Vip watching in Tuscany

 Capalbio, Tuscany

Tuscany is a very fashionable region for travelling and for living. Many famous actors, singers or simply entrepreneurs chose Tuscany as their favourite location to buy a vacation villa, to take up a new activity in wine or hospitality, to meditate and relax.

Among the most popular Sting’s Il Palagio 16th Century Tuscan Villa. Set amongst the Tuscan near Florence, this villa is not only the Sumner family’s holiday home but also operates as a retreat and organic farm producing wine, olive oil, honey.
Richard Gere spent his meditation holidays a the breath taking Tibetan monastery in Pomaia,  a small medieval town surrounded by the green hills near Pisa. He has also launched his first fine label of Brunello di Montalcino buying the San Filippo Estate.

Not to mention Elton John fond of Florentine t-bone steaks, Paris Hilton visiting her friend and fashion designer Roberto Cavalli, Daniel Day Lewis struck by the art of shoe making in Florence and Paul McCartney mad for gelato….

Of course, it will not be easy to bump into celebrities walking around Tuscany or quietly relaxing in their villas…therefore, you might be interested in knowing the top Vip watching sites in Tuscany. Just take a comfy seat at a central cafè, sip your fresh lemonade and wait….

Read on The Travel Advisor

Linen my passion - Stepping into Tuscany old traditions.

‘Amazing stories are just around the corner or laying under linen sheets’, says Nadia sniggering at me while telling the story of her granny, one of secrets in linen embroidery and spun. Linen was commonly used in the past by both low and high class families to produce their bed sheets, towels, night suites, baby diapers, curtains, table clothes. Yes there were differences between the farmer’s dowries and the landowner’s, but skills in embroidering were equally great, and they have passed through generations to our current days.

World famous fashion houses took inspiration from anonymous ladies whose skillful hands helped how to preserve this art and, while every woman in the past century was able to sew and needle as a matter of fact, today we label this technique as hobby. Yet Nadia’s intent is by far more honorable: not only she has started collecting all the tissues directly from her beloved grandmother, she has also continued to save big quantities of abandoned old linen canvases from brides chests to granny’s lofts, collecting a quite impressive number of them.
Continue reading on Wall Street Internation Mag >>>>>>

Versilia Blog Tour 2013 - A handful of Versilia!

I have just finished my experience in the organization and guiding of the Versilia Blog Tour, a great five-days tour around the Versilia region in Northern Tuscany coast together with a bunch of Italian and foreign travel bloggers.
Every day was a new discovery and we had the chance to tour around the different areas and merge in many different environments from the Massaciuccoli Lake, where Giacomo Puccini lived, to the wild Natural Park and sandy beaches near La Lecciona in Viareggio, to the hills of Camaiore, to the marble quarries on the Apuan Alps, to the olive groves around Pietrasanta and the perfectly combed sea resort in Forte dei Marmi.
Here is the story of my five-days adventure through Versilia: the land of Roman finds, of fish and aromatic herbs used to cure meat, of sawdust and marble, of brass-gold and Murano glass…

A handful …of Roman finds

We have visited the Massaciuccoli Romana archeological area, where Francesco ,the Archeologist introduced us to all Roman finds they recently excavated. What a thrilling experience touching pieces of pottery, glass and stone which were produced and used more than 2000 years ago…

A handful …of fish

We visited Viareggio and its harbor, getting more to know about its history and traditions in fishing.
The programme included some fish tasting paired with wine and a cooking class lead by Federica, the knowledgeable chef at Restaurant La Posteria in Viareggio.

After showing  our bloggers how to master knife and hands to clear a fish, our brave food blogger Chiara, aka Forchettinagiramondo, tried the experience and fileted a weever. In fact, we learned about many other delicious fishes that live in the Tyrrhenian sea, apart from the well-known (but often  breed) beam and bass. Here just a few of them: scad, gundrum and stingray which was wonderfully cooked as a soup with polenta.

