Hill Towns - Volterra and Montalcino
Trip Start
May 01, 2012
1
31
35
Trip End
May 31, 2012
Where I stayed
What I did
Volterra and Montalcino
Siena, Tuscany, Italy
Saturday, May 26, 2012
Tuscany is very pretty - rolling hills and neatly ordered fields of hay, various vegetables and of course olive trees and vineyards.
The hill towns date back to several hundred years BC.
Parking can be a problem and when we arrived in Volterra about 10 am the lot was already full. We eventually found a "private lot" which actually was part of the seminary. The fellow who seemed to be looking after the lot told us we couldn't park there but 3 euros seemed to convince him otherwise at the urging of a priest who was also parked there. The fellow wasn't there when we returned and we had to manually lift the gate to get out. I suspect the attendant was "unofficial".
Like a lot of Italy, both towns are like fitness circuits with steep hills, stairs and roads. Thankfully both are pedestrian friendly with a minimum of vehicles only to service the businesses and homes in the cities.
Volterra shops are known for the alabaster carvings and jewelry. The workmanship was quite amazing.
Volterra is located north of Siena. After visiting we headed south to Montalcino which is a major wine growing region and the town is known as a wine center. There was a fortress located in the town which was in excellent condition. We stopped in the main square and did the tourist thing having an appetizer and a glass of the wine.
Many of the stores offered wine tasting which also occurs at the many wineries surrounding the town.
This evening we had dinner at the Sotto le Fonti restaurant in Siena. Highly recommended. Tuscany menu with excellent service - reservations recommended.
