Agriturismo Cretaiole di Luciano Moricciani - tamandscottatcretaiole

1/10/2009 5:06:44 PM - 002024601095
Our apartment, Il Pollaio, (more of an efficiency apartment) was a charming room complete with a large bathroom (with shower, toilet, and bidet), a well-stocked kitchenette with cooktop (no oven), a wood burning fireplace, a small couch, dining table, chest of drawers, and queen size bed. The size of the room was more than adequate for us and we really enjoyed having a place to settle in to for a whole week. There is no air conditioning. During our early September stay, it was warm. Although lack of a/c wouldn't keep me from coming here again, I have to admit it would have been nice to have. There was an oscellating fan the did the trick.

Then there is Isabella and the welcome that you get from the whole Moricciani family who owns the farm. “Isa” is the hostess who makes sure everyone gets settled when they check in, she’s checks in regularly to answer questions, help plan visits, help with reservations for dinner or winery visits, and anything else you might need. She also coordinates group activities for the guests at the farm – some are free and included in the price of the stay and others are an extra, but very reasonable, fee.

It was such a treat to spend time with Isa and her family (as well as the others who stayed at Cretaiole while we were there). The Moricciani family shares openly to ensure that you, the visitor, are given a peek into their world and the life they live as farmers in Tuscany. This type of interaction with local people added a whole new depth to the experience of foreign travel. This is why my husband and I travel and in the future, we will seek out similar accomodations where ever we can.

The highlight of our stay was the pici class that Isa taught to all the "residents" of Cretaiole, and the dinner that followed. The family provided plenty of grilled meat from their farm, wonderful sauce for the pasta we all made, and their own wine. The rest of us brought something (salads, deserts, etc) to round out the meal. Fellowship like that with people from all over the world was such a wonderful experience, even when you don't always speak the same language! (We still haven't stopped talking about it and are making plans to teach our friends how to make pici at a similar class/dinner event - after I've practiced a bit!).

Also at the farm you will find a large vegetable garden proudly tended to by Luciano, the farm's owner, where you can help yourself to whatever is ready to pick. There is also a washing machine (ask for help the first time you use it!), a place to dry clothes the Italian way - in the sunshine, fresh herbs, plenty of lounge chairs and picnic tables to enjoy the outdoors, and many friendly farm cats.

Wine produced by Cretaiole can be purchased from Isa. Ask about the refillable 1-1/2 litre "jug" for 10 Euros. It tasted great and, since you don't keep the bottle, it's a better value than the regular bottles. The family's olive oil was also available for purchase.

If you are looking for a charming place to stay where you have the opportunity to immerse yourself into the culture and enjoy the peace and quiet of the Tuscan countryside, this is the place. If, on the other hand, you're looking to be pampered at a 5-star property, then this isn't for you.

Agriturismo Cretaiole, Tuscany
Cretaiole Farm, Tuscany (8).JPG 2008-08-31

Agriturismo Cretaiole, Tuscany
Our home in Tuscany, near Pienza, for a week. This is a view of the farm house from the road.

Agriturismo Cretaiole, Tuscany
Luciano's veggie garden.Our jug of wine for the week on the windowsill of our room.

Agriturismo Cretaiole, Tuscany
Luciano's veggie garden.Our room, Il Pollaio, at Creatiole.

Agriturismo Cretaiole, Tuscany
The mini kitchenette in our aprtment, Il Pollaio.

Agriturismo Cretaiole, Tuscany
Luciano's veggie garden.

Agriturismo Cretaiole, Tuscany
Luciano's veggie garden.

Agriturismo Cretaiole, Tuscany
Looking out the "front door" of our apartment, Il Pollaio, at Cretaiole.

Agriturismo Cretaiole, Tuscany
The courtyard of the farmhouse. That's our apartment, Il Pollaio, straight ahead on the ground floor.

Agriturismo Cretaiole, Tuscany
The view from the "front door" of our apartment, Il Pollaio.

Agriturismo Cretaiole, Tuscany
Luciano's veggie garden.

Agriturismo Cretaiole, Tuscany
The olive grove at Cretaiole.

Agriturismo Cretaiole, Tuscany
Inside Cretaiole's "Hermitage."

Agriturismo Cretaiole, Tuscany
Inside Cretaiole's "Hermitage."

Agriturismo Cretaiole, Tuscany
The pigs at San Gregorio.

Agriturismo Cretaiole, Tuscany
Inside Cretaiole's "Hermitage."

