On our last visit to Italy, I invited the manager of a property I work closely with to join us for dinner, she surprised me on our arrival by saying the Contessa who owns the property had instead invited us to come together to her home for aperitivo.  Could we come at 7:00?  She poured us a glass of prosecco, served us bread and preserves she had made herself, and we spoke of the Val D’Orcia.  We talked of the beauty of life and landscape until tears filled all our eyes.  During that hour our two worlds converged.  This is...