Petrognano

It was a cold day in early April that I came cycling down the road from Florence and beheld this view. It was the end of my day, give or take. I had decided to camp in the Val d'Elsa, and this was one of the first views I painted.

Petrognano is little more than an old manor, decayed and gorgeous, adorned with pines and several century's accretion of farm buildings. Perhaps somebody lives there. Perhaps the last descendent of an extenuated clan whose forefathers fought Florence and lost. Or perhaps not.

These days there are olives. I expect there are rental properties for those who like to vacation in the Tuscan hills. There's no store of any sort, although it doesn't matter because several larger communities are within easy driving distance. Biking distance too, if you don't mind hills.