Purveyors of most unusual adventures in Italy

Chef and adventurist Sophie Chamberlain and friends exploring the back streets of Colle Val d’Elsa

Colle, not to be confused with Casole d’Elsa, became known for the production of its beautiful crystal glasses, which were originally blown specifically for their noble content, the Chianti wines. The town’s printing press and its most famous master builder Arnolfo di Cambio, who was born in Colle Val d’Elsa in the 12th century, made the city famous far beyond Italy.

Another famous son of this town is Carlo Lorenzini also known as Carlo Collodi - who is known and adored, especially by children for his creation of Pinocchio.

Visitors enter the old town through the gorgeous stone gate Porta Nova, and continue on an old medieval path past the venerable cathedral to the elevator to the modern lower town. A hike through the Santa Caterina district is recommended, to the old part of the city, which leads through the Palazzo Campana and Via di Castello. Here memories of bygone traditions come alive, as the path leads past historic buildings which at one time housed some pretty important people.

Colle Val d’Elsa is well worth a trip when you are in the Tuscan region.

Check out our video above on the new shopping bags now available

Modelled by the lovely Nykita Sky at Blossom Fruit Stand in Summerland, BC these gorgeous floral print shopping bags are hand printed and handmade in Italy by friend Sophie Chamberlain of Untainted Tuscany. We are pleased to announce that they are available on our online shop.

Who we are

Uncommon Italy is growing into the equivalent of a small community. A community with one thing in common – we are all Italophiles. Some of the people involved are themselves Italian, some are British, one is Irish and the rest of us are Canadian.

Join us if you like what we are doing either by way of being a supplier to our friends and guests when they come to Italy, or partake in our adventures such as Italian lessons with Chiara Borghesi on our site at Chiacchiere con Chiara!

Returning to Italy

It’s been all ups and downs as we have watched from afar as Italy and the world grapples with the Covid-19 virus. Twice last year we re-booked and waited with baited breath – each time having to cancel and postpone for another six months.

We are now booking for autumn 2021 to return to beloved Tuscany and Casole d’Elsa. Yes we were initially thinking spring might be ok… but fall is looking to be a better bet now.

The Italians are strong and resolved to deal with the barriers to people traveling, especially since so much of Italy’s economy is dependent on tourism. While we are locked down in Canada, we are taking this time to rebuild our business so that we can go back stronger and reinvented for our North American clients.

In the meantime we’ve put together Uncommon Italy with some of the country’s sights and sounds – to tide us over until we can return.

One of countless reasons why we love Italy

Seven minutes of pure delight – soon you will want to start each day with this audio…

This lovely clip below was recorded in a Tuscan vineyard - of the dawn chorus of Italian songbirds. Ask Sophie Chamberlain to be your guide on one of the many hundreds… yes, literally hundreds of walks she knows in the Tuscan region.

Audio credit Evernaut.