Pienza - Stunning Tuscan Landscapes
A view of Pienza while hiking
At the end of October we finally made it to Pienza to visit our friends Carol and Roger. Carol and Virgina met while they were taking Italian classes at the University of Washington. It’s pretty incredible that we now have apartments in Italy just 1.5 hours from each other.
Pienza is a small town in Tuscany that is well know for its Pecorino cheese and the fact that it was designed by Pope Pius II. The Cathedral, from 1462, seemed particularly beautiful. It was recently cleaned by removing a “protective coating” that had been applied years ago which had turned yellow. This was the All Saints Day holiday weekend, so the city was packed. We enjoyed sitting at the bar in front of the cathedral and watching the show.
Cattedrale dell’Assunta
Whenever we visit, Carol and Virgina normally take some long walks in the countryside along “white roads” aka, gravel roads, while Roger and James do a long bike ride in the surrounding hills. Carol and Virginia walked 10 miles. Roger and James rode 31 very hilly miles!
Wine Tasting - Wonderful Brunellos
Pienza is not far from Montalcino which is famous for its Brunello wines. As you know, the TandemSpirtis are quite fond of wine, so we managed to squeeze in some wine tastings. Roger made reservations at a couple of wineries. We loved the wines, the winery, and Caterina, the proprietor at Il Colle https://www.ilcolledicarli.it. The 3 wines we tasted were excellent. You can drink all of them with food or without. We tasted a Montalcino Rosso, a Brunello di Montalcino 2015 and a Brunello di Montalcino 2016. The wines are all natural, nothing is added. Caterina said that when you have perfect grapes, everything you need to make great wine is already there. We agree 100%. The wines are not sold at the winery, so you have to find them in a wine store. If you see them, BUY THEM. .We found them a bit softer and lighter than Umbrian red wines, which we also adore.
The second winery we went to was Croce di Mezzo https://www.crocedimezzo.wine Their Rosso di Montalcino was good, but we really liked their grappa. They also make a beautiful pink grappa that smells like roses, but we found it too sweet.
You can’t go to Pienza and not buy pecorino. The trick is to buy from someone local. We went to Caseficio Cugusi. https://www.caseificiocugusi.it. and picked up a pecorino stagionoato (aged), a pecorino with truffles and one with a special crust. The store is in the countryside in a beautiful location. You can also buy a picnic basket there and enjoy the views while you eat. Here are a couple of pictures that show just how stunning the view is.
A view of Montepulciano from the cheese shop
Since we had time before dinner, we drove to the sanctuary of the Madonna di San Biagio,
https://www.tempiosanbiagio.it then walked up the hill to Montepulciano.
Sanctuary of the Madonna di San Biagio
After our passeggiata in Montepulciano, we drove to Torrita di Siena and had dinner at Ristorante La Macine. https://www.lemacineristorante.com
We got there a bit early, and it turned out to be a good thing, it was packed! And for good reason, the food was really good.
Sunday afternoon was perfect for a drive in the countryside on winding roads among the various small hill towns. We stopped for a passegiata in the small town of Castelnuovo Abate.
Dinner was in a rustic restaurant called Osteria Santa Caterina in Castiglione D’orcia.
Wow, what a fantastic weekend and great photos! I have always wanted to see those 3 places (Pienza, Montalcino and Montepulciano) and now I really want to go. Your other friend Carol (me) can’t wait for another visit to see you in Italy, hopefully in the next year or two. I’m so glad to see you both doing so many enjoyable things, I always love a new Tandem Spirits post! Ciao!