More Italy trip pics for RUN TO ROME

(Going in order of the book means the dates on my pictures are out of order.) 

See the first set of Italy pictures HERE. Then come on back for these. :)

Emilio Bertoncini took me hiking one day, and though this tower isn't in the exact location where I have Ben and Evalina spend the night in the book, it did inspire those scenes.

Zoomed in on the above pic

This is a picture from when we stood at the base. Here's Evalina's explanation to Ben:

It took another half hour to reach the tower, and by then it was so dark they almost ran smack into the brush surrounding the structure. She’d been hoping for some moonlight, but the promise she glimpsed to the east had since been eclipsed by a bank of dark clouds.

She vaguely recalled rain in the forecast. Wouldn’t it be their luck.

Their bags landed at her feet with a dull thud.

“You find the door and I’ll get some wood for a fire,” Ben directed.

“There won’t be a door,” she advised before he could move away. “It’s a lookout tower, used years ago by soldiers to spot and signal villagers of enemy attack. The entrances were built high above the ground to avoid infiltration by enemy forces and were only reachable by ladder.”

His sigh sounded in the darkness. “And what are the chances we’ll find one of those laying around?”

“They used rope ladders. Which would be—”

       “Rotted away after all these years. I wasn’t really expecting an answer,” he informed her, moving out of her limited range of vision.

This is a different tower in the distance. Emilio told me it stood right on the property line of two neighbors. One wanted to tear the tower down, the other wanted to preserve it. They could not come to an agreement, so they split the structure in half and now only 1/2 of it is left standing. Crazy if you ask me.

Sillico

Sillico, in the Garfagnana region of Tuscany.
No cars allowed!

I just loved this little mountain town! So beautiful.

View of the mountains from the small square in front
of the old clock. Many of the residents enjoy
this view from their homes year around. 

Coming up in the next blog post on Friday will be the final leg of my journey, and Ben and Evalina's, as they make their way to Rome!

Italy Intrigue Series

    

Thanks for coming by!

~ Stacey