Italy – The Tuscan Countryside

Driving through the Tuscan countryside…

I’m not sure there is much I can say about this that the pictures don’t show…

 

Except that it’s more picture perfect in person…

The mountains in the background are a surprise for me because I hadn’t realized there were mountains so close to Tuscany….

 

But for the most part, the landscape is exactly as I had expected it to be – and probably exactly as you’ve pictured it to be as well, if you’ve never been here.  A home sitting on top of a hill, surrounded by the family's vineyard and olive groves.  Yes, that really exists here.

But the towns that dot the region were a bit of a surprise to me as well.  Ancient walled cities sitting high up on the hills, sometimes you could see two or three in different directions at the same time.  This I was not expecting, but it makes perfect sense – walls for protection back when it was needed, and high on a hill you can see for miles and miles in any direction.  Spotting any approaching danger would have been easy from these hilltop towns. 

Now there are no worries about invaders (except for the odd tourist), and instead, these romantic Italian towns surrounded by vineyards and olive groves decorate the landscape, luring visitors to come closer to explore inside their stone walls. 

We rented a car on Friday and headed out of Siena and into the hills of Tuscany.  Pienza - this is the town we chose to explore first.   Pienza set the bar high - very, very high!

I am reluctant to say I have a favorite place in Italy, but the small town of Pienza – well, let’s just say it left a mark on my heart and if I ever find myself back in Tuscany, it is here that I will stay. 

Why did Pienza have such a powerful pull on me?  Maybe it was the setting.   

Sitting high on a hill, you can walk along the top of the outside wall with simply stunning views of the Val d’Orcia, the picturesque region of Tuscany that surrounds Pienza and is included on the list of UNESCO’s World Cultural Landscapes.  Even viewing it in person, it’s hard to believe such a place can exist.  It looks too perfect to be real. 

Or maybe it’s the enchanting narrow and winding stone streets of the little town.  You can’t get lost because the town is too small for that, so you just wander without a care.  It doesn’t take long to get from one end to the other, except that you stop every five feet to take a picture.   

Is this place for real?  Are there really people that are lucky enough to live here? 

Or maybe the attraction is the small postcard perfect shops selling cheeses, olive oil, wine and an array of other gourmet treats.   Look at this gorgeous display?  Are you kidding me?

We walked the little streets, ducking into this shop and then that.  We tasted olive oil and purchased a small can to take back to England with us.  We bought slices of delicious pizza and found a place to sit on the outside wall to eat while gazing out over the Tuscan landscape.  I bought a beautifully painted pasta bowl made right there in Siena and I don't even remember exactly what it looks like now as we had it sent right from the shop to Eric's parents house in Wisconsin (easier to get it back to the states that way).  What a fun surprise it will be when we travel home and see it again!

I could have stayed in this village for the entire day but there was more of Tuscany to see. Reluctantly, we headed back towards the car, but before we got there we were drawn off course by a little gravel road that headed out of town through an olive grove.  We followed it for awhile wanting to see what was around the next bend, and then the next, and the next after that.  There was a man out with his dog slowly walking the same road in front of us, in no hurry to get anywhere.  

He was clearly a local.  I wonder how many times a day he strolls up and down this path, painting a quintessential picture of the slow way of life here in Italy.  Finally, we forced ourselves to turn around and headed back to the car.

From Pienza we drove to another walled hilltop town called Montepulciano.  Now is that a fun name or what!  We all kept saying it over and over again as we headed there, giggling at ourselves as we let each syllable roll off the tongue in our best over-exaggerated imitation of an Italian accent.  Try it.  I'm serious - go ahead.  You'll see what I mean.  Isn't it fun to say?

Montepulciano, while similar is some respects to Pienza with narrow stone streets lined with shops selling all variety of wonderful Italian goodies, it was very different as well.  It's larger for one, and the streets are very hilly.  As you wind your way through them heading up, up and up towards the Piazza Grande, the square that sits at the top of the town, you have no idea if you are really heading in the right direction or how much farther there is to go.  This town has a very medieval feel to it, a lot like Siena does, only it seems more mysterious, maybe even a little dark.  

We kept trudging uphill until finally we came to the Piazza.  It's funny, because there is just something about the architecture in Montepulciano - while beautiful, it also has sort of a sinister feeling about it.  

