Off to Tuscany

On June 7th we are off to our house in Tuscany and will be absent for three weeks. I may leave a few articles pre-scheduled to appear during my absence but, in general, I shan’t be able to keep up my daily blog during this time.

Our house is in Casola, a medieval hill-top village in Lunigiana, the northernmost district of Tuscany, an area as yet unspoiled by mass tourism. The house was built in 1567, at the time when Cosimo I was Grand Duke of Tuscany, and was originally the dwelling of a miller, who ground chestnuts into flour in the adjacent mill.
The mill is still in very good order and condition, even the massive millstones being intact, though the water supply which powered it has now been diverted elsewhere. We use the building to store logs for our woodstove, on which I frequently cook a mean chicken stew.
Here’s a picture of our house, so that you can imagine us there while we are away. As you can see, the bottom storey through the arch was used as a stable (I use it as a wine-cellar) and the living quarters are located on the upper floors. I shall post one or two other photos of the house and village to appear while we are away.

(A full description of the house and how I came to buy it, including descriptions of the pitfalls and legal procedures, is given in my booklet “How we Bought our House in Tuscany”, 24 pages, many illustrations, price £2 inc P&P, by contacting my email address in the left-hand column.)