Roses and Vineyards-

May 11 & 12-

I forgot that it was Mother's Day but my 3 boys did not forget!  I was greeted at breakfast with roses from the garden and sweet sentiments written on the back of photos taken during their hike.  It was a true surprise and I felt really honored.  It was a grand start to our day touring the area of Chianti.

We took a short scenic drive to Radda in Chianti (back to the winding narrow backroads but much more confident now) and took in the picturesque countryside of the wine region.  For this "day trip" we packed overnight bags as we had reservations to stay the night at one of the winery properties in the area.  What made it especially interesting for they boys is that they had their own room- down the hall.  They felt so grown-up!  When I went to check on them before dinner they had "organized" their room putting their journals on the nightstand & shoes in cubbies and discovered they had bathrobes...

Mother's Day morning surprise

Chianti vineyard

View over the vineyards from just outside our room

All grown up in their bathrobes

Mother's Day dinner

The next morning we toured the winery-

The rooster is the symbol for chianti wine

300 year old wine barrels 

Then returned "home" to the agriturismo for our last night-

Our apartment under a full moon

& to say goodbye to our gracious hostess & family at L'Ozio

Stephania!

Lucca & Pisa

May 10-

There are certain things it seems a traveller to Tuscany must see... today's itinerary included one of the world's most recognizable sites- the leaning tower of Pisa.  But first we toured the nearby peaceful little town of Lucca -- on bikes!

Lucca was an important medieval town because of it's silk trade and banking industry which kept them prosperous and out of the "fight" literally.  Lucca's massive and impressive city walls are still intact today and thanks to a ruler in the 17th century were demilitarized and turned into a park that is well used by tourists and locals alike. When we told the boys that we were going to ride bikes on top of the old city walls I think they had a much different image in mind-  something much more dangerous & precarious than the broad path that allowed for bikers, joggers & strollers.  But no matter because a day on bikes is always fun! 

From the ramparts we could see the white marbled slopes of the Apuan Alps where Michelangelo and others quarried the stones to create their beautiful works of art. 

Once in the city, our guide Gabriele had the boys don their Indiana Jones persona and search for "secret" carvings in the St. Michele in Foro done by artists who while working on the church's exterior facade used the interior columns for practice.

One of Lucca's city gates- Porta Santa Maria

and also in town (more hazardous than atop the walls!)

Biking on the wall....

 At San Michele Church searching for carvings...

Aha! Found!!

We completed the day with feasting our eyes on the Piazza die Miracoli "Field of Miracles" & climbing Pisa's famous leaning tower.

The beautiful gothic Duomo & Baptistry as viewed from atop the leaning  bellower

On the way up...

Vintage tourist poses

The Pilgrim's Way & Matt's Wanderings-

May 8 & 9-

We are now in our second week in Tuscany and are getting into a bit of a rhythm... a full day of exploring the hills by car followed by what the boys call " free day" & I call "laundry day"!

Thursday we visited the towns of San Gimignano, Monteriggioni and Siena.  All 3 of these towns were on the ancient pilgrimage road from Canterbury to Rome- the Via Francigena.  In Medieval times, people from England, France Switzerland and Italy who wanted to visit the tombs of Peter and Paul or see the Pope would take this route, so these towns were cities filled with merchants, banks and hospitals to meet the needs of all the travelers.

*Interesting fact: Hospitals (from the latin hospas) during the Middle Ages were not a place for the treatment of diseases but more like a guesthouse or hostel for foreigners.

Visiting San Gimignano was like stepping back in time because a change in the trade routes once the city came under the control of Florence in the 1300s diminished the population by one-third & poverty set in so no changes or improvements were made for hundreds of years.  The city is still completely surrounded by the ancient walls and has 14 towers still standing.

Of course, we had to climb to the top of the tallest tower in town- the Torre Grossa. Afterwards we visited the church which had beautifully preserved frescos covering the walls.  One side was dedicated to the stories of the Old Testament and the other illustrated the life of Christ from the New Testament.  The boys really enjoyed "reading" the stories from the paintings just as those in the middle ages would have done (art at that time was used to educate the people because most commoners could not read).

At this point in our travels, we have been in many churches and seen many frescos but these were very special... just God's story on the walls...my personal favorite so far.

Streetscape with Torre Grosso in the background

San Gimignano City Gate

Climbing to the top of the tower

View of the city from the tower

Symbol for 'Hospital"  seen over a door-
sign for weary pilgrims to "Stop here"

Frescos of God's Story

On our way along the Via Franigena to Siena we stopped for lunch in another small town with its walls still intact- Monteriggioni.  It is hard to believe it is truly a town as today only forty (40) people live here.  The restaurant however was delicious!