Agriturismo Cretaiole, Tuscany
Yum! Luciano's procuito!

Agriturismo Cretaiole, Tuscany
Luciano served up his procuito, the best we had, at San Gregorio.

Agriturismo Cretaiole, Tuscany
Eating in and making use of our kitchen in our apartment, Il Pollaio.

Agriturismo Cretaiole, Tuscany
Luciano's veggie garden.

Agriturismo Cretaiole, Tuscany
Inside our apartment, Il Pollaio.

Agriturismo Cretaiole, Tuscany
A view of Cretaiole from the road.

Agriturismo Cretaiole, Tuscany
Our apartment, Il Pollaio. The chicken coop in the farm's earlier days.

Agriturismo Cretaiole, Tuscany
The grill and the outdoor oven in the courtyard at Cretaiole.

Agriturismo Cretaiole, Tuscany
Views of the Val D'Orcia area of Southern Tuscany from Cretaiole.

Agriturismo Cretaiole, Tuscany
Our picnic dinner of wine, cheese, bread and tomatoes from the garden, at the farm on our first night.

Agriturismo Cretaiole, Tuscany
Cooking breakfast in our apartment, Il Pollaio.

Agriturismo Cretaiole, Tuscany
Agriturismo Cretaiole, Tuscany.

Agriturismo Cretaiole, Tuscany
Tam harvesting veggies in the farm's bountiful garden.

Agriturismo Cretaiole, Tuscany
The farmhouse at Cretaiole.

Agriturismo Cretaiole, Tuscany
The courtyard outside our apartment.

Agriturismo Cretaiole, Tuscany
Another view of the farmhouse at Cretaiole.

Agriturismo Cretaiole, Tuscany
Another great view of the surrounding countryside from "our" farmhouse.

Agriturismo Cretaiole, Tuscany
Isabella begins to teach us how to make the local pasta, pici.

Agriturismo Cretaiole, Tuscany
More wine and some homemade salami at Cretaiole.

Agriturismo Cretaiole, Tuscany
Luciano, the owner of Cretaiole, shows us where he ages the local Pecorino di Pienza and his very own farm-produced (and the best I've tasted!) prosciutto.

Agriturismo Cretaiole, Tuscany
Cretaiole makes and bottles their own red wine, mostly for consumption by their guests and themselves.

Agriturismo Cretaiole, Tuscany
The view from our apartment at Cretaiole.

Agriturismo Cretaiole, Tuscany
Luciano proudly gave us samples of his cheese, prosciutto, and wine. All yummy!

Agriturismo Cretaiole, Tuscany
Pici class at Cretaiole.

Agriturismo Cretaiole, Tuscany
Pici class.

Pici Class
Tam's turn to roll the pasta dough.

Pici Dough
The pasta dough is done and is ready to become pici.

Wine and Pasta ... dough
A sip of wine and Tam's ready to roll some pici.

Pici's Ready!
Isa serves up the pici we made, coated with her own homemade sauce.

A Traditional Tuscan Dinner
We all sat down to eat the pici we had made, along with a lot of other great food (and wine!) provided by Cretaiole.

Pienza, Tuscany
The view over the countryside from the town walls of Pienza.

Pienza, Tuscany
Pienza, Tuscany.

Pienza, Tuscany
Pienza, Tuscany

Pienza, Tuscany
Pienza, Tuscany

Pienza, Tuscany
Pienza, Tuscany

Pienza, Tuscany
Pienza, Tuscany

More great views!
Another view of the Val d'Orcia from the town walls of Pienza.

Pienza, Tuscany
Pienza, Tuscany

Tuscan Salami
A typical sausage shop in Tuscany.

Pienza, Tuscany
The narrow streets in towns like Pienza meant that these 3-wheeled little trucks were a common sight throughout Tuscany.

Pienza, Tuscany
Pienza, Tuscany

Pecorino di Pienza
There is so much of this cheese in Pienza, you can smell it when you walk down the street.

Pienza, Tuscany
Pienza, Tuscany

Flag Throwing in Pienza
Young boys demonstrate their flag-throwing at a festival in Pienza.

Rolle Bolle Pienza Style
Playing Rolle Bolle with cheese in Pienza.

Pecorino di Pienza
There were so many of these cheese shops in Pienza.

