From archaeologists to farmers

• … and they used to rinse clothes in the Ombrone
• After September 8th 1943
• Between the twenties and thirties
• Corrado Capecchi, military internee
  • A medal (at last) for Corrado
  • The joke of the military internees
• Five places of Romanesque Carmignano
• Friar Bocci, at the beginning of the twentieth century
• From archaeologists to farmers
• Gino Balena
• Gino di Fico
• Historical shops in Carmignano
• In the name of Jesus and Saint Peter, may the sty go away
• Liberation day
• Matteucci, the ‘forgotten’ bishop
• Soldier in Greece
• Stories from a school notebook
• Stories of donkeys and jockeys
• Stories of mayors and town councils in Carmignano
• Stories of our home
• Stories of war and displaced persons
• The Battistina and other scary stories
• The colours of the rioni
• The Golden Roster
• The last sharecropper in Carmignano
• The siege in memory of the Princess
• The tree of liberty in Carmignano
• Ugo Contini Bonacossi
• Vittorio’s bicycles
• When the river Arno was fordable ..
• When they were digging pietra serena between Arno and Ombrone
• The colours of Carmignano, a small guide for tourists
  • Ancient churches and abbeys. Montalbano, a crossroads for pilgrims.
    • San Giusto al Pinone
    • San Jacopo in Capezzana
    • San Leonardo in Artimino
    • San Lorenzo in Montalbiolo
    • San Martino in Campo
    • San Michele amarcord
      • San Michele, the theater takes to the streets
• Itineraries for just a few days or more
  • Walking through history and nature
  • A Sunday devoted to the discovery of Artimino
  • A few words about the hamlets of Carmignano
  • The Fontina and Castagnati Lake
• Guides to download

Ladies and gentlemen, here is the saffron from Carmignano, of course. No longer only wine, the oldest Doc in Europe which has been exported to England since the sixteenth century . No longer only oil, with olive trees that cover twice the area of the vineyards. No longer only the dried figs which were sold in large quantities at the beginning of the last century in America and are today a slow food product niche . As of today Carmignano has a new product: saffron in fact, to be presented to the forthcoming exhibition in December organised by the Pro Loco, a large, lavishly decked table with products from the entire province (and even beyond).
To produce it for now there is just one company: that of Frigionaia, six acres under the thousand-year old Rocca di Carmignano, overlooking the valley facing Bacchereto, but others may follow. A particular company, founded less than two years ago is worth talking about. It is run by two young people not even in their thirties: Lapo and Elena who are partners in life as well as in business,. Mediaeval archaeologists by education, farmers by passion and then by choice.” A hobby that has gripped us so much as to make us risk making it a business” Lapo Somigli and Elena Vannacci explain. An adventure that is a mixture of innovation and tradition, made ​​of organic and e-commerce, internet and work in the fields, honey and oil as well as olive oil shampoos and soaps. And now saffron, modern and of the past.

“There are many farms in Carmignano, we wanted to stand out from others by breaking new ground.” they tell, while caught up, yesterday, in the middle of the olive harvest. The farm belonged to Lapo’s great-grandfather.” But it has always been rented out,” they say. “Passion started with the olive trees, paying attention to the advice of the elderly peasants” she goes on to say. Practice in the field and classroom studies. The foamy novelty products of this year were oil shampoos and soaps made ​​by expert soap makers. Next year they’re going to open a small agritourism for those who like a holiday really in touch with nature. Saffron is another bet. In the fifteenth century it was renowned in the Florentine countryside and it was probably also cultivated in Carmignano. A precious spice, precious enough to be used as a currency of exchange, and expensive even today for the great care it requires: 20 Euros per gram. The Italian one is sufficient for a risotto for twelve people. Lapo and Elena have planted six thousand bulbs so far and, who knows, maybe next year they will sprout. New ideas are needed and for young people there are also subsidies which have been made available from the Region.
Walter Fortini

(Published in Il Tirreno -Prato-on November 24th 2011)