Monteriggioni city wall

Our last stop for the day was Siena.  Many travelers today use this city as their base to tour Tuscany and enjoy its grand square (which is oval)- Il Campo- but  I will remember Siena for  2 things: it is the historic rival of Florence and the home of the famous horse race known as the Palio.
It may be because we breezed through the major sites in a few hours and weren't able to get a real feel for the town but ...
I think the thing the boys will remember most is that our guide Camilla and I chose a most unfortunate place to eat our gelato (right below a pigeon roost!)

Siena- buit on 3 hills

The flags of the Districts-
each district has a horse in the Palio

Siena's gothic Duomo

The famous Il Campo-
2 times a year a dirt track is laid down for the horse race

On Friday "Free Day"  the boys and I played around the agriturismo while Matt when on a hike.  He set out in the morning after breakfast with camera in hand to scout out a good trail for the four of us to trek later in the day.  Around 2 pm, just as we were wondering if we should send for help he showed up at the gate having walked nearly 12 miles. In his wanderings, he discovered an old monastery and a snake or two & took in some fantastic vistas.  He and the boys walked a shorter loop before dinner.

Here are a few shots he took:

Small town life-

May 6 & 7-

These 2 days in Tuscany were dedicated to small town life.  We spent a day discovering Impruneta and then the following day back at L'Ozio in Collina, "our" olive farm.

Impruneta is a town of about 15,000 just outside the city walls of Florence.  The boys had the opportunity of visiting 2 different public schools (an elementary & also a middle/high school) & interviewing a town official to get an idea of life in a small Italian town. We also visited a local terra-cotta factory since Impruneta is famous for this beautiful pottery. This particular factory which has been in business for hundreds of years made planters for the Biltmore Estate.

The morning was spent at local elementary school-
the boys participated in art class, some grammar lessons, and recess!

All the terra-cotta pots are made by hand-

...then baked in a specially made oven which turns the gray clay into the beautiful red-orange color.
Terra cotta means "cooked earth".

At the Impruneta Mayor's office- honorary officials!

The frescoed cafeteria of the Poggia Imperial School-
 once a villa of the Medici in the 1600s, became a school for noble families in the 1800s
and now is a public middle/high school.

Free time at the farm-

Playtime

Quiet time...
under the shade of wisteria-

...or the shade of a playhouse

  

Il Falconiere-

May 5-

Today was a truly unique experience.
We drove to Arezzo & spent the afternoon with a man who has dedicated his life to birds, not just any birds but birds of prey (raptors)- falcons, hawks, eagles, owls-  He is known as an Il Falconiere.

Falconry is an ancient art that became known in Europe around the 6th century and continued through the Middle Ages.  Training birds of prey to hunt to bring food to the table eventually evolved into a popular sport and status symbol for nobles of Europe. The "Golden Age" of falconry ended with the invention of the shotgun around the 1600s but there are some today like Gherardo Brami whose love of the birds has kept this tradition alive.

We learned that training these birds is really more of a lifestyle as it requires complete dedication 365 days a year from the trainer.   It reminded us all somewhat of the caretakers for orphaned elephants who must be with the calves 24/7 for the first year, except in the case of falconry there is no bonding to the trainer from the bird's point of view.  A falconer must give his life to train the bird to fly free and return to captivity all the while knowing that because there is no human attachment he may choose not to return. Matt likened it to unrequited love...

Gherardo & one of his birds-

He makes with his own hand each bird a custom hood,
but does not give him a name.

Gyr Falcon

Peregrine Falcon

          

       













                                               

Our interpreter told us that it was not likely that the boys (because of their young ages) would get to handle the birds, but to their grand surprise they got a wonderful experience!

It began with feeding a 1 month old falcon...
Falcons cannot fly at this stage but like adults, eat their prey feathers, bones & all.

Next the owls perching on a the arm...

"He is not as heavy as he looks"

Then for the flying...

From one brother to the other-

Look at the wing span-

Wings, sharp beaks & talons close the face can be intimidating-

Our time was ended with watching Gherardo perform a training exercise with the falcons that keeps them healthy and ready for hunting.  It was amazing to see them soaring at speeds up to 200 miles per hour (not a typo), navigating around trees, through the loggia of the house and diving right over our heads to make their "kill".  

The boys may not remember all that we have seen and done in Italy but this is one piece of our journey that I think will not soon be forgotten.