The characters in the opera The Visitors are escaping the Black Death by sheltering in a villa outside what city
The Visitors (opera) The Visitors is an opera in three acts and a prologue composed by Carlos Chávez to an English libretto by the American poet Chester Kallman. The work was Chávez's only opera. Its first version, with the title "Panfilo and Lauretta", premiered in New York City in 1957. The final version with the title "The Visitors" was premiered in Guanajuato, Mexico in 1999, twenty years after the composer's death. The story is set in 14th century Tuscany during the time of the Black Death. The libretto (like those for "Pagliacci" and "Ariadne auf Naxos") uses the device of a play within a play to reflect and intensify the relationships between the protagonists, who in this case are loosely based on characters in "The Decameron".
La Foce La Foce is a large estate that lies close to the towns of Montepulciano, Chiusi, and Chianciano Terme in the Southern Tuscan region of Val d'Orcia. The estate's late-15th-century villa was restored by Iris Origo and Antonio Origo in the 1920s. The gardens, considered amongst the finest in Italy are designed by the English architect, Cecil Pinsent, who also designed the gardens at Villa Le Balze. The book "War in Val d'Orcia" by Iris Origo is set in this estate, which at the time contained 57 farms in 7,000 acres. Castelluccio, a medieval castle on the property, is the venue of an international music festival, Incontri in Terra di Siena, held in memory of Iris and Antonio Origo each July.