At 23, he was kicked out of his home and has lived alone on top of a hill ever since 😲 He has no phone or internet 😱 He sews his own clothes from sheep’s wool and uses a handmade sundial to keep track of time 😢 He eats the food he grows and the cheese the sheep give him 😲 Check out his home ⬇️
You might think that choosing to live as a hermit is something of the past, an outdated fashion of medieval monks seeking enlightenment. But no, it’s not like that at all.
In fact, even today, many people choose to completely isolate themselves from the modern world.
Why, you ask? Well, often it is a search for simplicity, inner peace, or perhaps an attempt to free oneself from the pressures of society, like my uncle Enrico.
Take Flaminio, for example. This man, who looks like a typical hermit with his wild hair and long white beard, has lived on a secluded farm on a hill in northern Italy for more than 50 years.
His life changed dramatically at the age of 23, when he was kicked out of his home for no apparent reason. From then on, he decided to give up everything and live alone, surrounded only by his sheep.
There is something magical about his lifestyle. This man has completely disconnected himself from modern society: no TV, no phone, no internet.
He has learned to survive on his own, sewing clothes from sheepskin and using a sundial he made himself to keep track of time.
His days are determined by the simple necessities of life: he eats the food he grows and the cheese the sheep give him.
I must admit that when I first heard about him, I had a hard time understanding why anyone would choose such a life. But the more I think about it, the more I believe that Flaminio may have understood something that we city dwellers have forgotten.
Loneliness doesn’t necessarily mean sadness or depression. For him, it’s a choice, a path to a more authentic life.
“Sometimes in the evening I feel a little lonely… maybe a little sad,” he says in the documentary. “But in the morning, when I see my sheep, I feel better.”
