This oil painting shows a slice of a back alley in Colle Val d'Elsa, a town on the road between Siena and Volterra. The oldest part of the town, where this painting is set, is at the top of the hill; the more recent (18th and 19th century) parts of the town are below. I made the mistake of parking below and having to walk up a very steep set of stairs to reach the old part of town, where I walked around looking for patterns of light and shadow that might be material for interesting paintings. This one is one of the results.