Watch the second episode of our new web series on widespread Tuscany

Syusy’s new Slow Tour is an itinerary through the “Widespread Tuscany”. We stay in the heart of Mugello, between Barbiana and Vicchio!

On Dante’s advice, Syusy sets off for the places linked to another great Tuscan teacher: Don Lorenzo Milani. And she arrives in Barbiana! A remote village nestled in the hills of Mugello, where Don Milani, a disobedient parish priest, was sent as punishment, almost in exile. 

Yet it was here that he founded his now-famous school, whose symbol became the “Holy Student”, the mosaic created by his pupils.

Together with Syusy, in conversation with Agostino Burberi and Gianpaolo Bonini – Don Milani’s former students – we delve into the life, legacy, and teachings of this extraordinary educator and pedagogue, who left us such powerful writings as “Letter to a Teacher” and “Obedience Is No Longer a Virtue”. Texts that, now more than ever, have so much to tell us.

And speaking of great teachers… from Barbiana, Syusy heads down to Vicchio, where, in the historic center, stands a statue of Giotto the painter, commissioned by none other than the famous Italian writer Giosuè Carducci!

With Claudio Pescio, Syusy reflects on the revolutionary role Giotto played in the Middle Ages and how he diverged from the style of his mentor, Cimabue.

We follow her to discover the Madonna of Borgo San Lorenzo, one of Giotto’s recently rediscovered early works – yet already revealing how far he had moved away from the medieval artistic language.

Wait a minute… Giotto and Dante were contemporaries! And our own Dante – Paolo Hendel– has something to say about that too…

If you missed the first episode, you can catch up here and join us on the journey!