Montepulciano and theVal D’Orcia

Montepulciano is in the “Vino Nobile” wine region, where the grape variety is still Sangiovese, like Chianti Classico, but it is more likely to be blended with other varietals.

We are staying in the heart of this old medieval city, which sits high on a hill. In fact, our guest house has many different levels, and we can go out the front door and be on the upper road, or the back door to reach the lower road.

After cheerful banter at breakfast from our exuberant B&B host, Roberto, we set out to explore the upper part of the town, using Rick Steves’ book. One recommended stop was to the store and workshop of coppersmith Ramaio Cesare.

Cesare’s store has many beautiful pieces of copper cookware and decorative pieces. His workshop is full of tools and copper pieces, old smelting equipment and many photos of his work, including the copper top of the Duomo in Siena and the piece he designed and personally delivered to Pope Benedict. We probably spent 45 minutes with Cesare, and not a word of English was spoken by him. He is passionate about his work, and quite a character.

After a traditional Tuscan lunch of pasta or fondue, we got the car from the parking lot (this is a pedestrian town, for the most part), to explore the countryside — the Val d’Orcia—a UNESCO World Heritage site. We stopped in more medieval villages and a village with thermal baths. There we came upon a car race, the Mille Miglia, which passes through the village. Vintage cars make a round trip from Brescia (north, near Milan) to Rome, and back.Läs mer