Contents

1. Our Featured Recipe: Crostata di Marmellata

2. Scarperia

3. Motor Racing in the Mugello!

Our Featured Recipe:

CROSTATA DI MARMELLATA

A jam tart, or Crostata di Marmellata , is a favorite and justly famous dessert in the Mugello, and can be enjoyed in many welcoming trattorias in Scarperia, Borgo San Lorenzo, Marradi and other nearby towns. The fruits grown in the orchards and verdant valleys of the Mugello make wonderful jams and preserves, thus their popularity in this simple but rich Tuscan dolce . The crust for our crostata is a rich, shortbread one, and not the flaky crust that many are used to in the USA. You can make this crostata look a bit more elegant by baking it in a round, fluted tart pan with a removable bottom, or you can do as I sometimes do, and just lay out a round shape on a cookie sheet, crimping the edges in order to form a bit of a wall to hold the jam in.

For the crust:

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
10 Tablespoons chilled, unsalted butter
1/2 cup sugar
3 egg yolks
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
Grated rind of 1 lemon

For the filling:

2 1/2 cups high quality fruit jam, such as plum, strawberry, or raspberry Juice of 1/2 fresh lemon

To make the crust, cut the chilled butter into the sifted flour until the mixture resembles coarse bread crumbs. Add all the other ingredients and quickly work them into a smooth dough. A food processor can be used for the entire process, and is really best because too much handling can make the dough tough. Divide the dough into two parts: one third, and two thirds, shaping these into discs and wrapping them in plastic wrap. Chill the discs for at least one hour.

Roll the larger disc into a circle, and place in a 9 inch tart pan or on a cookie sheet. If using a cookie sheet, be sure to build a wall of the crimped edge.

Pour the jam, mixed with the lemon juice, into the shell. Roll out the second, smaller, piece of dough and cut into strips to make a lattice pattern over the top of the jam. Brush with cream or an egg wash, and bake at 375 degrees for about 20 minutes. This crust and the jam can overcook quickly, so do not exceed 30 minutes of baking time, and be sure to check for a golden color on the crust at 20 minutes. If the color is right, it is done! Enjoy!

SCARPERIA

Just a short 30 kilometer drive from Florence is the small town that many consider to be the Mugello's most charming attraction: Scarperia. The ancient rulers of Firenze fortified Scarperia as a northern defensive outpost in 1306, laying out the simple plan of the town in a rectangle, high above a valley of the Mugello.

The most famous draw for visitors to Scarperia is the town's Palazzo Pretorio . This building, which also dates from 1306, is covered with ceramic reliefs of ancient coats of arms that add a colorful and quaint aspect to its heavy stone walls. The building's atrium and upper halls feature frescoes from the 14th and 15th centuries; visitors should be sure to seek out those done by Giotto .

Three beautiful old churches also attract visitors to Scarperia and its environs: the church of the Madonna di Piazza has a lovely facade and it contains a valued fresco of the Madonna and Child. It is also possible to visit a fresco believed to be executed by Filippo Lippi in another church dedicated to La Nostra Signora dei Terremoti (Our Lady of the Earthquakes!). A few kilometers from the center of Scarperia, the ancient church of Sant' Agata a Fagna was partially destroyed by an earthquake (it has since been restored) and contains original works from 1175.

While Scarperia was once most famous for its cutlery (it was the major manufacturer of weapons, knives and scissors for all of Tuscany until the late 16th century) today many visitors are drawn to the area because, just outside of town lies the Autodromo Internazionale del Mugello .

MOTOR RACING IN THE MUGELLO

Visitors to Toscano sometimes long for a little more than the famous scenery and myriad artistic treasures. For fans of motor sports, one of Italy's famous motor race courses is in the Mugello, hidden in the hills east of Scarperia. The Autodromo Internazionale del Mugello can be visited for any of the big races, or even for a day of watching the touring car and motorbike drivers test their machines.

Motor racing has been popular in this location since 1914. The first races held in the Mugello were on a 66 kilometer road course that traveled over the tough Apennine landscape, and were interrupted by the outbreak of World War I. The road course races resumed after the war, and in fact experienced their greatest popularity in the years following the armistice; Enzo Ferrari won the race in 1921 on an Alfa Romeo 4500, and fans were often thrilled by the driving of their local idol, Emilio Materassi .

The track was closed for safety reasons in the 1960s, but reopened in 1976. It was greatly improved upon by Ferrari in 1990, and today the International Mugello Circuit is one of Europe's most popular racing destinations. It is considered to be among the most modern and safest racetracks in the world, and has hosted the World Road Racing Championship, the ITC International Touring Car Championship, and the World Superbike Championship.

The Mugello is most beautiful in the autumn, when the hills turn lovely shades or red, orange and gold. A Chestnut Festival is held in Marradi in October, and the area can be easily reached by car from many of our properties.