil productions, it was impossible to not get lost in the surrounding… yes, everybody was always ahead toward the next explanation and room, but I took my time in order to have those souvenirs I’m gonna show you right now:

Tuscany Landscape - Greve in Chianti agriculture and cultivation
Tuscany Landscape – Greve in Chianti agriculture and cultivation
Tuscany farmers and avant-garde
Tuscany farmers and avant-garde

The last one picture shows you a little example of how much the farmers of Tuscany are keen on new trends and technology: it’s not about how virtual they are, but it’s about how can they grew their business just improving little by little their activities, remaining still so nature. Anyway, what I want to say you it’s to pay attention looking at this pic: www.pastaalpesto.com and cooking lesson are the signal under the windows, so smart!  Have a look at their websites if you’re interested in having cooking lessons about traditional Italian homemade pasta.

But let’s go further to have a look in the surrounding area: here we are the wine cellars, where the wine is stored, and the welcoming barrels which show you the trail for they called winery !

Wine cellar - Montefioralle
Wine cellar – Montefioralle
Barrels - Montefioralle vinery
Barrels – Montefioralle vinery
Gallo nero - the black cock guarantee
Gallo nero – the black cock guarantee

Maybe the Black Cock – or better Gallo Nero is one of the most recognized certified wine labels in the world. It is clearly related to the Chianti area but the cock is only for those wines from the premier central region – Chianti Classico is the best one. Why a black cock? Its origins are historically-based, here you are a great explanation and a funny old story.

Then, let’s see the most tasteful lines of this article: homemade products, bread, ham, chees and a refill wine card you can top with your money and use by enjoying several type of wines:

cheese cellar
cheese cellar
smoked ham - prosciutto
smoked ham
wine, bruschetta with chees and ham and special wine card
wine, bruschetta with chees and ham and special wine card

It’s extraordinary to see how these little villages build their business and help growing their tourism by taking care of the customers experience and its total engagement.