Cockery time

.. let come to see how do we cook here.. Osteria La Gramola's cooking school

We go around

..there are here so many small-unknown places to see and I can bring you there.. Here you are what nice turn

Farmhouse

.. here there are these beautiful places in order to pass the vacations...

Our adresses

Many many beatiful pages to see and also my webring..

Review Prints

The press speaks about oste meraviglioso..

Hi guys, my name is Mario, the fabulous inn-keeper, I live in Monteriggioni, do you know where it is? It is close to Siena, just in the middle of Tuscany. Here we people are all friends, the weather is good, we cook as it should be, we eat and drink as it was once upon a time, and we also go often around for pleasant walks together ..

This year the Ostemeraviglioso is going on holidays and so he won't be able to help you for your Chrstmas gifts.

WHERE IT IS Poggibonsi, a really peculiar name: isn't it? It means just Poggio Bonizzo, Good Hillock, and it has a very original story too. This small town was destroyed by Fiorentini in 1270, just after few years more than a hundred of existence.

FRIENDS Something I really like a lot is Monteriggioni medieval festival: this village is so much changed by the festival that it seems to be really in the medieval times. There aren't neither plastic nor electric lights around: all is made by earthenware stuff and candles lighten it.

WE COOK The weight pasta is a simple sweet, but for us it was already a privilege to have it and we used to eat it, as it was, in Easter holidays along with a drop of vinsanto. You take six eggs and weight them. Here we say eggs are just like heresies, there are bigger ones and smaller ones.

WE EAT In winter we used to eat very often the pulenda or polenta (a kind of cornmeal porridge). It was cooked into a big pot, called paoiolo which was put into the fireplace in the morning. Cooking the polenta was a men's job.

ONCE UPON A TIME Festival were organised in the villages and especially during the nice seasons it was easy to go there because we moved around by feet. But if there was something left to do in the fields we had to stay home.

eating stuff ..if you want tuscan food.. (se volete mangiare toscano..) (listen to Mario)

looking at stuff ..many nice things for the house.. (..tante belle cose da tenere in casa..) (listen to Mario)

Here you can find my webring

Festivals' Bag

.. if you are invited you can do as I do: I don't like to go with empty hands. But I am not for flowers or chocolates... The Chopping Board Basket If you like the sliced salami and you are curious of try them you can choose this beautiful basket.

Buy safety on Ostemeraviglioso with:

Special stuff

.. if you want to celebrate birthdays, anniversaries, or something to be forbidden of.. The Palio of Siena's Mugs The 2nd of July has been the Palio in honour of the Madonna of Provenzano, here the mugs to drink a toast to the health of this beautiful festival and to Siena!

Best Stuff

...if you like something good you need.. I cantucci col vinsanto Here "cantuccio" means little corner and the cantucci are little pieces made of this good almonds paste. They are dry biscuits, very good to soak in a good vinsanto.

Special stuff

.. if you want to celebrate birthdays, anniversaries, or something to be forbidden of.. Palio's Plates This is the plate of the contradas of the Palio di Siena. The Contradas are seventeen and these plates are all beautiful, but don't say it to the men belonging to the contradas, the contradaioli..

The newspaper of Siena

Here you are what it happens in Siena

Sweets

...we weren't used to eat sweets every day, but we had them only during holidays, such as Christmas, Easter, Carnival and All Saints' day.. Il panpepato Between all the types of panforte, the panpepato one is the most rough, and probably also the most ancient one.