Valdarno

Typical Tuscan countryside

For us, one of the joys of visiting Italy this time has been having the opportunity to see and experience the countryside.  We wish we could describe for you accurately how incredibly beautiful the Tuscan countryside is.  We have often said to ourselves, there doesn't seem to be a bad view from any town that we have visited, and some, like Todi, Pienza, and Volterra, have unforgettable vistas.

When we arrived in early March, it was still quite winter like--many of the trees were bare and nothing was in bloom.  As we have recounted in previous posts, the weather was often cloudy and rainy. But with each passing week, spring has triumphed over winter.  Spring seemed to burst forth all at once.  Now the countryside looks lush and green and wildflowers bloom along every roadside.

Danilo shows us his "paese."

After Lynne Lysiak's visit we decided to rest, relax, and explore the  area where we were staying. Out for a walk one afternoon, we met up with our host, Danilo, who offered to walk with us and show us his olive orchards and the land he and his family own and care for--and care for is the operative word. Danilo has such great pride in his "paese" which perhaps best translates as his homeland. Our short hike turned into a three hour guided tour of this beautiful landscape

Becattini farm

When Danilo is not in his restaurant preparing gourmet Tuscan meals (and truly, the best we've had in Italy), he is working on his land--pruning the olive trees,  plowing the fields, and planting his garden. We also heard about the history of his family and the community.  Danilo and his wife Gian Carla were neighbors and attended shcool together from the age of five. Her mother and father's (Nonno Dario and Nonna Reina) story is much the same.

Loro Ciuffena

Many of the homes in the area are hundreds of years old, while a smaller number have been built over the last decade or so.  Looking across the landscape, you often see abandoned homes, outbuildings and barns.  In the last fifty years, many people have left the rural countryside and migrated to the cities and no one has been left to take care of the buildings and land. Some of these are now being renovated and refurbished--a la Frances Mayes' Under the Tuscan Sun.  But the recent economic crisis has really hit the rural areas badly, and there is no longer money to finish the renovations or purchase any more to renovate.  And there are no jobs for the young people throughout Italy.  Lorenzo, the youngest Becattini and our interpretor, has a graduate degree in Economics but has been unable to get a job for two years & has just accepted a temporary job not in his field.

  

Loro Ciuffena

A couple of days after the Poggio area hike, Sue mapped out a drive around Valdarno (the valley of the Arno River) for us. Our four town sojourn only involved driving some fifty or sixty kilometers, but provided an incredible diversity of towns and historical sights. One of our favorite towns was Loro Ciuffena, an old town that clings to the cliffs on both sides of a river that forms waterfalls and pools for hundreds of meters along its way through the town. There, we also visited an ancient mill--it might be 300 or it might 1000 years old--we weren't quite sure what the old man who greets you actually said, but we were impressed enough to purchase some of his stone ground cornmeal. Sue used it to make corn bread for our hosts--something they had never tasted before.

Loro, again

Just outside of Loro is the tiny little village of Gropina; though there were no signs or guideposts, Gracie (our GPS) easily got us to the village--the road just seemed to get narrower and narrower and finally stoppped at a medieval wall--without the GPS we would have thought ourselves lost repeatedly.  But the drive was certainly worth it.

Exterior of Gropina Church

We were rewarded with visiting the most beautiful, simple medieval church perched high on a hill and built on 4th century ruins of the original.  After all the highly decorative Renaissance era duomos we've visited, this plain yet simply lovely chapel was a gift.  The columns were decorated high at the top with what looked like gryphons, knights on horseback, animals, biblical figures and scrolls.  The tiny slits for windows were filled in with alabaster and cast a warm glow.  A sign said the structure was built in the 12th century and it was easy to imagine worshippers coming there for the last 800 years.  An old man, when he saw our interest (we stayed in there a long time looking at every single detail), came in, turned on a few lights and even unlocked the crypt so we could go down and see ancient graves and the 4th century ruins.  We were enthralled.  You never know what incredible things you will stumble onto just roaming around the countryside.

Interior of Church in Gropina

View of Poggio countryside

Afterwards, we returned to Poggio for one more fabulous Becattini meal, and a couple shots at various times of Vin Santo (with Nonno Dario, his specialty) and finally had to say good by to this marvelous family.  If you ever get to Tuscancy, plan a side trip  on a weekend to Poggio Alla Croce and give a lot of big hugs to Nonno, Nonna, Danilo, Gian Carla and Lorenzo.  Also, pause for one of their fantastic meals (especially the Bistecca Fiorentina) and cap it off with Nonno's special Vin Santo, the best you'll ever drink.

Irises blooming outside our window

Now we are back in the Siena area; our previous host, Marzia, also owns a villa, Casabella and an adjoining apartment, Casabellina, in the Sienese countryside.  Earlier in the month we had the opportunity to visit them and knew we had to come back for a stay.  So this is where we will be for almost all of our sojourn here in Italy. Once a farmhouse and stable, the villa and apartment have been lovingly and beautifully renovated by Marzia and her talented and hardworking husband, Renzo. We cannot imagine a better place to be for this beautiful time of year in Tuscany.

Casabellina

View from Casabellina terrace

Just 10 kilometers outside of Siena, you are surrounded by rich farmland that is just now waking up to Spring.  The grapevines are a young, pale green and just beginning to climb along the trellises.  The artichokes are forming new fruit and the olives are just putting forth their blossoms. From the Casabellina terrace, you have a beautiful view across the fertile valley to Monti del Chianti in the west. Late in the afternoon, we love sitting there with a glass of wine, of course. The little traveled country road provides an ideal walking path for exploring and just wandering through local small settlements, one of them occupied and one apparently abandoned. We are looking forward to the arrival of our next guests, Cynthia and Nancy.  It is so much fun sharing this experience with our friends.