Mensano, Tuscany, October 2022
Have you ever been to a Tuscan village?
You probably have. The one I would like to tell you about here, however, barely has 180 inhabitants, in the town of Casole d'Elsa, Siena. You don't just happen upon it. It was recommended to us by Roberta, a very sweet lady who welcomed us to Terra di Casole.
We had scouted the area around in the morning, after a 3-hour bike ride on a path that crosses the Via Francigena: it's easy to tell you're in it because of the signs and markers with the pilgrim symbol. In any case, for nature lovers, a picturesque trail to do by mountain bike - but also on foot ;)
In the evening we were quite hungry and craving for a nice Fiorentina steak, so we headed for the Osteria del Borgo, a very nice inn where you could hear the caciara right from the parking lot under the hamlet.
The more we walked up the hill to the hamlet, the more peculiar the atmosphere became: the view from the hill was magnificent with all the little lights of the villages scattered in the valley, a few cicadas and some distant laughter.
Following that muted hubbub we arrived right at the osteria: a family atmosphere, flushes of mouth-watering aromas from the kitchen and a slightly more intimate dining room.
An exquisite dinner!
We decided to take a walk around Mensano, and it was like a plunge into the past: a sports bar with red Algida tables like in the summers of the 2000s, a small stone church, chairs outside the doors from the houses for the elderly to spend their days chatting... you know what the craziest thing was? It was all surrounded by absolute silence. Such a surreal, yet spectacular atmosphere. A treat! It was wonderful to end the evening amidst some chatting, sitting on the steps and under a starry sky.
Wrapped in silence
Sports bar
Chats between neighbors
Tuscan sunset
Tasting local wine
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