Spannocchia

Working at Spannocchia was an incredible experience. First and foremost, the community there is extraordinarily unique, including some of the warmest people I’ve ever met. The Spannocchi have many friends in the area too, outside the farm. Connecting with them allowed me to more fully experience and enjoy Italy. At Spannocchia, the way of life is healthy and fulfilling. The work can be arduous, but it’s usually stimulating and very worth learning. The grounds are absolutely beautiful and vast. They are worth exploring thoroughly. I ate very well at Spannocchia. Many of the meals are prepared by top-notch chefs, and the ingredients are fresh and healthy. I spent much of my time there trying to learn Italian. Since everyone was so friendly and willing to indulge me in this project, I learned a great deal.

The Spannocchia internship is much more than just working on a farm - it is also about community building, teamwork, exposure to Italian culture and traditions, and much more. The day to day schedule provides time for personal reflection and goal setting. I foraged friendships that will last a lifetime. The work is hard but very rewarding. However, it is not an internship for everyone. You have to be able to live in a small tight community, where everyone knows each others' business, as well as work long days. There is lots to learn but there is also plenty of "play" - field trips, food tastings, group meals at local restaurants, etc. My time at Spannocchia was eye opening and life changing and if I could do it again I 100 percent would. It was a dream to live in Tuscany and it was such an amazing opportunity.

With a background in outdoor labor, sustainable agriculture, and foreign language literature and pedagogy--Spannocchia seemed built for me. And I knew this going into the program. But what surprised me, was that my fellow interns were not cookie-cutter Annas. We came from all over the globe, with different religion, political, and educational upbringings, and had very distinct interests and thus varied reasons for being at Spannocchia for those blissful three fall months in 2017. Some were there to escape, others to explore; a few to labor, a few to luxuriate; some of my new friends used this internship to change their course, others to move forward in a current one. But it worked. Why? We shared in something that was most important: we wanted to learn, we wanted to experience, we wanted to know the what, the why, and the how.

I've revisited, simultaneously rekindling old friendships and discovering that the internship has evolved. But such always happens; even 1000 year Spannocchia must adapt, grow, and progress. This said, the Internship continues to be a top notch program, with top notch participants, and top notch programmers. I was blessed to take part.

Spannocchia inspires. Spannocchia teaches. Spannocchia creates. I highly recommend this experience.

This was an extraordinary opportunity not only to learn about sustainable agriculture from experts but to immerse myself in Italian culture.

The Spannocchia internship is two-fold in this sense:
- Farm and guest interns work with Spannocchia staff (Italian farmers and agriturismo staff) to learn farming and hospitality skills.
- Interns also participate in several educational programs related to Tuscan culture and cuisine. There is special emphasis on field trips to other Tuscan farms that specialize in products that Spannocchia does not (e.g., rice, saffron, biodynamic wine, and cheese).

Having done other programs during my gap year and study abroad period, I found Spannocchia to be truly unique in its history and sense of community.

Future participants should understand not to expect fast results (this isn’t always in line with Italian culture) and to savor every minute!