After having travelled a large part of northern Italy in September I was surprised at the amount of abandoned farmhouses there were on route. Even in the hart of Tuscany farmhouses such as here in the image seemed to be just left to fall apart. Reminds me of Ireland after they joined the EU and cash flow was immense. That's when a huge amount of the Irish built new houses adjacent to their old abode, which was then just left to fall apart. Here however, I didn't see any new houses at all.

It would really interes me to find out if it's just the economic climate in the area is what drives the people away. One thing is certain, Tuscany offers some rich pickings for the landscape photographer.