Poppi

We went for a lovely drive today across the mountains in the Casentino, north of Arezzo. They are the mountains that you can see behind the clouds in my blip a couple of days ago. It's wonderful walking country, and it's cool and fresh compared with the heat and humidity of the Arno Valley. We skirted around Mount Verna where St Francis established a sanctuary. We have been there before and it's a vertiginous drive up a mountain. Instead we headed for the little town of Poppi. I nearly blipped its wonderful castle, the Castello dei Conti Guidiwhich has been known since 1191, and still looks incredibly impressive as it commands the whole valley. But this weekend is also the weekend of the big Poppi wine festival, Il Gusto dei Guidi, so my blip is one of the old carts decorating the arcaded streets, as the town gets ready for tonight's festivities.