 What
color says Tuscany to you?
by Mark Abouzeid
When we talk about places, typically
it's the things we see, people we meet or foods we eat that form
our words. Well, not here.
This is the land more often than not defined by
colors: siena and terra, sepia or azurro. Where else would they name
a whole city after a color: Siena?
Think about it. When you picture this region,
what comes to mind...colors. The rolling golden wheat fields of summer
framed by indigo skies and Michaelangelo clouds. Old ladies dressed
in black perched on benches before whitewashed walls and terra cotta
bricks.
Never fixed, it's the changing hues from dawn
to dusk; green fields of winter which turn parched by mid-august
and show the dirt by fall. And why not, it's these colors with their
significance that makes this a paradise.
The rich red earth of tuffo and cotta which provides
the perfect balance for the olives and vines. Endless azure skies
allowing as much sunlight as the plants will take and ensuring that
an afternoon siesta never goes out of fashion.
And the colors of a meal...sepia pasta with porcini
fired over the grill; bruschetta topped with olive paste and pommodoro;
and of course the oil. That golden oil which is at times lime or
reddish or pure molten ore.
If you don't believe me, try it yourself.
Describe Tuscany without using a single reference to
color...I bet you can't do it.
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