The picture below is just one of the many spectacular views of the Lunigiana region of Tuscany. In this case we drove up the hill we could see from our bathroom window at our Italian digs near sunset and were rewarded with views back toward our village like this:
Olivola is what I’d say is the real undiscovered Italy. It’s one of thousands of villages that make us nostalgic for a past we’ve never had, an innocence we’ve never experienced.
There is, of course, a church, baroque and glimmering in the last of the sunlight. If you look closely, the man in the center niche is about to run a sword through another man. Religion is funny like that. There is the inevitable memorial in front of the church commemorating the village’s war dead. The pictures of the dead look as if they were taken yesterday.
When we glide down the serpentine road, a turkey is spotted, probably belonging to Armando.
And then we’re home again to Piano di Collecchia, this picture taken from Olivola.
The region has no cities, only mountains, valleys, and villages tucked into them. It is unbearably beautiful, and I miss it when I’m not there.
If you like rural life in Italy, and don’t mind that there won’t be menus in English at the local trattoria (there’s likely to be no menus at all), then maybe you should consider the Lunigiana region for your next vacation.
See more pictures of the historic region and check out our Guide to the Lunigiana