THE GARFAGNANA
Nestled between the Apuane Alps and the Apennines are three stunning valleys formed by the Serchio river and its tributaries: the low-lying Lima and Serchio Valleys and the higher Garfagnana Valley. These are often collectively referred to as the Garfagnana and are easily accessed from Lucca.
Many visitors to this relatively undiscovered area of raw beauty come to enjoy its hiking and biking. Others are attracted by the region’s rustic cuisine, which utilises local fruits of the forest including chestnuts (often ground into flour), porcini mushrooms and honey. Enthusiasts for military history come to the area around Borgo a Mozzano to see remnants of fortifications from the Linea Gotica (Gothic Line), the last major line of defence mounted by the retreating German army in the final stages of WWII.
Castelnuovo di Garfagnana, the main town in the valley, is the best spot in the Garfagnana to source information about the neighbouring Apuane Alps. The extremely helpful Centro Visite Parco Alpi Apuane (
0583 6 51 69; www.turismo.garfagnana.eu; Piazza delle Erbe 1; 
9.30am-1pm & 3-7pm Jun-Sep, to 5.30pm Oct-May) can supply loads of information on walking, mountain biking, horse riding and other activities, as well as lists of local guides. It also has plenty of information about agriturismi (farm stay accommodation) and rifugi (mountain huts) off any beaten track and sells hiking maps. To meet up with hardened walkers, try your luck at the local branch of Club Alpin Italiano ( 0583 6 55 77; www.garfagnanacai.it; Via Vittorio Emanuele 3; 9-10pm Thu, 6-7pm Sat).
In Castelnuovo di Garfagnana, the characterful Osteria Vecchio Mulino ( 0583 6 21 92; www.ilvecchiomulino.com, in Italian; Via Vittorio Emanuele 12; Tue-Sun 7.30am-8.30pm; tasting menu €15-20 incl wine) is a great spot to stop for lunch. It specialises in regional dishes.
The Garfagnana’s other major tourist destination is the picturesque hill-top town of Barga, presided over by a magnificent Romanesque cathedral. If you choose to stay overnight, Casa Cordati ( 0583 72 34 50; www.casacordati.it; Via di Mezzo 17, Barga Vecchia; d €40, 2-person apt €60; Mar-Oct), run by genial gallery owner Giordano Martinelli, offers excellent value. Rooms have lovely views, simple decor and good-sized bathrooms (some shared); the apartment is dark but well sized. There’s no breakfast.
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APUANE ALPS
Rearing up between the Versilian Riviera and the vast inland valley of the Garfagnana is this mountain range protected by the Parco Regionale delle Alpi Apuane (www.parcapuane.it).
You’ll find a good network of marked walking trails and rifugi in the park. To guide your steps, pick up Alpi Apuane Settentrionali (1:25,000) published by the Massa Carrara APT; or Edizione Multigraphic Firenze’s Parco delle Alpi Apuane (1:25,000, €7) or Versilia: Parco delle Alpi Apuane (1:50,000, €7). The Alps of Tuscany by Francesco Greco contains many enjoyable multiday routes.
The main gateways into the Parco Regionale delle Alpi Apuane are Seravezza and Castelnuovo di Garfagnana. In Seravezza, the information centre ( 0584 7 58 21; Via Corrado del Greco 11; 9am-1pm & 3.30-7.30pm Jun-Sep, 9.30am-12.30pm & 3-6pm Wed-Mon Oct-May) can supply plenty of information.
Carrara
pop 65,443
Many first-time visitors assume that the snowy-white mountain peaks forming Carrara’s backdrop are capped with snow. In fact, the vista provides a breathtaking illusion – the white is 2000 hectares of marble gouged out of the foothills of the Apuane Alps in vast quarries that have been worked since Roman times.
The texture and purity of Carrara’s white marble (derived from the Greek marmaros, meaning shining stone) is unrivalled and it was here that Michelangelo selected marble for masterpieces including David (actually sculpted from a dud veined block). These days it’s a multi-billion-euro industry.
The quarries, which are 5km north of town in Colonnata and Fantiscritti, have long been the area’s biggest employers. It’s hard, dangerous work and on Carrara’s central Piazza XXVII Aprile a monument remembers workers who lost their lives up on the hills. These tough men formed the backbone of a strong leftist and anarchist tradition in Carrara, something that won them no friends among the Fascists or, later, the occupying German forces.
Bar the thrill of seeing its mosaic marble pavements, marble street benches, decorative marble putti (winsome cherubs) and marble everything else, the old centre of Carrara doesn’t offer much to the visitor. The exception to this rule is in July to September in even-numbered years, when a contemporary sculpture biennale is staged here.
