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Montepulciano is about 60 km southeast of Siena. The town is built on the crest of a hill 605 metres above sea level. The town is Etruscan in origin, but became an independent province in the fourteenth century.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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).
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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.
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centre of Siena is quite indescribable. Once you are through the old city gates you are met everywhere by reminders of times when neither electricity nor industry was available to the local inhabitants. Piazza del Campo with its town hall, the cathedral, Basilica di San Domenico, La Torre del Mangia and above all the streets and houses make an unforgettable impression on visitors.
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Many would insist that it is impossible to find a large interesting town in Tuscany with rich medieval and Renaissance remains not overrun by tourists. But you can, and it is called Arezzo.
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Montalcino is a town with a long and fascinating history. It has been a symbol for the Republic of Siena since 1555 because it gave shelter to Siena’s last remaining freedom fighters, who had suffered defeat at the hands of the armies of Emperor Carlos V.
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Chianti wine was incredibly popular especially in the years from 1870 to 1900, which led to the shabby copies from other districts. As long as the wine was poured in the classic fiasco bottle, it could pass as Chianti. In 1924 a group of wine producers from central Chianti formed a consortium, which took its name from the Lega de Chianti’s symbol – a black rooster.
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