Regardless of Distance, You’re Never Far From Home

Musings

Giulia walked into the hotel lobby at about 6am yesterday morning, showing up for her shift in the terrace restaurant. She looked tire and not fully awake. Mornings are tough all over the world. She gave me a wave and a weak “buongiorno,” then went upstairs. I smiled and said “Ciao Giulia!” About five minutes later, she returned with a cappuccino and a smile.

Knowing she had worked through the week-end, I asked “How many days do you work?” “Six,” she replied. “But I’m off tomorrow.” I replied, “You must be very tired.” “Si, very tired.”

Languages. Cities. Countries. Life. Work. None of us are so far apart. The distances are really not so great. The struggles are pretty much the same everywhere. The fight for life is persistent…and perpetual. There is no balance or point of arrival – it is simply something that must be done. Seven days a week. Like most of us, I’m sure Giulia’s day off also has its list of things that must be done. And that’s ok. Don’t worry, Giulia, it will shift and then go on. That’s life.

Under the Tuscan Sun…For Real

Yesterday was our movement back into the heart of Tuscany toward Florence. Winding our way out of Perugia, we made our way around the 32,000 acre Lago de Trasimeno, a massive lake and park area on the border of Umbria and Tuscany. Our first stop: Cortona. Some may remember Cortona as the location for the 2003 movie “Under the Tuscan Sun” starring Diane Lane. I did not see any villas for sale but one can imagine the appeal of a living in a quaint villa along Cortona’s charming streets. One more walled city, one more more mountain, one more set of stories.

All of the towns we’ve visited are built up and down so we’ve gotten used to trekking the inclines (well, sort of ). However, Cortona takes it to another level as its streets pretty much run straight up the mountain. Fortunately, we found an escalator up from the parking area and the main street was level for a way and lined with great shops. Cortona was originally…wait for it…an Etruscan settlement built in a strategic place of control for the surrounding valley. Today it’s a town of 22,000 sitting 200 feet up.

Our big trek yesterday was up to see the Basilica de Santa Margherita. Interestingly, there is a walking path called “The Way of The Cross” complete with Stations of the Cross and a lengthy climb up the mountain to the Basilica. Everyone was feeling pretty tired when we got to the top.

The current Basilica was completed in 1288 with help from Margherita herself who died in 1297. The Saint is entombed behind the altar and her incorrupt remains are visible through a glass sarcophagus. Margherita’s was a comeback story after a wild and willful youth and living for 10 years as the mistress to a nobleman with whom she had a son. After he was murdered, she was shocked into a life of prayer and penitence, and retreated with her son to the Franciscan Friars in Cortona. After three years of probation, she joined the Third Order of Saint Francis and committed herself to a life of prayer and poverty.

Like every city we’ve visited, Cortona is a full of churches and amazing architecture with Etruscan, Roman, and Renaissance examples. After walking through town after town with incredible architecture, amazing stories, and the charm of Italy, it becomes easy to stop seeing the details and looking into the particulars – passing along as the casual tourist.

I’ve tried to spend time after each stop diving more deeply into the areas we’ve visited and learning more about their history. It is difficult because each of these places and the characters that inhabited their histories are robust enough for extensive study. I will have to settle for light scratches on the surface.

Along the Autostrade

We wound our way out of Cortona – do you notice a theme? “Winding” is a way of life on these roads. Within about 30 minutes we came to the autostrade, the interstate highway, complete with loads of trucks and fast driving. The speed limit topped at 130km/hr (about 80mph) but that felt really fast in the two lanes which were typically hedged on both sides by a four foot concrete wall and along the curves, hills, and tunnels, that appeared throughout the drive. Traffic moved well but the line of trucks in the right lane was nearly constant and 60 minutes on the autostrade was quite tiring from a driving perspective – and undoubtedly a bit hair-raising for my passengers.

Our final destination for the day was Villa I Barronci, a hotel outside of Firenze. Villa I Barronci will be base-camp for the next six days as we explore the delights of Tuscany more completely. The resort sits on the crest of a valley, overlooking vineyards, olive groves, forested hillsides, and charming homesteads dotting the landscape in each direction. Directly across, on top of the next hill, rests Poppiano, another quaint medieval village complete with castle and chiesa, the towers of which I can see on the horizon.

Last night’s sunset did not disappoint. The terrace faces directly to the west with an unobstructed view to the hillside horizon. Brando served us some wine and we watched as the sun disappeared behind the hill, leaving a sunlit wake in the sky above for another 30 minutes after it was out of site. The towers across the valley were lit with the orange glow and Tuscany exploded in a serene romance of cool air, sweet smells coming from the kitchen nearby, soft music, and stillness – well, stillness except for the American table nearby espousing answers to the quandaries of life in particularly non-dulcet tones.

Oh well, nearly perfect is still pretty good.