Abbondanza Toscana is staffed with people who have an unending love of all things Tuscan and an overwhelming enthusiasm to share them. We’re Italians, Europeans and Americans. Some of us are recent arrivals to Italy, others have been here much longer and the roots of a few are lost in Italian antiquity.

Paula Sullivan, Abbondanza Toscana Director,"Aren’t we fortunate!" has become the chosen toast with wine at Selva, my farmhouse home on a wine and olive oil estate in Italy. Living and traveling in Europe for more than 15 years, I've had the opportunity to explore European cultures and to seek out those special experiences not found in guidebooks. I've made Italy my adopted home, and Tuscany has become my touchstone. Sharing my home with friends has always been a pleasure for me, and now I can also share the bounty of Tuscany and its jewel city, Lucca, in the form of courses and tours, so you can learn to know and love it as much as I do. I am also fortunate to have found an incredibly talented and knowledgeable group of people whose unbounded enthusiasm for Italy will make your visit here unforgettable.

Our talented and fun chef, Emanuela Dini, learned to cook from her mother, who learned from her mother, in the traditional way; but Emanuela’s own innovations and personality shine through in her cooking. You’ll want to reproduce all her recipes at home, and her techniques are invaluable. She can teach you which "weeds" are good food and how to take the sting out of nettles for nettle pie. She is our connection to the tradition for "bread day" using the wood-fired oven.

Luigi Ghilardi is a jack of all trades at Selva. He tends the gardens around the farmhouse including the orto (vegetable garden) where he plants a series of crops each season to keep us well stocked with fresh produce. He designed and built both pergolas where we enjoy alfresco dining, and he's a master of small repairs around the property. You'll also see him shuttling visitors to and from the airport or train station. Perhaps the role he enjoys the most is grappa-maker extraordinaire! With his own distillation process, he turns white wine into the flavorful (and powerful) grappa we enjoy after dinner.

Beppe DiStefano is our gallant and skilled van and mini-bus driver who carefully and safely negotiates Italy's super highways for us as well as the impossibly narrow lanes of the ancient walled towns we visit. We've never lost a rearview mirror yet! Be sure to ask Beppe about the card games he's taught some of our visitors. He says they're children's games; in this case we are convinced that all Italian children are math whizzes!

Our well-trained and knowledgeable guide, Anna Biagi (on right with guest) leads our groups on cultural, artistic and historical walking and biking tours of Lucca. As a native Lucchese she knows well the cobblestone streets of our walled city and shares her stories of the local lore and the tradition of the area. Ask Anna, too, about colorful local phrases or the perfect hand gesture to use -- or to avoid! She knows the best places to shop, and she's always ready to offer a recommendation for an artisan or cafe that most visitors would never find.

Eduardo Dalcin, our pizzaiolo (pizza-maker)is a delightful feature of all our courses and tours. Using the wood-fired oven, he makes all your pizza dreams come true, from antipasta pizza to dessert pizza! He teaches the basics of pizza dough, while expanding your horizons about pizza ingredients. "Eddie" is also intrigued by new ideas, including a reindeer calzone invented by a group of Norwegian guests!