Villa Chianti - Harmony with Nature

The Romans came to our place at an uncertain date sometime in the 3rd century B. C. But the Romans were late-comers. Our home is in southern Tuscany, bordering Umbria, the ancient heartland of the Etruscans. The archeological record is everywhere - underlying the golden wheat fields, the bright green vineyards, the silver-grey olive groves - and enthusiastically supplements the written record from Roman times. Villa Chianti is situated between the resort town of Chianciano Terme, known historically for its natural healing waters, and Chiusi, once-powerful city state of the Etruscans and home to the monarch Lars Porsenna. We are in Macciano, an outlying area of Chiusi, named after the ancient Roman land-owner here, Maccius.

Actually, it began back in 1983. Engaging my love for ancient history, I visited Greece, Egypt and Italy. In Italy, I left Rome by train to visit the Barolo wine region in Piemonte, stopping first in the homeland of another great wine, Brunello di Montalcino. I fell in love. The place, the people, everything. I never made it to Piemonte that year. And I vowed that when I retired, I would make my home in Montalcino.
But the path was long, circuitous and not without challenges. Finally, in December 1998, I was transferred from Kuwait to Vicenza, Italy, and my wife and I set up housekeeping in Santo di Thiene, just to the north of Vicenza. Retirement came in June 2000, and we packed up and moved to Montalcino, renting an apartment in the center of the town I loved so much. But homes were difficult to find in Montalcino, and when found, too costly. So we looked elsewhere, and established ourselves here in November 2001.

It ain't easy. Don't take my word for it, ask our nearest neighbors, the Rossini family. We don't have a big piece of land, but it's enough to fill all my time and gives rewards you cannot measure.

At first, I neglected our land that was behind the fenced property, and tall weeds were rampant and were an eyesore. Then, I took a close look at the Rossini place - not a square meter was wasted, it all served a useful function. And so, I began to plan.

It has taken many seasons, and things are not yet as I would like them to be. But, then, Rome was not built in a day. There were some fruit trees here when we came, mostly plum - including the wild variety - which do very well in this zone. But each spring will find me planting something new, squeezing it in to the now full land. The fruit trees now include also apple, apricot, cherry, kiwi, pear, and fig. We have almond, walnut and hazelnut. Young olive trees, some 18 at last count, but they give us a few liters of the most wonderful unfiltered green extra-virgin olive oil. And a bit more than 250 grapevines, of some 27 different varieties, mostly for wine but also table grapes. For eggs and meat, we have chickens, turkeys, ducks, geese, and guinea fowl, the numbers varying with their reproductive capacity and our appetites, to say nothing of night-time predators from the surrounding forest. Everywhere we have herbs planted, the ones used most in Mediterranean cooking: bay leaf, sage, Rosemary, oregano, marjoram, thyme. The land demands hard work, long hours, but provides for us. Living as we do in the Tuscan countryside makes us feel a bit closer to God.

Animals are an important part of our life, as well they should be. The original Chianti, friend and companion for more than 13 years, now rests under olive tree and grapevine beside our much-used BBQ area in the backyard. The great Caesar and the gentle Cleopatra were gifts from friends shortly after we bought our home, Maremma Sheepdogs famous since ancient times for being fearless and protective. Cleopatra died of diabetes few years ago; Caesar continues strong. Gravy, the Siamese cat, was a legacy from friends in Vicenza when they returned to the states. Chianti II is our English Cocker Spaniel, born in 2004, very much a constant companion indoors and outdoors.
When we bought our home, the former owners had five cats. When they couldn't catch two of them before leaving, they asked if they could leave them, telling us not to worry, both were males. Not true. The two became four became 10 became eventually more than 40. Currently, there are 12 that show up at feeding time. They are mostly somewhat wild, suspicious and roam the Woods around us. Natural selection, the survival of the fittest, keeps the number down, with foxes and weasels abounding here.

