Welcome to B&B Fagiolari

Bed & Breakfast Fagiolari is located near Panzano in Chianti, a tiny Tuscan hill town halfway between Florence and Siena, on the road SSS 222. Just out of town (2 km from Panzano’s little piazza), down a rustic, gravel lane, you’ll find Fagiolari and a warm welcome from from Anna, the owner and chef.

Fagiolari is a beautifully restored, 800 years old country house, surrounded by its own olive trees, forest and vineyard, a place for you to enjoy a taste old Tuscan lifestyle. It’s in the heart of Tuscany near many other small villages such as Volpaia, Lamole, Greve, Radda and Castellina. Day trips to Siena, Volterra, San Gimignano and Florence can easily be made from Fagiolari.

In Chianti, every house or Casa has a name. The name Fagiolari suggests that beans, or fagioli, were originally grown on the property. The house was home for the contadini, or farmers, who worked for the owner of the villa up the road. The oldest record of the house was discovered in a nearby church, dating back to 1237.

The rooms that make up the kitchen, living and dining rooms today were once the stables, and what is now the upstairs sitting room by the front door was the kitchen with its sink, fireplace and bread oven just outside the door. Along the wall in the dining room, the original, hand-hewn feeding trough for the animals still stands.

The restoration of the house started in 1981 by replanting many of the trees in the garden and the park sloping down to the pond. During the next three years, almost everything was replaced or restored in the house. Today Fagiolari is the ideal base for sightseeing, biking or hiking around the breathtaking countryside, or relaxing beside the pool or simply finding a quiet place to rest. Fagiolari opened to the first bed & breakfast guest on May 24, 1996.

The 24th of May is commemorated in Italy as the day during the First World War when the Italians turned back the Austro-Hungarian invasion in the Dolomites. This event is memorialized with a song in which the sounds of the river Piave promise, “Non passa lo straniero” (“The foreigners don't come in”). However, we decided that May 24th would be a good day to do just the opposite “Passa lo straniero!” (“Let the foreigners come in!”). Since then, thousands of guests have experienced a taste old Tuscan lifestyle.

Anna

Anna, originally from Torino (Turin), worked as an attorney for a well-known American law firm. In 2007 she decided to follow her true passion and opened a cooking school in Turin. She is a graduate of the Turin Chef Association and has mastered many different kinds of regional Italian and international cuisines. In 2015 Anna moved to Tuscany and, first, became the chef at Fagiolari. In 2016, she took over the management of the b&b and since then, with the help of her staff, she takes care of the guests and helps them to enjoy and experience a taste of old Tuscan lifestyle.

Anna is also in charge of the cooking classes and is passionate about showing people how to cook simple, delicious Italian dishes. She will guide you through the preparation of a variety of recipes from Tuscany as well as other Italian regions, revealing some of her culinary secrets. Anna is also an expert in vegetarian, vegan and macrobiotic cooking (she studied at the Kushi Institute in the U.S.).