Early Spring break in Italy - Mehr Khan Williams

 

John walking back to Poggio after a hike in the hills

Spring bursts onto the Umbrian hills in a profusion of color and perfume. Vivid yellow Spanish broom covers the hills carpeted by purple, blue and pink wildflowers, with splashes of red poppies everywhere— a painter’s dream. And then there are the flowering olive trees, with their shiny green leaves, rustling like tiny mirrors in the breeze. The only competition for attention is the blooming white jasmine which cascades over every wall and perfumes the countryside.

I did not take my paint brushes, but I did take a lot of pictures and now have a file of photos to dip into for future paintings. The challenge is which scene to paint first?

In late May, my extended family gathered in Poggio Aquilone, where my sister Kishwer and her husband Robert own a house, to celebrate the end of a health crisis for two of my sisters. It was a heartwarming occasion attended by 12 of us.

Poggio Aquilone (windy hill) sits atop the spine of Italy between Perugia and Orvieto. It is a medieval, 13th century village, set amidst some of central Italy’s most fertile farming land.

My painting of the stone archway leading to Poggio

Stone houses built along a single narrow lane circle the small village along an ancient wall which is now crumbling. A stone gateway and a plaque with names of six people who died in the First World War testify to its long and checkered history. At the end of the Second World War, Poggio had a population of some 500 people. Now its fewer than 100 inhabitants are mostly old. This is a pattern which repeats itself in many Italian villages.

The young have left to work in the cities. The school house has been converted into a small cafe which opens for a few hours in the morning to serve coffee and alcoholic drinks. An enterprising baker from the nearby town of Spina drives from village to village bringing fresh baked goods. His arrival in Poggio is an event especially for old people who rely on him for bread. Kind neighbors with cars periodically bring groceries from Marsciano a flourishing town at the bottom of the hill. The small but beautiful old church in Poggio unlocks its doors on Sundays when two priests from the area visit for the weekly service.

Bringing bread to Poggio

The old church unlocks its door only on Sundays & for special ceremonies

We rented three of the old houses from the Albertis, the proprietors who owns the only villa in Poggio and also much of the farming land nearby. Mr. Alberti’s ancestor came to work on the Italian railroad being constructed nearby sometime in the mid-19th century. He loved the area and decided to retire in Poggio. Over time, the family bought up much of the farmland nearby and many of the old houses. They now maintain these as rest houses with the help of the Italian Government’s Agritourismo scheme. In Europe Agritourismo began after the Second World War to sustain small scale farming and keep people in rural areas when migration to the cities was increasing.

Stonehouse and Jasmine

The Albertis live in a villa in mid-village and have converted a central plaza into a beautiful garden complete with a swimming pool. When we were there, pink and red roses covered every inch of the stone walls surrounding it.

An old archway linking the villa to the pool

Overall, it is a family enterprise. Their son who went to the UK to study manages the farm and their daughter promotes the agricultural produce ( olive oil, lentils, corn and wheat etc.) and holds cooking classes mainly for tourists. Paula Alberti manages the rest houses and has a small shop selling produce from their farm. Mr Alberti owns two beautiful hunting dogs although I am not sure how often they go hunting. It is a magical setting, an old stone village surrounded by layer upon layer of beautiful blue hills and green valleys.

Given Poggio’s location, we made daily excursions into the beautiful old towns of Perugia, Orvieto, Assisi, Todi and Spello all within an hour or twos driving distance. But we were always happy to come back to the tranquility and beauty of Poggio.

Olive trees and wildflowers everywhere

Flowering Olive Tree