Villa Trecci

 

Yesterday, myself and a group of students from Il Sasso took the long and windy road from Montepulciano to Villa Trecci.  It was about a one hour hike, up and down hills, to this beautiful park.  On land that was once part of a noble family's estate, Villa Trecci was conceptualized as a place where the land could be reimagined as a thriving and eco-sustainable Eden.  There is more than meets the eye here.  By that, I mean that a lot of stuff is going on 'behind the scenes.'  

There is no irrigation here.  Instead, the park uses a series of underground cisterns that are filled by the rains every spring and then called upon to water (minimally) the sections of the park that may require it.

There are many large beds of plantings, mostly of native vegetation and flowers.  Lilies, irises, lavender, rosemary, etc. 

Many trickling water features and here and there.  The rose garden has multiple varieties of old roses that were saved from extinction.

You can see Montepulciano in the WAY distance.... try not to think about the fact that you have to walk BACK!

The grand daddy of their olive orchard is this 200 year old wonder:

Oh.  It reminded me of the ANCIENT olive trees I saw in Puglia years ago.  They were anywhere from 800-1500 years old.  Mind-boggling.