Byways in southern Tuscany . rm is blotted out, every window is uncompromis-ingly spaced and squared, and as for the battlements whichat present boast of their newness, they must surely differsadly from what they replace. The building stands uponan unfrequented piazza containing a big, ungraceful foun-tain and is undeniably disappointing; but having thusdisparaged the crown of Manciano, I must not fail toadmit that the climb to it, by way of its steep, narrowstreets lined with dark brown houses, is amply repayedby the great prospect that is spread out below it of endlesswooded ravines and hill
Byways in southern Tuscany . rm is blotted out, every window is uncompromis-ingly spaced and squared, and as for the battlements whichat present boast of their newness, they must surely differsadly from what they replace. The building stands uponan unfrequented piazza containing a big, ungraceful foun-tain and is undeniably disappointing; but having thusdisparaged the crown of Manciano, I must not fail toadmit that the climb to it, by way of its steep, narrowstreets lined with dark brown houses, is amply repayedby the great prospect that is spread out below it of endlesswooded ravines and hill ridges and the distant sparkle ofthe sea. Once it was possible to see from here the towers of castleswith famous names such as Scerpenna, Pelagone, and,most renowned of all, directly to the south, Montauto—the centre of endless struggles not only among familiesand communes but between nations, for the Spanish andthe Saracens fought fiercely over the possession of times it was razed to the ground and many times 234. BTWAY^ IN SOUTHERN TUSCANY rebuilt, but now it lies a heap of ruins and the woods areclosing in upon it as the memory of its greatness fadesaway. So, not remaining many hours in Manciano, I betookmyself to the road again and after a few miles came insight of Montemerano, rising from sea-green waves ofolive foliage that a frolic wind was tossing into spray ofsilver. The town has a sweet peaceable air as though it retainedthe heavy tower that forms its apex more as a decorationor a memorial than as a threat, having reached a sunnyand unembittered old age, and this because it has known,like the best and finest tempered human beings, a life fullof experience, of light and dark, of sun and storm. TheEtruscan mystery, the Roman rigor, the mediaeval tur-moil, it knew them all, down to the time when Piccininobesieged and took it and was promptly driven out bySiena, who in turn was broken by the Medici. And nowit rests upon its gentle hill and smiles at the travele
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1910, booksubjecttuscany, bookyear1919
