Wall to Wall: Touch of Tuscany

-->

Our week in Tuscany was great! The place we stayed was perfect and the location was just where we needed to be.

We could drive in all directions and within 30 minutes be in any of dozens of medieval villages and towns that were built on hilltops with walls still intact, churches large and small, squares to sit and enjoy wine, cappuccino, or gelato, and walks down alleys of cobblestones. The views were always stunning from these hilltop villages. As we drove around we would be passing fields of vineyards or gray green olive groves, the many roads and drives were lined with towering cypress trees and dotted with ancient stone farmhouses.

We were trying to come up with three words to best describe Tuscany. It was a difficult task (but we may have found a new game in the process!).

Balanced Tranquility Earthy

Instead of going on and on about all the beautiful places we saw in our week, I will let the pictures speak for themselves.

Village of Ciciano

San Galgano Abbey

Galgano Guidotti was born in Chiusdino in 1148, the only son of Guido and Dionisia. From his youth, Galgano leads rather a dissolute life, until, at the age of 32, the Archangel Gabriel appears to him in a dream and tells him to follow him. In the dream, Galgano receives an order from the 12 apostles to build a round chapel at Montesiepi and to retire there to live. His mother and friends try to convince him to desist, but his horse takes fright and takes him to Montesiepi. At Montesiepi, Galgano thrusts the Sword forcefully into the ground to make a cross and miraculously the Sword gets stuck in the stone. This situation causes quite a sensation and Montesiepi becomes filled with many pilgrims asking Galgano to outperform Miracles. Before his canonization in 1185, 19 such miracles occur.