San Gimignano, Sienna, Chianti with Monteriggioni and Wine Tasting – May 8, 2012

 

Today we booked a tour that began at 8:30 am and finished at 8:00 PM.   Very ambitious since our calves have finally healed from Cinque Terre.    Our tour  today is in the hills of Tuscany and we’re prepared to climb up and down steep hills for almost 12 hours, with breaks in between each village ------ending in Chianti at a winery for a tour and tasting. 

Our first tour is of San Gimignano, a medieval village and a UNESCO World Heritage sight.   The town, distinguished by its world famous, towered skyline, has 14 medieval towers still standing (out of an original 72).  San Gimignano lies about 25 miles from both Siena and Florence, a good stop for pilgrims enroute to those cities and on a naturally fortified hilltop that encouraged settlement.  The towns walls were built in the 13th century with gates that helped regulate who came and went. The picture below is a wall in the torture museum. Yikes.

Our next stop was Sienna where we enjoyed an all inclusive lunch with our group – all served family style – antipasti, salad, Tuscan bread, pasta and local wine – Chianti of course.  

   

Sienna was Medieval Florence’s archrival.  And while Florence ultimately won the battle for political and economic superiority, Siena still competes for the tourists.  Florence has the heavyweight sights, but Siena  seems to be every Italy connoisseur’s favorite pet town.  Once upon a time (about 1260-1348) Sienna was a major banking and trade center, and a military power in a class with Florence, Venice and Genoa.  With a population of 60,000, it was even bigger than Paris.  Situated on the north-south road to Rome, Siena traded with all of Europe.  Then, in 1348, the Black Death that swept through Europe hit Sienna and cut the population by more than a third.    Today, Siena’s population is still 60,000 compared with Florence’s 420,000.

Piazza del Campo is the shell shaped square which is also the stage for the famous Palio horse race that is run twice every summer.  The square and its buildings are the color of the soil upon which they stand..a color known to Crayola users and other artists as “burnt sienna”.   In the Palio (horse race), the feisty spirit of Siena’s 17 neighborhoods lives on.   Each neighborhood has a parish church, well or fountain, and sometimes even a museum.   Each is represented  by a mascot – porcupine, unicorn, wolf –etc. and unique colors worn proudly by residents.   The horse race is a pride event where each neighborhood competes against each other.  It’s held in Piazza del Campo.

Next  we visited a small village called Monteriggioni.  Again, this village was perched on a hill with a long steep walk up to enter the gates of this walled city.

 Our final stop of the day was in Chianti for a wine tasting.   The winery was formerly owned by  the prestigious Pitti family (Pitti Palace) for over 300 years.   Now it is a family owned winery that produces award winning wines and olive oil.

 

After a full day, we walked back to our favorite restaurant – Narone’s -

Some final thoughts -    Tuscany is breathtaking.  It made me wish I had a better camera!    The food is awesome and I can’t figure out why I didn’t see any fat people.  :)    Wine flows like water. 

last but not least –  Comfortable, sturdy shoes are a must!