Up to Sillico via Castiglione

 Yesterday, we went up the valley to Castiglione for coffee, and then drove up to the high village of Sillico which has a series of well signposted footpaths, one of which leads through well-maintained chestnut woods - complete with the old chestnut-drying kilns, the metati.  The dried chestnuts can then be milled into flour which in past centuries was a staple in the valley, and was a mainstay of the diet during World War II.

Although many of these structures can be seen around the valley, only a handful are now operational.  However, there is one at Sillico, and we were very lucky to catch it in operation, and even to sneak a photo of the chestnuts drying in the smoke of the fire below.

At last the fog clears to reveal the duomo in the sun

Castiglione - looking back out through the Porta Nuova 

Up at the fortress in Castiglione

In the chestnut woods at Sillico

Outside the metato.  The smoke can be faintly seen rising through the tiled roof.  The low fire is situated on the ground floor, the locked door of which can be seen behind the wooden pillar.

The chestnuts in their warm bed on the slatted floor above the fire

Choking growths of wild clematis create weird woodland shapes  

As we descend in the car, Sillico is caught by the westering sun