Avignonese Winery
Avignonese Winery, Montepulciano, Tuscany

Avignonese Winery
The aging room at Avignonese Winery, Montepulciano, Tuscany

Avignonese Winery
The aging room for the Vin Santo desert wine Avignonese Winery is famous for.

Avignonese Winery
A barrel of Vin Santo at Avignonese Winery, Montepulciano, Tuscany.

Avignonese Winery
The old wine cellar at Avignonese Winery. The mold on the ceiling and everwhere else, helps the wine age properly.

Wine Tasting in Tuscany
Chianti, Tuscany. This sign indicates that this is a place where you can taste and buy the products they sell - usally wine and olive oil (vino et olio).

The Chianti Wine Road
The Chianti Wine Road

Chianti Grape Vines
The hilly vineyards of Chianti, Tuscany.

Chianti
The Chianti countryside.

San Querico, Tuscany
The church in the small town of San Querico in Tuscany.

San Querico, Tuscany (3).JPG
San Querico, Tuscany

San Querico, Tuscany
The view of the the surrounding countryside from San Querico.

San Querico, Tuscany
San Querico, Tuscany

San Querico, Tuscany
San Querico, Tuscany

Montefollonico, Tuscany
The church in Montefollonico.

Montefollonico, Tuscany
The church in Montefollonico.

Montefollonico, Tuscany
A quiet street in the tiny town of Montefollonico.

Montefollonico, Tuscany
Montefollonico, Tuscany

Montefollonico, Tuscany
Montefollonico, Tuscany

Bella Toscana!
A view of the gorgeous Tuscan landscape.

Bella Toscana!
A view of the gorgeous Tuscan landscape.

Bella Toscana!
A view of the gorgeous Tuscan landscape.

Bella Toscana!
A view of the gorgeous Tuscan landscape.

Bella Toscana!
A view of the gorgeous Tuscan landscape.

Bella Toscana!
A view of the gorgeous Tuscan landscape.

Bella Toscana!
A view of the gorgeous Tuscan landscape.

Bella Toscana!
A view of the gorgeous Tuscan landscape.

Bella Toscana!
A view of the gorgeous Tuscan landscape.

San'Antimo Abbey
The Abbey of San'Antimo outside of Montalcino.

Montalcino, Tuscany
Montalcino, Tuscany

Le Presi Winery
Le Presi Winery. A family-owned winery in Castelnuovo dell' Abate, near Montalicno, that produces Brunello di Montalcino.

Le Presi Winery
Le Presi Winery hosted a wonderful wine lunch in their old cellars.

Le Presi Winery
Lunch in the cellar at Le Presi Winery.

Le Presi Winery
Lunch in the Le Presi Winery cellars.

Quatro cafe, per favore!
We all had our after-lunch cafe in this little bar near the winery. The Italian man in the photo (part of our group) ordered for us foreigners.

Just What We Needed
After a 2-hour wine lunch at the winery, some of us needed un cafe. I had mine "corrected" with a shot of Sambuca. This is called "cafe correcto."

Castelnuovo dell' Abate
The streets of tiny Castelnuovo dell' Abate, where Le Presi Winery is located.

Our car.
Our car, a tiny Fiat Punto, was barely big enough for our luggage.

Castelnuovo dell' Abate
The streets of tiny Castelnuovo dell' Abate, where Le Presi Winery is located.

The Le Presi lunch group.
We hit the streets of Castelnuovo dell' Abate after our 2-hour wine lunch.

Montepulicano
The view of Tuscany from the hill town of Montepulciano.

Montepulicano
Montepulicano is a hilly town, with a lot of steep streets.

Montepulicano, Tuscany
The owner of the shop, a former plumber, is also the guy who makes all the copper pots, including the two that we bought! He served us each a small glass of his own homemade Vin Santo wine.

Montepulicano, Tuscany
We visted Montepulciano on the day of their annual barrel (wine) rolling race. This is the parade where each contrada (neighborhood) don their traditional costumes.

Montepulicano, Tuscany
The streets of Montepulciano where spectators are waiting for the parade to start.

Montepulicano, Tuscany
One of the contradas demonstrates their flag throwing skills for the crowd.

Siena, Tuscany
The main piazza of Siena with the Campanille towering over it.

Mmmmmm ... gelato!
A gelateria in Siena temps me with their display of gelato.

The duomo in Siena.
The Siena duomo is one of the most important - and beautiful - duomos in Tuscany.

Siena Duomo
The ornate carvings that adorn the duomo.

Cinque Terre
On our hike from Monterosso to Corneglia.

