Byways in southern Tuscany . rom Grosseto—instead of fromthe south, the road passes by Istia dOmbrone. This placewas formerly a notorious den of bandits, but nowthattheirday has passed it is inhabited by a busy agricultural pop-ulation, inspiring no dread as one halts to admire the finegrouping of castle and dwellings it presents. Beside it theRiver Ombrone widens to a broad sheet of water andbecomingly reflects the gray walls that on the southernboundary of the village descend into it. Continuing the journey and still following the ridgebefore mentioned, the road dips after a while to the lev
Byways in southern Tuscany . rom Grosseto—instead of fromthe south, the road passes by Istia dOmbrone. This placewas formerly a notorious den of bandits, but nowthattheirday has passed it is inhabited by a busy agricultural pop-ulation, inspiring no dread as one halts to admire the finegrouping of castle and dwellings it presents. Beside it theRiver Ombrone widens to a broad sheet of water andbecomingly reflects the gray walls that on the southernboundary of the village descend into it. Continuing the journey and still following the ridgebefore mentioned, the road dips after a while to the levelof the Albegna River where beside it lies the forgottenlittle town of Roccalbegna, set like a modest jewel, shining,but not for the indiscriminate. Its church and the houses grouped about it are fittedcompactly between two pyramidal masses of rock, the onetopped by a fortress, the other leveled at the summit bya villa and its garden. Precipices and avalanches ofshattered stone threaten it from the rear, while in front 74. oi BYWAYS IN SOUTHERN TUSCANY wooded hills span the horizon, leaving a small open valleyfor olives and vines. It was past noon when we came in sight of it, and havingstarted without fixed plans we were carrying food with seemed prudent to pass through and at a safe distancebeyond it take our meal, free of beggars and crowdingchildren, returning afterward for further exploration. Wedid not yet know Roccalbegna. So we traversed the vil-lage and motored on, describing a wide semicircle and com-ing out upon the opposite hillside, from which there was acomprehensive view of the place, in all its daring pictures-queness. We drew up in the shade and enjoyed it. It waseasy to see that Roccalbegna—in a mountain pass, withan unscalable wall at its back and a pedestal rising froma position admirably fitted for a fortress—was a pointadvantageous to fortify, and Siena had done it. How thematerials for building were ever conveyed up the per-pendicular walls up
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1910, booksubjecttuscany, bookyear1919
