Mapping MONTALCINO

The temple of San Biagio seen from the Pienza - Montepulciano road Tuscany has countless churches in incredible locations. But some stick out and leave a mark, even if you're the 'seen one church, seen them all' type of person. Montepulciano's temple of San Biagio is one of them. It's hard not to drive off the road when noticing it for the first time while approaching Montepulciano on the road from Pienza. Over the years, I've observed many a hazardous manoeuvre by tourists trying to get a pic of San Biagio taking a sunset bath during golden hour (and am guilty of some of them myself). Whether you pull over on the road from Pienza or look down onto the church from Montepulciano's town walls, San Biagio looks incredible from every angle and in front of every backdrop. No doubt, Tuscans know how to choose a scenic location but its thanks to the genius of Renaissance architect Antonio da San Gallo the elder that the church stands out like no other wh...

The first week of April is the one time of spring that you don't want to be in Montalcino - or in any Italian wine town for that matter - since the majority of the country's winemakers won't be found in their vineyards but in Verona at Vinitaly, the Superbowl of Italian wine fairs.  For the rest of the month do come out. Above all if you're not just a wine drinker but also  a hobby photographer, watercolorist, hiker or wildflower lover. Va l d'Orcia in April is the proverbial explosion of colors, which will have its climax in May  before the landscape turns into hues of Sienna in the month of June.  GOOD TO KNOW Bring an umbrella. April is one of the rainiest months in Tuscany (hence all the colors). And i f you can, avoid Easter in Montalcino - Brunello town is a popular weekend destination for Northern Europeans and Italians who spend Pasqua away from home. Montalcino's town center and the famous Sant'Antimo abbey get very busy ...

Whilst  the  sell-out of tourist destination is a well known plague all through Italy, t here exists a tiny town in UNESCO Heritage Val d'Orcia which forgoes made in  China souvenirs and just opened a bookshop instead. Bagno Vignoni is one of  Tuscany's oldest tourist destinations.  In fact the historic spa town has never been anything else than a tourist destination,  and the ratio of inhabitants to visitors must always have been at least 1 to 10. Having looked after  medieval  pilgrims, ailing popes and saints ( St.  Catherine of Siena used to live here for a while),  Bagno Vignoni isn't tempted at all  to put out plastic chairs or pizza takeaways for  present day travelers.  I used to live close to Bagno Vignoni and have fond memories of chasing my first -born around the town's main square  which consists of a steaming hot  water pool (a  must-see sight for urban architects!).  Our healthy m...

As a Swiss I'd normally say June is already too hot for cycling in Tuscany. But with the weather gone Scottish this year, I can confidently say that June has become a perfect month for exploring the hills on top of a bike. And with this spring being the longest and wettest in history, the Tuscan wildflowers are having the time of their life. So make sure you take due time to do some walking or cycling whilst you travel the Tuscan hills. Stopping the car to take a few pics just isn't the same.  Wildflower cycling in Tuscany

About 40 minutes south of Siena and a bit over an hour from the Tuscan coast, Val d'Orcia lies to the east of the Maremma and to the west of Montepulciano and Umbria. The UNESCO world heritage site is made up by the territories of Montalcino, San Quirico d'Orcia  (with historic spa town Bagno Vignoni ) , Pienza, Castiglione d'Orcia and Radicofani. The Orcia river crosses two more municipalities (Castel del Piano and my hometown Cinigiano ), where it divides the province of Siena from the province of Grosseto (Tuscany's two southernmost areas) before flowing into the Ombrone river.    View VAL D'ORCIA MAP in a larger map

The art museums in Pienza, the truffle museum in San Giovanni d'Asso, the Mezzadria museum in Buonconvento and the Etruscan  museum in Murlo all have decided to join the European museum night on the 18th of May.  Food, art and Etruscan heritage lovers can visit the museums for FREE on Saturday night . If you drive as fast as the Italians, you may even be able to combine two free museum visits in one night.  The truffle museum in San Giovanni d'Asso grants free access from 8 - 10 pm. This interactive visit is not just for foodies, but great fun with kids too. The Mezzadria museum in Buonconvento , which tells the story of Tuscany's sharecroppers, can be visited from 9 - 11 pm. This is another great visit for kids - at least if yours stay up as late as our Italian ones (if in Buonconvento on Saturday also check out the Mille Miglia website - the oldtimers will roll through town from around 11 am).  The archaeology museum in Murlo near Buonconvento organi...

Spring in Montalcino means budbreak of the vines as  the earliest sign of a promising new vintage. But it also means countless foodie pleasures, even for the vegetarians between us. One of my favorite times in my Tuscan family is la baccellata - the moment when my father-in-law brings up the first broad beans from the garden and we eat them right away. The fresh pods (baccelli) are eaten raw paired with the first Pecorino cheese of the season, which is called Marzolino in reference to the month marzo (March). It looks like this:  Just add a glass of red wine: Baccelli beans and Marzolino  pecorino cheese

I'm always impressed when somebody knows a lot of flower names. I know about three of them (tulips, roses, and there was one more...). But the thing that I really envy is people who don't just recognize a particular plant, but also know whether it's edible, poisonous or something in between.  The Tuscan villages are full of such geniuses, who - in the form of old ladies -  spend spring mornings trotting along the road side to pick bunches of herbs and salad greens that look like common grass to me. It's a science really, and I'm relieved to see that efforts are made to passing the knowledge on to the next generation.  In March and April hands-on foraging lessons take place around Monticchiello in the heart of the Val d'Orcia . The beautiful village is best known for its teatro popolare (the fun theater performances of the locals) and for its vicinity to Pienza, the ideal Renaissance city of pope Pius II .  From wild fennel to mint: recognizing is ...