The entire Val d’Orcia is united by customs, traditions, and recipes of the area that run like a red thread-though with small differences-between the villages and the countryside. More than others, however, the UNESCO area of the Val d’Orcia Park preserves customs and traditions that tell of a time when life took place mainly among the fields and with few frills, guided by necessities and the rhythm of the seasons.
These collective memories have been collected in a book that-beyond mere reading-is a journey into the folk customs that have characterized farming in the Val d’Orcia Park, and a handbook that describes what is a true identity heritage: the gastronomic tradition.
Orcia Miseria. When living was a remedy (edited by Carlo Cambi) describes the products of the territory from wines to wheat to cheeses and collects-as a worthy custodian-the true recipes of the tradition, those straightforward, hearty but simple, genuine ones, divided by meal (from appetizer to dessert) and by type: here we find the famous Tuscan soups, meat, vegetable or cereal dishes, without neglecting drinks.
What were once natural remedies for aches and pains are recovered and are found in the pages illustrated with plants and flowers, as are descriptions of life in the fields and linguistic expressions that have now almost disappeared such as old-time nursery rhymes, idioms and proverbs accompanied by a glossary.
Learn more about Orcia Miseria in the Val d’Orcia Park shop.
