Song of San Gimignani

Saturday drive through Tuscan hills and valleys...vistas of kilometer-long roads up gentle drives lined with cypress trees leading to golden stucco villas around every corner...fortified hill towns towering in the distance...whizzing through quaint villages and climbing hills on roads so narrow that there are mirrors at each of the hairpin turns so you can see if an Alfa Romeo or Lancia is coming straight for you from the other side (slowing down and pulling to the verge!!)

During our tromp through San Gimignani (a walled Medieval hill town with 14 intact towers that were built into the wall in the 1300s) we came to a courtyard area where a woman was singing and playing the guitar.

We sat on a stone ledge in the sunshine listening to her beautiful voice. We drank in the view through an arch in a stone wall looking out into the countryside while the sweet Italian lyrics of love ballads and lullabies poured into our ears. This incredible voice in this setting was stunning, echoing off the 800 year old stone walls of the courtyard. We learned that this artist studied music, art, and anthropology at the Universtie Firenze, during which the Tuscan folk music she performs became her passion.

There are some moments in life so filled with beauty and sweetness that they take your breath away - bring tears to your cheeks. This was one of them.