Il pane toscano

(This is part of our series of posts from our six-week Road Scholar Independent Living and Learning in Florence trip to Italy in Spring 2025. We have an index to all the posts from that trip here.)

By the time our language classes ended this morning, the skies had cleared after yesterday’s heavy rains, so we were able to enjoy lunch outdoors. After a visit to the supermarket–which we have to do just about every day because of our small refrigerator–David went back to the school for a seminar about Tuscan bread, while Cheryl returned home to study and do laundry and ironing.

Cheryl’s classroom has this incredible painting on the ceiling. The building, built at the end of the 19th century when Florence was the capital of Italy, was a private home before the school bought it. Just an example of the emphasis on beauty that pervades Italian culture.

The weather was perfect, so we had lunch at a restaurant near the school, Palazzo Tempi, along with Maggie, one of our Road Scholar classmates. Maggie is 85 years old–she would be proud to tell you that, as she should be–and is traveling the world. I hope I’m still that young when I’m her age.

The ABC School teaches not just the Italian language, but also the country’s culture. One of the teachers, Giulia, led an interesting seminar on Il Pane Toscano (Tuscan bread), including its history, how it is the center of the Tuscan table, and many traditional recipes in which it is an ingredient. Like all the lessons at the school, the seminar was in Italian, and as you can see from the whiteboard, Giulia taught us plenty of vocabulary and idioms along the way.

Then the best part: we got to sample some authentic pane toscano, topped with quality extra-virgin olive oil or with Nutella–a traditional merenda (snack) in Tuscan homes.

While I was learning about bread, Cheryl was figuring out how to iron on the little baby ironing board in our apartment. Although we brought supposedly “easy care” clothing, some of our stuff still wrinkles in this dryer. Ironing is NOT her favorite activity!

For dinner, I made a new recipe, Tuscan Stewed Beans–a rustic Italian comfort food made with simple, fresh ingredients including onions, garlic, tomato paste, fresh herbs and white beans. As is characteristic of Tuscan dishes, its flavors are saporito (savory) and forte (strong), so they go perfectly with una fetta (a slice) di pane toscana!