The girls and I sat down on some stairs as Eric wandered around the piazza taking photos.  When he came back to join us, he said he had just overheard a girl telling her friends that this is the square where they shot scenes for the Twilight series movie New Moon.  Even though I hadn't realized it before then, I knew immediately which scenes they were.  It was through the streets of Montepulciano that Bella ran trying to reach Edward before he revealed himself in the sunlight, and it was this square she raced across trying to reach him in time.  Those of you who are Twilight fans will know what I am talking about.  While there is a town not far from here called Volterra and is the home of the Volturi in the books, it was Montepulciano that was used in the movie, and I'm not surprised.  For those of you who are not familiar with the Twilight books, they are about vampires.  

Sitting in the piazza in Montepulciano in person it was not hard to imagine dark mythical creatures lurking inside these buildings.   

We retraced our steps back down through the twisting and turning streets of the town, every now and then finding ourselves on the outer wall where we were greeted with a spectacular view of the Tuscan countryside.

While in Italy, the hardest decision we had to make each day was usually what to do for dinner.  Pretty rough, huh?  And we found that often, the best dinner option wasn't always a restaurant.  It was late in the afternoon as we made our way out of Montepulciano and we were all a bit hungry but we didn't feel like heading back to Siena just yet.  The sun would be setting soon and what a sight that would be to see here in Tuscany.  We had the perfect solution.  A picnic dinner back in Pienza where we could watch the sun slowly sinking in the sky over this beautiful landscape while enjoying some delicious local food and a glass of wine.  

We popped into a little grocery store and filled our basket with cheese, crackers, prosciutto, a couple of juicy and perfectly ripe Italian oranges, and a bottle of Italian wine.  For dessert, we found a cafe back in Pienza selling an assortment of sweet Italian treats.  We made our way back to a spot we had passed earlier while in Pienza where there was the perfect bench for us to spread out on.  

  

Is there a restaurant in the area with a better view than this?  I'm not sure there is.

Eric set up the tripod and started snapping photos.  

The girls drew pictures in the gravel and ran along the stone wall while we waited for the sun to set.  Some clouds had rolled in, but every now and then we would get a peak of the sun as it made it's descent.  What a perfect way to end our day in Tuscany. 

But wait - as we drove back towards Siena, Tuscany had one more surprise in store for us - the small hilltop towns at night with yellow lights twinkling in the windows and high up above, a full moon. Now that was the perfect end to a perfect day.  Thank you Tuscany!

    

  

Italy - A Day in Siena

 
Eric snuck out of the hotel with his camera early Thursday morning while the rest of us slept.  An early morning fog blanketed the valleys, not quite ready to lift yet to let the day begin.  It's very likely the girls and I were still hidden under our blankets as well when he returned to our hotel room, reluctant to let our day begin too, until we remember we were in Siena that is.

We spent the entire day in Siena.  After breakfast at the hotel, we once again wound our way through the ancient streets towards the center of the city and it's beautiful Piazza.  Eric wanted to climb to the top of the Torre del Mangia, the bell tower, because what better place to get some breathtaking photos of Siena and what lays beyond it's walls.  

It's quite a climb as you can imagine - long, steep and narrow.  

But he made it and was rewarded for his effort with magnificent vistas in every direction.

Far below him lay the Piazza del Campo from where he had just come.  The girls and I may have been sitting down there - or maybe not.  You see, while daddy is away, the girls go shopping!  All those adorable little boutiques we had passed while we wandered the streets were calling our names.  I found a lovely Italian scarf for myself.  I had been admiring them since we had arrived in this wonderful city.  Now I own one.  Oh, and the purses - the beautiful Italian leather purses!  Should I spend that much on a purse that I don't really need?  Mine is perfectly fine and fairly new to boot.  But these soft brown Italian leather purses are so beautiful and perfect and beautiful.  Did I say that already?  Oh, what a hard decision to make!

But I digress.  Back to Eric on top of the bell tower (and I still don't own an Italian leather purse by the way).

Eric spotted the great black and white striped duomo we would visit later that day (duomo is the name for an Italian cathedral church) with the hills of Tuscany rising off in the distance.

He could see the streets and rooftops of Siena stretching out in every direction.

And then there was the bell at the top of the tower of course.   

By the time he was finished snapping photos and found his way back down the steep staircase it was time for lunch - and we had plans.  Good plans!  Great plans!  You see, the day before we had stumbled upon the perfect place to sit outside and enjoyed a long, slow lunch, Italian style.  Late in the afternoon, we had been walking around the outskirts of the walled city when I spotted a man high above us setting umbrellas up over tables on a terrace.  The streets are so steep and curvy in Siena that even though we could tell there was a restaurant up there with an amazing view of Siena and Tuscany, we had no idea how to get to the restaurant, or what restaurant it was.  Disappointed, we carried on with our walk.  

