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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
On Monte Amiata, between Campiglia d’Orcia and Abbadia San Salvatore you will find the biggest Italian cinta farm. Here Fabio Pinzi breeds pigs and has 400 of them.
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 mountain towns are all very different from each other. Some are rugged, others mysterious, but Santa Fiora is without comparison the most romantic, the most poetic and the most idyllic of all of them.
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.
