What better way to spend a Sunday afternoon during this weirdly extended summer season than at Lupinaia’s lively castagnata chestnut festival.

The very hilly village in the comune of Fosciandora gets happily filled for the occasion and one can enjoy a panoply of stalls selling local products, wander through its characteristic streets admiring no less than two historic churches, a watchtower and dwellings dating back at least to the sixteenth century, munch a neccio chestnut flour pancake filled with ricotta cheese and gasp at the stupendous mountain-scapes surrounding this village whose name always reminds me of those wolves inhabiting the forests around it.

Every mountain village here has its own very distinctive look; Motrone perched under a giant rock called ‘il bucine’ has particularly well-kept houses, quaint corners and an old church dedicated to Saint Giusto hovering above the twenty-odd remaining inhabitants like a hen guarding its chicks.

The site was originally occupied by a castle the remains of which are incorporated into some of the buildings. The whole village is surrounded by lush chestnut forests filled with a plethora of mushrooms at this time of year.

Our route to Viareggio took us up the picturesque Val Pedogna which we first described in our post at https://longoio.wordpress.com/2013/10/24/back-to-the-iron-age/

At the very end of the valley, beyond Piegaio, is one the last traditional ironworks in Tuscany. It belongs to the Galgani family and the old boy in charge of it carries on a trade which dates back to at least the sixteenth century when immigrants from the Bergamo region of northern Italy came here to exploit the rich metal ores of the mountains and set up smithies and forges. Indeed, traces of the Bergamasque dialect still exist in the locals’ speeches.

The forge is next to a fast running stream and is a quiet and picturesque spot. Mr Galgani will carry out any commission asked and will also repair your existing iron and metal tools. To step into his workshop is to truly enter into a past age antedating the industrial revolution. I just hope one of his nephews will carry on the business as Mr Galgani told me none of his sons are interested in iron-smelting… Unfortunately Carlo Galgani did have a new apprentice but apparently he has now left his training.

Incidentally, the Galgani is one of the last three ironworks remaining in the Apuan Alps, together with those of Gragliana Graziani (Val di Cava Turrite) and Barsi of Candalla (Valle del Rio Lombricese).

The last ironworks in Piegaio was closed twenty years ago, so the Galgani ironworks (or “distendino” as it is locally known since it distends or melts metal ore) is living history. Much of the equipment dates back to the eighteenth century including the bellows.

We stopped at the smithy to sort out a new pennato (bill-hook) from signor Galgani’s Val Pedogna smithy

We then continued over the Passo Lucese whose road I can still remember as being untarmacked and continued along the picturesque Hobbema-like Val Freddana avenues to keep our appointments at the seaside resort of Viareggio.

The whole route is a delightful way to reach the seaside from where we live varying mountain forests with pastoral landscapes entering the expansive Versilian coastline.

Sunday was the occasion for a visit to the local power station which forms part of a large hydro-electric scheme spread across our mountains and also supplying us with water.

The hydroelectric power plant of Piano della Rocca, built in 1942, is characterized by Art Deco work by Livorno sculptor Angiolo Vannetti and Florentine architect Ugo Giovannozzi embellishing the building.

To drive the turbines, the power plant uses the waters from the catchment area of the Turrite Cava stream, a tributary of the Serchio river, and water discharged from the Gallicano power plant.

Significant reconstruction and restoration led in 2011 to the reopening of the plant by Enel after three years of work costing 23 million euros.

In addition to admiring the giant turbines we were able to appreciate the building’s fine architectural features ornamented with Carrara marble statues and a monumental fresco decorating the entrance hall.

A brilliant recital on flute and guitar including pieces by Gershwin and Piazzolla followed with a scrumptious rinfresco concluding our day’s fascinating events.

How lucky we are to have electricity and water plentifully supplied to us; I thought of the energy hardships some other countries, and Ukraine in particular, are having to endure.

Wishing all those lucky enough to participate in the march to Rejoin the European Union in London today every success. Meanwhile this post from Heather Cox Richardson, American historian, grabbed my notice:

“Many observers see in the Truss debacle a condemnation of the isolationist nationalism of the past decade. This crisis, they say, has been sparked by the 2016 decision of voters in the United Kingdom to withdraw from the European Union, to which it had belonged since 1973, a move dubbed “Brexit”. That decision reflected the economic doldrums in the country after the 2008 crash, and the emphasis of politicians on anti-immigrant sentiment and promises to return England to a past greatness by cutting it off from the bureaucrats of Europe.

But the reality of Brexit, accomplished only in January 2020, was an economic hit worse than that from the coronavirus pandemic. Britain’s instability has also weakened the European Union, making it harder for Europe and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) to stand against Russian president Vladimir Putin.

