Friday, August 03, 2007

A Tuscan dream

There is an island off the Italian coast whose immense riches were known to the Mediterranean civilisations before Rome was discovered, where vineyards and chestnut plantations date back to the 14th century. The Isle of Elba has tales which began when the story of mankind was still part legend, where historical events are evidenced by villages that even now cling to cliff tops, where castles and watch-towers stand in defence of the islands inhabitants from pirates of the past.

On Elba you’ll find traditional sun-leathered fishermen snatching a living from the waves, where ancient village squares lead off into echoing alleyways where washing is hung like banners between balconies, where shopkeepers gossip in doorways and children play; and everywhere there is the scent of lemon, honeysuckle and pine. Life has a stately lack of haste here, a different dimension even; a refuge from the 21st century discovered by numerous celebrity island dwellers like Simply Red’s Mick Hucknall, Sir Richard Branson, football legend Marco Van Basten and international best-selling author, Giorgio Faletti.

“Here man discovers the scent of colours, a new rhythm of life, where time and space belongs to your passions,” as local relic Carlo Eugeni put it. “Look,” he said, waving a hand towards a shifting mirror of water, “the fruit and flowers, she paints the landscape. This is why Elba she attracts people like you and me, the Rockefellers, the Duchess of Kent, David Niven, Winston Churchill and Pierre Balmain. The famous supermodel Consuela Chrispy, Errol Flynn, Princess Margaret – they all used to visit here regularly. And not forgetting our own Italian families of influence like the Agnelli’s of Fiat and the Berlusconi family.” He paused for reflection, listening to the seductive hush and suck of the shimmering expanse of water. “I visited Elba as a young man and I’ve never left.”

posted by Cindy-Lou Dale @ Friday, August 03, 2007  

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