Around 20 years ago I was one of five people who went on holiday to a holiday rental called 'La Pergola' near Casole d'Elsa in the heart of Tuscany. The other four were my wife, Carol, Wendy and Martin (now my New Zealand 'family') and a dear friend Catherine. It was one of those combinations that worked well. Sometimes we all went out exploring. Sometimes some did and others stayed by the pool and had a lazy day or part of a day.
Volterra was quite close and was a place that Catherine and I loved but the other three thought was too dark and forboding. So Catherine and I would take ourselves off on the occasional afternoon to explore. So this holiday I made sure that it was a place high on the list of priorities for a visit. Of all the places we visited it has changed the most since that first visit I made to La bella Toscana. Then it was a relatively quiet town compared to San Giminiano and Siena but now it is as busy and as touristy as the rest of them. Having said that I still liked it and I think it had more to offer and more character than any other place we visited. I'm not sure that I thought that at the time but in retrospect........
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| The heavily fortified wall |
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| One of the piazzas |
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| Unlike some of the other towns the traffic of residents still moves through the crowded and narrow streets |
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| I had lunch at that very street terrace restaurant 20 odd years ago when the streets were deserted at lunchtime |
It would appear that I took more photos of Volterra than any other place and here is more to come. But not just now. I think I've subjected you to enough for one post.
