Santi Cosma e Damiano

The equally small comune of Santi Cosma e Damiano is situated right next to Castelforte, on the same hillside overlooking the Garigliano valley and the gulf of Gaeta (but don't mix the two towns, or you'll upset the locals on both sides). There is a stony road which climbs almost to the top of the hill, the highest point in the surrounding area, the village of Ventosa and its 12th-century Romanesque watch tower, with a view of not only the valley and the vastness of the gulf, but stretching all the way to monte Cairo in the north, monti Aurunci in the west, Roccamonfina to the east, and going as far as Vesuvius and the island of Ischia in the south-east when the weather is sufficiently clear.

Having moved to a larger city now (much larger, but thankfully not without a few places like this), to this day I miss being able to retreat to one of those hilltops with just a fifteen-minute walk, away from everything and everyone (except for meeting the occasional horses, goats, or other animals along the trails), contemplating the sunrise or the sunset, or simply enjoying the winter sun and the view of mountains, rivers, seas, forests which have seen some of the largest empires on Earth come and go.

I never was cut out to step and strut out
Give me the simple life
Just serve me tomatoes and mashed potatoes
Give me the simple life

A cottage small is all I'm after
Not one that's spacious and wide
A home that's full of joy and laughter
The ones you love inside