Ruralia- Festival of Rural Life, Pratolino In the tiny town of Pratolino, northwest of Florence, and a 30 minute bus ride with the 25 bus from San Marco, are hills that bring me closer to the sun than I’ve been in a while. I smell manure and hear the mewing of bulls, the harsh call of the roosters down the hill and in my periphery, a red kite high in the sky. I am on the grounds of the Villa Demidoff. The festival consists of fishers, farmers, hunters, environmentalists, breeders and representatives from various societies all connected to the land and environment. There are tents shading various farm animals, and I watch the children wide-eyed and smiling as they pet the bison, bulls, cows, sheep, lambs, horses, ponies, rabbits, chicks, and an entire tent filled with
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