Casa Rosmarino: it smells as good as it sounds. Around the casa you will find plenty of oregano, thymes and -as in the name - rosemary. You will find yourself delighted by the smell of roses and a cool roof of yellow roses pleasantly covers our parked car.
We have visited Casa Rosmarino for six times now; twelf weeks of happiness. The outside of the casa looks very old, well restored though. The interior however is modern, comfortable. Not per se luxurious, but authentic and tasteful.
The warm hospitality offered by the family Gondi, one of the oldest noble families in Italy, suits very well with the casa. 'Noblesse oblige', isn't it. Go and have a look at Tenuta Bossi, their majestic villa, to find out about their style and history: beautiful wine cellars, ecological extra vierge olive oil and a dedicated chapel to host some of the departed aristocratic family members.
Casa Rosmarino is spacious, yet we always find ourselves in comfortable privacy, surrounded by the sound of silence. The beautiful Tuscany hills with the authentic farmhouses serve as our panorama. Unfortunately plenty of insect feel comfortable as well and keep looking for our affection, which we refuse to answer.
We love to walk to places as Sieci or Pontassieve, although in our age the hilly surrounding is quite a challenge, yet good for our condition. The fellow Italian pedestrians are kind and open. As they try a gentle conversation, unfortunately we don't speack each other's language that well, yet we will try. In the village we will go to have some Italian coffee, the best a man can get. And the bakery in Sieci bakes excellent bread: not integrale, but seriale or Panda, better than most bread in Holland. In the village we might encounter the friendly Casa's gardener. He once advised us to have a pizza by the fishing pool, near 'our' home, together with other (large) Italian families. The atmosphere is noisy, pleasant and cheep (we are Dutch, you know).
In the afternoon, when we are back home, we enjoy a good glass of Chianti Rufina and look out for a very beautiful bird that seems to love our company. It's yellow with a black and white tail and crest. It will look for food under the pineapple tree before our house. In spring it shows us the cute offspring, just before we leave. It's a 'so long' for both of usas these kind of moments periodically makes us forget the other "wifi-connected' world.
Then of course there is Italy's marvelous cultural scenery. Firenze is nearby, only half hour by train. We also might decide to go to Arezzo, Siena or Volterra. All these old cities are beautiful, without exaggeration. See them yourself.
In the morning, the sun will kiss us awake through the high windows in teh living room. In the evening we admire the splendid skies and the ligt over Tuscany. The Dutch painters Ruysdael and Rembrandt would also love to see what we see over there in Casa Rosmarino and feel remorse to not have painted these skies and lights.
We are already exited having planned a seventh visit to our paradise.
Cock and Bertus Brouwer
Doetinchem, the Netherlands, 12 October 2014
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