Montepulciano, Tuscany, Italy, Thursday, September 27, 2012

Granny’s  Watching You

Today is one of the few times we do not have any solid information on transportation to our destination. We have decided to take the train to Chiusi and hopefully find a bus to Montepulciano. They are supposed to exist but information on schedules is scarce. Using the web site the one girl told me about yesterday, there is a bus at 1125 and we arrive in Chiusi at 0925 as there are very few trains from Siena to there. We will see. The walk to the train station is not too bad, mostly downhill and a moderate grade. We make it in about 35 minutes. The train leaves on time and we are on our way. Arriving in Chiusi, I ask at a shop in the station can I buy bus tickets here to Montepulciano? He points to the other side to a newsstand. I ask at the newsstand if he speaks English. No. In Italiano, I ask can I buy tickets for the bus to Montepulciano? Si. Due Biglietti. I pay then ask what time. Diechi mezzo. ( 1030). Is it Direct, no,changes? Si. Where is the bus stop?a sinistra ( to the left) he gestures outside. I am pretty proud that I was able to ask and understand all the answers with no English. We go out see a bus sign, find a schedule that says 1025, I ask a local bus driver where Montepulciano bus stop is and we go sit down. We are relieved that there is a bus and even better an hour earlier than the web site says. It still amazes me that the bus information out there does not often match the actual schedules at the stops. While we are waiting we go back inside to buy our train tickets to Assisi when we return. We are set!

View From Town

The bus is on time and before long, we are climbing the hills above Chiusi and back into Tuscan countryside. The ride twists and turns, all the time climbing. There are vineyards, olive groves, and small towns, several which look like they would be fun to walk around. We arrive at the Montepulciano bus station around 1140 and are at the base of the town. It is all uphill from here and we wouldn’t have it any other way. We have become impervious and numb to the constant up and down of the towns we have visited. Full packs, no problem, steps, no problem, sweat, no problem, pasta and vino, no problem!

Incredible Detail

We climb up steps from the bus station ending at a small park. From there we follow a road just outside the city walls above us. Crossing the road we climb up through a port, more stairs, and emerge on one of the main drags of town. It is a little after noon and we have until 1500 before we can check in. We see a church and step inside. The Church of St. Agostino is small but has some beautiful works in it including a wooden Crucifix by Donatello. The man was truly a master as the sculpture seems so lifelike and the details of the Body of Christ are amazing. Behind the alter, a door leads to the choir of an older church that was here, with frescoes on the walls.

 

How Much Have We Drank

We stroll through quiet lanes and the main drag filled with shops of the local products including olive oil and wine. One has free tastings so we walk in starting with Sun dried tomato and olive oil bruschetta, local olive oil on bread, ,another bruschetta with seasonings and then walk towards the back of the store. A small museum is attached showing some history of wine making and olive oil presses. We sample some bread with olive oil and the lady asks if we want to try wild boar salami. Of course we do, and it is very tasty. Next up, Tuscan salami, super good, how about some wine? Twist our arms, we try two different wines. Montepulciano is known for its red wine called Nobile Di Montepulciano. It is very good and we know we have more wine tasting to do here. Now that we have eaten lunch, we work our way further up the hill. We visit another church, small and local, then look for the church of San Francesco that is on our map. We reach a side of it and Carol thinks the entrance is to the right. Down the street we go, downhill, around the bend and no entrance but the walls have gotten extremely fortress like on this side. Now we wind around back up hill almost a complete 360 around the building and neighborhood arriving in the Piazza San Francesco. The church is closed off and looks like it hasn’t been in use for some time. However, we are pretty high up and have a great view from the piazza of parts of the town and the surrounding countryside.

Unfinished Church Facade

We continue walking up but at a nicer grade and arrive in the main square of town where the Duomo and City Hall is located. The Duomo exterior is made up of rough stonework. The reason for this is the city ran out of money for finishing the facade and so left it faceless. Inside the alter is a gold triptych from 1401 and a Madonna and Child by Sano Di Pietro from 1418.
When we leave the church, we look for our place which is nearby hoping maybe they are there early. We find it very close to the main square but no one is around so we go into the square find a stone ledge and wait the 25 minutes while we people watch. There is a wine tasting place around the corner recommended by Rick Steves and it is amazing to see how many people go by with the book in their hands looking for it.

