Muscats and Renzis under the Tuscan sun for the holidays

Paccheri with tomatoes, a taste of minestrone sprinkled with basil, pureed mushroom soup, ribs with roasted potato, wine and ice cream for dessert: this is the Rignone lunch the Muscats and the Renzis shared while in Florence.

The detailed menu served by ‘Chef Fabio’ was in the news last week when Prime Minister Joseph Muscat and Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi went out for lunch in Renzi’s Tuscan hometown.

Renzi was joined by his wife Agnese and their daughter Ester.

Muscat was on holiday in Italy along with his wife, Michelle, and twin daughters Etoile and Soleil. The two leaders had started the day with a meeting on migration at Palazzo Medici Riccardi followed by plans for the two families to have lunch at a renowned local restaurant specialising in Tuscan food.

Tourism Minister Edward Zammit Lewis and his family were also pictured with the group.

As they made their way to the restaurant on foot along the Sant’Ambrogio district, the group caught the attention of a sizeable crowd with locals and foreigners approaching Renzi for the obligatory selfie.

Spending most of his time in Rome, the 40-year-old Italian premier and former Firenze mayor hadn’t visited Rignone in a long time and was given a hero’s welcome by the residents. On a walkabout typical of electoral campaigns, Renzi introduced Muscat to the locals while visiting a number of shops and street food stalls. 

Florence mayor Dario Nardella also joined in some time later.

But the day would not have been complete without the group attending the crunch Euro 2016 qualifier between Italy and Malta. Wonder what Joseph told Matteo about that Pellé handball.