Villa

The tiny hamlet of Villa with its church and Ospedale di San Jacopo - the place with red shutters. The latter was a sort of B and B for pilgrims walking along the St Francis Way - Via Francigena - to the Sanctuaries of Camaldoli and La Verna.

In the sixteen century the hamlet had  population of 350. As I walked through it I wondered how 350 people supported themselves from the land here at getting on for 800m altitude.  I guess the forests have encroached on what was once open and, where possible, terraced land. The nearby hamlet of Gauldo was a centre for sheep grazing in the spring and summer. Apparently it had a fierce reputation for wolf hunting.

This is the first photo I've put up using my Sony RX100 VII 'pocket' camera. I reckon it is pretty impressive if a little intimidating.

An extra of the surrounding forest in the snow. Next time I will reduce the file sizes before loading - they are 20MB.