When she opened a simple trattoria in rustic Montemerano in 1978, Valeria Piccini served the traditional dishes of the Maremma, a mountainous region that hugs the coastline of the south of Tuscany. Like many chefs of her generation, she had larger ambitions and over the next few decades, she embellished them (in, for example, her cinta senese ravioli with chestnuts and chicken broth, still on the menu), turning the restaurant into a fine dining destination. Valeria’s husband, Maurizio Menichetti, along with the couples’ two sons, runs the dining room while also managing the restaurant's formidable cellar.