Pratomagno

A slightly different Tuscan view. Here we are way up on the great bulk of the 'hill' called Pratomagno in eastern Tuscany. The view is over the Arno valley south of Florence towards Siena in the very far distance.

 Prato - meadow - magno - big. Peaking at 1591m this hill get above the treeline of chestnut, beech and juniper. Presumably cattle and sheep used to be transhumed up there. Now it is a bit of a wilderness and walkers' area.


We followed a white gravel road that climbed and climbed. The wind had really picked up and at times vicious gusts came thrashing through the trees. The temperature - we were in the trusty Cinquecento which was going much better without the aircon on - got down to 10C, which was a bit of a shock after the mid 30s of the last two weeks. We saw a couple of other cars and two more little cingiale youngsters.

An amazing and slightly unrelenting and nerve wracking experience. But we managed to reach the shoulder that led us over the top and down miles and miles of twisting road through the beech, chestnut and oak forests.

The sun came out more strongly towards evening as we skipped over the beautiful roads of the Mugello (see Borgo San Lorenzo but on the nw side of the river).

Our last day ended with a visit to a house I had found right at the start of our foray into Tuscany at Ontignano. Beautiful views and eight hectares of land and olive trees. Hmmm.