For the past 18 months of the COVID era, one could travel vicariously via Zoom or Facebook livestream. Tour guides needed to be creative to find sources of income, and livestream virtual tours fed the craving for travel and became substitutes for cancelled trips. Ambra is a tour guide in Siena who partnered with Anna Piperato to take advantage of these modes of vicarious travel. She’s energetic, enthusiastic and really fun, at least it appeared that way online. When we had the opportunity to visit Siena in person, meeting Ambra was a must! As such, we spent a day with her visiting Montepulciano and Pienza, in the Val d’Orcia south of Siena. She picked us up at the appointed hour in her boyfriend’s black VW Polo, as her car is very small and very old! We then headed off through the Tuscan countryside of the Val d’Orcia to Montepulciano, a hilltop town that allied itself with Firenze early in the time of the Renaissance. At the top of the town, there is the town hall that resembled the Palazzo Vecchio in Firenze. The area is renowned for its vino nobile, a hearty red wine. Tourism is a major source of income and the Main Street winds down the hill, lined with shops many of which specializing in wine.
Around noon, we went to the Dei Winery, owned by a family that owns a marble business. The winery is run by Caterina Dei, also a professional singer, and is promoted as a spiritual place to enjoy the wine. The quality of the wine is of a high level (95 score by Wine Spectator). It is a high volume production, exporting over 100,000 bottles, especially to Japan! I have to admit that it was a bit too pretentious for me – I prefer small family operations- but the wine was excellent and I ended up ordering a case to be delivered.
Lunch was at a unique restaurant in the countryside that produces everything it serves. We had a nice selection of organic and vegetarian foods.
The last stop was the city designed by the Piccolomini family Pope Pius II, Pienza. He had the town redesigned as the perfect Renaissance town, utilizing humanist urban planning concepts. The main sites are the Palazzo and the Duomo (closed for repair with its cracked foundation!). Pienza is also known for its pecorino cheese, the aroma of which permeates this small hamlet.
Views of the Tuscan landscape at sunset were stunning as we completed our day. After we returned to Siena, still full from lunch, we chose to forego dinner, opting for a gelato!
Camino Musings 