My first thought when I saw this house from all the way uphill, whilst several mosquitoes were feeding on my blood, was “ Why would anyone live there, so secluded?” An Italian country house, away from any city, city noise, pollution, the rush of daily routines? And primarily away from the creatures that at times scare us the most, people? Of course in exchange, living there you are surrounded by beautiful views, endless possibilities of hiking, animals and most importantly peace and quiet, so quiet that you can hear your own thoughts and mind.
This house is located in Val d’Orcia, Tuscany. Val d’Orcia is one of the most picturesque areas of Tuscany. It’s basically empty yellow fields and hills with perfectly shaped tall trees that aesthetically fit the old villas located here and there and create a view as if taken from a painting. I won’t bore you with details about the fact that our plan was to walk through those pictorestique fields, admire the castles and maybe enjoy a wine tasting. But since we took a wrong turn we ended up instead on a hike, all the way up to what I imagine must be the highest point of Tuscany, through the forests and industrial areas whilst getting caught in a rainstorm. Right there, in the middle of nothing, I spotted this house.
I am not a landscape photographer but this is one of my favourite photos I’ve taken, especially in black and white. I find this empty scenario intimidating but also thrilling in a way because I do see myself when I am older, living out in the fields in a simple house such as this one. It’s scary and lonely not to be surrounded by people. But I don’t perceive loneliness as a bad feeling, I have felt lonely many times in my life even when I was surrounded by people. It’s painful but also healing.
Would you add this photograph on your wall with the thought of one day maybe living there?
