Two weeks in Italy: The Road to Carunchio

Leaving Casa Pietra, we drove inland towards the Appenines and another hilltop settlement, Carunchio. The landscape was quite rugged, the mountains looming in the distance playing hide-and-seek in the clouds.

You can see the dryness of the grass, but the land is still remarkably green and the trees tell the story of reasonable levels of groundwater.

The crops had already been gathered in in some parts, the ground turned ready for further sowing and growing.

There were groves of olive trees everywhere. I believe everone who has land in this area must grow olives on some of it.

Then, occasionally, we would see communities of colourful beehives in a sheltered corner of a field, busy bees flying to and fro above them.

I found the colours and forms in this landscape absolutely irresistable.

Such a mixture of green and dried straw.

Rolling hills fall away steeply in places.

The mountains and the massive skies make you feel very small.

The mountains high enough and the clouds low enough to play disappearing tricks.