Tuscany In Print

Spannocchia stars pictured clockwise: a Cinta Senese piglet, Michel the beekeeper, salami curing in the temperature and humidity controlled salumi locker.

Not since I interviewed with bon appétit magazine years ago have I hung around newsstands, waiting for the next issue to hit. February 2008 has finally arrived, at least in print, and flipping to the spread on The Tuscan Cure brought me the most excitement I’ve felt since leaving the featured Italian farm where I lived last fall. The writing is good – stories of the outdoor pizza oven, the rare Cinta Senese pigs I fed so often, Piero the butcher who taught me everything I know about making sopressata, and the impressive 13^th Century tower where Spannocchia’s story begins. But it is the photography that brings me back.  Ten glossy pages sandwiched between a gorgeous salumi plate and a typical courtyard dinner where guests, interns and farm staff broke bread at the same table. 

Cedric Angeles is the photographer behind the incredible pictures of pasta, vin santo grapes, and the many faces that make Spannocchia what it is. I remember his week-long assignment like it was yesterday – the way he got to know his subjects before ever framing a shot, then steadying a medium-format camera and clicking once, maybe twice. Cedric was everywhere that week –the chicken coop, the interns’ Tuscan cooking class, our beekeeping seminar, the prosciutto room and even up at dawn the day that Will, Riccio and I went to the slaughterhouse. 

February is bon appétit’s “green issue.” Spannocchia aside, there are plenty of incentives to go out and get yourself a copy: reasons to keep eating meat, Molly Wizenberg’s debut column and food info on Portland, OR - a city where I’ve been itching to eat.  -sy

Comments

[Cuz Ed]

I will scour the Newstands in Alsaka to find my copy of bon appétit!

[Paul]

My girl Celia hung out with those pigs for the summer. I helped feed them one day with her - and clean their poop. Later that evening I witnessed one of the most phenomenal sunsets I'll probably ever see. And then we listened to Project Pat and drank San Giovese into the night

[Beata Bernina]

Hello ladies, I am a photographer who is planning to spend a week at Spannocchia in May and looking for advice on life on the farm. I'll go to my library to see if they still have the copy of this Bon Appetit, but I thought I'd ask someone who's been there directly. If you were to art-direct a photographer for a magazine editorial on Spannocchia, what would you ask her to photograph to feature in YOUR magazine? I appreciate your input and suggestions.
By the way, I lived in Boston for 16 years before moving to warmer LA 4 years ago.