THE house and garden at La Foce in the Val d’Orcia are a monument to the energy and vision of Antonio and Iris Origo, who bought the estate in 1923. The house was built in the 15th century as a hospice for travellers along the Via Francigena, the ancient road that brought pilgrims from France and England to Rome. It was not an imposing residence when the Origos first set eyes upon it, because its owners for more than a century had been absentee or lazy landlords with no desire to make improvements. Iris described La Foce when she and Antonio first saw the estate: ‘Long ridges of low, bare clay hills—the crete senesi—formed a lunar landscape, pale and inhuman… grey as elephants’ backs, as treeless as the mountains of the moon.’
It is important to understand that the Val d’Orcia is not the Tuscany of enchanted villas, Renaissance churches, affluent villages and vine-rich hillsides. The valley is rugged, wide and open, bitingly cold in winter and drought ridden in summer; the rain that would otherwise make it fertile being stolen by an extinct volcano called Monte Amiata that dominates the south-western skyline. And yet, the Val d’Orcia is now the only agricultural landscape in Tuscany to be recognised as worthy of UNESCO World Heritage status.
Who were the Origos? Marchese Antonio Origo was the half-Russian son of an Italian cavalry officer best known as a painter and sculptor; Iris was the only child of AngloIrish Lady Sybil Cuffe and her American husband, William Bayard Cutting, who died of tuberculosis at the age of 31.
Denne historien er fra January 26, 2022-utgaven av Country Life UK.
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Denne historien er fra January 26, 2022-utgaven av Country Life UK.
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Kitchen garden cook - Apples
'Sweet and crisp, apples are the epitome of autumn flavour'
The original Mr Rochester
Three classic houses in North Yorkshire have come to the market; the owner of one inspired Charlotte Brontë to write Jane Eyre
Get it write
Desks, once akin to instruments of torture for scribes, have become cherished repositories of memories and secrets. Matthew Dennison charts their evolution
'Sloes hath ben my food'
A possible paint for the Picts and a definite culprit in tea fraud, the cheek-suckingly sour sloe's spiritual home is indisputably in gin, says John Wright
Souvenirs of greatness
FOR many years, some large boxes have been stored and forgotten in the dark recesses of the garage. Unpacked last week, the contents turned out to be pots: some, perhaps, nearing a century old—dense terracotta, of interesting provenance.
Plants for plants' sake
The garden at Hergest Croft, Herefordshire The home of Edward Banks The Banks family is synonymous with an extraordinary collection of trees and shrubs, many of which are presents from distinguished friends, garnered over two centuries. Be prepared to be amazed, says Charles Quest-Ritson
Capturing the castle
Seventy years after Christian Dior’s last fashion show in Scotland, the brand returned under creative director Maria Grazia Chiuri for a celebratory event honouring local craftsmanship, the beauty of the land and the Auld Alliance, explains Kim Parker
Nature's own cathedral
Our tallest native tree 'most lovely of all', the stately beech creates a shaded environment that few plants can survive. John Lewis-Stempel ventures into the enchanted woods
All that money could buy
A new book explores the lost riches of London's grand houses. Its author, Steven Brindle, looks at the residences of plutocrats built by the nouveaux riches of the late-Victorian and Edwardian ages
In with the old
Diamonds are meant to sparkle in candlelight, but many now gather dust in jewellery boxes. To wear them today, we may need to reimagine them, as Hetty Lintell discovers with her grandmother's jewellery