One corner of the world at a time.

You may never know how big some places are until you go up high on a hill village and watch everything from a clock tower surrounded by nature.
There you can rule over your own landscape, take a deep breath and let your senses do the magic. All you can see is a beautiful hidden kingdom.

From below, you’re growing with curiosity the more you go up. From above, you want to stay and watch the road that took you there.
You may need a car, but it’s not essential. I advice you: going up by foot is going to leave you exhausted for some time, but it’s worth doing it.
Up there follow your impulses. Guess what? Get lost. Eventually you will go back to where you started.
I looked at hidden windows, heard some lost voices in town, and just started walking around with no directions.
Then I felt the urge to walk down every alley, climb every stair and smell every piece of air. Yes, when I walked by kitchens with opened doors my nose invited me to float. I was in a mini-labyrinth-town waiting to be explored.
I invited myself to a flowery decorated house-store with natural products, olive oil and craftworks. Nobody told me that awful expression: you can’t go in there. I was free to visit and talk with anyone.
In a village with many stories and a clock tower, which I reserved for the end, sounds go and come all the time.
I went for the great view. There, an old man was trying to sell me one of his paintings but I was more focused on a strange device his daughter was trying to assemble.
As if I knew her, I asked immediately with casual voice tone what that thing was: “it’s for playing”, she said. Really? What kind of game was that? When she finished the clicks and clacks, a beautiful flute appeared on her hands: Ah. Then it’s for playing.
Mozart became alive once more in Montecatini’s lookout. So, no more chat with the lady. I just sat nearby to hear the notes of Montecatini’s flute going through the scenario and disappearing somewhere else.
I waited for her to finish, but she played more and more. Since my stomach was asking for something to eat, I sadly abandoned her and made a reverence. She just nodned.

As I was going down I told to myself that no trip is ever wasted when you meet extraordinary people living in extraordinary places. Montecatini Alto traps you and leaves you with a high desire to stay more than a few couple hours. I still could hear the clock tower.
I promised myself that when I go back, I will carry a violin and will try to search for the flute girl.