On a recent jaunt, two Giuseppes connected: one is my husband Pino (in southern Italy, “Giuseppino” is the diminutive of “Joseph”) and the other is Beppe, last miller of Tuscany. (Other diminutives in Tuscany and central Italy for “Giuseppe” are “Peppe” – and long ago, “Geppetto”).
After Beppe, who?
We met Beppe – “last miller of Tuscany” – in his old water-powered flour mill on the Ciuffenna River which seems to hang on a rocky gorge in the Tuscan town of Loro Ciuffenna. He still mills chestnuts and corn and the chestnut flour I bought there has been turned into a cake.
Medieval bridge over the Ciuffenna, Loro Ciuffenna
It’s now time for a trip back: Loro Ciuffenna’s pastel houses – piled up like children’s blocks along the river banks – and Beppe’s stories are both draws. And I’m out of Beppe’s chestnut flour.
Kaleidoscope of colors in Loro Ciuffenna
Read all about Loro Ciuffenna and Beppe
Read about another Casentino area favorite town, Poppi
Read about Talla, another Casentino gem
On the way to Loro Ciuffenna
