MAPPING TUSCANY

Chef Roberto Rossi at Michelin starred restaurant Silene in Seggiano If you ask my Tuscan native about memories of his best meal at restaurant Silene - the latest arrival among southern Tuscany's Michelin starred restaurants - he won't recite the dishes of an epicurean tasting menu but deliver the account of an epic football game right after his best friend's wedding lunch.  C hallenged by a group of local teenagers during a post wedding cake cigarette break, my Tuscan native and friends were  drunk and stuffed with Roberto Rossi's gourmet food, but must have managed to look smart nevertheless when entering the village's football pitch in their designer suits . Legend has it that team Armani managed to battle off the assault of the sober 17-year-olds, but seemed on the verge of a break down when o ne of the wedding guests summoned for a penalty had to excuse himself behind the goal post to throw up a mix of vintage Brunello, wedding cake and homemade tagl...

It was the sea - not wine, food, a man or the rolling hills - that made me move to Tuscany in 1999. Having grown-up in a landlocked country,  from day one at work I pestered everybody in Montalcino for advice on  the best beach town and the perfect sea view on the Tuscan coast. It turned out to be an easy  mission since the locals sent me unanimously to Castiglione della Pescaia. The preferred seaside destination for people from Siena and Arezzo, Castiglione della Pescaia is also loved by the Swiss and Swedish, hence all the h oliday resorts and camping villages along some of its best beaches.  But unlike Marina di Grosseto or Principina a Mare, Castiglione della Pescaia has been a proper town way before the tourist boom took hold of the Tuscan coast. To  this day the  former fishing village has managed to keep its historic town center, clean beaches and even a handful of fishermen.  WHAT TO DO IN CASTIGLIONE DELLA PESCAIA  Swim and s...

Corrupt politicians, appalling national TV and a never-ending economic crisis. So what was I doing in Italy again? Grazie a dio , there are still a  few r easons which confirm that I wasn't totally meshugga when moving from clockwork nation to a Southern European bureaucratic hell: b each  side lunches are one of them (and  on a less mundane level  public schools and a healthcare system Obama can only dream of). A MAP FOR C OCKTAILS, SEAFOOD AND SUNSET VIEWS ON THE TUSCAN SHORE ROSSO E VINO ALLA DOGANA    CAPALBIO/CHIARONE SCALO  +39 0564 890344 As south as it gets in Tuscany.  One step to the left and you're in Lazio and on your way to Rome. But Rosso e Vino's foo d, beach bar and deckchairs are way too nice to consider a trip to the eternal city. With the luxury lodge tents at Camp Capalbio next door, this is a great option for a beach side eat and sleep.  IL PELLICANO    PORT'ERCOLE +39 0564 858 275 ...

Close to the border of Lazio, Tuscany's southernmost town resembles a Roman colony during July and August. Albeit not one with gladiators and soldiers, but with Rome's left-wing intelligentsia populating hillside bars and restaurants as much as the deck-chairs along Capalbio's endless beaches.  To balance things out, the seaside town Ansedonia a few kilometers up the Tuscan coast has been for decades the holiday destination of choice for the eternal city's right-wing fraction. These days it's hard to say whether this geo-political line  of division is still in place - with all the party hopping of Italian politicians it's impossible to discern which side they presently belong to. But whatever the current opinion of political visitors (a class of people also derisively called la casta - the caste),  Capalbio's own views have stubbornly stayed the same for centuries. 

Ever wanted to swim or walk from Tuscany to Lazio? That's exactly what I did during our week at  La Dogana beach. My kids jumped waves in the Tuscan sea and I kept fishing them out in the northernmost corner of Lazio (the Italian region Rome belongs to).  Dogana means customs in Italian, and what is now a stylish brolly and deck chair rental, was once a checkpoint on the border of Papal State and Gran Duchy of Tuscany (and entirely free of sunburnt Swiss moms running from one side to the other).  But La Dogana beach has more to  offer than borderline swims and history lessons. Every summer, the team of  Grosseto's restaurant Rosso e Vino  moves pots, pans and ladles to the shore for the season and turns La Dogana beach into the perfect location for a meal with a view. 

Whenever my brother and my sister-in-law visit with us, they go for a special treat, which normally consists of a ludicrously expensive fine dining experience in one of Tuscany's best restaurants. They say they do this wherever they go. I suspect they do it only in Tuscany - a sort of premium for having gotten through a holiday in the company of our over-excited children. By now I've learnt to take advantage of their foodie passion (or utter desperation) and send them every year on a new tasting mission to one of Tuscany's Michelin or Gault Millau temples.  This summer I recommended Da Caino, one out of four  restaurants in Tuscany , which have been honored with two Michelin stars.  A curvy drive from the southern Tuscan coast, Da Caino lies in Montemerano, a quiet hilltop town near the ancient Saturnia thermal baths . O nce a simple wine shop which also offered small bites to eat, the Michelin stars and fine dine critiques have been quick to arrive  since Valeri...

On top of a green hill Campagnatico seen from the South - East When approaching Campagnatico during stormy weather, one isn't surprised that the Tuscan village got a mention in the book of books: Dante's Divine Comedy . 700 years later, Campagnatico doesn't look too different from what Dante must have imagined - but probably never saw in person - as the ideal backdrop for a scene in the purgatory: a Maremma nobleman's repentance over the errors he committed during his life (too much haughtiness was already an issue in Dante's time!).  Campagnatico seen from Villa Bellaria Picture perfect (probably more so now than in the Middle Ages), the hill town in the Maremma has a lay-back atmosphere. Cats and the elderly sit on benches and the town's only bar tender is busy making Cappuccino, preparing Campari or selling newspapers. Population is low, but still high enough to allow for the survival of two  alimentari (small food stores), a post office, a p...

Let's be honest. I never liked San Vincenzo. Okay, it has a long and sandy beach, but if you're looking for ugly town planning along the Tuscan coast - you've found a good example. It's a shame that places like Follonica, Marina di Grosseto or San Vincenzo have grown too fast and without any aesthetic standards during the second half of the last century. Luckily these towns managed to keep their lovely beaches, but what else do they have in store? Il Bucaniere: foodie and pirate meeting point on San Vincenzo beach  In the case of San Vincenzo the reason I keep visiting is a restaurant. Or actually, two. Two restaurants linked to one family. When I moved to Tuscany in the late 90s I often heard the name Gambero Rosso, when asking for the region's (if not Italy's) best seafood restaurant. The restaurant in San Vincenzo's town center used to sport two Michelin stars and even though my olive picker wage didn't allow for it, I was lucky enou...