Called Italy’s “Little Provence”, Sancto Lucio de Coumboscuro is a village far away from any others in almost every sense.
Sited near the border(边界) between the Piedmont region of Italy and France, visitors either need to fly to Turin, and take a train and then a bus, or drive south from Provence in order to reach it.
Those who do make the trip here would be forgiven for wondering if they’re in the right country, particularly when local people say goodbye to them with the unfamiliar “arveire” rather than “arrivederci.” The official language of Coumboscuro is Provençal, an ancient medieval neo-Latin(中世纪新拉丁语) dialect of Occitan, the language spoken across the Occitania region of France.
Only around 30 or so people live in the village, and life is far from easy for locals. Coumboscuro is largely made up of shepherding families, who often find their sheep under attack from the wolves here.
The electricity is often out for weeks during the winter time, while the Internet connection here is the least possible. But the village’s quiet, mountain meadows and bright purple lavender fields are ideal for visitors looking for a place not affected by modern factors, as are the breathtaking views from its Alpine peaks, which stretch to the Cote d’Azur.
Forget bars, supermarkets and restaurants. Any social buzz(社交) is limited to the occasional(偶尔的) folk events that take place in the village, or when visitors start weekend mushroom hunts alone.