Our closest neighbors, in all senses of the word, are the Rossini family - Mario, the senior member, his wife Wanda and his brother Pasquino. These are 'real' people - I tend to separate people into two categories, the real and the phonies and there is no time in life to suffer the latter. 'Salt of the earth' is another description. They grew up in difficult times, mainly in the post-war years, working the land, land that then belonged to others; for their labor, they would get a small portion of what they raised. They know the value of things, and appreciate things that many of us take for granted. They work hard, all the time, and will not sacrifice for convenience or speed. The land and the animals fill most of their hours, but you will still find Mario weaving baskets - baskets for the gathering forest mushrooms, for olives, for eggs, baskets of all sizes and shapes. He even makes the reed brooms they use around their place, and ladders made from split tree trunks with fitted wooden rungs. Pasquino, too, spends most of his time with land and animals, but also is an avid hunter, and their table boasts wild boar, hare, pheasant, deer. Wanda commands in the kitchen, beginning each day by preparing home-made pasta. A meal at the Rossini home is nothing less than a banquet with antipasto, two kinds of pasta with sauces, usually three kinds of meat (from their farm animals, or wild game), vegetables (from their garden) garnished with olive oil from their trees, dessert of two or more kinds, fresh fruit, bread, red wine from their vineyard, coffee, and grappa they distill. And, of course, the grand finale of the Tuscan meal - their own traditional dessert wine, Vin Santo, aged in small casks in their attic for three or four years, feeling - as Mario describes it - all the seasons in order to mature properly. To drink Vin Santo is to celebrate Life.

Living as we do here, every day seems to be a celebration of Life. At the end of the day, as I lie in bed, worn and tired, but hopefully happy and relaxed (but not always) and reflect on what has passed during the day and what lies ahead on the morrow, I find that my life is intimately coupled with Nature, each day is sowing, caring, reaping. But there are many occasions during the year when the minor daily activities are expanded, exemplified, literally shouting of our bond with Mother Nature, with our relationship with our fellow Man and the earth. And, in our particular situation, these occasions always involve the Rossini family. I have written a rather lengthy magazine article on this subject, but will only summarize here.
(in progress)

This is my wife's domain, for she is the quintessential cook. I may be the king of the barbeque, but she can do anything and everything in the kitchen. She is one of those gifted people who can taste something new in a restaurant, tell you what herbs and spices are in it, and come home and make it. Her specialties, her favorites, are of course Asian and Italian cooking. Friends love to sit at our table, and many come to learn to prepare a particular dish. I can recall that while living in Kuwait we went to a 'potluck' dinner. My wife prepared 'lumpia', which Americans will call spring rolls; as luck would have it, so did three other people. My wife's lumpia were quickly devoured, while other lumpia remained at the end of the evening. And there are many anecdotes I can tell such as this.

When you live in Tuscany, all your friends want to visit; when we lived in Kuwait, the only person who wanted to visit was Saddam Hussein. Here are the friends who have shared our home with us, some of them on multiple occasions (*).

*James and Charlotte Butler, with cocker spaniel George and cockatiel Harry.

Alex Lindsay and Loida Showell.

*Dimas and Mary Ann Martin, with daughters Annette and Diana , and son-in-law Carlos.

Billy and Kathy Hooper, with daughter Jaclyn.

My daughter, Maria Luisa, with sons Alex and Michael.

*My daughter, Andrea, with husband Agusti and children, Carolina, Leopoldo and Sofia.

Annie Winegar.

*Edison Cobar and Kim Perez, with daughter Kirsten (KC).

Ester Tonog.

Josephus and Georgia Perez, with son Jacob.

*Manny and Beate Rodriguez .

Chuck and Deborah Gibson.

Clemencia Recto (Emen).

Josie Larsen and daughter Estrelita.

Dean and Jean Patterson.

Brian Miller and Cary Schultz.

*Roger Tamin and Lorna Rodríguez, with son Michele, our god-son.

Jason Pulis.

Ann Rasmussen Olsen (Clair Boyle).

Luke Mirabelli.

Rory and Saripa Diorio.

Lulu and Peter Gruen.