Toledo

Only half an hour by train lays Toledo the old Capital, the “Spanish Rome”, before Philipp II moved his residence to Madrid in 1563. We spent an afternoon in this lovely town which keeps a lot of its original medieval character, but beware you can easily get lost in the maze of steep, narrow streets. It was the day of Corpus Domini and the houses were most beautiful decorated.

Don Quixote

There a many favourite places of mine in Madrid but the Plaza Espana comes to mind first of all. I would like to visit again the monument to Cervantes and Don Quixote in the middle of the square in the early morning before the crowds of tourists climb up to the statues to have their picture taken.....

Vibrant city

Madrid has a significant body of history but today it is essentially a vibrant, dynamic metropolis, a bustling city, a permanent backdrop for art and culture from around the world.
You can visit one of the world-famous museums or take a walk along Gran Via passing through Madrid’s leading leisure and entertainment areas, lined with cinemas, theatres flanked by impressive high buildings of a variety of styles.

History and spirituality

Streets and avenues with so many fine monuments are steeped in history. While visiting some of the beautiful churches you will soon realize that Madrid for centuries was the very image of spirituality for the Christian kingdoms.
Fine examples are the two Convents: Las Descazas and La Encarnacion both own their establishment to the personal patronage of the monarchs and show immense historical and artistic treasures acquired by the Spanish Crown over centuries. The mainly Spanish tourists listened most attentively to the guide explaining every little detail and so showed impressively their deep devotion and keen interest in genealogy and history of their Royal families.

Madrid

Approaching Barajas airport Spain looked very arid. Much to my surprise Madrid turned out to be one of the greenest capitals in Europe, with its two large, magnificient oases: Retiro Park and Campo de Casa and many impressive smaller Parks.

Interlude

Before my next trip a picture of my home city, Munich.

It was taken at the Viktualienmarkt early in the morning, before the beergarden will be crowded and busy shoppers move between the various stalls.

Four wells - a favourite subject of mine - are dedicated to well known Bavarian characters:

Karl Valentin, Lisl Karstadt, Weiss Ferdl, Roider Jackl. With great love the market people, who fetch their fresh water there, decorate the monuments with flowers.

As it so happens, today the market commemorates the 125th birthday of Karl Valentin with a big party.

Olivo Olive-trees

The Maremma is a pleasure for all senses. Everywhere is a scent of fragrant flowers and sweet-smelling lemon-trees, among others.
A few hours before heading for the airport my friends took me to their Olive-Grove.
I so much admire these trees, magnificient species often assembling humans with their thick branches streching out to the wind. Everyone seems to have a special personality, telling us tales of times immortal.
Let me finish my memories of Pitigliano with a picture of another mediterrenean tree, a pine tree, which I found in one of my favourite Poems, this time by a Greek, not an Italian Poet.

Giorgos Seferis:

When will you speak again?
Our words are the children of many people.
They are sown, are born like infants,
take root, are nourished with blood.
As pine trees
hold the wind's imprint
after the wind has gone, is no longer there,
so words
retain a man's imprint
after the man is gone, is no longer there

Guiliana Zimei

While walking the narrow vicoli of the historic center I noticed print-outs of poems on a door of an old cantina and was shortly afterwards introduced by my friends to Giuliana Zimei. The Signora, Poetesa e Grafica, now in her late sixties is a very creative person. With simple means she decorates cardboard-paper, pieces of wood and often ordinary household items in a variety of styles. Her work which she proudly showed me in her small casa was widely exhibited. She is also talented with the gift of putting words into poetry. Her subjects the locality, life and family, news are often executed with wisdom and a great sense of humour.
The Donna "con cuore grande" not only gave me copies of her poems and a copy of her grafics but opened her heart at the end of her visit singing a beautiful canzone to me...
Saluti Giuliana!

Dolce Vita

I am missing the people of Pitigliano,
the old gentleman who spends every day several hours on the stone bench of the Piazza Petruccioli,
Bruno whom I met frequently on the bridge to the New Town looking from there at the busy traffic below and everything that is going on in the Via dei Lavatoi,
the elderly gentlemen, who come together outside the bar enjoying the sunshine of the late afternoon
the elderly ladies who make the narrow roads their livingroom. As soon as the sun comes out you can find them in groups on their seats watching the world to pass by.
A content life without much hustle and bustle.
In the company of friends and neighbours they are not lonely and if you consider how
agile some of them are climbing up steep steps to their casa they must be healthy.

Stories

There is the "big history"and important monuments of many generations ago.
I like the modest stories documented everywhere. You just have to keep your eyes wide open and listen for example what the well worn boards of old doors to cellars in Pitigliano can tell. Not long ago they were in use and each of them closed the entrance to the Cantina where among other things wine and firewood was kept. Nowadays some are makeshift repaired, some well kept, others obviously replaced by their new owners, often strangers to the town and the old way of life. After all this will be the future...

Storia

Pitigliano and the Maremma is steeped in history, most fascinating are the many remains of Etruscian times. There are the Necropoli well preserved in nearby Sovana, Tomba del Tifone and the famous Tomba Ildebranda.



And at Ansedonia you can marble at the high engineering qualities of the Etruscians who were cutting through the rocks to join a canal to the Mediterranean sea

Fortezza Orsini

The mighty walls of the Fortezza Orsini dating back to medieval time line the road which leads to the Piazza della Repubblica from where you can enter the Fortress.
Nowadays it accommodates the Church Museum of Sacred Art and the Museo Civico Archeaologico where Etruscan remains are exhibited.




