Monterchi

[fumobici]

Monterchi is a small medieval hilltop town at the extreme Southeast corner of Tuscany.



















By happy chance there is a wreath laying ceremony to honor the locals who died in WWII going on as we arrive.







The guys wearing the feathered headwear are ex-alpinisti, mountain soldiers.













There is a little restaurant facing on a little piazza in the center of town. My father says it's pretty good but we didn't pop in to try.























It seems there have been some good local blacksmiths.






















From Monterchi you can see our next stop Citerna on an adjacent hilltop just a couple of km away.

[bixaorellana]

Geeeeez ~~ the colors! They're so soft, yet rich, with every permutation of warm yellow represented, right up to the lichen on the roofs. You've done such a wonderful job of photographing and presenting it, too, with your trademark Fumobici angles.

I also love the lefty plaque and the shot of the two old mountain soldiers.

Did you all choose to go there because of something in particular the town offers, or were driving & drawn to the beauty?

[Kimby]

So many lovely images. I love the peachy buildings with the brick arches, and the old hardware on old wood...

[bixaorellana]

Looking at this mellow yellow extravaganza again, I see that I was so dazzled the first time that I completely missed the man doing a jig in the middle of the very first picture.

[Kimby]

Thanks for pointing that out, bixa. I missed it too. There's so many good pictures on Any Port that if you study each one, you will do nothing else in a day.
(Even skimming through them it's hard to see them all in a day.)

[fumobici]

Jul 18, 2011 15:41:22 GMT bixaorellana said:

Looking at this mellow yellow extravaganza again, I see that I was so dazzled the first time that I completely missed the man doing a jig in the middle of the very first picture.

I won't tell her what you said. Promise.

[Deleted]

More great photos of Italy. Thanks for making me yearn for it even more now, fumobici!

[Deleted]

Those black feathers always get me. Is there a story about them?

[fumobici]

There is. They aren't alpinisti as I mistakenly remembered but bersaglieri- an elite mobile infantry corps.

You can read more about them in Wiki here: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bersaglieri though it doesn't really explain how or why they went from fezes with plumes probably copied from les zouaves in Crimea to the more modern capercaillie plumed helmets.

[cheerypeabrain]

Absolutely beautiful photographs Fumobici...I love Tuscany ;D