Garfagnana and Lunigiana

[london1967]

On Sunday it was raining in Lucca.
Nevertheless, we decided to go ahead with the itinerary planned for the day: a drive around the valleys of Garfagnana and Lunigiana.

This part of Tuscany is rather different from the countryside in the Chianti or in the Sienese: forget the gentle hills and the rows of cypresses and say hello to mountains and woods

Comments

[maxauburn]

Those are all quite lovely!!

[london1967]

Thank you!

[changeling72]

A lovely photo journal, as ever, Franco.

And I do like the pic of Adrian wrapped up like Eskimo Nell!

[london1967]

Thank you, Mark!

I don't know what an 'Eskimo Nell' is - need to look it up.

[london1967]

Thanks very much!

[tilia_tomentosa]

Love those pastel-coloured houses, and the bridge too.

We have at least one Devil's Bridge in Bulgaria (not entirely original), but I though it was its individual name. Photos here:
http://btourism.com/read.php?id=82

Here is my own translation of the tourist info on the road map for my chief employer:
Dyavolski (Devil’s) Bridge. A medieval tree-arch bridge on the Arda River. It was built by Master Dimitar upon the remnants of a Roman bridge in 1515-1518. It is situated in a picturesque gorge, surrounded on both sides by steep hills reaching up to 800 m above sea level. Its length is 56 m, its width is 3.5 m, and the height of its central arch - 11.50-12 m. It has a preserved stone parapet with a height of 12 cm. The bridge has not needed any reconstruction during all those centuries because of its superb masonry. It can be reached by car via a 6-7-km dirt road.

(Is "parapet" the right English word, by the way?)

[london1967]

Thanks very much for the information, Darina.
That bridge looks amazing!

Yes parapet is the right word, I believe.

[tilia_tomentosa]

There is also this recurrent theme in Bulgarian folklore about buliding somebody alive into a new structure, usually a young woman, as a sacrifice to make the bridge/building last. A "milder" version is building in the person's "shadow" (i.e. a piece of string or stick with which the measure of the person's shadow was secretly taken), which was believed to eventually kill the person. But there is no mention of the devil

[london1967]

That's very interesting! Thank you!

[mrdreamjeans]

So extraordinarily beautiful! It fills the eyes, soul and heart with joy!

HUGS!

[london1967]

Thank you, Neil. Glad you enjoyed the photos.

Hugs back!