Today, foreign observers blame Brexit for the instability in the U.K. Writing in France’s newspaper Le Monde, Sylvain Kahn said “Since the referendum, British governments have demonstrated, with ever greater talent, that Brexit only takes the UK further away from the promised land of recovered sovereignty and untrammelled freedom. ‘Take back control!’ they all said. But the British are a very long way from doing that. No other EU member is in such a state…. Yet since Brexit, Britain’s Conservative leaders have worked tirelessly to prove that EU membership was very far from the problem.”

PS Chanterelles collected by Sandra from our own domains by Sandra who has now pickled some of them for future consumption. Let us enjoy these mushrooms which are happily growing in our local forests unlike their poor brothers who are raised in the dark and fed bullshit….like too many inhabitants of Brexitania.

After yesterday’s catastrophic day I decided there was no alternative except to realize that my meowment had come to assume the leadership of the country. Trusting you’re feline fine again, I’m certain you’ll agree it’s the purrfect choice and will avoid any further hissteria.

(Signed: paw mark from Larry).

PS I’m now practising my miaowden speech!

Yesterday was another very pleasant October Sunday afternoon. We motored to Careggine in the heart of the Garfagnana where a castagnata was being held.

Castagnate now happily abound after their absence during the pandemic. They are festivals celebrating the chestnut, the tree that once sustained the majority of the population in these parts. Its fruit is prepared in drying huts known as metati and ground to produce flour to bake not only bread but also cakes (Castanaccio) and pancakes (necci) which today tend to be eaten filled with Ricotta cheese or Nutella. Once regarded as the ‘bread of the poor’ chestnuts have now returned to become high quality foods in a way similar to maize or formenton with its ‘polenta’ which too has changed from being a peasant staple to gracing the most sophisticated haute cuisine tables.

Careggine, which is situated at a height of 2980 feet, is one of the highest communes in our part of the world and its foundation dates back to at least the eighth century. The original castle walls now form part of the houses in the old centre around the Pieve or parish church of Saint Peter.

On the right external wall of the Pieve is a strange, probably prehistoric, stone relief sculpture showing a female and a rather well-endowed male figure. Nobody has come up with its precise meaning. Perhaps you have an idea of what it represents?

Among the stalls at the Castagnata was a very well laid-out display of mushrooms distinguishing clearly between those good to eat and those good to serve upon the plate of one’s worst enemy!

We followed our visit to the castagnata by going on our own mushroom-hunting forest foray in search of the elusive porcini. Although we came across some nice examples of Morelli the much sought after ceps seemed well hidden from our untrained eyes!

Our Sunday ‘scampagnata’ (outing to the country) ended with a lovely guitar concert at Dezza Alta’s pretty church which we’d never visited before. It’s wonderful how even the humblest village can turn up a truly exquisite church. Dezza Alta’s, originally built in Romanesque style but rennaisanceified in the eighteenth century was beautifully maintained and provided a very apt ambience for the sounds of the masterly guitar duo of Atzori and Brunini. This duo has gone from strength to strength and is now internationally known and respected since it first got together ten years ago and has since issued several CD recording the latest of which is described here: .https://www.lagazzettadelserchio.it/borgo-a-m/il-duo-atzori-brunini-presenta-il-suo-ultimo-disco-guitare-en-reverie

This was the concert’s programme:

All the players’ items were arrangement of classic pieces ranged from JS Bach to Granados and returning to the baroque with Handel’s great Chaconne from one of his harpsichord suites. The recital was so beautifully played that one could imagine a whole orchestra of sound in their highly sensitive plucking of the instrument. As if music wasn’t enough for one to feast upon a delicious rinfresco of prosecco and cakes followed as a melting sunset fell upon the village and its pretty fountain and wash-house dedicated to the Virgin Mary.

I remain consistently surprised by comments from city dweller as to how we could possibly survive in a ‘peasant’ environment after leading most of our lives in an urban one. Presumably these people think that we live off cabbages and turnips and are musicked by the mooing of cattle. The ignorance is totally upon their heads. We live in an environment enriched by the wondrous manifestations of nature, by the presence of people who are devoted to their craft whether it be tending vines, sketching the landscape, roasting chestnuts, tuning guitars, curating mountain paths, tending sheep, cooking pizzas or intoning church organs. There is a primal sense of beauty in Italy and since earliest times even the most benighted ‘peasant’ in the remotest village has had beautiful churches, attractively cultivated fields and above all a magnificent natural environment to show them ‘the way’ to Truth.

Our hearts are with the Ukrainian people in these crazy times and our wish is that we may once again visit their extraordinary country in peace and love. Here in the meanwhile are some photos from our trip to Ukraine and its glorious capital Kyiv in 2004: