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CHAPTER ONE

SANSEPOLCRO TO CHIUSI LA VERNA

I fell in love with Italy many years ago. It was a gradual seduction on her part but, once involved, there was no going back. It started in the early sixties when I suddenly decided I had to learn something about art. I subscribed to a then new magazine called \"Discovering Art\" published by Purnell & Sons. The format was simple; it used good quality photographs to illustrate the history of art with expert commentaries. It covered all aspects of painting, sculpture and architecture but what caught my attention most of all was the Italian Renaissance section. The great painters and sculptors, Michaelangelo, Da Vinci, Raphael, Piero Dell Francesco, the list is endless. Then there were pictures of the palaces and piazzas of the cities and towns and they were beautiful. I decided that a top priority for my family and me was to get there and see these wonderful places. I bought a car at auction for the enormous sum of