Inside the castle is an elegant courtyard with a hexagonal well showing the coat of arms of the noble family Orsini on all its 6 sides. The symbols of the noble family were the bear, roses and diagonal rods.



The Lion, a symbol of the Aldobrandeschi was assimilated later by the Orsini. Nowadays the "Leone" at the bottom of the driveway to the castle is a popular meeting point of the young people of Pitigliano at night.

Main entrance to the historic center

So far I never mentioned the main entrance to Pitigliano, a narrow gate, once furnished with a drawbridge, nowadays more the eye of a needle for the modern traffic. The coat of arms dating back to 1545 is dedicated to Gianfrancesco III. Orsini, Count of Pitigliano and shows the connections between the town and the noble family of Orsini which lasted for over 3 centuries.

Vehicles apart from the omnipresent Apetto are restricted in the historic center. which still maintains its old medieval appearance. Once inside the town Piazza Garibaldi opens widely. Here you can find the town hall, the theater and the beautiful Renaissance twin-staircase which will lead you to a bridge which connects to the modern part.

Little Jerusalem

Pitigliano was called Little Jerusalem in the 19th century because of the integration of the Jews fleeing the Papal States since the 16th century. For this reason the town was home to a flourishing Jewish community. The relationship between the Jewish minority of Pitiglino and the Pitiglianese remained strong and warm for most of the centuries and even long after the almost complete disappearance of the Jews from Pitigliano during the last world war. It is hard to believe that nowadays only three Jews remain from what was once a strong and numerous Jewish Community. The Ghetto begins halfway along the Via Zuccarelli and ends just after the Synagogue. Here the Museum Patrimonio Ebraico gives you a good insight into Jewish Culture and way of life. The Synagogue built in the 16th century and restored in 1995 is now officiated only from time to time but a visit of this sublime place of peace and quietness provides you always with a special spiritual feeling .

Porta di Sovana

Let us now ascend the steps to the northern entrance of the town, the Porta di Sovana.
The narrow streets of the historic center do not allow the growth of trees but the Pitiglianese with great love create a green paradise of their own:

Verde-Green

The abundance of water and the lush, green valleys surrounding Pitigliano surprised me and did not match my idea of Tuscany. Once you descend you will dip into a different world. The dense canopies of the trees change the quality of light and the predominant moss and ivies even enhance the green-ness. The air is humid, the soil may even be muddy - fango-.




Down there in the valley are the small plots - horto- where the Pitiglianese cultivate vegetables.
There are a few interesting walks well marked on the map of the Tourist Information. It is worthwhile to visit the many Vie Cave - ancient narrow roads dating back to Etruscan times-
the Necropologi di S. Giovanni, the Cascades, the Immagine di S. Giuseppe, and the Fontana dell'Olmo:


a well of ancient origin, anchored deeply in the memories and tradition of the old folk of Pitigliano.

Asino-donkey

It's difficult to imagine life in Pitigliano without the nimble apettos. But not to long ago donkeys were the main means of transport in the rural area. Nowadays a monument on the Piazza della Repubblica commemorates the bond between contadino and asino.

A few steps further to the edge of the platform a beautiful sight shows the lush green valley surrounding the town and the little stream coming down the steep slopes in cascades.

Gatti e piccione - cats and pigeons

Cats are everywhere in Pitigliano.
You can watch them in the morning outside the houses waiting for food or leisurely strolling down the paths to the valley in the afternoon. If tired they will find a cosy place to sleep. When I returned from a walk to the countryside a cat was watching me from one of the upper storeys of a palazzo.
They are on the look-out for the pigeons which can be heard cooing all day.
But there are other sounds I also dearly remember of an early sunday morning: the peaceful canto of female voices coming out of the wide-open door of S. Rocco, soon followed by cheerful chatting from inside the houses.

Apetto

In the narrow roads of the historic center of Pitigliano cars are restricted. But lots of apettos, small pick-ups on 3 wheels, are moving about like weasels. They are a very popular sight, a kind of basic transport but just what you need here.

Vicolo

On my first morning I walked at leisure formore than two hours along the narrow roads of the historic center of Pitigliano.
Once you leave the main roads, the Via Zuccarelli and the Via Roma, and follow the numerous small Vicolos - over 55 are given on the map- you find yourself in a maze with a surprising prospect at every turn. Steps lead you to the outer circle of houses and at the end often open up a panoramic view of the surrounding landscape.

Pitigliano

Last week I visited Pitigliano, a small Italian village of about 4000 inhabitants, located in the green Etruscan hills of the Maremma, the most southern part of Tuscany.

The historic center raises majesticly more than 300 meters above sea level on a protruding tuff rock surrounded by the very steep valleys of the rivers Olpeta, Fiora and Lente. Tuff, a material discharged from volcanoes in prehistoric times has been used by people from early times on and can be worked quite easily as long as it has no contact with air that hardens it. Today most of the old buildings are gone and the remains are made of hollowed out tuff. But the tuff rock and its warm colour stamps the unique character of Pitigliano and the villages of the aera.

I was very lucky to be invited by friends who live in the historic center to come and spend a week with them - an experience I would not like to have missed.

Moments of happiness

I would like to share impressions of my travels nearby and faraway and will begin with my recent trip to Italy.

This field of poppies which I came across most unexpectedly stands for the days of happiness, with many pleasures for all senses, excellent food and warm friendship.