We drive our little Fiat 500 through the woods down a gravelly road just a few minutes from the small hill town of Radda in Chianti. One side of the track is lined by a fence, behind which a few dozen furry goats briefly stop their plant-munching to watch us drive through the iron gate.

A few large white dogs blend into the herd, and they also watch us, intently – these are the beautiful, fiercely protective (and potentially deadly) Maremmano dogs, bred to protect their flock at all costs. Luckily for us, these particular dogs are accustomed to visitors on their property, so we greet them with a friendly and hopefully unthreatening “Hi, doggos!”