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We left Florence to go to a villa we had rented out in the country. It was actually a converted farm house, overlooking a valley where the major crop was, of all things, tobacco, which was being harvested. The nearest market was in the village of Trestina, about 8 kilometers away, down in the mouth of the valley. Cortona was back over the hill in the opposite direction, following a twisty mountain road for 24km. We used the villa as a homebase from which to make forays to various hill towns in Tuscany and Umbria. Going down the valley you cross into Umbria about half-way to the village of Trestina. From Trestina you can get on a quite good hiway for Citta di Castello, to the north, or Perugia to the south. The villa was lovely, quiet and peaceful. Well, mostly. The first Sunday we were there I heard excited male voices from the hillside on the other side of the valley, a volley of gunfire, then baying dogs and another volley of gunfire. It seems the Italian hunting season was in effect. Many stores sell meat, especially sausages, made from wild boar (we actually bought and ate some). |