A handful …of aromatic herbs

We visited Salumificio Triglia in Gombitelli a village on the hills overlooking Versilia on one side and Lucca plain on the other one. This is a family run company which is putting traditions and ancient tastes on top of their priorities and goals, bringing along the production of very typical products in Versilia area, such as ham aged with chestnut flour and “pink” lard. Though, the shop today is much more technological, than in the past, the family still preserves their own “secrets” in the mix of spices, herbs and “x” ingredients passed on by generations. It’s fun trying to guess how far your nose can go to reach subtle scents hidden by strong rosemary, garlic and thyme.
Taste and find out!

A handful…of sawdust

Camaiore, the small hamlet half way between Versilia hills and Lucca on the Francigena way, gave us the chance to visit the workshop where sawdust carpets or the “tappeti di segatura” are drafted and designed to line the streets for the Sunday celebrations of the Feast of Corpus Christi, which in 2013 fell on 2nd June.

A handful…of marble

What an amazing view from the up the Apuan Alps, where we were allowed to visit the private quarry estate at Henraux, uphill of Seravezza and Stazzema. Here you feel like you can touch the sky or fall under the weight of milky white blocks so imposing above our heads.

A handful…of wax

The very last day we visited Pietrasanta and its art shops where artists produce their own art pieces into statues, mosaics or jewels…no matter the material, they can master them all…
We enjoyed Marco Balderi’s intro to his goldsmith creations and view of life and nature reflected into its amazing jewels. He showed us is “forge shop” and the way he turns wax into brass and gold and art…

A handful…of Murano glass

At another corner in Pietrasanta, Piero Giannoni works on his mosaics since almost 60 years without a break…every day for work or pleasure…trying to outdo himself and make a picture of the most celebs’ portraits out of a mosaic. His painstaking efforts in becoming a real master in mosaic art contributes in making Pietrasanta the socalled “Little Athens”.

I am thankful to all the people that made this five days trip around Versilia possible. You will find them all listed on the Versilia Blog Tour page.

If you are looking for passion, art, excitement, wonder, come to Versilia and get a handful of it!

Versilia, Tuscany

Our guest post on Italy: beyond the obvious blog by Madeline Jhawar

Tuscany is known to most people as the land of sunflowers, poppies, olive groves and beautiful historical cities such as Florence, Siena and Pisa. But few know the magic of a small territory with a microcosm of landscapes, from the silent sea that laps silky sands to towering mountains, that were the cradle to Romans. The vast expanse of natural parks and pine forests were once a hunting ground for the Tuscan nobility; the rolling hills were redesigned by men in neat vineyards and olive groves; and the magical waters of Lake Massaciuccoli inspired Giacomo Puccini, and still attract the rarest species of birds to spend the warmer months.

Located in northwest Tuscany, bordering Liguria and the Cinque Terre, Versilia is nestled between the high Apuan Alps (giving it a mild winter climate) and a long sandy stretch of coast.

The most luxurious places in Northern Tuscany: Riviera-Versilia

Versilia Riviera, set on the Northern Tuscany coast, has become a favourite retreat for celebrities and wealthy vacationers. Its reputation dates to the 1960s, when industrialists made wealthy by a booming economy chose Versilia as a place to get away – followed soon thereafter by the Prince and Princess of Piedmont, who eventually chose Viareggio’s beach resorts for their summer sunbathing. Continue reading >>>

A Luxury Travel Blog

Wishversilia entra nella community dei blogger!

WishVersilia una giovane impresa con sede a Viareggio e showroom a Forte dei Marmi.

Offre servizi di Personal Shopper, Wedding Planner e Personal Concierge e, seppur giovane, si avvale di partner di consolidata esperienza, nonché di collaboratori qualificati e madrelingua. Si rivolge, con servizi personalizzati, al cliente che in Versilia trascorre una vacanza, che vi soggiorna per piacere o lavoro, o che vi resta solo per un breve sosta.
Grazie all'esperienza nell'accoglienza e alla conoscenza del territorio, il personale qualificato per fornire suggerimenti, consigli e idee che rendono unica la permanenza in Versilia. WishVersilia si rivolge particolarmente a chi ha poco tempo da dedicare alla organizzazione di un viaggio o anche di un matrimonio, allo shopping o alla ricerca di itinerari particolari in Toscana, e necessita dell'assistenza di personale esperto e affidabile.
Il video di presentazione Wishvesilia sulla splendida terrazza del Principe di Piemonte a Viareggio!