Ladies Of The Fields

  While we stay in Umbria every spring, Johnny, my husband who is an artist, works. He will paint nearly every day…weather permitting…to come home with several paintings for a show at our gallery in Carmel, California. This is always a popular event for us, and it brings a little slice of our "other life" back home to share.

  While Johnny paints, I often take the time to read, or take long walks into the countryside. This is how I started becoming a little obsessed with all the old farmhouses that dot the fields and roadsides in this very rural part of Italy.

   These "ruins" fascinate me. The first time I got close and personal with one, I just had to write about it. 

  Since then, I have had some nice little adventures with these lovely "ladies of the fields." Sure, there have been a couple of close calls…mostly bee hives and scary reptiles, and I have learned that it pays to be very careful and very watchful when approaching one of these beauties.

While Johnny paints…I have a small adventure…
usually starting with a walk down a dirt road.
You can see Johnny down there, near the car….

  Sometimes, there will be a warning sign of some sort, and I heed these…honestly. If there is any "Keep Out" type of message, I turn tail and move right on down the road.  The warning signs remind me to keep an eye and ear open for anything creepy or dangerous…

  

Here, I see a sign posted….hmmm…
Still looks pretty interesting, so I get a little closer.

I am being told not to enter the very dilapidated building.
 Good idea….

  I usually don't venture inside, unless it looks reasonably safe and there are no "keep out" signs. 

 In this case, I stay outside, just enjoying this grand old gal for all she was, and still hopes to be again, someday.

  I like to imagine what the life was like for the folks who once called this home. Now, with the roof caving in, and shrubs growing throughout, it's a dreamy scene, for sure.

Weeds and ruin. I am no less enchanted

  I love being able to look up, through what once were the upper floors and ceiling…to see the blue sky. The light is amazing, and makes for a nice photo opportunity.

I am in love with the various textures here, as well as the arch
above an old entryway.

  To actually get close enough to look into what once were rooms is my favorite. This place was full of old roof tiles, broken wooden beams, and what I guess are floor tiles from the second story rooms.

  The crumbling plaster walls are perfect, don't you think?

I wish I could rummage through this wonderful jumble.

  This is a particularly lovely lady. I don't know if she is well past any chance of restoration or not. I know zip when it comes to restoration projects.

Between the light, the giant wooden beam, the old brickwork, and
 sublime blue plaster walls…I am swooning.

  I don't know what it is about these Old Dears.
  The thought of them spending year after year, decade after decade, slowly decaying and yet keeping watch over their surroundings. The awareness that at some point in history they were vital, filled with life, love, death... joy as well as sorrow. Meals being made and shared, secrets being whispered behind closed doors, worries discussed, fights fought, love made….lives created as well as lives departing this realm.
  Life in an altogether different era.
  Call me corny, but it moves my soul. Touching these old stone walls sends a small, yet oh-so-significant... shiver through my aching soul.

Is it too much to say I yearn for a scene like this?

  This was a dreamy sight, and of course I couldn't resist a closer look at her. It was a tough one, too…not as easy to get to as it looked. I think this is where I got my first Italian "tick"…..who knew? I flicked it off my ankle before any damage was done, but now I know to check. There were lots of thigh-high weeds as I got close...

Dream scene.

Very high weeds, but can I do it?

As tempting as it is, I now know better than to go further inside.

  

Another amazingly huge beam. You just can't imagine…
I am in love with these interior walls.

  So, while I was off exploring, Johnny was painting this beauty. 

  I think he nailed the gentle feel of her….

  The amazing "castle", below, is just hanging out in a field below Panicale. I would love to know her story, and will try to find out next time we are there.

  It was totally impossible to get close to her, as there were massive weeds all around. No path, no little dirt road…just fava beans and nasty weeds.

  She's a true gem, though.

I couldn't get close to this one, but I love it.
Plus, in the background…a perfect view of Panicale on the hill.

  Sometimes, these old gals are still functioning as storage "sheds" for the surrounding farmland. 

  Though no longer lived in, they do survive as a cool, dry place to house large and small farm equipment. The windows are usually busted out, but all in all, they work well…considering.

  I wonder if they mind their new lives…..

This place must have housed a few families…back in the day.

I love the color and texture of these old wooden doors.

  Johnny was with me on this adventure, and we actually poked around inside. I would have loved to spend more time…just looking around…I didn't want to press our luck, though.

  I fear breaking something, getting hurt, and especially being caught and yelled at. My Italian isn't good enough to explain my way out of a situation like "trespassing"…..

  Still, we had ourselves a pretty good look around.

  I love the patina of all the various surfaces…wood, metal, plaster, tile….aged beyond repair, I'm afraid. But isn't this the finish people pay the big money for? Without the spider webs and mold, of course.

  I can't get enough.

So funky…so cool.

So tempting!

More perfection….. in my opinion, anyway.

  Our pals, Roberto & Giullia told us about this very overgrown ruin, near a walk we take pretty often. We had never gone down the little side path that leads to her. 

  Once found, I was blown away by the position…a perfect view of Lago Trasimeno makes this spot even more special. 

  This one was impossible to get into, as the weeds are overtaking her.

Another "Ruin with a View".
Sigh.

She's covered in clematis vine, among other greenness...

  I can't begin to image what it would take ( ok, I image it's money. Period.) to get a place like this back to her original gorgeousness, but it's fun to dream. Especially with this killer view….

  I would love to spend a week or two just doing a clear out of the growth that is slowly consuming her.

  Sadly, I imagine she will continue to be slowly devoured by the surrounding wilderness.

A natural skylight?

Next year she may may be "gone"…..

  I'll continue to explore and enjoy these Ladies of the Fields. They spark my imagination in a very fine way…and until I get into some kind of unforeseen trouble with this adventuring….well, I'll just count myself a very lucky girl, indeed.