The meadow
Out by eight, back by dusk. The flock works the hill for wild thyme, chicory and clover, and moves on before the grass is gone.
Today on the hill
- In Italy it's
- Sunrise
- ≈ 07:35
- Sunset
- ≈ 18:20
- Now
- Weather unavailable right now
- This month on the farm
- Saffron at dawn. Saffron flowers at dawn; the olive harvest begins; truffle hunts start.
The promise
Everything on the table grew, grazed or was made on this hill.
Colle means hill. Brado means free-roaming, which is how the animals live here.
05:30 — 21:00
A day on the hill
- 05:30
Milking
Lamps on in the stable. The sheep know the order better than we do.
- 08:00
Ricotta
The whey from last night's cheese, heated slowly until it gives up its cream.
- 11:00
The tour
From the stable door to the dairy door, then a table in the shade.
- 13:00
Lunch on the terrace
Under the vines, facing Pienza. Nobody is in a hurry.
- 17:30
Cooking class
Flour, eggs, a rolling pin, and Nora watching your hands.
- 19:02
Sunset over Monte Amiata
The whole terrace goes quiet for about four minutes.
- 21:00
Dinner under the stars
Candles, the last of the wine, and the dogs asleep under the table.
01 / 04EatA kitchen in the old stables, and a terrace facing the valley.
- 02 / 04Learn
Pasta, cheese, bread and truffles, with the people who make them.
03 / 04StayTen pitches under the cypresses and three rooms in the hayloft.
04 / 04CelebrateWeddings and long tables in the olive grove, April to October.
Agriturismo biologico · Val d'Orcia
Pasture to plate
The sheep graze meadows full of wild herbs on poor clay. Hungry soil makes stubborn, aromatic herbs, and aromatic herbs make better milk. The milk changes with the seasons, so the cheese does too.
Milking
Twice a day, in the old stable, 140 sheep and 25 goats. The morning milk goes straight to the dairy, still warm.
The dairy
Raw milk, natural rennet, salt. Nothing is pasteurised and nothing is added. Elia cuts the curd by hand; the whey becomes this morning's ricotta.
The ageing room and the pit
Weeks, months, or three months underground in a straw-lined pit. Every wheel is turned by hand, and every wheel comes out a little different.
The table
Twenty steps from the dairy door to the kitchen. The cheese that aged all summer meets bread from this morning's oven.
This month on the hill · 10/26
October
Saffron at dawn
Saffron flowers at dawn; the olive harvest begins; truffle hunts start.
Classes and tours on a working farm. Every one starts with a walk from the stables to the dairy.
Esperienze
- 01
Farm & dairy tour with tasting
from €35
- 02
Pasta class
from €140 - 03
Tuscan cooking class
from €160
- 04
Pizza and bread in the wood oven
from €95
- 05
Cheese-making morning
from €75 - 06
Truffle hunt and truffle cooking class
from €220
Seasonal releases
La Bottega
Pit-aged pecorino
€13 / €26
New olive oil
€16 / €65
The "Il Colle" box
€75
Cheese, oil, honey and pasta from the hill, in the farm shop and shipped within the EU.
Farm market · Saturday 10–18
Guest notes · Sample notes for this demo
“We booked lunch and stayed until the sheep came home. The ricotta alone is worth the drive.”
01 / 04
43°04′N 11°41′E · approximate
Finding us
You need a car. The last 1.5 km is gravel: fine for normal cars, too narrow for coaches. Free parking. Sat-navs get confused on the white roads, so use the map link below.
- Pienza15 min
- Montepulciano20 min
- Monticchiello15 min
- Bagno Vignoni25 min
- Montalcino40 min
- Chiusi-Chianciano Terme (FS)40 min
- Siena1 h
Letters from the hill
Four letters a year: the new oil, the first ricotta, the pit cheese, and whatever else happened.