A very special episode this week, influenced by the peace and quiet of my small house in the hills of Deep Tuscany. The boredom of small town life has made me think about my father, who sadly passed away three years ago, taken away by an intestinal aneurysm in literally five minutes. He didn't like this small town at all, despite being born in a slightly bigger town in an even more harsh and remote corner of Tuscany, in the middle of the Cecina Valley. Whenever we went there to visit our relatives, I could never shake the impression of not being really welcome there, as if that place would have never been home to me. A few years ago I tried to know this harsh land better and get acquainted with this proud and rough people through the tales and legends that populate this place. Some are really extraordinary, like the one that Don Mario, the historian of our family, told me to explain how one of the most picturesque corners of the area, the Maidens' Rock, got his name. Seeing those bare hills from the walls of the Rocca Sillana, proud and remote fortress in the middle of nowhere, explore the tunnels of the Pavone mine, trying to imagine the lives of the ancient miners who risked their lives every time they ventured into the bowels of the earth is an experience that will definitely touch you very deep. Maybe you won't understand the small talk mindset, what brings them to remain there, clinging to those hills now that the metals and the jobs are gone but maybe you'll have a glimpse of the mysterious beauty that makes this land unique. Let us know what you think about this hidden corner of Tuscany by joining the conversation on our social media accounts:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/larno.it
Twitter: @arno_it / @WhatsupTuscany

LINKS TO SOURCES (ITALIAN)
http://www.weekendromanticotoscana.info/blog/percorsi-e-idee-romantiche/il-masso-delle-fanciulle-pomarance/
https://www.tuscanypeople.com/pomarance-larderello/
https://carrozzadergambini.it/it/berignone/masso-fanciulle.html
http://www.girosognando.it/2019/02/06/museo-geotermia-larderello/?fbclid=IwAR3nYkJ3MB0GiWfmHiMCbx0C_WqH9QLHfqrcWQlucvnEbOeFaPwWJ1sbB6c
http://www.girosognando.it/2018/11/28/visitare-museo-delle-miniere-montecatini-val-di-cecina/
https://www.parkhotellefonti.com/casa-bicocchi-mostra-dei-guerrieri/
http://stats-1.archeogr.unisi.it/repetti/includes/pdf/main.php?id=3647
https://carrozzadergambini.it/it/pavone/la-racca-sillana-e-la-pieve-di-san-giovanni.html
https://carrozzadergambini.it/it/pavone/la-miniera-del-pavone.html
https://carrozzadergambini.it/it/2013-10-01-10-16-32/san-giusto.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M6B3hxfR-DA&ab_channel=PaulLambs

BACKGROUND MUSIC
Title: Gemini Instrumental
Author: Pipe Choir
License: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
Links: https://soundcloud.com/pipe-choir-2/pc-one-gemini-instrumentalcreative-commons