Wild boar hunting - "See you next time in Maremma!". With this promise we say goodbye to Franco, a hunter friend who lives in the heart of Carnia, where he practices a very fascinating and demanding form of hunting with skill and passion. Far from his beloved Alps and from the snow that has fallen abundantly in recent weeks, Franco joins me in Tuscany, and at every bend he expresses his admiration for the rolling hills sprinkled with soft fresh grass and dotted with woods. It is not the first time that Franco hunts in Tuscany, nor that hunting wild boar, but this time the invitation is particularly tempting because it coincides with the end of the season and, as we know, the most “beautiful” jokes are organized on this occasion. The mild and humid winter of lower Tuscany welcomes the preparations for our last (and for Franco only) day of wild boar hunting. The alarm goes off much later than in the heroic alpine early risings. The backpacks are compact and light, able to contain a few tools and a few sweaters that will soon be removed, and certainly not ungulates to take downstream!
We get in the car and with us the inseparable Lea, Franco's beautiful Hanoverian who follows him on every outing. "Today we're going to hunt in the company my team hunts”I explain to my host. "From the latest reconnaissance of the trackers it seems there is a good herd in the area that we will beat, the dogs are now trained at the end of the season, the rain of the last few days has made the territory easier, I wish you could kill a beautiful wild boar to crown this season… .but, you know, fate is really unpredictable hunting! ", comment with Franco as we reach the rialto in Capalbio. In the midst of all I strapped her Maremmani doc, Franco is a bit special with his technical alpine hunting clothes and his Hanoverian who follows him like a shadow and does not emit any bark unless expressly requested by the owner, while from the trolleys the yelps of the Maremma and the French they are the soundtrack to the preparations for the last big hunt of the season. We register and take the number that will be assigned to our mail, Franco on the 20th and on the 21st, hoping to end up next to each other. Franco doesn't have the radio with him, but I reassure him that it's a lot more fun to focus on dogs rather than hearing references to completely unknown areas and people on the radio.
Once everyone has an assigned number, the layout of the posts and the various hunters directed to the area to be covered are drawn. The post heads then realize that a post is missing to cover an area, and so they call "Number twentyiii! Whoever has the twenties must go to the other side to close ". "But so we split up!”Franco comments. "Unfortunately, yes and I am sorry that not having the radio I will not even be able to give you information but, trust me, the fate must not be opposed, if you have happened there you will see that there will be a reason. Good luck and we hope that at the end of the joke I can tell you VivaMaria!". We say goodbye and head to where the draw intended us. I turn on my radio but I realize that today it is not going to work, so I too am out of the comments of the joke. I get ready and focus on the cries that I always feel too far away. A first boar is shot down in my row of stalls then the dogs make their way to Franco. A barrage of close-range shots echoes from that direction, denouncing the numerous pans that are being consumed among the posts over there. I hope Franco is not among the unfortunate. "Your friend stopped a nice boar”Comments Fabrizio who is next to me and from the radio he was able to reconstruct the events that have reached me a bit confused between barks and shots!
I look for my cell phone in my pocket to write to Franco and get news from him. I don't need to call or write anything. His message, consisting of a single word, contains all the satisfaction of the alpine hunter who has found his fortune in Maremma. A weidmannsheil merged with the most Maremma wish there is: Weid… Maria !!!! I'm happier than if I killed that boar! There is nothing more beautiful than hosting a hunter friend and allowing him to experience such satisfaction! This neologism invented by Franco makes me smile: very different realities, cultures and ways of hunting have merged into one word. A single passion that unites in the name of friendship!