The above blog banner is a foto of Colle Val D’Elsa where I will be holding my one day classes and week-long programs.
I am so in love with Colle Val D’Elsa and will be happy to share it with my students.
It is easy to arrive by car as it is just off the highway between Florence and Siena and also by bus, just 50 minutes from Florence.
Part of the upper town, entrance. Towers are a cocktail lounge
The old train station is now being converted. The downtown piazza was just rebuilt and has WiFi.
the old train station is being converted
the new fountain and wild mosaics
There are still artisan Crystal makers, about 15% of lead crystal is still made here, ROC and Vilca are two of the larger producers.
here he is creating a creature for a custom art show, this is at Vilca
Some crystal is still blown like Venetian glass and other pieces are molded for mass production.
The difference between glass and crystal is that crystal stays clear thanks to the tiny amounts of lead, hence the name Lead Crystal, and normal glass tends to get opaque with age.
Colle is also home to one of Tuscany’s few Michelin Star restaurants. Arnolfo’s.
I began going often to eat in Colle when friends we met at the Macelleria Cecchini opened their new place Officina della Cucina Populare.
Another new friend has a fabulous restaurant in the lower part of the village, Sbarbacipolla
Chiara and Zak helped me find my new space and we will be neighbors.
When I have taken clients to Colle in the past, we always stop and see my friend Angela at her shop ESSERE Gioelli which will be just down the street from me. Her jewelery is wearable art!
There is a hidden elevator in the hill under the hilltown which takes you from the new part of town down below up to the medieval town above. It is incredible.
Hope to see many of you in my new space in Colle Val D’Elsa where I can share the Secrets of My Tuscan Kitchen and this wonderful town.
Wonderful!!