The Italians aren’t great walkers; we learnt that soon after coming to live in Italy. Footpaths are rare, where they exist there are seldom signposts and more often than not they are overgrown! To start with I couldn’t understand why but slowly I realised that in winter it was bitingly cold (often) and in summer the beach is much more appealing when it is too hot to do more than sit under a large umbrella.
But we like walking and I also wanted to see the wild flowers to help me understand what grows naturally here. Then we also developed an interest in visiting the numerous Etruscan necropoli in the area. Most are completely abandoned, the archaeologists having done their work of recording their contents and the choice items having been sent to museums locally and internationally the areas are left untouched. BUT slowly the local councils have realised that they have a great incentive for tourists to visit the area, buy quality local produce and use restaurants, hotels etc. So the areas where the tombs are situated often have footpaths to them, usually reasonably signposted and generally the paths are trodden enough to keep them open ah! the perfect place to walk. Continue reading
Creating my own garden of the Hesperides 