In and around the watermill in Tuscany

The Watermill at Posara in Italy is a historic complex of buildings, lovingly restored. Secluded, yet part of the village, the mill is set among its own gardens with fields of maize, sunflowers and vines around.  The gentle valley, covered with chestnuts and European oak, leads to the foothills of the Apennines whose majestic peaks can be seen in the distance. 

The watermill mills

The Mill

Around the courtyard and behind our three-storey Tuscan house there are two ancient watermills, one built in the 17th century and the other in the 19th.

Their millstones and workings are still intact and we are slowly restoring them. Waterpower was used not only for producing wheat, maize and chestnut flour, but also for crushing and squeezing olives for their oil.

 

The watermill gardens

The Gardens

The large walled garden has a vine verandah and rose pergola. For meals in the sunshine there are millstone tables and abarbecue. Another garden leads off the courtyard and has lavender beds and kiwi fruit trees, while the riverside gardens feature a plunge pool (the old olive press reservoir), a shaded terrace and a bamboozery through which you can walk. 

The tree-shaded millstream gardens extend for about a quarter of a mile upstream and are covered in wild flowers.  There are also paths along the riverbank.

Teh watermill in Posara

Posara

Posara is a small friendly village, with ancient houses and narrow alleyways.  You can also see the old washing places where the women of the village laundered their clothes.  Many of the inhabitants keep chickens and goats and, if you talk to them nicely, they might give you eggs or cheese.  They also make their own wine but it has to be admitted that it is not of the hightest quality!

 

The watermill near Fivizzano

Fivizzano

Fivizzano is a walled Medieval market town, complete with castle (just to the North) and a Medici fountain in the main piazza. There are lots of places to buy food:  both a supermarket and small shops selling local produce, notably ham, salami, cheese, wine, bread and sweet tarts.  There are also cafés, ice cream parlours, restaurants and pizzerias. You can hire a tennis court in Fivizzano and there is a big outdoor swimming pool near the mill, at Cormezzano, on the road towards the coast. Above the town, the scenery becomes spectacular, with lovely walks and beautiful views over the mountains, olive groves and chestnut forests.

 

Tuscany

Tuscany

Despite its rural quiet, Posara is only 40 minutes' drive to the coast and the beach resorts in the Gulf of the Poets (Shelley and Byron swam here) and even less to the autostrada to Pisa, Lucca and Florence.

At nearby Pontremoli there's a small, but fascinating, museum of enigmatic Etruscan statues. If you tire of making excursions by foot or car, a train from nearby Soliera will take you through the hills to Lucca, skirting the Regional Park of the Alpi Apuane.

From Aulla, there's another train journey through the cliffs and coves of the Cinque Terre, five fishing villages in spectacular settings. A walk from Monterosso to Vernazza along the clifftop path (about two hours) is an unforgettable experience.