A postcard from Bivigliano

For the first 12 years of my life, I lived in a small village in the hills just a 25-minute drive from the centre of Florence: Bivigliano.

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For the first 12 years of my life, I lived in a small village in the hills just a 25-minute drive from the centre of Florence: Bivigliano.

There were three cafés, a haberdashery, a hairdresser's, an estate agency, four hotels with tennis courts, a bakery, a newsagent's, a butcher's, a greengrocer's, a post office and a sports club that made more than 400 pizzas every night during the summer. There was live music at night and five-a-side football tournaments, and it was impossible to find parking.

There were many residents in the village and in summer the second homes filled up, especially with grandparents and grandchildren.

25 years later there is hardly anything left.

Most of the hotels have been converted into apartments or senior housing. One has been closed and is now in a state of neglect for at least 5 years. Only one hotel has been saved, changed its name, and survived the pandemic thanks to a new form of slow tourism by trekkers and mountain bikers. The other businesses have closed, some by decades; only the butcher and the fruit and vegetable shop survive.

And then there is the Sanctuary of Montesenario.

Since 1234, the Monastery has been watching time pass by from its privileged position at the top of the mountain just 4 km from the town's main square. On one side is the valley of Florence, on the other the valley of Mugello.

It is surrounded by a forest of fir trees, tall and dense. It can be reached easily by car along the road but you can also get there on foot, walking along the old Via Crucis among the pine trees.

For Florentines, in addition to being a place for the soul, it is also a place of regeneration for the body. On summer weekends picnic tables and crossword puzzles appear under the pine trees: many people, especially retired people, get away from the sultry climate of the city in search of refreshment.

In recent years, but especially since the pandemic, tourism has also changed in Montesenario. It is a slow tourism. If you are a fan of electric mountain biking you will surely appreciate the Montesenario Bike Arena, or, if you love trekking, Montesenario is one of the stops on the Via degli Dei, a 130-kilometer route from Bologna to Florence through the Apennines.

Now we go back to Bivigliano mostly in the summer, to the house that was my grandparents'. Maybe in August we will even stay there for a few days. We take the opportunity to relax on the terrace, and take long walks under the pine trees of Montesenario.

Which is your soul place? Where do you go when you need to recharge your energy?