Food Tours · Tour

Florence in Five Bites: Cucina Povera, Chianti and Vin Santo

Two and a half hours, five food stops and about a mile and a half of walking, all inside the historic centre, which means the landmarks come free with the eating. It starts in Piazza della Repubblica, which was the Roman forum before it was anything else, and passes the Porcellino, the bronze boar whose nose everyone rubs, and Piazza della Signoria on the way to Ponte Vecchio. The first tasting is a family delicatessen supplied by an organic Tuscan farm: prosciutto, local salumi, pecorino, extra virgin olive oil, and a glass of Chianti. The second is cucina povera, the cooking Tuscany invented out of not having much: ribollita, panzanella, pappa al pomodoro or lampredotto, with wine to go with them. These are the dishes that define the region and that most menus aimed at visitors leave off. Then a historic enoteca for a curated wine tasting with fettunta and good olive oil, and a pause at the Duomo while the guide explains the wine windows. Gelato from one of the best gelaterie in the city follows, and the last stop is a place that is part theatre, part bookshop and part wine bar, where cantucci come with a glass of Vin Santo. Four glasses of Tuscan wine plus the Vin Santo, and enough food to count as a meal. Twelve people at most, in English. Minimum age eighteen because of the wine. Suitable for vegetarians and for lactose-free and non-coeliac gluten-free diets, though options at some stops are limited. Comfortable shoes.