Cinque Terre
A view of Corneglia from the trail.

Cinque Terre
Vineyards cling to the side of the hill near Corneglia.

Cinque Terre
An up close view of Corneglia from the trail. We're getting closer!

Cinque Terre
Another view from the trail while hiking from Monterosso to Corneglia. The tunnels on the left are for the trains that run between the five (cinque) towns (terra).

Cinque Terre
A view of Vernazza on the trail from Monterosso.

Cinque Terre
Another view of Vernazza. Getting closer!

Hike Mont to Vernazza, Cinque Terre
Hitting the trail to Vernazza. The segment of the trail from Monterosso to Vernazza was the toughest.

Cinque Terre
Steep steps on the hike from Monterosso to Vernazza.

Cinque Terre
Trail markers on the hike from Monterosso to Vernazza.

Cinque Terre
Trail signs on the hike from Monterosso to Vernazza.

Cinque Terre
Vernazza is just around the corner on the hike from Monterosso.

Cinque Terre
The terraced vineyards on the hike from Monterosso to Vernazza.

Cinque Terre
More steep steps on the hike from Monterosso to Vernazza.

Cinque Terre
The trail gets pretty narrow, especially on the part between Monterosso and Vernazza.

Cinque Terre
Great views from the trail on the hike from Monterosso to Vernazza.

Cinque Terre
More vineyards on the hike from Monterosso to Vernazza.

Cinque Terre
In case you need help while hiking ...

Cinque Terre
Looking back at Monterosso while on the hike to Vernazza.

Cinque Terre
Nothing like carving out your niche in the world.

Cinque Terre
A view of Manarola from the hiking trail.

Cinque Terre
Another view of Manarola.

Cinque Terre
The town of Manarola. The fishing boats are parked along the one and only street because there is no harbor.

Cinque Terre
Our picnic of pesto and cheese focaccia pizza and wine on the trail outside of Manarola.

Cinque Terre
A surprise wave almost soaked our shoes while we were writing our note in the sand on the beach in Monterosso al Mare.

Cinque Terre
The church in Monterosso al Mare. The stipes are from two different stone types used to build the church.

Cinque Terre
After dinner (and a bottle of wine) at Ciak in Monterosso al Mare.

Cinque Terre
The view of Monterosso al Mare from the hiking trail.

Cinque Terre
The private beach at Monterosso al Mare. Use of 2 chairs and an umbrella is about 30 Euros for two people.

Cinque Terre
Beer in a pop machine in Monterosso al Mare.

Cinque Terre
The streets of Monterosso al Mare.

Cinque Terre
An enoteca in Monterosso al Mare.

Cinque Terre
The sign at our hotel, Albergo Marina, in Monterosso al Mare.

Cinque Terre
The public beach at Monterosso al Mare.

Cinque Terre
A window looks into the kitchen of Ciak Restaurant in Monterosso al Mare.

Cinque Terre
On the trail from Monterosso to Vernazza.

Cinque Terre
A small access through the rock, to the ocean in Vernazza.

Cinque Terre
Pink houses and laundry everywhere in Vernazza.

Cinque Terre
The main piazza of Vernazza full mostly of restaurants to take advantage of the great ocean views.

Cinque Terre
The main piazza of Vernazza as seen from the ocean breakwater.

Cinque Terre
The streets and alleyways of Vernazza, many of which went steeply upward.

Cinque Terre
A fishing boat, decorated on the inside, in the Vernazza harbor.

Cinque Terre
The hillsides around Vernazza.

Cinque Terre
A passageway to the hole in the rock, in Vernazza.

Cinque Terre
The streets of Riomaggiore.

Cinque Terre
Vernazza,, Cinque Terre (8).JPG 2008-09-08

Cinque Terre
Vernazza,, Cinque Terre (9).JPG 2008-09-08

Piedmont
Villa La Favorita in Alba. Our "villa" while in the Piedmont region.

Piedmont
A view of Villa La Favorita.

Piedmont
The church tower in the Barbaresco.

Piedmont
A turkish toilet in Barbaresco.

Piedmont
A cute house with a cute vespa in Barolo.

Piedmont
The castle and regional enoteca in Grinzane Cavour.

Piedmont
The wine at our 3-hour lunch in Piedmonte.

Piedmont
The Piedmont countryside.

Piedmont
IMG_5942.JPG 2008-09-11

Piedmont
Piemonte.JPG 2008-09-10