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The
valleys of the Crete Senesi are vast and treeless, while the
hilltops are marked by mediteranean forests of oaks, pines,
juinipers and cypress trees. The higher habitats are populated
by wild boars, deers, hares, porcupines, foxes, and the occasional
wolf.
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Tuscan
farmers have cultivated the land such that plots of grain,
vines, and olive trees alternate with the forests. Asthetically,
it remains an area where man's needs are integrated harmoniously
with nature; where alternating wild forests and cutivated
fields create a kind of patchwork quilt of land that Tuscany
is famous for. |
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the onset of television in the 1950s, this area was abandoned,
economic balance disolved, and new cultural models of consumption
replaced the rural society which had until then survived.
Eventually an immigration of international more "cosmopolitan
farmers" substituted the old farming population. Attracted
to the extraordinary natural environment, Tuscan art and history,
these new residents have rivived the farms, planted new vines
and olive trees and restored houses, castles and cloisters
in the area. In recent years, the agricultural economy has
been reinforced thanks to these new custodians of the territory.
With the help of two of the remaining farmers, my family has
converted abandoned fields and falling structures into a small
farm producing organic grain, wine, oil, vegetables, eggs,
poultry and salami. We have reconstructed the abandoned country
roads, sought to collect water, bring electricity, and furnish
the spaces with appropriate antiques. Long and fascinating,
this work has been about direct contact with the materials,
the past, and nature. |
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Agriturismo
Malabiccia
53020
Petroio (Siena)
ITALY
tel.: +39 0577 665174
cell.: +39 338 9317922
malabiccia@mac.com
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