Go to Marradi by steam train to collect chestnuts, an event that can be done in just one month of the year: October. Here's how to take the train and why the event is so great.
marradi e Palazzuolo sul Senio they are two villages in the northernmost part of the Province of Florence, what is called Tuscan Romagna - or Alto Mugello, it is a matter of point of view.
The characteristic of the two villages is that they lie on the Tuscan-Romagnolo Apennines, and that they are now closer to the cities of Emilia Romagna than for example to Florence.
Between them are a handful of kilometers away, they are surrounded by greenery, privileged destinations in the summer for the cool climate that characterizes them and some events of strong appeal such as the Medieval festival at the Ubaldini court, scheduled towards the end of July, a re-enactment of the fourteenth-century history of Palazzuolo, the siege of Florence and the conquest in a totally medieval atmosphere.
However, these villages so secluded in the mountains are also popular in autumn, when festivals that have become very popular are blooming.
It is above all a marradi that in the Sundays in October large numbers of tourists flock to the famous and long-lived Chestnut Festival. The festival was born more than fifty years ago and celebrates what here (and throughout the Italian Apennines) played the primary function of sustenance for the population for centuries: chestnuts were in fact the bread of these areas.
Il Good brown from Marradi it is an exceptionally good, sweet, full-bodied fruit, with which incredible specialties are prepared in these parts. At the Sagra you can taste them all: do not miss the chestnut cake, the marrons glacés, the jams and the simple but delicious burnt ones. On the occasion of the festival every year the nostalgic is activated steam train: the Faentina line connects Florence and Faenza. A long and slow journey, to relive the rhythms of a time that no longer exists!
A chestnut festival is also organized in Palazzuolo sul Senio, every Sunday in October, with the sale and preparation of Marrone del Mugello IGP. Unlike Marradi, Palazzuolo is not reached by the railway.
In these two Apennine villages immersed in unspoiled nature, there is no shortage of places of interest to visit: on the occasion of the Chestnut Festival in Marradi, for example, it is possible to visit a prestigious period residence located in the village and which functions as accommodation facility: it is Torriani Palace, a noble residence of seventeenth-century origin but whose particularity is to be frescoed by Galileo Chini, an early twentieth-century Liberty artist. Marradi was also the birthplace of Dino Campana, and you can retrace the stages of his tormented life, as well as his love story with Sibilla Aleramo. Palazzuolo sul Senio instead has on the main square an ancient stone town hall, the Palazzo dei Capitani, where two museums are set up, that of Mountain People and the Archaeological one.
A visit to Marradi or Palazzuolo also deserves it in winter, when in December, often under the snow, the two villages come alive with Advent markets. The characteristics are the same as all the Nordic-inspired markets, with decorations for the house and for the tree, but also food, preserves, small preparations to give as gifts.
However, always consider them interesting gastronomic destinations, here the cuisine is already Romagna even if Tuscany makes itself felt, and you do not leave disappointed from the table. To stay in the Christmas atmosphere it is possible to go to Marradi at Christmas always with the steam train. The competition is organized in Palazzuolo A thousand nativity scenes for Palazzuolo in which the inhabitants participate with compositions ranging from the traditional nativity scene with the hut to others that see baby Jesus, Mary, Joseph, the ox and the donkey staying in improbable and imaginative settings. The most beautiful or original nativity scene is awarded on January 6th.
Steam train, which routes
Every year, in the month of October, the lines of the steam train are always the same, what changes are the days. Usually the steam train leaves every Sunday in October, one section runs Pistoia - Prato - Florence - Marradi and the other route runs Rimini - Cesena - Forlì - Faenza - Marradi. For dates and timetables, but also to reserve seats, visit the official website of the Pro loco of Marradi.
