Italy in May - Loro Ciffenna

For those who love biking this is a great place. During the week that we were there, they had 2 competitions for mountain biking. The roads are rather scary to drive on since they have a lot of zig-zags but the natives seem to be doing just fine. The apartments are located on the waterfall and the views are breathtaking. This is a lovely place in the middle of Chianti region; the grapes are growing everywhere.

Quick Tips:

Make sure to bring with you a jacket or a coat because in the morning and at night the temperature drops and it gets really cold. We had to have the radiator on during the night, and in addition if you get wet, the radiator is a great place to dry out your clothes and shoes.

Best Way To Get Around:

Renting a car in Italy is expensive and driving can be very dangerous. The town is served by public buses and even though they run rarely, it is better than having to rent a car and significantly cheaper. I am going to write a detailed report on riding buses and trains in this area, so read on.

My travel agent suggested that I stay in "La Ferriera", a former mill on top of a waterfall, converted into a residence with 20 apartments. It's in a the small town of Loro Ciuffenna, about 35 km SW of Florence, in the province of Arezzo. The "La Ferriera" is a very nice place; the apartments are large, and have a full kitchen. The bathrooms have a shower and a bidet. The views of the waterfall and the surrounding area are breathtaking. There is no maid service and linens and towels are not changed every day but just once before your arrival. You can have them washed during the week of your stay, and each wash is $8. The building has exposed wooded beams and brick inside, which gives it an authentic look. The reception is open daily from 9 am to 6 pm, and Selvaggia (the receptionist) speaks English. If you have questions or would like her to make reservations at museums in Florence for you, just e-mail her at laferriera@ftbcc.it and she will respond very quickly. The residence has its own website: www.residencelaferriera.it It has some information on the residence and a Q&A about what is included and what’s not. There is a restaurant near the reception and it’s open all day long.

Bars and cafes in Loro Ciuffenna are open without a lunch break. There are 2 cafes and they are both owned by an Englishman and his wife. "Jolly Caffe" and the other café (I can’t remember what it’s called) have great pastries like canoli, éclairs, and pastries in the shape of mushrooms (really a treat), and they only cost 0.80 euro/pastry so you can try a lot of them. They also have 20 different types of gelato (5.50 euros/500 grams). The best way to eat gelato if you are not alone and want to try several flavors is to get a 500 grams plastic box with 4 different flavors and then try a little bit of each. It will come out much cheaper than getting 4 gelatos for each person and you will have much more fun. My personal favorites are mixed berry and tiramisu. What I like about Loro’s cafes is that each type of gelato has a picture showing the fruit and you don’t have to guess what you are getting.

The main problem with Loro is transportation. To get here we took a train from Florence to Montevarchi (for schedules see www.fs-online.com) and then a bus operated by Lazzi (www.lazzi.com) from Montevarchi to Loro Ciuffenna, or "Loro" as the natives call it. The bus is a light blue color and before boarding make sure that the sign on the front window says that it goes to Loro, or ask the driver.

Buses come very rarely and you have to figure out the schedule ahead of time so you don't miss it.

There are two schedules: Feriale (FER) – every weekday including Saturday, Festivi (FEST) – Sunday and holidays. We were in Loro the week of May 3rd, and on May 1st, which is an Italian Labor Day, the buses don’t run so unless you have a car, you are stuck here for a day.

On working days direct buses from Loro to Montevarchi leave at 6:25 am and 7:30 am, and the trip takes about 30 minutes. If you are on the 7:30 bus, you have to run to the Montevarchi station since the train leaves at 8:07 and the bus usually arrives at 8 am. Buy all the tickets to Florence and back at once and that way you won’t need to waste any time. Don’t forget to stamp the ticket before boarding the train. The train to Florence leaves from platform 2, and you will have to cross the tracks underground or run across them to get to that platform. To come back from Montevarchi, there are buses at 17:40 pm, 19:00 pm and 20:05 pm. Some of the return buses don’t go direct, and you will have to transfer in Terranuova Bracciolini, which is on the way to Loro; all buses stop there.

On Sunday buses go from Loro to Montevarchi at 7 am and 8:40 am, come back from Montevarchi to Loro at 17:50 pm and 19:35 pm. If you miss the last bus, you are stuck.

There 2 types of trains that go from Florence to Montevarchi: the fast ones and the slow ones. The fast ones usually leave every hour at 9 minutes past, and arrive at 45 minutes past the hour. The slow one takes a whole hour to get to Montevarchi. The time tables are posted inside the station building. To make sure that you are looking at the right schedule, if you need to go to Florence from Montevarchi, you should be looking at the schedule that says “Partenze Firenze Santa Maria Novella” and if you are going to Florence it should say “Arrivi Firenze Santa Maria Novella”. Santa Maria Novella or SMN is the name of the largest of Florence train stations and is your starting point in Florence. It’s located close to everything and you can walk or take a bus from it to every major place of interest.

To get the bus tickets, go to the bar on the main square. The owner is English so you can easily ask for what you need. The best tickets to buy are the ones that can be stamped on 4 sides; they cost 4.70 euros. The cost of one trip ordinarily is 1.5 euros. When you walk into the bus, you need to stamp the tickets in a yellow machine. In some the color of the machine may be orange or even green. The machine is either right next to the driver if the bus is small, or on the first seat behind him if the bus is large. The machine stamps the time and location. If you need to transfer, the ticket is good for 1 hour from stamping, so if it’s close you don’t need another ticket. The bus schedule is located on the wall right outside of the bar.

The bus station in Loro used to be in the main square, but because of the construction at the nearby church, the stop has been moved to the road. To get to “La Ferriera” from the bus stop, go up the hill a little bit, and on the left handside is “Pharmacia” in green letters. Cross the road and go down the hill along the lodgia, and turn right when you see the tower with the clock on the left. Pass the bar and restaurant and turn left on to the bridge. Cross the bridge and turn right. Walk through the parking to the sign “La Ferriera” on the gate. Then continue along the unpaved road for about 4 minutes until you hit the gates that close. You are here. The reception is in the far right corner.