Like all those who were not born in the Italian countryside, I initially only knew of Italian landscapes through painters. For me, it was the “Galerie des Italiens” at the Louvre, before discovering the Academy of Venice, the Vatican Museum or the Uffizi of Florence…
I remember being struck by the depth of the perspectives, in which the series of hills brings the spectator's eyes to infinity, where a trail of mist indicates a river descending into the sea. It was not until much later that I understood that it was the result of a particular pictorial technique: the "sfumato", of which Leonardo da Vinci was undoubtedly the master.
Thanks to the use of superimposed glazes, the painter renders the thickness of the air which separates the spectator from the distant object. By modulating blue and green tones, it creates an impression of natural depth.
Today, at the top of the hill where Villa Ambretta is, I live in an open-air museum. When I open the shutters of my room, my gaze naturally falls onto the series of hills of the Alberese, which overlook the sea. Further East, beyond the Ombrone river, the foothills of Monte Amiata emerge. In the evening, towards the North, my eyes sometimes catch the dark volumes of the Appenines, beyond the hill where the medieval village of Campagnatico sparkles.
Living every day in a museum, a museum where the paintings change with the seasons, is a privilege that Maremma offers to the guests of the Villa Ambretta.