Ah, Tuscany… vineyards, olive groves, hill-top towns, Florence, pizza, Sienna, pasta, Volterra, la bella vita… we came for all of this… in three weeks… not enough time.
OK, so I stole the title from a 2003 movie, but it is so apt for this part of the world. In August when we visited, it was boiling: 30-34˚C every day – not so comfy walking weather during the day (but it was a dry heat), especially as all those Tuscan hill-towns are, yes, Hill-Towns, with parking below, and a climb, often quite strenuous, just to get to the gate. However, it was blessedly cooler at night – just right for an al fresco supper – every evening.
We stayed at a vineyard!!…all right… it was what the Italians call an Agriturismo, they are all over Italy, where the owners have developed one or more one- and two-bedroom apartments, typically with kitchen and often a pool, for tourists. Ours was a working vineyard with olive groves, for just the right ambience. In fact, if we had come a little later, we could have observed and participated in the harvest and pressing. Next time.
Lots of places lay claim to uniqueness: French painters rhapsodized about the sunlight in Provence; the Cotswolds in England have their pretty thatched houses and pastel shades, the Alps…the Loire valley… but Tuscany is equally, if not especially, unique. The landscape is all crumpled hills and valleys, filled in the Chianti area with forested steep-sided gorges; then there is the Crete Senesi area of rolling hills, and everywhere you look hillsides full of vineyards and olive groves, and from time-to-time medieval hill-towns, typically surrounded by walls from the Renaissance and often much older times – Etruscan stone gates, plus, of course, Roman remains. The most iconic Tuscan landscapes are located here. Rows and rows of cypresses, huge fifty-foot pine trees that look like umbrellas, hot springs with al fresco bathing – there was a small one next to the vineyard.
If you like driving narrow, twisty, switchback roads (like me), Tuscany is the place for you – only one 4-lane highway, and it connects only the big cities – Florence, Sienna etc., but if you want to see true Tuscany, you have to get off the “speedway”, if you have ever driven on one of these in Europe, you know what I mean – lanes are narrower than in Canada, by, guess, one foot – but cars are smaller and narrower too, however, it still felt like you were missing the oncoming traffic by inches (not really). Then there were the committed bicyclists, outfitted in the latest Tour-d’Italia stuff, puffing their way up these hills and roaring down the other side – a lot of them, sometimes in rows of three or four, often singly, but always in their 20’s. In cities like Florence, what was impressive was the abundance of electric scooters and bicycles – guys in suits zipping along with the traffic flow or reserved lanes, standing on these scooters. I had one when I was a kid – the type you pushed with one foot…
…so iconic of Tuscany…
So, one day, off we went to visit one of those must-do towns: San Gimignano, a paean to human hubris, where everyone who was anyone had to build, well, a tower… and, if you could afford it, it had to be higher than anyone else’s tower. Built during the Middle Ages eventually, the little town had 72! towers, the highest reaching an impressive 230 meters. Each tower had its own little army, and feuds and fights were frequent. Most of the towers were eventually reduced in size to house-proportions by order of the Medicis who took ownership of the town in the 14th century, but 14 have remained. The medieval town looks today much like it did centuries ago, and the good people at UNESCO have labelled it a World Heritage Site. While we’re in San Gimi, might as well mention the Via Francigena, a medieval pilgrimage route from Canterbury through France, Switzerland and Italy to Rome, then on to Apulia for a boat to the Holy Land, first mentioned in the year 725. The route, frequently signposted while on our trips, totalled 1700 Kms and was typically done in 80 days (tough people). The well in the picture below dates from 1346. Standing in the square, one could imagine the scene with inns and taverns, weary pilgrims having a much-needed drink and arranging accommodations at the pilgrim hostel by the main gate. Later, we saw a section of it – no more than a well-travelled hiking trail…
Talking about competition, Tuscany is renowned for great wines, and there are two wine routes to explore: The Val d’Orcia in the south,and the Via Chiantigiana (Chianti Wine Road) in the north, and as they all competed with each other, each gave their best grapes a unique name to set them apart, so there is Chianti, but also Chianti Classico… there is Rosso di Montepulciano, but also Vino Nobile di Montepulciano, and then the last: Brunello di Montalcino. This wine does not need a grand name. It is the best Italian red by far, and its price reflects this. Aged for minimum of two years in oak, and four years in bottle, from 100% Sangiovese grapes, from a small 3000 acres of vineyards in deeply forested, steep terrain with the least rainfall in Tuscany, the wine develops a richly unique character. The aging develops a crimson hue with a distinct brown tinge (hence – Brunello).
Of course, people talk about finally getting some REAL Italian food while in Tuscany, but we found most offerings disappointing except for two outstanding restaurants.
The first one was only five minutes from our Agriturismo: Le Pietre Vive offering indoor and al fresco dining in an exceptionally convivial atmosphere. Top rated, and the food did not disappoint – unique flavors, and an extensive wine list…however…don’t ask for just one glass, only full bottles are available. Vicky had hand-made pici (local type pasta) with asparagus sauce, pork cheek, home-grown saffron and pecorino cheese, and I had hand-rolled tagliatelle with Tuscan Meat Sauce, yum… passing on the huge main courses (Tuscan T-bone, minimum one kilo!!!), we had the Pietre Vive mini desserts, yum-yum.
The other was in San Quirico d’Orcia: Al Vecchio Forno, in their little garden setting, wedged between houses, and though we were only parched and needed a drink, we opted to include just a bite, a crostini, and what an eye opener: three crostini, sparingly covered in basil pesto and generous anchovies, a bit of salad and what looked like quite a large round of bocconcini (egg-sized Mozzarella cheese), except when you cut through the soft crust, the middle was creamy and almost runny with a heavenly flavor – a first for us – later we found out that it was a Burrata – yum.
The landscape around San Quirico is enchanting: undulating hills with golden wheat fields, isolated farm houses with rows of cypresses leading up, usually, onto a small hill, and from there, curvy roads leading to Pienza, or Montalcino or Montepulciano, all in this small area. The town itself has a 12th century Romanesque church, the Collegiata; note that the lions guarding the entrances are all shown in different poses. This was also a stop on the Via Francigena. A rarity for these towns…the large geometrically patterned splendid Horti Leonini garden featured a statue of Cosimo III di Medici, right behind the Santa Maria Assunta church.
Talking of churches, this is after a all, Italy, seat of the Catholic faith, and churches are everywhere, and in abundance. For example, San Gimi has ten churches, Montepulciano has thirteen, but Monte has a Renaissance jewel-box, San Biagio, located in the valley, its cream-colored façade contrasting with the surrounding green cypresses and vineyards. Built in 1540, an example of the rarely used (in Italy) Greek cross design, its dome served as inspiration for Florence’s Duomo and St Peter’s in Rome.
Heading north-west from our vineyard is Volterra, one of the twelve main cities of the Etruscan confederation around the fourth century BC. Seven kilometers of walls protected the city and surrounding fields, much of which is still standing. A nice plus is the Roman amphitheater just outside the walls. The two gates to the city, still standing, date from Etruscan times. Its easy to appreciate the town’s narrow medieval streets, the 13th century Palazzo dei Priori, the oldest town hall in Tuscany. A must is to visit the Guarnacci Etruscan museum holding hundreds of funerary urns from the Hellenistic and Archaic periods, many carved from alabaster.
So … just a quick taste of Tuscany sans Florence and Sienna – they deserve a whole separate story. Stay tuned.
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