Southern Tuscany (Maremma)

Last Saturday we finally tore ourselves away from Genova. We knew that we would be back there in a few weeks time to do some further exploring, before heading home to Canada. Our drive south was quite seamless and really quite short (given the immense distances we are used to in Canada.) The amazing thing about Italy is how mountainous the country is -- apparently 75% of the nation consists of mountainous terrain. The consequences of that topography on the road system is that one passes through more tunnels (and incredibly long ones) than any of us have ever experienced. Kai and Pippin usually play a game where they see if they can hold their breath for the duration of the tunnel -- many of the tunnels here were just too long!

One thing about northern Italy that is striking after Southern France, is how much more industrial it is. The result is that between all the wonderful age and character are many very unattractive industrial zones. The land here is also more densely inhabited, making it feel less rural than Provence. That said, apparently the further south one goes the more agricultural it gets. This has certainly been the case as we have edged into Tuscany.
Our initial plan was to consider heading to the southern coast of Tuscany, but when we got there we realized that it was not at all what we wanted. The coast was jammed with endless strips of "Club Med" types of camp grounds with way too many amenities and too much throbbing holiday action. It felt a little like Durban at the beach or even Southern California -- and it was all so kitschy. We came to Italy to see the aged villages, and so we decided to head inland close to a series of ancient villages called Pitigliano, Sovano and Sarano. This southern Tuscan area is absolutely ancient, first having been occupied during neolithic times and of course everything else that followed. It is most famous, however, for the best preserved Etruscan sites which all predate the Roman era.
This picture above is the town of Pitigliano -- it is build on a tufa rock cliff face. As you can see in the first picture of this blog entry, part of the city wall is actually part of an ancient Roman aquaduct! The area below the town is riddled with old catacombs and has an ancient underground city dug into the cliffs. Another amazing thing about this old city is that it held one of the largest Jewish communities in southern Europe during the medieval period. While Jews were persecuted in many surrounding areas at the time, in Pitigliano they were welcomed and it became a sanctuary. In fact, Pitigliano was dubbed "Little Jerusalem!" Of course, the Second World War changed all of that, but now the area has been revamped and seems to be a celebrated part of the community again. It is an amazing, ancient place!
All around the town are ancient sites with antiquities and ruins. Shown in the picture above is a long dug down structure (from the Etruscan period) with a strange central groove -- to this day archaeologists do not know why they were built. It would have taken tremendous amounts of labour to dig these passageways out of the rock. So the question is what was their purpose? Along some of the walls are dug out caves and also inscriptions. One of these inscriptions was exactly like the Tibetan swastika (turned in the opposite direction from the Nazis) and for the Etruscans was believed to be a symbol of peace. Interesting how the same symbol from the Himalayas may have made it all the way over here, or it was universal?!
We found a great little campsite on a farm about 6kms from Pitigliano and we ended up being the only ones there. It was a tad lonely, but we enjoyed the space tremendously. It was set high on a hill with a great view of the rolling Maremman countryside (Maremma is the southernmost region in Tuscany.) There was a pool (which is a priority for us since the days are hot and it provides a good outlet for the kids in the sweltering afternoons) and all the other essential amentities.
This is a cat that the kids got very attached to while we were camping. We were not sure if she was homeless (but suspect she was given her scrawniness and level of constant hunger.) She was one of those hyper friendly cats and the kids instantly fell in love with her. She also seemed like she could be pregnant, so we took it upon ourselves to feed her rich creamy milk and cheeses to help her milk production along. There were big tears when we left -- probably a sign that the kids are missing that feeling of being attached. The kids will definitely be ready to return to their beloved Canada in a few weeks time. Best of all, they now know what Canada means to them and are not likely to take it for granted again in a hurry.
Of course the funky little Italian car/motorbikes are a source of endless entertainment for the kids. These are used everywhere in Italy!
The rhythm of small villages in Italy is wonderful. Town elders are sitting everywhere on chairs, chatting to the neighbours and watching life pass by. The "Gucci-factor" (as John Herrmann likes to call it) has not hit many of these characterful villages like it has in Provence. I think we mentioned in previous blogs how the old Provencal culture seems way less prevalent these days as homes in Southern France have been bought up by city dwellers. This does not seem to be the case in Italy. It still has a very provincial feel.
The churches in Italy also live up to their legend. They are ancient, cool havens -- a perfect escape from the sweltering sun! This fresco was from a church in Sovano, a tiny village in this Southern Tuscan region. The church dated back to the 9th century. The frescos were unbelievably beautiful and detailed, real works of art!
Well, that is about it for this entry...
We will leave you with this lovely image of a curious village woman checking life out through her window. It seems that life here offers real simplicity to the local inhabitants.
With love from us all. Until next time . . .

Skye, Ronato, Kai and Pippin