Belle Montisi

 Montisi - another beautiful Tuscan hill town.  It has 350 residents. It is built on an ancient Etruscan necropolis.  It is beautiful. It is hard to describe Montisi with words, so here are some scenes that captured my heart.

On the way to Montisi.

Villa Maddalena, our home for one week. The door we enter is the middle one.

Walking toward the villa. Notice the flag - one room of the villa is the clubhouse for one of the four contradas.

The Contrada San Martino bulletin board. Several bedrooms of the villa are above the San Martino clubhouse.

From the loggia of my room, I look out over the Tuscan hills and part of Villa Maddalena garden. Ah............

From this map of Montisi, you can see it's very small.

Plaques like this are all around town.  I suspect that this is a depiction of the annual joust.  I hope it's not a real person being beheaded.

Many churches throughout Tuscany have mini labyrinths on display.

One of a collection of frescos at the back of a small parking lot.

If I could move to Montisi I would soon look like this.

Is this a little hotel?

Another fresco.

Belle Montisi. If you add wonderful food, fabulous wine, engaging day trips to the country side and a villa full of extraordinary people to the experience you end up with an enchanting week in Tuscany.

Volterra II

It took us about 2 minutes to walk from our convent to the hilltown of Volterra.  Once through the city gates, we enjoyed strolling through the narrow streets.

Our first view of Volterra.

One of the many enticing alleys veering off from a main street.

We explored two museums - the Pinoteca (art museum) and the Etruscan Museum.

The Pinoteca is an art museum in an old palazzo.  It doesn't have a huge collection, but what it has is exquisite.  This is one of many sculptures that I enjoyed.  It was located in the courtyard - almost as an after thought.  It made me think of our grandson, Solomon Soup.

This Etruscan tomb top is unusual because it is in good shape, and because it portrays a husband and wife together.  

Margit and I needed a break from the tourists, and were lucky to find this bar that seemed to be lovely and unpopular.  It was a perfect place to rest between museums.

Everything in Volterra is exquisite - Mary looked down at us as we ate lunch at a sidewalk cafe in a quiet alley.

 One afternoon, Taylor and I walked downhill and outside a different city gate than we normally entered.  We discovered a neighborhood where the people who work in Volterra live.  Nondescript as the neighborhood is compared to the walled city, it was full of hidden gems.

We popped into 4 or 5 churches on the other side of the city gate.  Each one was exquisite in its own quiet way.

This diminutive gem is the Church of St Christopher.

The inside of St Christopher's shows the ravages of time - frescoes in disrepair, but beautiful nonetheless.

Wine tasting on the street.  The bottle on the left has the best - the Brunello from Montalcino - delicious.

There were so many things to see and do in Volterra, but we need to move on to Villa Maddalena in Montisi.  But first, we end our day with a wine tasting.  How perfect.

I Love a Parade

Arezzo
We arrived in Montisi on Saturday. Here it is Sunday and we are already taking a drive to the hill town of Arezzo.  It's the day of the monthly antique market.  However, when we get there we find that in addition to the market, there is a parade!

It's the day of the Joust of the Saracen!  This happens on the first Sunday of September.  The town is divided into  four contradas (neighborhoods), and every year they compete with one another in a jousting match. The purpose of the parade is to whip up team spirit and introduce all the contenders. Each contrada's uniforms have a different color scheme and style..............all of them quite fetching.

This man gave a speech before the parade began.  I think he said something like, "Let the games begin!"  His speech was received with much enthusiasm.

All the men in white had the same color page boy.  I suspect that they have something to do with the mayor and won't be jousting.

I love the chain mail beard. This outfit represents one of the four contradas.

Here's contrada number Two.

Number Three.

Number Four.

"This tournament has its origins in the early 16 C and commemorates Christian efforts to hold back the tide of Islam in the 14 C. A lively and colourful procession of costumed participants is followed by the main event in which eight costumed knights charge towards a wooden representation of the Saracen, aiming to hit the Saracen's shield with lances. The Saracen is mounted on a swivel so that part of the task of the knight is to avoid being struck back.  Each pair of knights represents one of Arezzo's four rival districts and their supporters each occupy a side of the piazza. The winner receives a golden lance"  from The Festivals of Tuscany Italy website.

