Rediscovering Italy

Project description: This series of mini-documentaries will explore the Italian artisan, his art, his culture, his mind and the creative means in which he or she works to make his craft. The design of the program is to find specific wines typical of the region along with typical recipes and blend them into discovering artisans that continue to perform jobs that have long been forgotten or risk disappearing as the younger generation looks for less laborious jobs.

Pilot Show: This show will bring us into the Tuscan region with it’s rich culture in wine and food. As the show opens in Enoteca Vanni, one of the oldest wine cellars in Europe, our host briefly describes some of the wonders that will be discovered as we travel through the western region of Tuscany. Not far from Lucca is the quaint town of Vicopisano. Here, we discover Lenzi Ceramiche, a small studio where Massimo Lenzi, the owner, explains how he and his lone potter and artist create wondrous works of art. Their pieces are completely handcrafted and without the use of templates or molds as some ceramic studios have begun to do. Returning back towards Lucca we stop at a hidden ristorante, Ristorante Mecenate, and here we learn to cook and enjoy the some of the local foods of the Tuscan region. Meals that were once enjoyed by nobleman and peasants alike. It is also near Lucca, up in the hills where Tenuta Valgiano produces its wine combining both traditional methods and modern methods. We watch how the grapes are handpicked, sorted and amazingly still crushed manually. It is here that we learn that by carefully sorting and crushing grapes the rich bouquet of the grape can be made into a fine wine. Traveling south through the region we come across the historical Etruscan town of Volterra and upon reaching the top of this hilltop town, within its walls are artisans chiseling and shaping alabaster stone into beautiful sculptures that are both illuminating and musical. It is here we find the studios of Alab’Arte and Opus Artis. Two very diverse studios, whose artistic talents both in sculpture and in music, as we shall discover, are gradually disappearing.

Enoteca Vanni in Lucca: One of the oldest wine cellars in Europe.