A few minutes later, we found ourselves heading back towards the heart of the city, walking slowly along the steep twisting and turning streets when I stopped to read a menu outside of a restaurant as we were looking for a place to have dinner that evening.  The menu looked great so I put my face up to the window to see what the restaurant looked like inside.  As I peered through the dark tinted windows, my eyes were drawn to a bright light at the back of the restaurant where much to my surprise and delight, I could see an open door that led out to a sunny terrace filled with umbrella covered tables.  This was in fact THE terrace we had seen just a few short minutes before.  If this wasn't destiny, than I don't know what is.  The restaurant was called VaVice Pizza & Griglia. 

As is the fashion in Italy, VaVice doesn't open for dinner until 7:30 in the evening.  It was too early for us to duck in and enjoy a meal on the terrace right then, so we decided we would come back for lunch the next day, which is why we made out way there for lunch after Eric's climb to the top of the bell tower.  And it was there, on the terrace of VaVice that we enjoyed one of the best meals we had in Italy.  We sipped wine while looking out over Siena and the countryside beyond.  We watched a cat duck back and forth under the fence right next to us and onto the neighboring terrace, only to duck back to our side a few minutes later.   The sun warmed our faces but it was by no means hot.  In fact, it was the perfect day to sit outside and enjoy lunch.  And enjoy we did because the food was simply amazing!

Ellie ordered some delicious lasagna.  That the noodles were freshly made was obvious, and it was just the right mix of cheesy tomato goodness.

Leah ordered tortellini and mushrooms in a creamy tomato sauce.  I love that she digs mushrooms as much as I do, especially when she doesn't eat all of her tortellini and I can help her out a bit. 

And Eric and I split a few dishes, starting with a melt in your mouth Ricotta and Vegetable Tart with Pesto.  

The main course was an equally delectable chicken with stuffed figs and pecorino cheese and roasted potatoes.  We didn't realize until we were almost done with the dish that we had neglected to take a photo.  Half a bite of chicken and one potato does not a pretty picture make.   

Ahh, but we did remember to take a photo of dessert after only a few bits were missing - Limoncello Tiramisu.  You should be jealous because while regular tiramisu is brilliant, Limoncello Tiramisu is out of this world good!

We had reserved the afternoon to visit the Duomo di Siena, the unique cathedral we had passed by a few times while meandering the streets, and this great cathedral would turn out to be one of my favorites here in Europe.  We've seen A LOT of cathedrals, but this was the first time we had seen a black and white striped cathedral, and set amongst the medieval streets of Siena, this cathedral was a most impressive sight.  The reason it's black and white is because of the legendary founders of Siena I mentioned in my first post on the city - Senius and Aschius (remember - they are the two sons of Remus who is the little guy you see suckling from the she-wolf statute).  It is said that the two brothers road through the streets of Siena, one on a white horse and the other on a black horse.  Black and white are the symbolic colors of Siena, and hence the reason for their use in the grand cathedral.

And inside the cathedral - well, that was equally if not more impressive than the black and white exterior, very much keeping with the Gothic theme you feel all over the old city of Siena.   The use of the two colors carried through to the interior but their effect seemed to be amplified inside the towering structure.  

The ceiling was absolutely spectacular and unlike any we have seen, painted a dark blue and decorated with golden stars, as if you were gazing up at a star filled sky on a clear night.  

It seemed as if every inch of the walls and ceilings inside the Duomo were covered in brilliant frescoes and statues.  In fact, the busts of 172 popes dating back to the 15th and 16th centuries gaze down at you from high above as you slowly walk through the aisles taking it all it.  

 

The marble pulpit was sculpted from 1265-1268 and given the detail, it's easy to understand why it took three years to complete.  Around the top level there are seven scenes depicting the life of Christ.

And the floors - as if there isn't enough to look at already, the mosaic scenes inlaid into the floor are said to be some of the most ornate in all of Italy.  

The cathedral is full of stunning artwork, including pieces by Donatello, Bernini, and the sculpture pictured below of Saint Paul which was done by a young Michelangelo.  

After our visit to the Duomo di Siena, there was one more thing we needed to do while in Siena - we needed to get some gelato!  

And stop at the park.  The girls had been such good travelers so far on our two week tour of Italy that they deserved a little time to just be kids.