Itinerary : His majesty Brunello, Mediaeval landascapes

Toscana  middle Italy

Description of the itinerary

The symbolic gatehouse to the kingdom of Brunello is without doubt the magnificent city of Siena, cradle of Italian art on the old pilgrim route from France to Rome, the Via Francigena. Leaving Siena by the south the route then winds towards Murlo, Pienza, to Montalcino itself.
Amidst the Crete, the unique landscape of sandy hills eroded into shape by antediluvian waters, the old fortress of Montalcino is the last outpost of Sienese territory before reaching the woods of the Maremma and the heights of Monte Amiata. This is the setting for one of Italy’s most famous and most important wines, the first wine to compete on the stage of international wines for auction and for laying down in the cellar.

Wines: Brunello di Montalcino Moscadello di Montalcino
Specialities: Raviggiolo Coppiette Salsiccia Pappa col pomodoro Panforte di Siena 

In detail:
Siena | Ville di Corsano | Murlo | Trequanda | Pienza | Montalcino | Monte Oliveto 

Siena, art and tradition

Siena is an archetypal mediaeval city which re-evokes the spirit of times past every year in the traditional Palio delle Contrade. This horse race is held in one of Europe’s most beautiful squares, the sloping shell-shape Piazza del Campo, in a competition between the various quarters, or contrade, of the city. The Palazzo Pubblico (Town Hall) stands prominently in the piazza with its magnificent Torre del Mangia, the tower designed by Minuccio and Francesco di Rinaldo. In the centre of the piazza is a copy of the Fonte Gaia by Jacopo della Quercia. Don’t miss the Duomo; Giovanni Pisano designed its lower facade and Baptistery, where there is also a fine baptismal font by Jacopo della Quercia. It is also worth visiting the Museo dell’Opera Metropolitana to see the famous Pala del Maestà by Duccio di Buoninsegna, and also the Fine Art museum in Palazzo Buonsignori, the Pinacoteca Nazionale, to see some of the most important Sienese works of art produced between the XIII and the XVIII century. The famous Enoteca Italiana di Siena wine centre is located in the old munitions rooms of the Fortezza Medicea. Over a thousand different wines from about 500 producers from all over Italy are on show here, put on display after a rigorous internal selection procedure by wine experts. Every year in the first ten days of June the Enoteca organises the “Settimana dei Vini”, one of the regular events in the calendar of national wine festivals. The Enoteca actively promotes Italian wines at fairs and exhibitions all over the world and is also active in publishing books and newsletters on wine. 

From Siena to Ville di Corsano

The Brunello producing area extends over a series of gentle hills and slopes on one side of the ancient Via Cassia. Leave Siena on the dual carriageway for Grosseto. After the first two tunnels the first turning on the left passes through the country for a while before a right turn and a four-kilometre drive to Ville di Corsano. Here there is an enormous farm estate and tourist complex which combines the production of excellent wines with the possibility of staying in one of the tastefully modernised old farmhouses.

Etruscan Murlo

Just outside Siena the little hamlet of Murlo is a discovery not to be missed: a perfectly preserved mediaeval settlement with just two gateway entrances in the walls. An especially good time to visit Murlo is the third week in July for one of Tuscany’s most unusual festivals, the Festa Etrusca. There are vineyards all around Murlo producing traditional wines and one local producer who makes and sells his own wines 

Abbey of Monte Oliveto Maggiore

After Murlo, join the Via Cassia at Buonconvento again and take the turning off for the Abbey of Monte Oliveto Maggiore. The eight-kilometre climb up to the abbey passes through countryside which is ever more typical of the Sienese Crete area. The abbey complex itself is to be found alone on a high outcrop surrounded by cypress trees. It was a young Sienese nobleman, Bernardo Tolomei, who sought the solitude of this hitherto deserted place in the beginning of the 13th century and founded an order of Benedictines. In time the abbey became one of the most important in Italy and today it is the mother house of all the Olivetan Benedictines. The abbey church was built in the 15th century and contains some notable frescoes by Luca Signorelli and by Sodoma depicting the Life of Saint Benedict. There is a shop at the abbey entrance for the sale of herbal liqueurs and other goods made by the monks; the abbey itself is home to a famous workshop for the restoration of parchments and ancient books and can be visited only by researchers. 

The checkerboard church at Trequanda

Leaving Monte Oliveto Maggiore and passing through San Giovanni d’Asso the route comes to Trequanda, an almost completely unknown hamlet and a real discovery. A perfectly preserved 13th-century castle dominates the few houses that there are with its cylindrical crenellated tower. The church in the main Square, dedicated to Saints Peter and Andrew, is also 13th century and has a unique black and white stone checkerboard facade. Inside, there is a wonderful fresco of the Transfiguration by Sodoma.

Pienza, a designer city

Pienza can be found on the road from Trequanda to Montalcino and is a superb example of a Renaissance architectural ensemble. In ancient times it was an obscure village called Corsignano and belonged to the Piccolomini family, one of whose scions was Enea Silvio Piccolomini, who became Pope Pius II in 1458. The year after Piccolomini’s election, he charged the architect Bernardo Rossellino with the task of rebuilding the entire village, turning it in the process into a classic Renaissance City. All the most important buildings in Pienza are grouped around the main piazza, dedicated to Pius II himself, and designed according to strict considerations of visual harmony. At the back of the square is the Duomo, with its collection of altarpieces painted by contemporary Sienese masters, as well as Rossellino’s own tabernacle. On the left there is the house of the Duomo clergy, now the Museo d’Arte Sacra, and the ancient Palazzo dei Priori, now completely restored. On the right there is Palazzo Piccolomini, the old Papal residence and one of Rossellino’s masterpieces. Don’t miss the southern side of the building with its three loggias one on top of each other, affording views over the valley in front of the town. 

Montalcino, home of the king of wines

From Pienza the road leads to Montalcino via San Quirico d’Orcia in a brief climb up to the town castle. The wine producers’ cellars are everywhere, some of them very old, some of them dating back to the boom in Brunello that started in the 1960s. The historic centre of Montalcino is composed of a few winding streets packed with handcraft shops offering their high quality wares. The producers’ association, Consorzio di Tutela del Brunello, can be found in the Palazzo Comunale (XIII-XIV century). The facades of the Town Hall are not only adorned with ceramic and terracotta coats-of-arms of past town governors, but also with the “formelle del Brunello”. Every year on the first Saturday of February there is a ceremony called “Benvenuto Brunello” (“Welcome Brunello”) at which a new ceramic plaque, a “formella del Brunello”, is embedded in the wall in honour of the last vintage at the same time as the verdict of the Consorzio’s official tasting panel on the vintage is proclaimed. Visit the Museo Civico e Diocesano in the former convent of Sant’Agostino with its rich collection of masterpieces by the great Sienese painters, and the imposing castle, which contains an Enoteca where the various vintages of Brunello can be profitably tasted 

The golden reflections of Sant’Ántimo

The Abbey of Sant’Ántimo is located in an isolated little valley at the foot of the Montalcino spur and is one of Tuscany’s most important historic monuments. The abbey complex is quite superb. Founded according to legend by Charlemagne, the first recorded evidence of its existence dates back to 814 AD. Enlarged and embellished by donations it became one of the most powerful of all Benedictine abbeys, and in the Middle Ages was one of the greatest feudal powers in the territory of Siena. Built of travertine stone, its architectural embellishments are made of onyx, which gives a certain golden glow to the walls. Inside, the column capitals are particularly beautiful and depict Biblical stories, fantastical animals and the like. Sant’Ántimo is also the name of a new DOC intended for wines other than Brunello produced in the Montalcino area