Montalcino, Toscana, Italia
14/04/2022
After arriving to Pienza the day before, we wanted to make the most of our stay and discover some of the smaller and less touristic cities, along with some nice wine tastings.
The day started with a cool photoshoot at the abandoned factory right next to our hotel. The feeling of such deserted buildings is really unique, especially with the sun rising above, but see for yourselves.
After breakfast we got on the road towards Montalcino, our key point of interest for the day. On the way we stopped at the “Cipressi di San Quirico d’Orcia“, a group of cypresses that make their mark in the landscape quite impressively.
Next up we stopped at cantina “Casanova dei Neri“, renown for their Brunello wines. It is located in a rustico on top of a hill surrounded by fields, vineyards and cypresses. We did a tasting and got a quick explanation of the region and vineyards.
After picking up a few bottles, we continued our drive towards Montalcino. Passing through narrow alleys we found a car park with a perfect view of the city. This was our starting point for a walk around.
We walked through the city centre to discover countless old stone houses, church towers and even some modern art sculptures. We then stopped for a late lunch at “Ristorante Il Giardino“, a small restaurant located in local park “Giardino Delle Favole“. The food, as usual in Tuscany, was excellent!
We continued to the Fortress of Montalcino to take in some castle sights. While nice, the castle really just had a hollow square inside, for which 10 seconds of sightseeing were plenty of time.
In contrast, aerial photography enables breathtaking new perspectives that I could look at forever. Instead of being tied to the ground and having to walk kilometres to see something from a different angle, one can take a bird’s perspective and truly appreciate the beauty and tranquility of this Italian town.
Before heading home, we passed many kilometres of dirt roads to get to a small, lesser known cantina “Podere Le Ripi“. Also there we acquired a number of bottles, though the ridiculous thing is that purchasing the same wines online is significantly cheaper as the Italians have figured out that they can make all the American tourists pay extra for purchasing the wine at the source…
To finish our evening in style we dined at “Ristorante Townhouse Caffè” back in Pienza, which impressed with its beautiful setting and atmosphere but not just as much with the food. Nonetheless, the quality was fine and the aesthetics were fabulous for some pictures.
Ciao!