EVENTS IN TUSCANY, DECEMBER

OLIVE HARVEST

From November and often well into January you'll hear the thwacking of cane against branch as olive trees throughout Tuscany receive their yearly beating. The vast majority of olives are still picked by hand - nets are placed beneath the trees and the olives are knocked down by hitting the branches, though some purists have it that all olives must be pulled from the tree by hand - literally 'stroking' the twigs to pull off the olives. The olives are then sacked up and taken off to the nearest communal mill (frantoio) where they will be crushed to form a paste, spread out on circular hessian mats which are stacked one on top of the other to form an enormous stack of pancakes. This tower of mats and olives is then slowly pressed and the oil obtained is briefly put through a centrifuge to emerge green, fresh and slightly prickly to the taste. Wonderful stuff - no heat, no chemicals, no refining - they only do that when they're exporting it!

Clicking here will take you to the first of several pages with photographs and information that take you through the traditional olive oil production process from beginning to end.

MONTHLY MARKETS/FAIRS

LUCCA has a large antiques market (centred around Piazza San Giusto and Piazza Antelminelli) on the third Sunday (and preceding Saturday) of every month. There is also a craft fair, again in and around Piazza San Giusto, on the last Sunday (and preceding Saturday) of every month.

AREZZO has an enormous antiques market on the first Sunday (and preceding Saturday) of every month, centred around Piazza Grande and Piazza Vasari.

FLORENCE has its antique market on the last Sunday of every month in Piazza dei Ciompi.

THE TRADITION OF THE PRESEPI

The construction and display of a presepio - nativity scene - is both a source of great local pride as well as a source of great national income - the tradition began in Italy and the value of the figurines, statuary and dressing that are exported each year is considerable.
Many churches and most communities will have a presepio on show, often with life-size figures and with an incredible amount of detail and creativity being exhibited.