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It started as with all great loves, through coincidences, luck and casual encounters which magically culminated in a decisive, marvelous conclusion.
It was by an odd coicidence that we came upon Spineto, a Vallombrosian Abbey almost 1000 years old, approximately 650 meters above sea level, lying in a small valley beneath Mount Cetona.
We first saw its austere and massive walls, situated in one of the most gentle landscapes of southern Tuscany, on a clear spring morning with the surrounding nature exploding with new growth.
Only silence reigned within, enveloping the great grey walls ... all was lifeless except the sudden movement of a lizard on the warm walls or the trumpet of a pheasant breaking the dead quiet.
This was decidedley not what we were looking for: the Abbbey was enormous, far too big for us with a footprint of 4,300 square meters, 13 farm houses and 2,000 acres of land! It was ridiculous...and yet, within half an hour we had made the choice to change our lives and make this our new home.
So began the longest three years of our lives but at the same time fascinating, intense and rewarding. Often, I remember that moment and wonder what was it that triggered such a life changing decision; we certainly weren't enchanted by "a pleasant valley far from cities or villages", as was Torquato Tasso.
No. We had chosen a vocation more than a place to live. We were possessed by ghosts of the past who called out to live again, to be reborn in a mordern era giving testimony to that which had gone before and helping shape that which is to come.
It was far from our wish to create a museum but rather a mirror reflecting the strong traditions of the past with our own feelings for today. The objective was an active multifunctional centre offering a contemporary venue for cultural exchange and personal exploration, a place to lose the weight of everyday life and recharge our batteries, a meeting point for man and nature.
On some evenings if we linger in the lively courtyard of the Abbey, I think back to silent figures moving with short, rapid steps, brushing close with only a murmured word, their arms folded and hidden within wide sleeves...and I know then that they approve.
