Heart of Tuscany

Around Siena

When we read ” B & B Palazzolo La Foce let’s you sleep aristocratically in a small villa just below La Foce Gardens.” I immediately called that as my “pick”. We were not disappointed!
The view was so amazing – George went down for a closer look. The peak on the left is an inactive volcano.
Going to be hard to leave this place to tour the area hilltowns…
One evening we went on the La Foce Gardens tour where I wished I had every one of my gardening friends with me!
The gardens were a labor of love for Iris Origo, an English-born, Italian-bred aristocrat who left her mark on this area.
The gardens cap a hill with geometrical Italian gardens and rugged English gardens that flow into the Tuscan countryside.
Worth a pilgrimage for garden lovers.
That evening we drove up rugged, hair pin turn roads to Monticchello to walk around and eat dinner.
Very pretty at night.
A bit out of order but this is part of the fortification for Montepulciano.
La Foce cemetery – where Iris is buried.
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Iris was instrumental in creating the beautiful gardens but she is more renowned in the area for her part during WWII. She and her husband harbored many children and soldiers. At one point they had to flee to a neighboring hill top with 30 children in tow!
Love these cypress trees.
These two white horses came to graze in the nearby field in the evenings.
How does this even happen!?!

10 thoughts on “Heart of Tuscany

  1. The gardens are beautiful. I am with you about the tree growing out of a wall. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn on steroids.

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