During a poll we conducted on our Twitter profile we realised that one of the things you were curious about our beloved Tuscany was to know the quirkiest places, those hidden spots that only locals know about. We thought long and hard before coming up with a serious candidate for the crown of most peculiar village in Tuscany. Hidden in the hills above Pistoia, this tiny hamlet has a very odd name; it's known as the Valley of the Elves. It has nothing to do with the Lord of the Rings or Tolkien and everything to do with a particular community of people that in the early 1980s left everything behind to experiment an alternative way of living far away from the trappings of modernity. 40 years later the 150 people that live mostly without electricity have carried on their experiment remaining faithful to their ideals of sustainability, communion with nature and communitarism. Their remarkable way of living has caused some protests between their neighbours but it's becoming more accepted with time, especially now that sustainable living is all the rage. That's why this week What's Up Tuscany will tell you everything there is to know about the remarkable Valley of the Elves and the many other places in this region where people do their best to prove that another world is possible. If you are on Twitter, come say hello: it's the best way to keep in touch, to provide some very needed feedback and to influence the evolution of our little podcast. We'd really love to know you better and to find new ways to engage your curiosity and satisfy your cravings for everything Tuscan. Email: [email protected] Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/larno.it Twitter: @arno_it / @WhatsupTuscany LINKS TO SOURCES (ITALIAN ONLY) https://ecovillaggi.it/rive/ecovillaggi/13-elfi.html?jjj=1675189004766 https://www.reportpistoia.com/gli-elfi-il-covid-e-una-comunita-a-cui-tutto-e-consentito-in-barba-alle-leggi/ https://www.lanazione.it/pistoia/curiosit%C3%A0/comunit%C3%A0-elfi-1.2018499 https://denunceinrete.blogspot.com/2011/05/chi-sono-gli-elfi-di-sambuca-pistoiese.html https://www.lanazione.it/firenze/cronaca/ecovillaggi-toscana-1.6512529 https://www.dolcevitaonline.it/popolo-elfi-ecovillaggio-pistoia/ https://www.iltirreno.it/pistoia/cronaca/2023/01/08/news/mondo-di-sopra-e-mondo-di-sotto-piu-vicini-grazie-al-padre-degli-elfi-1.100219645 https://www.quinewspistoia.it/pistoia-barella-a-spalla-per-soccorrerla-tra-gli-elfi.htm BACKGROUND MUSIC Pipe Choir - Bom Bom Breakthrough (Instrumental) Pipe Choir - A dark blue arc (Instrumental) Pipe Choir - The Opening Closing Wayne John Bradley - Summercycle (Instrumental) Pipe Choir - Earth 2 Earth Wayne John Bradley - Blues Rock Original Instrumental All released under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License https://soundcloud.com/pipe-choir-2/pipe-choir-bom-bom-breakthrough-creative-commons-instrumental https://soundcloud.com/pipe-choir-2/pc-one-a-dark-blue-arc-creative-commons-instrumental https://soundcloud.com/pipe-choir-2/p-c-iii-the-opening-closinginstrumentalcreative-commons https://soundcloud.com/ayneohnradley/summercycle-original-indie-style-instrumental-creative-commons https://soundcloud.com/pipe-choir-2/p-c-iii-earth2earth-creative-commons-instrumental https://soundcloud.com/ayneohnradley/blues-rock-original-instrumentalcreative-commons http://www.pipechoir.com/