Opposite the stadium, halfway between Carrara and Marina di Carrara, there’s a tourist office ( 0585 84 41 36; Viale XX Settembre; 8.30am-5.30pm Jun-Aug, 9am-4pm Sep-May) that offers maps and brochures detailing local attractions. Opposite the tourist office is the Museo del Marmo (Marble Museum; 0585 84 57 46; Viale XX Settembre; adult/child/concession €4.50/free/2.50; 9.30am-1pm & 3.30-6pm Mon-Sat May-Sep, 9am-12.30pm & 2.30-5pm Mon-Sat Oct-Apr), which describes extraction from chisel-and-hammer days to the 21st century’s high-powered industrial quarrying and has a fascinating audiovisual oral history presentation documenting the lives of quarry workers in the 20th century.
If you’re interested in the techniques that artisans use to transform slabs of marble into works of art, make an appointment to visit the dust-filled Studi di Scultura Carlo Nicoli ( 0585 7 00 79; www.nicoli-sculptures.com; Piazza XXVII Aprile 8), the most atmospheric of Carrara’s five marble workshops. This is where internationally acclaimed artists such as Louise Bourgeois and Anish Kapoor instruct the marble laboratory (workshop) on how they want their work executed, thus taking advantage of a centuries-old tradition of artisanship that has been handed down from generation to generation. Serious artists (as opposed to novices) can also apply to base themselves here for months at a time, learning techniques in situ. After visiting, make your way to the area around the Romanesque cathedral for a coffee at Café Pasticceria Luzio Caflisch ( 0585 7 16 76; Via Roma 2; 7am-7.30pm Mon, Tue & Thu-Sat, 2-7.30pm Sun).
After visiting the Museo del Marmo and Studi di Scultura Carlo Nicoli, make your way up the mountain to any of the three major marble quarries: Cave di Colonnata, Cave di Torano and Cave di Fantiscritti, all around 5km north of town – follow the signs ‘cave de marmo’ (marble quarries). The Fantiscritti cave is the one best geared towards tourism; here, the hard graft is done in the morning, leaving the afternoons free for tours ( 339 765 7470; www.marmotour.com; 35min guided tour adult/child under 10 yr €7/3; noon-5pm Mon-Fri Mar, Apr, Sep & Oct, 11am-6.30pm Mon-Fri May-Aug, 11am-6.30pm Sat Mar-Oct) of the cathedral-like quarry hollowed out of the mountainside.
Carrara’s cheap and cheerful coastline and resorts (Marina di Carrara and neighbouring Marina di Massa) are especially popular with holidaying Italians. Ostello Apuano ( 0585 78 00 34; ostelloapuano@hotmail.com; Viale delle Pinete, Partaccia 237; dm €12; mid-Mar—mid-Oct; 
) is an HI-affiliated hostel slap bang next to the sand in a handsome house dating from the 1920s. Accommodation is in single-sex dorms only. Find it in Partaccia, which is just north of Marina di Massa. From the Carrara train station catch bus 53, marked Via Avenza Mare.
Pietrasanta
pop 24,609
This charming town is a perfect base for explorations into the Apuane Alps. Founded by Guiscardo da Pietrasanta, podestà (governing magistrate) of Lucca in 1255, it was seen as a prize by Genoa, Lucca, Pisa and Florence, all of whom jostled for possession of its marble quarries and bronze foundries. As was so often the case, Florence won out and Leo X (Giovanni de’ Medici) took control in 1513. Leo put the town’s famous quarries at the disposal of Michelangelo, who came here in 1518 to source marble for the facade of San Lorenzo in Florence. The artistic inclination of Pietrasanta dates from this time, and today it is the home of many artists and artisans, including internationally lauded, Colombian-born sculptor Fernando Botero.
Pietrasanta was originally walled, and the historic centre is now a Limited Traffic Zone. If you are arriving by car, park in front of the town hall on Piazza Matteotti. There’s a tourist information point ( 0584 28 32 84; info@pietrasantamarina.it; 9am-1pm & 4.30-7pm Mon-Wed & Fri, 4.30-7pm Thu, 9am-1pm & 4.30-7pm Sat, 9am-1pm & 4-7.30pm Sun) in nearby Piazza Statuto. From here, walk down the main shopping strip, Via Mazzini, which is book-ended by contemporary street sculptures. The Chiesa della Misericordia on this strip is home to frescoes of the Gate of Paradise and Gate of Hell by Botero (the artist portrays himself in hell). Nearby, Pasticceria Dazzi ( 0584 7 01 74; Via Mazzini 64) is known for its excellent coffee and sweet treats.