Palazzo Zerilli Living Room

We head back to the check in office and get all set up, then the girl takes us up to our room. We go in pass a living room, kitchen, and then there are two bedrooms, one with a balcony and I think she says you can pick which room you want to sleep in. I start talking about the balcony room, when she says no it is all the apartment. Carol laughs because she knew what the lady meant when she said it. We cannot believe this place, now known as Palazzo Zerilli. We have had some small rooms, small apartments, shared baths, and now this. Five rooms, include a full kitchen with full size fridge, an ironing board and iron, which strangely makes Carol happy, but most of all, we just notice all the room we have. What a score and it was cheaper than all the Rick Steve’s recommended hotel type rooms.

San Biagio

Settled in and none too bright we decide to walk down the hill to the Church of San Bagio. The walk is all downhill which only means going back will be a whole lot more fun. The church itself looks big from the outside but even though large on the inside, it is not as you are led to believe from the exterior. The floor plan inside is the Greek Cross plan and is all about the architecture instead of the art. The towers outside are freestanding when you look up close, so they create the illusion of largeness but sure not part of the actual church.

This is Going to Take a While

From here, we climb back up the hill steadily until we reach the edge of town and then uphill some more until we are finally back in the square. Time for us to get our free wine at the Rick Steve’s recommended tasting place. First you must walk through their wine cellar in a cave where there are lots of large barrels doing their vino magic. We try the expensive Vino Nobile Di Montepulciano, 4 different times from the 6 month to a year aged to 2, 3, and 5 year old vintages. It is good but Carol started with a white in this extremely red region, so they knew we were amateurs.

Coming Out of the Wine Cave

Time to go and see what else is around while we wait for a place to open for dinner.
We come across the Talosa wine tasting place. First we must see their wine cellar, but it is along way down. They do not kid as we descend steps and enter a cave carved out of the rock probably three stories below the store and has been here since 1500. More large wine barrels fill the spaces. It is really quite cool both experience wise and temperature wise. We now get to sample wines and Carol asks to try a white, and they do not do white. We try their reds including their Nobile Di Montepulciano and it is very good. Not only that but the server Christian, is great fun to talk to. A couple from Britain that bought 3 cases of wine leave and we are all that is left. We talk to Christian tasting wine as we converse learning about the different grapes and mixes of the wine as well as history of the area. As he says, they run on a different clock here, all is good, and nothing can be rushed, in their way of life. We have a great time here, much better than Ricks recommended place where we found them to be much more reserved and serious about things.
We say our goodbyes and walk down to a place we had picked to eat. On the way, we stop shortly at a shop where a coppersmith is talking to a group about his craft. It is in Italian being translated into French but I learn later he is famous for his work including the Copper top of the Duomo in Siena.

Wild Boar

Unfortunately, the restaurant we picked must be really good as there are no tables without reservations, so we reserve for tomorrow and move on. Next place is up the street from our apartment but is also packed with no room. Plan C is further away from the square and we get in. We order an artichoke appetizer, pesto pasta, and a wild boar in sauce. The food is all good but the stew sticks out above the rest, thick, chunky, full of flavor and served over Tuscan bread. We really enjoy our plan C restaurant which fate took us to.

Great Night Shot

We walk a little slow back home as we have had a long day.
We had planned to go to another small town called Pienza by bus tomorrow but after talking things out we decide to just stay here, sleep in and savor this town. Our bodies are quite exhausted and are telling us to take an easy day so who are we to argue. Good night from Palazzo Zerilli.
CNC
“When you travel, remember that a foreign country is not designed to make you comfortable. It is designed to make its own people comfortable”-Clifton Fadiman

 

 

Expenses
14.20E-2 train tickets from Siena to Chuisi
5.40E- 2 bus tickets from Chiusi to Montepulciano
31.50E- 1 pasta, wild boar stew, artichokes, vino, 1.50 Coperto at Trattoria Di Cagnano
89.50E- Palazzo Bellarmino Apartment

Miles Walked ( mostly with full packs) – 10.5 Miles