An itinerary of taste in the maritime hills of the Etruscan Coast

This is a classic Tuscan landscape, with a series of hills dotted with centuries-old olive groves, rows of vineyards and cereal crops. Santa Luce boasts an important agricultural tradition and, every September, the Pieve Santa Luce Agricultural Producers Cooperative organizes Agri Pasta Nostram, an event dedicated to the promotion of local products. Local fairs not to be missed in the hamlet of Pomaia include the Sagra del Baccello (Pod Festival) in springtime and the Sagra del Popone (Melon Festival) in August.

Traditional dishes of yesteryear are at the center of Castellina Marittima's culinary heritage. Here, in July, Cucina Povera (peasant foods) is celebrated. It is a festival dedicated to forgotten aromas and flavors: meetings, show cooking and themed evenings in restaurants, for enjoying ancient recipes such as “zuppa toscana” (Tuscan soup), “chionzi” (a flour-based specialty), “frittata della contadina” (peasant’s omelette), “stracottata” (pasta served with meat), stewed wild boar or “paracuore” (lung).

Riparbella is a land of organic and biodynamic oil and wine production. The high quality ingredients form the basis of the area's peasant cuisine, celebrated every summer with the Agricultural and Old Trades Fair. The summer Ripawine event focuses on wine with guided tastings at wineries and samplings of local dishes.

Montescudaio is the city of wine, bread and olive oil: wine has been produced here since Etruscan times and its DOC designation makes it one of the stops along the Strada del Vino e dell'Olio Costa degli Etruschi (Etruscan Coast Wine and Oil Route): in October, the Wine Festival enlivens the village streets with street food and tastings of typical dishes. Among the various specialties, there is the renowned bread: naturally leavened, baked on a wood fire, salt-free and intoxicatingly fragrant!

Land of green gold, renowned for the production of fine olive oil: At Easter, Guardistallo celebrates it in the Feast of Crogiantina during which you can enjoy it raw on toasted bread. The village is a member of the National “Polentari” Association of Italy and each October it renews the traditional Polenta Festival, enjoyed along with side dishes of wild boar and mushrooms.

Selected as one of the “Borghi più Belli d’Italia” (Most Beautiful Villages in Italy), along with Montescudaio, Campiglia Marittima and Suvereto, Casale Marittimo is a real treat for the eyes and for the palate: numerous food and wine events take place between spring and fall, including the Sagra del Cinghiale (Wild Boar Festival) and the Sagra delle Chiocciole (Snail Festival), as well as the production of excellent wine in the cellars surrounded by the scents of the Mediterranean scrub.