We did not stay for the actual joust, but we all felt that the parade was worth the price we paid for the anxiety of driving, and parking on festival day.

Yes, Dan Johnson....

there is Burger King in Venice.

 

La Dolce Vita

Days at Villa Madellena seem long, busy, and filled with light and warmth. It is possible to spend the day doing nothing at all, or taking field trips to neighboring towns. At the end of the day, we enjoy recalling the events of the day and sharing dinner.  Tonight,  Tuscan Chef Allesandro comes to cook for us.  We are all especially relaxed and ready to enjoy the foods of Tuscany. Life is sweet.

Cocktail hour at the end of the day.  Taylor, Sue, Kevin and John discussing important things before dinner.

Chairman of the board - relaxing before dinner.

Al fresco dining - it's like we're in a movie set.

Tuscan Chef Allesandro with his assistant Consuella.

September Salad -  spinach, apples, pomegranate in Parmesan basket.

Pappae al Pomodoro - tomato, bread, basil soup.

Tuscan steak with arugula and Parmesan.  

Pannacotta with caramelized grapes

San Gimingnano

John, Bruce, Margit, Taylor and I chose to take a day off from our time in Volterra to drive to the town of San Gimingnano.  It is known for being the hill town with 14 medieval towers.  In its hey day it had 72 towers.  It is also famous for being the Italian setting for E.M. Forster's Where Angels Fear to Tread.

14 towers like this seem like a lot.  I can't imagine this small town with 72 towers.

We walked in through Porto San Giovanni

Piazza del Duomo

Views from the hill top were lovely.

Classic Tuscan scenery.

In a little alley, we found a private museum with a terra cotta replica of the city.  I found it quite charming.

Lunch - Tuscan bean soup was delicious.

After lunch, Margit, Taylor and I took a ramble down through the Porto delle Fonti to see if we could find the Antique Fountains.  We weren't sure what to expect, but we didn't expect what we found.

Walking through the Porto delle Fonti.

This seemed so mysterious to me, partly because we were the only ones here. This is clearly more than a fountain.  Were they once baths?

What a day!  Towers, views, secret fountains..................everything a Tuscan hill town should have, and more.

A Day in the Tuscan Countryside

Pienza
Ten of our people folded themselves into two smallish cars and headed out into the Tuscan countryside.

Our first stop was the walled Renaissance city of Pienza.  Suddenly the architecture became fancier than the plain Jane Roman style we have been enjoying up until now.

The basilica is built on the edge of a cliff in such a way as to provide the proper shadows out on the piazza on the equinox.  The result of this requirement makes for a church that kind of feels like it is collapsing down the hill.

The ceiling designs drew my eye heavenwards.

The most intriguing part of the church for me is a labyrinth down in the basement.  It's not just a labyrinth pattern on the floor, is a real maze of creepy hallways that go up and down.  I felt  like I was in a real life Nancy Drew book.

Labyrinth dead end.

Montefollonico

Next stop, lunch in Montefollonico at the Ristorante 13 Gobbi (13 Dwarves).

We all had the specialty of the house.  Homemade tagliatelle tossed on a wheel of pecorino.

John holding court at his table.

Taylor holding court at both tables.

Monte Oliveto Maggiore

Lunch over, it's time to move on to Monte Oliveto Maggiore monastery.  We had a long interesting drive through the countryside with Google Maps deciding to take a rest break (no connection).  Fortunately, Sue, in the back seat, had a paper map.  We found the paper map to be somewhat helpful...actually it's more of a suggestion, because most of the roads are unmarked.  We eventually made it to the monastery, one half hour late for our tour.

Antonella gave us a wonderful tour of  Monte Oliveto Maggiore explaining the history of this Benedictine order, which started in 1313.  She provided a detailed interpretation of the historic frescoes representing the founding of the monastery. The painter put in nasty little jokes about the monks because they were usually late with their payment for his work. The frescoes are unusually colorful and sensual.  They are even somewhat erotic because they demonstrate how the monks were constantly having to avoid the temptation of evil women.

The tour was so enthralling, that I didn't take any pictures.  Trust me, those frescoes are worth seeing if you come to this part of Tuscany.