Doors of Tuscany

This door was found in my sweet little mountain hamlet!

My hubby has a fascination with the doors in Tuscany.

He took literally dozens of pictures-maybe we will make a calendar?

Now the “kid” takes note of the doors-they are very amazing. We like to knickname them as they remind us of different movies…Harry Potter, Wizard of Oz, Lord of the Rings, etc.

My question is why so big? Why so little? Why do they need spikes?… if a peeping Tom was looking in I guess you could open the door really fast and poke him to death?

We saw one in San Gimignano that had a door inside a door?? Did the rich go in one door, the peasants in another? Did a certain door only open on Sundays? Interesting.

The knockers on some are worthy of their own calendar.

Also several doors have different symbols or phrases above them that I am sure mean something special and historic. Of course some even still have Communist markings or religious symbols. But all are unique. You sure never see the same door twice like you do on homes in the States…our own door at Casa Carideo is lovely. It is too tall, the door knob doesn’t turn-it is just for looks I guess and it is old and warped but I do love it and refuse to upgrade it! My neighbor says most homeowners wipe the wood yearly with a special oil to try to preserve the doors. I think I will try that.

I wonder who makes these doors, is there a “door” store? Did each builder make their own door? As a Realtor I find entrances to homes very important..it almost makes you expect something on the other side to match the door…

Here are a few of my favorites…I think I will google “Tuscany doors” to find out if there was a trend or a common historical meaning to these treasures…