Tuscany off the beaten path: The Svizzera Pesciatina

Google the Svizzera Pesciatina and not much will show up. These small stone villages are in the hills above Pescia, and I’d not heard of them until I started living in Lucca. My recent visit to them sure felt like Tuscany off the beaten path.

Pescia, a simple tow east of Lucca, suffered quite a bit of damage in World War II, and it’s not on the tourist track.

Above Pescia, heading into the Appennines, are ten borghi known as the Svizzera Pesciatina, perched on crests or hugging the sides of mountains.

When I visited them (see video below) I thought of people in the Middles Ages building these villages in cold, remote, relatively rugged locations. Of course it was all about defense and protection back then. The locations of the villages offered excellent enemy-spotting views, and provided a respite from the constant battles between Lucca, Florence and Pistoia.

I don’t know what they managed to cultivate on these mountains for sustenance in the Middle Ages but I know when beans were brought to Italy from the New World in the 16th century, they began to be cultivated in this area. One village in particular, Sorana, is known for them. The restaurant I chose to take my friends to was at the edge of Sorana and I am so glad we ordered the beans. What may appear as an uninteresting dish, is in fact heavenly.

I am used to beans in Tuscany, the Tuscans after all are called mangiafagioli (bean eaters) by Italians of other regions, but I have never eaten such stunningly good beans as these. The farmers of Sorana, who have passed the bean seeds on to the next generation for centuries, insist these beans do not taste the same if they’re grown in different soil.

If you like discovering places off the beaten path in Tuscany, head over to the Svizzera Pescatina. (A car is needed.) I highly recommend lunch at Da Sandrino. Reserving ahead is a good idea on weekends as Italians in the region have honed in on this gem! View more on my video: