The Cappella della Madonna di Vitaleta on the road from Pienza to San Quirico d'Orcia

In 2001 I came to live in Italy. I had some fun, wrote a journal and this is the blog of my story...

"Tuscany is a state of grace. The countryside is so lovingly designed that the eye sweeps the mountains and valleys without stumbling over a single stone. The lilt of the rolling green hills, the upsurging cypresses, the terraces sculptured by generations that have handled the rocks with skillful tenderness, the fields geometrically juxtaposed as though drawn by a draughtsman for beauty as well as productivity; the battlements of castles on the hills, their tall towers standing grey-blue and golden tan among the forest of trees, the air of such clarity that every sod of earth stands out in such dazzling detail. The fields ripening with barley and oats, beans and beets. The grape-heavy vines espaliered between the horizontal branches of silver-green olive trees, composing orchards of webbed design, rich in intimation of wine, olive oil and lacy-leaf poetry. Tuscany untied the knots in a man's intestines, wiped out the ills of the world. Italy is the garden of Europe, Tuscany is the garden of Italy, Florence is the flower of Tuscany." Irving Stone from my favourite book " The Agony and the Ecstacy" A fictional biography of Michelangelo



178. Cerreto Guidi

Well it's the last day of our holiday... Christmas, New Year and Befana have all come and gone and here we are in 2005! We have our fourth Salsa lesson and I've joined the gym!

Today we are paying the small, pretty town of Cerreto Guidi a visit. Cerreto Guidi is just north of Empoli which is about 20 miles west of Florence. The town is basically a ring of houses with the huge Medici villa at the centre! The imposing villa was built as a fortified hunting lodge for Cosimo I and it's design was attributed to Buontalenti.




We take a look inside and what do you know there is an exhibition on by the Bardini family which includes some gorgeous portraits. As well as this there is a permanent exhibition dedicated to hunting, complete with various weapons and stuffed animals! A very cultural afternoon then...
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