Well, the day started under some gray clouds, but the happy group was not to be deterred. Robin Hood and his merry band of ladies - Linda, Karen and Sue, decided to finally climb Mount Voltraio, a great mountain beside which our beautiful villa.
First though, we decided to pack our glass/liquid gifts, as Robert wants to make sure that he can get everything into the luggage, particularly the rocks that he has gathered throughout this whole adventure....about 50 pounds of pebbles and boulders. I don’t know if all the bubble wrap will do the trick.
With large walking sticks in our hands to drive away the wild boars, we drove up to Villa Palagione to get some information about the trail to the summit. We discovered that there was once a thriving town in the 12th and 13th century above our villa owned by the Mucinni family. This family was part of the Medici family who owned all of Florence. Our villa was part of this Voltraio mountain community which prospered because of the minerals and agriculture in the area. The Medici family used the villa right above ours as their summer retreat and hunting camp. Today there are just fossils and ruins peeking out from the limestone and clay. The mountain top is 458 meters high above our villa ....a fairly difficult hike up, but worth the effort, as we reached a wide panoramic view of the surrounding valley and mountains. We found delicate purple crocuses, interesting fungi, and several fossil rocks containing shells, a sure sign that this ground was once a part of a vast sea.
Ken and Recia opted to visit the Etruscan Museum in Volterra!
The afternoon was spent in the Internet Cafe in Volterra. Robert just had to get his ‘blog pics’ uploaded on the blog, as the computer runs very slowly at the villa.
In the meantime, Linda, Karen and I went to buy a bus ticket for Karen to go to Pisa on Friday to catch her flight early Saturday morning. Can’t believe the end is finally coming to this Tuscan adventure.
We then went to tour the Viti Palace, located on a side street in Volterra. The ‘Viti‘ family made their money in the alabaster business starting in the 1850’s. Karen wanted to live there in this monstrous mansion with the 20 foot ceilings!! Linda and I will pass on this one...no chandeliers, or jade elephants or amber buddhas for us.
The whole group returned for a feast of leftovers, in our effort to empty the fridge.
Today we heard that there had been flash floods in the Cinque Terre Region, particularly Monterosso and Vernazza. Karen, Ken, and Recia were just there one day before. I guess someone is looking out for them!
There were a number of people killed, and the railway and autostrada linking all of the villages, have been closed due to dangerous conditions. The road may not open for months to come.
