Pienza, the Tuscan town where the Pellegrinis live, is not very well known by tourists. You don't see thousands of noisy people walking around with their noses bobbing between their guidebooks and the bell towers. Instead, Pienza, like the other small cities in which so many Italians live, is quiet and friendly.
When Fabio and Daniela walked their daughter to the public gardens across town, it seemed like every person they passed was a friend. Of course this has its drawbacks: while we set up the Big Picture, the neighbors thought the Pellegrinis were having a tag sale (all of the stuff so neatly laid out on the street.) They kept wandering around picking up items and asking how much they were.
More than once I wished I could stop shooting and join them in their life. The recession is here, too, so the Pellegrinis have problems like everyone else. But I'd rather have financial problems in a place like Pienza than be wealthy in a place where you have to drive an hour to show your kid a tree.
