Nature rarer uses yellow

Nature rarer uses yellow
Than another hue;
Saves she all of that for sunsets,—
Prodigal of blue,

Spending scarlet like a woman,
Yellow she affords
Only scantly and selectly,
Like a lover’s words.

Emily Dickinson

The end of June, and our first big escape from the city (and our apartment) after more than three months of lockdown. We still have to stay in Lazio – borders have not yet opened. But constraint leads to discovery: an area in the north east of the region that feels more Italian alps than urban periphery.

Less than an hour and a half’s drive, and you will find yourself motoring alongside Lago Del Turano. An artificial lake of stunning aquamarine. There are fields and beaches where you can sit and sun yourself, or paddle and swim in the water.

Keep driving and you’ll get to Riserva Naturale Monte Navegna e Monte Cervia. This is our objective: a long walk up a big hill. Unlike many nature reserves in and around Lazio, where your chosen path will often disappear after half an hour’s walk, here there are red and white signposts everywhere. We choose trail 331, which leads us up and up and up, through beech woods and along stony tracks on grassy slopes.

At the top we are rewarded with views over the lake below, and (unlike Emily Dickinson’s poem) an abundance of yellow. The ginestra, or broom, is out and cascades down the slopes, sweetly scenting the air. Wildflowers dot the grass. The sunlight pools around us.

The descent is a challenge for tired legs, but it’s quick at least. We reward ourselves with a drink by the edge of Lago Del Salto, Turano’s twin on the other side of the hill.

The next morning we visit Castel di Tora, an attractive hilltop town nearby. The walk up to the piazza is worth it for the views, and the coffee taken next to a splashing fountain. Down again to the lake, to lie in the shade of a tree before lunch with a view. And it’s only an hour back to Rome and home in the afternoon.