Radicofani

In the small square of Radicofani, in the presence of a Roman church which is a joy for the eyes and a gift for the heart there is a commemorative plaque fixed to the wall. Italy is full of plaques, memorials, and monuments – as if we were unable or unwilling to recall certain things and there was a need to constantly point things out. One such example is the fact that  Val d'Orcia is a UNESCO Natural World Heritage. What does 'cultural landscape‘ mean in this disaffected Italy of today? The meaning is that here one can admire an area of great beauty and that its existence be defended, conserved, protected and appreciated as much as possible. It is an obligation, it is a right. And without wishing that we all become Ghino di Tacco types, he having lived here in the second half of the XIII century and favouring the rich over the poor in Robin Hood manner, let us seek to admire and enjoy such beauty and do our utmost to defend it from speculative building ventures, and the Italian trait which we all know too well, that of vile and unwanted intrusion on nature’s natural settings.

Bagno Vignoni – Radicofani 23 chilometri