By Walter Sanders
John and Peggy Heywood take a break from hiking in the hills surrounding Montestigliano.
There are magical places on earth. Places that revive happy memories and help you create new ones. Places that inspire great activity and make you feel productive, welcome, and alive.
For John B. Heywood, Sun Jae Professor of Mechanical Engineering Emeritus at MIT, Tuscany is that magical place. More specifically, it’s a hilltop agriturismo hamlet just south of Siena called Montestigliano.
“This whole Italy thing began about 20 years ago, when my wife Peggy and I saw a film called Enchanted April,” John says.
“We were captivated by the movie. It portrayed how a group of British visitors were transformed during a trip to Italy,” Peggy says. “We tried to figure out how we could incorporate Italy into John’s work as well as our personal lives.”
The answer turned out to be a sabbatical.