Sunday Walk Under Olive Trees

Before we could buy the ruin that was to become our holiday house, and eventual home, we had to know that we could turn the narrow donkey cart path into a road. Before we could build a road we had to have the permission from those who owned land on either side of the path. This took six months and required the signatures of 66 people, and this for the distance of less than one-quarter of a mile.

This old grove belongs to a family who lives about 30 miles away. They keep it well.
Just beyond it, we own a few newer trees and beyond us, a man from Livorno owns a few. Across the road, the grove is owned by people in the valley.

Apart from olive trees, the niece of the wicked old priest owns a sliver of cliff side; others from the same family own many other other slivers. A woman who lives about a mile away owns a few fruit trees. Her son has a hide under the trees from which he shoots song birds during the hunting season. :-(

There is no law of trespass in Italy so anyone can walk through this grove, or anywhere although, for the most part, people respect gates or signs saying Attente al cane, (beware the dog) and proprietà privata.

People can also carry a gun and hunt anywhere they like but -- they may not carry a camera. In theory, I should have had permission to take this photograph.