Capraia

When I arrived in Maremma four years ago, along the road to Grosseto, the thing that struck me above all else was the vast expanses of Sunflower fields. That yellow so unique, unmistakable, almost hypnotic but at the same time energizing and relaxing. This morning those thoughts returned with a gentle force in my head as I drove along a road in the hinterland of Grosseto, heading to the set of VVT Channel for an interview with a formidable artisan. I was enraptured by an expansive and endless yellow bush, a true wonder of nature… “but yes I will be a few minutes late…I enjoy my Sunflowers.” I stopped the car and entered another dimension. And is it perhaps because of the great ability to make the viewer forget everything, creating a magic of sensations, that Sunflowers have been, the most beloved flowers of the greatest painters of all time, at the head of all Vincent Van Gogh? I invite everyone to see one of his most famous paintings from 1889, kept in Amsterdam in the Van Gogh Museum and belonging to a series of 7 works depicting a bunch of Sunflowers inside a vase, made to decorate the room Van Gogh had prepared, in the house in Arles for his friend Paul Gauguin, which is part of a series of 7 paintings dedicated to Sunflowers.

Also peculiar is the significance of Sunflowers in Greek mythology where they symbolize the nymph Clytia who, seduced by the god Apollo, the Sun King, could not take her eyes off him and followed him from afar on his long journeys across the sky. The god, however, at some point abandoned the nymph for another woman. Clytia therefore stood still in a field, continuing to watch him, until her legs became roots and she turned into a sunflower, motionless but with the ability to continue to follow her lost love with her gaze on his path from morning until evening. This may sound like a sad tale. Instead, it is the opposite, because Sunflowers represent in symbolism, fidelity and perseverance in love and the desire to spend the rest of one’s life with one person, although its most classic meaning remains that of sunshine, cheerfulness and liveliness.

Before resuming my journey… one last bit of trivia. Not everyone may know that May 1 is not only the holiday dedicated to workers, but since 2007 it has been the day dedicated to Sunflowers. It is an anniversary created by the British, who on this day plant these special yellow flowers in all their neighborhoods, especially in particularly run-down places, as a sign of life and rebirth. Happy Tuscany to all.

Who knows by what mysterious mechanism, sometimes, Destiny and Chance decide at a precise moment in our lives, to bring us back to “place.” Perhaps, right there, where we have intensely experienced people or situations and returning there, inevitably brings the mind back in time. It happens then, that the heart reopens its doors, to seemingly distant or slumbering thoughts, sometimes dear and sometimes melancholy, that we know have deeply determined who we are.

Il va sans dire… yours truly also has its “place,” and of this I cannot but consider myself very fortunate and grateful to Fate and Chance, who have chosen for me. Two powerful forces that are not always forgiving, but this time they were magnanimous and generous, because my “place” is incredible. I love it. I respect it deeply, because it has determined and still determines my life … my place is Tuscany.

To the years I spent in Siena, I reserved a privileged place in my heart. I was a young student, leaving my family and my homeland of Puglia for the first time to pursue studies in Science and Banking. When – to get to the ancient convent of San Francesco, the seat of the Faculty, early every morning, I would leave from the house on Via Mascagni – immediately as if by magic, I would enter another dimension. There, where culture and history came together in a perfect fit.

A thousand times I walked down that street, so much so that even today in my schizophrenic days, I find myself remembering images and scents of it, because everything was simply mind-blowing. And it was always there that I dreamed and marked what I would do in the years to come, first admiring the Duomo, then walking down Via di Città and afterwards when to make it quicker, I was “forced” to cut through from Piazza del Campo, where time literally stops. To understand, I invite you to walk through the square at 7 a.m. or 11 p.m. in winter. I assure you it will be a real salve for your soul.

After many, many years, Fate and Chance brought me back to my dear Tuscany. This time to welcome me was Cecina, a serene seaside town a few miles from Livorno. And, although many years have passed since the Siena days, the enthusiasm for what there is to do is equal.

From Cecina, the idea of making Vieni A Vivere la Toscana was born and from here it will be directed and managed together with my enlightened fellow travelers, Mari and Angelo.

Arts, artists and artisans…territory, businesses and culture…. in the land of Tuscany.

I am sure of it, it will be a great adventure, and I will want to write about it in my Director’s Diary.

VVT to all.