10/31–Buriano

Finally all the twists and turns lead us to Buriano, perched atop a knoll overlooking the vineyards and farmland below.  As we approach the long drive up to the village, we notice a gate, which is open, and a sign that says property of the Agrotourism, or something like that.  We decide to take our chances and head up the long, tree-lined and leaf covered road to get the to village anyway. When we arrive, we see an older couple leaving their car up by one of the buildings.  They look at us, but say nothing, so we take that as an invitation to begin our explorations.

Buriano is a small community, originally comprised of a few houses and a church.  It has the dubious distinction of being abandoned twice.  In the ‘60s, the original villagers slowly began to leave to find work elsewhere.  Then in 1986, a hotel was built in hopes of rejuvenating the village.  The hotel operated fairly successfully for about 10 years, then another company bought it and tried to turn it into a beauty farm, which failed in the late ‘90s, leaving the village abandoned once again.

You can see how someone might think this would be a good spot for a resort type hotel.  The views are spectacular from up here, it is quiet and you are definitely well removed from any busy city life.  On the other hand, you can also see why it might be easy to fail!

We walk up the lane, past the two columns guarding the access road – with the hotel just behind.

Then begin our explorations of the hotel. It’s been 20 years since they were in operation, but everything is virtually still in place, as if just waiting to open up again.  Most of the windows are broken out, but protected by bars, so we have a very clear view of the lobby and bar, with the coffee machine still on the counter and lounge/dining furniture all around.  We climb around to the back patio and get another view of the dining area, plus the veranda, with a stunning view, and wooden roof skeleton that must have covered the porch – now fallen and rotting on its anchors. 

Back around front, we peek through bedroom windows with mattresses still there, and the bath with most of the fixtures in place.  Around back is an unkempt little courtyard nestled up against the hill that leads to the rest of the Buriano community.

Walking up into the village, with horses grazing in the pasture below, we can see the storm damage from the days previous.  There are a few trees down across the lane leading up to the village, and you can where the lightening struck, breaking the trees in half.

It is still a beautiful approach to the village, the tall trees lining the road, giving you a glimpse of the village ahead.  We wander around the various buildings, what we think are the local’s homes and the priest’s residence.  It is all so picturesque.

Near the end of the village, overlooking the hotel, we find the church behind locked gates.  It is a sweet looking little place all clean and yard tended.

Across from the church is a cemetery, and this is where we find the couple we saw earlier, cleaning up the cemetery and the graves.  The man comes out and greets us with buongiorno, and thus ensues a 10 minute conversation in Italian about the town. This gentleman grew up here in the town and his parents (mi papa e mi mama) are buried in the cemetery.  He tells us how they had everything in the village – a bar, a tabacchi, il forno (community oven).  Everything.  It was bellissimo he says.  There was also a huge festival with 1000 people in attendance.  He keeps saying how it was bellissimo, over and over, making us feel so sad – as obviously he is - for the loss of his village.  It is a lovely encounter, and we are so happy we actually found the village – and a former villager to boot!  We snap a few more pictures (I completely regret not asking the man for a picture of himself in the village) and head back to our car to complete our circle route back to Livorno.