We start from San Donato in Collina, the town of fritters, as the tourist sign announces. Since the Middle Ages, it's been a stopover and refreshment spot for travellers of all kinds: it's no coincidence that the San Donato a Busilli tavern was there until the 1920s. The flocks of Casentino, Mugello, and Pratomagno also passed through here, moving to the Maremma with the arrival of autumn. As you drive along the provincial road, the area seems to disappear into the more humble countryside of a less showy and “well-groomed” Chianti.
Yet, just around the bend, you'll find the majestic Torre a Cona, a dazzling sight for its grandeur and architecture, which doesn't immediately reveal its unfinished state. The tower of Quona, which is still there, tells of its medieval origin, but then there's everything else, including the circumstances related to the Second World War, during which it was a savior for many Florentine works of art.
On the estate, you'll find a two-stone water mill that's now a house, and a mysterious circular tower on top of the Merlaia hill, which was probably the largest of the three windmills here in the 18th century.
While we try to imagine what it must have been like with its long rotating arms, we walk through the various outdoor spaces of the villa and then cross the wide landscapes with the olive trees and vineyards now bare. We'll head up to Montecucco, where you can enjoy a superb view of Florence and the Upper Arno Valley. A variant of the Cassia Vetus and, in medieval times, the Via Ghibellina between Florence and Poppi passed through here.
Once you're back down, it's time to walk the path of memory. We'll pass through places full of events, sometimes hilarious, sometimes tragic, those experienced by the extended family of Cesarina Mazzetti and Robert Einstein (Albert's cousin) and the entire community that lived in these countryside back then. We'll remember them through some texts by an artist who was there at the time, very young, and who then dedicated her time to preserving their memory. A poignant memory that becomes a hymn to life.
