A quick stop in Pisa to see the Leaning Tower of Pisa, which we both thought was nice as it had some other nice buildings nearby, then it was off to Umbria.

As we drove through Tuscany the sun was low in the sky. Our first impression on Italy's most rural region was of warm, earthy fields, rolling wheat coloured hills dotted with deserted stone villas and Cypress trees. Very true to all the images I had built up in my mind over the years!
Vineyards and olive groves are the main crop of the area, and local life seems to revolve around these.

Passing the expanse of Lake Trasemeno to the right we head into Umbria and eventually climb the hill to our destination, Cà Mazzetto. Cà Mazzetto is a wholly organic Agriturismo, a working farm that supplements its income by allowing visitors to come, stay and experience frm life. At over 300Ha, this farm is quite large but the land rolls away down the hill and is difficult to farm. So Pasquale and Marijiatta have sheep, in addition to their olive groves. The sheep are from Sardinia (like Pasquale) and are milked (!!) and shawn. The milk is used to produce ricotta (home made) and their wool (too coarse for clothing and in little demand due to imports of Aussie wool) is sold to carpet manufacturers.

Mal helped with the milking of the sheep and we learnt about olive harvesting (to begin in October). This harvesting is all done by hand with a rake-like implement. Pasquale and Marijiatta then press the olives to produce their own olive oil, which they sell throughout the local area. Also, the farm produces hand woven textiles on two looms that are set up permanently (yes, this is part of the reason we chose this place). Two Finnish textile students are there working on a project and we discovered many similarities in the industry in both our own countries, and in Italy.

It turns out that Umbria has quite a history of textile weaving and Marijiatta directs me to a small company, with a long and interesting history, just outside Perujia. In 1921 a local woman, Giuditta Brozzetti, started a textile factory that was significant in giving Umbrian women the independence they were lacking. The company is still in business and is now run by the namesake's great-granddaughter. Set up in an old stone church are about 15 looms, some of which are the oldest textile looms still in use in Italy. The work is still all done by hand, and is beautiful in its simplicity. I have a great time looking around and learning. Mal takes some photos for me and plays with the crazy jack-russel terrier with super long legs.

We used Cà Mazzetto as a base for a week while we explored Tuscany and Umbria. We went to Florence and saw the beautiful statue of David (worth the 2hr queue). We visited local towns and winery's, tasting many of the yummy local vino (even good wine is cheaper than soft drink here). We took a cooking class with Marijiatta, where she showed us how to make some of the local cuisine and told us all about the history of truffles in Umbria. We read by the pool and we enjoyed having the use of kitchen once again. We kept forgetting that everything closes for the afternoon while the Italians take their siesta.

In between all this we guarded our apartment from the dogs, cats, crickets, mini scorpians and many other creepy crawlies that seemed determined to share it with us!