Aia della vecchia In Rosignano marittimo

10/12/2024: Delightful and intimate restaurant located in the heart of the ancient village of Bolgheri. Excellent service, warm atmosphere with jazz music in the background. The mustard and egg beef tartare which is prepared in front of the customer is exquisite and there is a good choice of wines.

08/12/2024: At the edge of the fields stands an impregnable fort of taste imperturbably. From its height rise the unusual fragrances resulting from peasant wisdom and the squeezing of never tamed humours; of those who have never surrendered to the modernity of the time. To enter into his graces I look for obligatory openings that limit my gaze and sharpen my senses. The cypress trees monitor my movement, rubbing each other and releasing an acrid smell. As in a daydream I reach the fortress insensitive to the passage of foreigners. My light step reaches my taste craving where time brings me back to ancient flavours. At the tavern I am welcomed by wise fortune tellers who, with their potions and remedies, try to divine my gut choices. In a riot of mushrooms just domesticated from the freshly cut pasta, the parsley appears, the symbol and quirk of the creator of the dish. And like a painter he creates the dense custard, a clash and meeting of loaded yolks and dormant starch, brushing it on the palette where crumbly shortcrust pastry and toasty pine nuts break down the certainties of ancient recipes. The painting adapts to the environment and followers of distant worlds and flavors tempt me by completing the work with intense and unusual essences. The local pressing of intense purple-red grape berries leaves room for warm yellows which heighten the acidity typical of humid caves. The Mayan gold burned by expert hands is cauterized by the milking of local cows. The painting comes to life by modifying the consistencies and colors of the brushstrokes so as to resemble our own ponches in which the sails unfold in citrus scents. I close the pedestal and the constructed image is so clear that the frame is not necessary. From watercolour.