I'm in Lari, a tiny village known for its castles and craft pasta in the rolling Tuscan hills, 25 minutes east of Pisa. Once the 'capital of the Pisa Hills', the village, population 1,100 ...

At the top of a ridge, a sea of hills awaited, their green waves rippling towards the horizon. I had arrived at Ghizzano, a town in central Tuscany with just 350 residents. My home town.