How the former proprietor of one of Florence’s international bookshops became the owner of a fine dining restaurant with refined rooms in a remote Tuscan hamlet was a mystery until I ventured to San Pancrazio in the Valdarno countryside to stay at Palazzo Tiglio.
Swede John Werich is a respected entrepreneur and the local sweetheart as octogenarians pop into the grocery store on the piazza, which proudly serves the 200-strong populace. “This is where it all began. We had a holiday home near the village and when the bottega was at risk of closing down, we decided to take it over, so that locals could carry on having their espresso and buying their daily needs without having to go down the hill.” Today’s Cantinetta is a light-filled space serving pastries for breakfast, wines by the glass and grazing boards in the adjacent garden with vast Valdarno views, as well as quality groceries such as locally reared meat, dairy products and Cipriani pasta.
Not one to rest on his laurels, John decided to go one step further and renovate a 17th-century palazzo as a boutique hotel in a quintessentially classic Tuscan style. Antique furniture, handsome parquet floors and re-frescoed ceilings greet overnighters for the most comfortable of stays with USB ports, an espresso machine and a glass cloche of chocolates for the sweet-toothed.
The star attraction at Palazzo Tiglio, however, is the gourmet restaurant helmed by the talented Mattia Parlanti. Covering the ground floor of the edifice, diners tread the age-old bricks of the panoramic terrace before heading into a contemporary interior. Handpicked works of modern art and impressive scenes of historic gardens (taken by John during his past as a photographer for the world’s press) sit comfortably against the soft greens and greys of the walls.
Sommelier Danilo Salvi pours a glass of Sangiovese bubbles purpose-made by another Swede (Sofia Ruhne of Terreno in Greve in Chianti) as a trio of amuse bouche delights the taste buds. A seductively styled starter of fennel topped with olive powder and infused with orange flower water makes for an intriguing beginning to a meal that evolves in delicious harmony with the arrival of a second appetizer of fried panko-encrusted sweetbread, a buttery grilled radicchio and a double beetroot and melon sauce. The rice from 17th-century artisanal Riseria Gazzani in northern Italy is front and centre in a risotto that stands up to the intense flavours of chicken innards and egg yolk. The desserts and cheeseboards are equally exquisite, especially when matched with a gracefully ageing Passito di Pantelleria and presented on Richard Ginori porcelain and ceramics by the village’s internationally renowned potter.
While the softest of duvet covers is calling, a peek inside the chapel cannot be resisted, whose walls are lined with eclectic paintings by Amsterdam-based artist Bob Jonkers. Good food, country air, creativity and excellent company grant me a sound night’s sleep. In the meantime, John continues his plans to add three more rooms, a rose and a kitchen garden. He’s only just getting started.
Palazzo Tiglio
Vicolo della Compagnia 10, San Pancrazio, 52021 Bucine (AR)
Restaurant opening hours: Tuesday – Saturday: 7.30-10.30pm, Sunday: 12.30-3pm
+39 055 9955584
