Magical. Today is magical. After breakfast, we take a walk up the long, narrow brick streets, past the village area of Cortona that we have already begun to explore. We walk up to an area with narrow paved streets and continuous hillside views of the valley below. There is a rock archway along the way with green ivy climbing up and around it. We stop to watch a wide moving van pause at the archway before the driver slowly proceeds through the archway with just inches to spare on either side and above the van. We hold our breath until we see the van has cleared the arch and then exchange smiles with the driver and his passenger as they drive by us.
I’m in love with the movie, “Under the Tuscan Sun.” Evidently, that’s true for many people who come to visit Cortona. In my mind, I have recreated a beautiful dinner scene from the movie and it’s my secret prayer, long before our trip, that while we are in Tuscany, that scene will play itself out, with Shawn and I as the welcome guests. We learned that the author of the book, Frances Mayes, lives here for many months out of the year in her home called Villa Bramasole.
A short time into our walk, we come upon Bramasole. It’s not the actual house we see in the movie, but the house that Frances Mayes wrote the story about, and she and her husband live here for much of the year. It’s beautiful…stunning, in fact, with many levels of colorful flowers and trees surrounding the home. It has all the warmth and character that I imagined. My heart is bursting and after we’ve taken a few pictures, respectfully keeping our distance, we take a few more steps before running into a lovely couple, Sauro and Heather.
We stop to chit-chat and Heather asks me with delight, “Do you know where you are?” “Yes,” I tell her, happily. She shares that she and her husband live here in Cortona and that they are friends with Frances. Heather and Sauro met in Canada but he is originally from Italy, so they decided to move here four years ago.
We instantly connect at a soulful level and they tell us that tonight in town there is a weekly event called “Wine, Shine and Dine.” They go on to explain that in one of the two piazzas, look to the left of the big staircase and there is a little wine shop called Enoteca Molesini. This is a family-owned winery that has been in business for fourteen generations. They tell us to start there and have free wine tasting. (Wine.) From there, they say, go across the way to Delbrenna Jewelry. They will fit us with fabulous jewelry to “borrow” for the evening. (Shine.) At 7:30 p.m., we will all go up to Osteria del Teatro, where we will enjoy an Italian, five course family style dinner along with wine pairings for each course. (Dine.) After dinner and several glasses of wine, the ladies from the jewelry store will come around and ask you if you’d like to purchase your jewels or return them. What a brilliant idea!
This sounds amazing to me and Shawn. Heather and Sauro tell us they will meet us at 6 p.m. for wine tasting but they will not be having dinner with us. After some time at the hotel pool, we get ready for our evening out and look forward to spending time with our new friends. We don’t see them when we arrive to the piazza so we go ahead and taste the fabulous, Tuscan wine. Paolo, whose family-owned wine shop, Enoteca Molesini is participating in tonight’s event, pours each of the five tasters for us, one after the other, while explaining the grapes, the regions and the process to us. He explains that we will be tasting these wines again at dinner.
When we have completed our tastings, we walk across to Delbrenna Jewelry. We meet the lovely Susanna and she fits us with our jewelry for the evening. She chooses for me a lovely, light green amethyst, teardrop shaped pendant, which she says matches my eyes. The pendant hangs on a beautiful, handmade silver chain and she chooses a pair of dangling, teardrop shaped earrings to match. She fits Shawn with a silver bracelet that is a larger chain than my necklace but the same style.
Susanna tells us about her father, mother and sister and that she is excited about a trip they will be taking this coming weekend. We talk about family, cherished moments as well as difficulties, and find common ground in our families of origin. I tell her my parents both died in 2022 and how special our last few years were together as my sister and I cared for them, and how I especially loved how tender that time was for me and my momma. She listens intently and hugs me, telling me she’s so thankful that I shared.
Shawn and I decide that this jewelry is a perfect way to memorialize our trip. We make our purchases and Susanna and I kiss each other on each cheek, Italian style, before we make our way to the door. We notice another lady who has been waiting for her turn. She introduces herself as Norma and tells us that she and her husband Marshall are from Alaska and are attending the same event. She is newly retired from the coast guard and gives us a business card for a business she is now trying to grow. She does YouTube videos highlighting interviews she is doing all over the world about wine. We agree to meet outside and continue our conversation after she has been styled with her jewelry.
While Norma is trying on jewelry, we meet up with Sauro and Heather and make our way back to wine tasting. We all laugh as they admire our new jewelry. They introduce us to one of their many friends, Terry, who is open and friendly and shares with us their challenges after having recently purchased a home here. We sip more wine and say goodbye to Sauro and Heather for the evening, but not before Sauro and Shawn exchange contact information and agree that we will have dinner together on Saturday.
Norma, Marshall, Shawn and I walk to dinner together, talking and laughing as we manage the steep, uneven brick streets up to the restaurant, which is tucked up in a side street and the stairway and patio leading to the entrance are covered with greenery and flowers. There is a quaint, old bicycle leaning up against the stairs and it is also covered in ivy and flowers. We check in and we are reminded that we will be sitting family style with other guests at long tables. We are seated next to Terry, who we just met in the piazza, her husband and cousins as well as Norma and Marshall. I am having the first episode of my Under the Tuscan Sun family style dinners.
Norma and Marshall sit across from us and she shares that they’ve been traveling for two months with still a month to go. All she is carrying is a backpack! She packed two outfits, one being a beige, wool dress which she wore for 100 days because she was participating in an on-line challenge which she accepted when she bought the dress. Her reward is $100.00. The requirement was that she post a picture of herself wearing the dress for each of those 100 days. She washes the dress about every five days. She shares that yesterday was day 100, so today she is sporting a bright orange, nicely fitted dress. She has a short, spunky haircut and her Delbrenna jewelry matches perfectly. I am in awe of her light packing and her ability to wear the same dress for 100 days in a row! I laugh when she tells me she brought an electric toothbrush, as minimalist as she seems to be!
Marshall was born and raised in Alabama. They were introduced by mutual friends and married about 10 years ago. He has a thick southern accent and we find ourselves straining to make out his words when he speaks. He is wearing a leather hat which he proudly tells us he found this morning at a second hand store!
Terry’s family, all very Italian, teaches us that it’s unacceptable to cut our pasta, no matter how big the ribbons. I find myself twirling huge bites on my fork and trying to eat them as lady-like as possible! Terry’s 14-year-old niece, Olivia, is seated to my left and she is very shy. She smiles and lights up when I ask her if she knows Olivia Rodrigo, the singer who is currently highly popular where we live among young people.
The meal and the wine pairings are delicious. The chef tells us about each course as it is served and Paolo tells us again about each wine we are tasting.
When dinner is over and the evening is coming to an end, we continue to meet people in the restaurant. We meet lovely and outgoing Sheila, who tells Norma she was watching her in the piazza yesterday. She tells Norma exactly what she was wearing and that she was admiring her hairstyle. Sheila is tall, fair and beautiful with light green eyes. She is wearing a flowy white dress and her makeup is light and becoming. She is may be in her 70s and she is full of life. She tells us she was in the movie industry for years and that I remind her of Anne Margaret. She was also in the beauty industry and fitted patients undergoing cancer treatment with wigs to enhance their beauty and self-confidence. For me, Sheila is the lady in Under the Tuscan Sun who dances in the fountain, eats gelato with passion, and cuddles baby chicks. I love her and am so glad to meet her.
I am so fulfilled in all the perfect moments of this long afternoon and evening…ending with the sharing of a traditional Tuscan meal at a large table with heartfelt friends. My dream has come true, but it turns out, this is just the beginning…