Finocchiona from Poggibonsi, honey from Montalcino, smoked ricotta from Volterra, panforte from Colle Val d’Elsa, as well as the other foods mentioned here, are a reflection of the territory, of ancient gestures, of resources that man has handed down with intelligence and imagination. They can be taken as instruments of cognition and extraordinary occasions of revelation.
In the phases that go into making these products — cutting, maturation, salting, dressing, slicing – there is a rituality steeped in the very ancient farming culture of our land. In these actions we can read the same gesture of art that is used to make glass in Murano or a ceramic piece in Faenza. We should "save" these foods in much the same way we preserve works from the past whose beauty and value are still eloquent today. The art of preparing food shares some important features with the creation of painting and sculpture: for instance, man’s contribution, its technical irreproducibility, its ability to activate the five senses. Even the traveler-gourmand participates in the creative process when he tastes a salame, cheese or wine: all products created (like artwork) with the precise objective of stimulating emotion.
And it is emotion that we feel as we travel among the ancient villages, fortresses and cloisters of Montalcino, Volterra, Casole d’Elsa, Colle di Val d’Elsa, Poggibonsi and San Gimignano, six unique places where every human activity becomes a tangible expression of art.
Davide Paolini
| Montalcino | Colle di Val d'Elsa | Volterra | Casole d'Elsa | San Gimignano | Poggibonsi |
