Contents

1. Recipe: Calamari Marinato alla Toscano

2. The Monte Amiata and Abbadia San Salvatore

3. An Ancient Festival: Fiaccole della Notte di Natale

Recipe: Calamari Marinato alla Toscano

Many of us follow the old traditions of a meatless Christmas Eve, serving a variety of fish dishes. One favorite throughout Tuscany is this marinated calamari dish that is a very simple and wonderful addition to our holiday table.

• 2 pounds of baby squid, or calarmari, cleaned and cut into serving pieces
• 3 Tablespoons Tuscan Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 3 medium cloves garlic, minced
• 1 small onion, sliced thinly in rounds
• 2 sprigs fresh sage leaves
• 2 small bay leaves
• 3 sprigs fresh rosemary leaves
• 2 1/3 cups red or white wine vinegar (not balsamico)

We suggest using salted water for boiling the calamari, and adding a tablespoon of white vinegar and a small onion cut into chunks in the cooking water. Bring the water to a very gentle boil. Three or four minutes will be ample cooking time. We suggest even less, as the marinade helps to "cook" the squid.

Warm all the other ingredients in a sauté pan, but do not brown any of them. The warming is just to develop the flavors. Place the calamari in an earthenware serving dish and pour the sauce over. Cover and refrigerate for at least 24 hours. Bring to room temperature before serving. Enjoy!

Monte Amiata and Abbadia San Salvatore

Monte Amiata is an extinct volcano towering a mile into the skies of southern Tuscany. Hiking and skiing are popular on the mountain, which is the closest peak to Rome and draws year round visitors. Beech and chestnut trees cover the lower slopes, and the higher slopes are covered with old growth forests that are spectacularly colored in the autumn. Today, the town of Abbadia San Salvatore is well supported by outdoor tourists who are visiting Monte Amiata, but the town is as ancient as any you will find in Italy, although you may not think so when presented with its modern aspect.

However, visitors need only penetrate a gateway behind the Viale Roma to discover one of Tuscany's most well-preserved medieval town centers. A stroll through this perfectly preserved ancient town is a delight; the visitors feels as if he were transported in town.

For centuries, the people of Abbadia San Salvatore made their living from the mercury mine on the Monte Amiata, which is Europe's second largest such enterprise. One might think that the mine would destroy much of the beauty of the Monte, but this is not at all so. Conservationists and the land-loving people of the area have made sure that the slopes of Monte Amiata maintain their pristine beauty.

The abbey church from which the town of Abbadia San Salvatore takes its name also remains a draw to visitors. Legend tells us that the ancient Lombard King Rachis was on his way to battle with Perugia when he was stopped by a vision of Jesus Christ. The King gave up his throne, founded a monastery on the spot of his vision, and entered the monastery himself as a monk. There is even a document from 742 AD which tells of this event.

Whatever its true origins, we know that by the year 1000 the Abbey of San Salvatore was rich and powerful, its influence extended throughout the province of Siena. Today, the huge interior and Byzantine designs continue to draw visitors.

Fiaccole della Notte di Natale

Each Christmas Eve, the festival of Fiaccole della Notte di Natale takes place in Abbadia San Salvatore. The town is well known for this evocative, ancient festival. The tradition of the festival is said to have been preserved for a thousand years, from the days when those living in the tiny villages surrounding the Abbey itself lit large fires to warm themselves during their vigils on the Eve of the Birth of Christ.

Today, thirty stacks of firewood, each 5 meters high, provide the fuel for the torch lit parade that winds through the town. Tourists and townsmen join together, bringing torches to light the stacks, and then carry the lit torches in a procession, singing Christmas songs. The lit bonfires (the stacks are built of wood harvested from the local forests of Monte Amiata) will burn until dawn. Local enoteca open their doors, and wine and local gastronomic specialties are served to the celebrants.

This festival is said to honor the shepherds who followed the Star on the night of Christ's Birth. As the torch lit processions fill the ancient winding streets of the town, and the bonfires burn brightly, scattered about the old borgo, the visitor can not help but catch the spirit of the continuity, the spirit of reverence, and the spirit of community that draws so many to this centuries-old traditional event.