Pienza is just as picturesque as it is small. Its beauty is the reason why it has been chosen as a setting for many films, including Zeffirellis "Romeo and Juliette", "The Brewer" and "The English Patient ". If you are allergic to other tourists, try to come either early in the morning or in the evening, because in the daytime the town is simply heaving with visitors and there is not much room for manoeuvre.
At the top of a forest covered peak in Tuscany the monastery Monte Oliveto Maggiore stands in solitary majesty. You get here by driving up the winding country road before arriving at the impressive building complex. The monastery was built at the start of the 14th century when 3 Sienese noblemen and the holy Bernado Tolomei settled in this rugged place to pray and work.
The town is absolutely charming with its almost car-free centre, its beautiful buildings and fortified walls, not to mention the many shops, restaurants and cafés.
The monastery was founded in 781. In that year Charlemagne’s troops were returning from Rome and suffering from a plague. The king (not Emperor until 800) swore that he would build a monastery if God would free them from the curse.
Abbadia San Salvatore lies on the majestic mountain Monte Amiata. Today the town has a special atmosphere - magical and mysterious. And there is so much to see here and in the surrounding area that we would say it is one of the overlooked treasures of Tuscany.
Although these days everybody seems to have been to Tuscany and most have visited Florence, Lucca, Siena and Chianti, huge areas of the region remain quite unknown, not only to tourists generally but also to the Tuscans themselves.
The cultural town of Cortona is packed with Renaissance architecture. Famous architects who have left their mark on this town include Francesco di Giorgio Martini and Giovanni Battista Infregliati (also called Cristofanello) and from the 15th century, Angelo and Francesco di Pietro and later Urbano da Cortona and Ciuccio di Nuccio as well as the architect Domenico Bernabei (also called Boccadoro).
