Yes, we’ve actually had an almost totally sunny day, perhaps
the first of this trip! We spent it
exploring some of the glories of Tuscany, which are too numerous to
mention. They also seem both absurdly
simple and miraculous at the same time.
The gently rolling green hills act like opaque green mirrors, reflecting
the play of sun and clouds, and even the movement of the wind; it’s just
mesmerizing.
Beginning in Asciano, we drove through part of the Sienese
Crete, an area known for its furrowed clay soil. When we reached San Giovanni d’Asso, which
marks a transition from the Crete to the Val d’Orcia, we stopped to stroll
around the hill town, enjoying its Castle, the views of the valley below, and
the local pride in their truffles and the museum devoted to the glorious tuber!
The highlight of the day was a visit to the 12th-century
Abbey of Sant’Antimo, set in a small valley amid olive and cypress trees and
vineyards. The church is perfectly
intact and used daily by the Cistercian monks in the adjacent monastery. The Romanesque church is simple, almost
austere, though the high ceiling, fresco fragments, light-transmitting
alabaster pillars with their intricately carved capitals and medieval crucifix
and Madonna and Child all work together to establish an air of reverence. Outside, the setting reinforces the feeling
of a place apart. The bells ringing in
the campanile, the cypress tree almost as tall as the bell tower, and ancient
olive trees on the Abbey grounds are surrounded by a quintessential Tuscan landscape
– flower-carpeted fields, rows of cypress trees, and hills lined with olive
trees and vineyards and topped with villas and farmhouses. I cannot think of another place where God’s
landscape and man’s respectful presence on it are in more perfect harmony.
We drove on, enjoying the towns, castles, and winding
roads. It seems as if each is in
inexhaustible supply here. We visited
the medieval fortified town of Monteriggioni, with all its towers and wall
intact and laughed as we approached it and realized that we’d been there once
before. It was a short distance from
there to its more famous neighbor, San Gimignano, also known for its many
towers. Unfortunately, the power of the
towers and the town’s dramatic hilltop setting were overpowered by its great
popularity. Hordes of tourists, mostly
teenage tour groups, made the town seem like an amusement park, though they
couldn’t mar the dramatic views of the towers from afar.
On this and prior trips to Italy, we’ve been stumped by two
environmental anomalies and today we may have happened upon a partial
explanation for one of them. In such
glorious surroundings as every part of this country presents, it has
puzzled/horrified us when we see a huge amount of litter. On a past trip, we even devised our own rule
of thumb: the more beautiful the viewpoint, the more it will be littered. Today, while driving through pristine
countryside, we found ourselves behind a recycling truck transporting plastic
bags. Unfortunately, the truck’s load
was not covered and plastic bags were escaping and floating in the air in its
wake! They may have been bound for some
of those panoramic viewpoints!
Our other environmental mystery remains unsolved. In this land of a rich architectural heritage
spanning many centuries, modern construction seems singularly ugly. It seems as if almost every building,
industrial, commercial, or residential, begins as a grid of cement horizontal
floors and vertical supports. Often,
they remain unfinished for long periods of time, like empty modular
shelving. Eventually, cinderblock
modules fill in the grids, sometimes embellished with balconies, arches, or
railings that never quite disguise the original skeleton. I’m not sure why I’m mentioning this here, as
it’s not something particular to any one region, but just thought I’d wonder
about it out loud now.
You’d probably be better off disregarding my rant, and just enjoying
Tom’s photos of our wonderful day in Tuscany.
I don’t think you’ll see any litter or any ugly buildings in them!
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