Arezzo - 30 April - Eremo Natura Il Giglione

Today I am writing this from my little room "La Grotta" the Grotto, at Eremo Natura Il Giglione, a BandB, on the Arezzo side of the hills between Arezzo and Sansepolcro. This is a very beautiful place, run by two very kind and simpatico people, Marzia and Antonio. The farm was abandoned in the 1960s, when many Italians left the land and moved to the cities, as they could no longer make a living from farming and the life was very primitive. Toni bought the farm and restored it bit by bit. It has the feeling of a mountain hermitage, but is only 15 minutes from Arezzo. The forest is regenerating oak and juniper (no chestnuts, Marzia says the soil is not acid enough). Toni and Marzia have several vegetable gardens, fruit trees, chickens and rabbits. Terraces are made of pietramala, called "bad stone" because it layers and shatters. 

The little self contained cottage.

Where would Tuscan cooking be without garlic?

My breakfast in the sun

Arezzo from the piazza of the Cathedral

Arezzo Cathedral - beautiful  Romanesque church

Gorgeous views from the city walls at the top of the town.

The town square of Arezzo.

Antique shop in Arezzo. The town is known throughout Italy for its antique fairs.

Orchid from the Eremo. There are many orchids here, it's like a little nature refuge. More pics below.

Toni and Marzia - lovely, lovely people. They met me at the station in Arezzo, cooked for me, took me back for sightseeing to the town, then put me on the right bus on my last morning.

Marzia is so tiny beside me. She has amazing energy; when I first arrived she took me around the property, up hill and dale. 

Toni's artistic tap-stand

Old terrace wall left over from the days of farming

Marzia cooked wild asparagus for dinner tonight. It's quite strong tasting, and looks unlike the garden variety, kind of a wiry bush which looks like a broom plant. The shoots look like a very thin garden asparagus, I would never have identified it as asparagus if I'd seen it growing.

My room

The amazing wash-basin! The rock wall is the original back wall of the building, which was built into a natural cliff. My room is underneath the main house, probably where the animals were kept in winter (but much more comfortable now). 

I really like Arezzo. It reminds me of my own city, not for any physical reason, but for the obvious pride that the citizens have in their town and their province (other New Zealanders call us One-eyed Cantabrians, such is our parochialistic fervour). Arezzo also suffered a devastating earthquake. In February 1796 a series of terrible earthquakes terrified the population, in the midst of Carnevale celebrations. The festival became a time of mourning and penance, and fires raced through the devastated city. After a miraculous intervention by the Virgin Mary, a chapel was set up in the Cathedral, dedicated to the Madonna del Conforto, the Madonna of Comfort. It is a beautiful chapel (I didn't take a picture of it as there were people praying there) and I found the story very touching, having been through a similar experience and remembering how we all needed comfort at that time.