The Chianti Region is dotted with Castles which usually have vineyards,and olive groves along with tasting/sales rooms. Here is a photo of a sign in Gaiole of Chianti , "Pievie Castelli" or "Churches and Castles". Many potential painting spots for any future trip. On the far right and center for some reason the cell tower at Monteluco is shown. Our rental house was a few km distance down hill from Monteluco and the tower was visible in the distance on the hill above us.
We got to visit Castle Meleto on a touring day when I was not painting but wish I was. Below are two pics of Meleto. We had a packed picnic lunch and ate it in a picnic grove with many tables and from the cooking facilities and stored china appeared to be place they catered in. There were many separate stone cottages which are rentals and they offer a breakfast service.
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| Castle Meleto |
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| Castle Meleto |
I got to paint at Castagnoli (previous blog) and Castle Brolio. Below is a photo of Brolio as it is approached by a lovely cypress avenue.. The painting from Brolio was done from the the battlements overlooking the Aribia Valley and Chianti Hills. I enjoyed painting and picnic lunching from under the autumn colored tree seen in the photo at the center of the battlement in the photo.
It was a Saturday and all the game hunters filled the wooded hills and valleys. All day I could hear the echoing sound of hunting hounds, yelling men driving game, and a lot of shooting. Wild boar, deer and small game were all in season.
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| Castle Brolio |
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| View from Castle Brolio |
Down the hill about a 15 minute drive from our rental house in the Fietri wine cooperative is San Gusme, one of the regions most picturesque villages. We had dinner there in the same restaurant every night of our stay except Tuesday (their closed night) so we went to Gaiole. It was always dark at 5:30 pm and dinner started typically around 7:00 pm or later, so we made it part of our touring day visits so we could enjoy it in the daylight.
Also below are a few pics of San Gusme and my sketches I did in the old town Piazza G. Matteotti. The typical road signs in Chianti. Watch for fallen rocks which other cars tires can spit at you for the next 2.8 km. Sharp curves next next 1.7km. Second sign warns slippery when snow. The third sign warns of deer crossing and landslides. No signs for wild boar, but three crossed the road in front of us one dark night on the unpaved road into our Fietri rental. Saw a single cow sign but never saw the cow(s).
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| Chianti Road Signs |
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| San Gusme Piazza G. Matteotti |
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| San Gusme Cypress Trees thru the Vineyards |
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Old San Gusme Section
The texture of the building walls revealed repairs over the centuries to
include a variety of materials right up to the red brick age. To all my
Italy inspired paintings go to robert-p-hedden.artistswebsites.com |
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| Cafe in San Gusme' |
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| Entrance to Home San Gusme' |
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