And then the nice Signa guide added: "You know that Signa gave birth to the famous Florentine straw hat? The Lord created shade, but straw, or rather “grano marzuolo”, was cultivated in Signa. Visit the Museo della Paglia to understand how history really happened!" The visit to the museum was enlightening. The ingenious machines used for working the straw surprised me and the hats on display were real works of art. Some had even "crowned" the illustrious heads of Europe.