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Location
Mercatale di Cortona
Artisan Bread School's 2008 courses will take place
on the beautiful estate of La
Macchia in the village of Mercatale di Cortona in
Tuscany.
Mercatale is a small agricultural village at the southern
end of the Val di Pierle. The valley was scene of the
Roman defeat by Hannibal at the battle of Trasimeno.
There are three banks with ATMs, a mini-supermarket,
a wine shop, pizzeria, bakery, butcher and several bars.
To
find Mercatale di Cortona on the map click
here. You can zoom in or out and navigate to see
where Mercatale is in relation to Cortona and other
cities in Italy.
Mercatale di Cortona is 20km from Cortona, 220 km from
Rome, 122 km from Florence, 240km from Pisa, 90 km from
Siena, 55 km from Assisi, 50 km from both Montepulciano
and Perugia.
La
Macchia Estate
La
Macchia lies on the edge of Mercatale di Cortona.
The family has farmed the land for hundreds of
years and continues to do so today.
The
Estate sits on a hill overlooking the valley,
surrounded by trees. Its ancient and simply restored
buildings incorporate Etruscan and later rural
architecture, providing agriturismo-style accommodation.
There's a large pond that can be used for swimming.
La
Macchia was selected as the site for Artisan Bread
School because it evokes a time when artisan bread-making
was the norm rather than the exception. Free of
modern distractions, it provides the feel of a
simpler time.
Olive
oil used for Artisan Bread School classes will
come from the estate's 3,000 olive trees. An olive
oil tasting will be included in the course.
Each
evening, an authentic home-cooked meal of Tuscan
dishes will be prepared in the Villa and delivered
to one of the houses of accommodation. Meals will
be served with wine.
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Accommodation
is modest and rustic. Rooms do not have private bathrooms.
Classes
are held in one of the Estate's old houses
and we bake our breads in this ancient wood-fired oven.
Tuscany
Time
permitting we will visit local markets in either Umbertide
on Wednesday or Camucia on Thursday to buy ingredients
for the breads, as well as food for breakfasts and lunches.
There is swimming at Lake Trasimeno and at public swimming
pools in Cortona, Camucia and Umbertide.
Tuscany has endless places to visit depending on your
interests.
To learn more about the region, the websites below will
give you some ideas.
Dream
of Italy is one of the best website resources for
Italy bound travellers from the United States. You may
think us biased (check out the Blog
page) but don't let that deter you.
Other
useful resources are:
Open air markets in Tuscany
www.italyheaven.co.uk
www.travel-italy.com/info/tuscany/rto/index.php
www.italiantourism.coms
www.turismo.toscana.it/ttgg/htmle/ttidgge.htm
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuscany
www.cortonaweb.net/eng/index.php
http://www.cortonaweb.net/eng/mercati/index.php
www.apt.arezzo.it
www.argoweb.it/perugia
Interested
in renting a villa in the Abruzzo region
Villa
Casale
Arbuzzo Villas
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