Life on a Tuscan Farm

Last week Spannocchia got its first ZERO emission car: a red and white battery-eletric car called a GEM (Global Electric Motocar) by Daimler-Chrysler. The car can seat two people and has a large area in the back for transporting goods. The car charges overnight and has an autonomy of around 30km (20 miles). It’s top speed is 40 km/hour or 25 miles/hour.

We are so excited to have an environmentally-friendly solution to getting around the farm, running up and down to the various farm houses and moving goods on the property. The accompanying photo shows Randall Stratton in the driver’s seat ready to go. A presto!

Spring is the time of new arrivals. Lambing season has begun and daffodils add a touch of yellow throughout the property. The newest faces around Spannocchia are the Spring 2008 farm and guest services interns who arrived on Friday, March 7th. Bryn, Alex, Heather, Allyson, Daniel, Will, Julia, Kendal and Thias will be here for three months learning the in’s and out’s of Spannocchia and getting wet in the spring rainshowers! Here is a photo of them trying to get warm in the Pulcinelli common room after their first morning of work (in the rain).

We also have a few new staff members: Giulio is our new animal care manager working hard to keep our pigs and other farm animals fed, fenced and healthy. He is from Chiusdino and has seemingly endless practical farm skills. Maddalena and Lydia are the new faces you will find at Spannocchia’s reception area and shop. The Spannocchia reception/shop will now be open from 7:30 am to 7:30pm all seven days of the week to guarantee our guests even better service. And the last new hire is Cinzia, who you can find in the kitchen at lunchtime preparing meals for groups or helping Grazia keep the Castello clean and inviting.

The last spring arrivals are some new products you can find available in the Spannocchia store when you visit. One of them is our new cookbook Spannocchia: our favorite recipes - complete with all new recipes and beautiful illustrations by talented former intern Doug Olsen. The second is the Spannocchia Calendar - an 18-month calendar with beautiful photos to keep Spannocchia on your mind all year round. A presto!