Arriving at sculpture-filled Piazza del Duomo, you can walk straight ahead into Via Garibaldi, home to commercial art galleries and a 17th-century baptistry with two beautiful marble fonts dating from 1389 and 1509–1612, respectively. Also here is Pietrasanta’s best-loved enoteca, the atmospheric L’Enoteca Marcucci ( 0584 79 19 62; Via Garibaldi 40; 10am-1pm & 5pm-1am Tue-Sun).
On the other side of the attractive Duomo di San Martino, which dates from 1256 and is notable for its fine interior marble carving, is the deconsecrated 13th-century Chiesa di Sant’Agostino ( 4-7pm Tue-Sun), now a wonderfully evocative venue for art exhibitions. The adjoining former convent dates from 1515–79 and houses a cultural centre and the Museo dei Bozzetti ( 0584 79 55 00; www.museodeibozzetti.it; Via S Agostino 1; admission free; 2-7pm Tue-Sat, 4-7pm Sun), which exhibits moulds of famous sculptures cast or carved in Pietrasanta.
Albergo Pietrasanta ( 0584 79 37 26; www.albergopietrasanta.com; Via Garibaldi 35; d €295-375, ste €375-420; 
) is an elegant art-filled palazzo close to Piazza del Duomo. After a day spent exploring the town or walking in the Apuane Alps, you can relax in the gorgeous courtyard or your beautifully appointed room.
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PISA
pop 87,461
Once a maritime power to rival Genoa and Venice, Pisa now draws its fame from an architectural project gone terribly wrong. But the world-famous Leaning Tower is just one of many noteworthy sights in this compact and compelling city. Education has fuelled the local economy since the 1400s, and students from across Italy still compete for places in its elite university and research schools. This endows the centre of town with a vibrant and affordable cafe and bar scene, and balances what is an enviable portfolio of well-maintained Romanesque buildings, Gothic churches and Renaissance piazzas with a lively streetlife dominated by locals rather than tourists.
History
Possibly of Greek origin, Pisa became an important naval base under Rome and remained a significant port for many centuries. The city’s so-called golden days began late in the 9th century when it became an independent maritime republic and a rival of Genoa and Venice. The good times rolled on into the 12th and 13th centuries, by which time Pisa controlled Corsica, Sardinia and most of the mainland coast as far south as Civitavecchia. Most of the city’s finest buildings date from this period, when the distinctive Pisan-Romanesque architectural style flourished.
Pisa’s support for the Ghibellines during the tussles between the Holy Roman Emperor and the pope brought the city into conflict with its mostly Guelph Tuscan neighbours, including Siena, Lucca and Florence. The real blow came when Genoa’s fleet defeated Pisa in devastating fashion at the Battle of Meloria in 1284. After the city fell to Florence in 1406, the Medici encouraged great artistic, literary and scientific endeavours and re-established Pisa’s university. Galileo Galilei, the city’s most famous son, later taught at the university.
Information
- APT Pisa (www.pisaturismo.it); Airport ( 050 50 25 18; 11am-11pm); Piazza dei Miracoli ( 050 4 22 91; entrance foyer, Museo dell’Opera del Duomo; 10am-7pm); Piazza Vittorio Emanuele II ( 050 4 22 91; 9am-7pm Mon-Fri, to 1.30pm Sat) Tourist information.
- Internet Planet ( 050 83 07 02; Piazza Cavallotti 3-4; per hr €4; 9am-midnight Mon-Fri, 10am-10pm Sat & Sun)
- Onda Blu ( 800 861346; Via San Francesco 8a; 8am-10pm) Laundrette.
- Post office (Piazza Vittorio Emanuele II)
Sights
Many visitors to Pisa limit their sightseeing to the Piazza dei Miracoli monuments, but those in the know tend to stay an extra day or two to explore the historic centre. This inclination to linger will become even more pronounced when the Museum of the Ancient Ships of Pisa (Museo Navi Antiche Romane di Pisa; www.cantierenavipisa.it, in Italian) on Lungarno Simonelli opens in early 2010. The museum will display a remarkable collection of nine Roman cargo ships excavated from Pisa’s silted-up harbour in 1998 and restored over the past decade.
PIAZZA DEI MIRACOLI
No Tuscan sight is more immortalised in kitsch souvenirs than the iconic tower teetering on the edge of this famous piazza, which is also known as the Campo dei Miracoli (Field of Miracles) or Piazza del Duomo (Cathedral Square). The piazza’s expansive green lawns provide an urban carpet on which Europe’s most extraordinary concentration of Romanesque buildings – in the form of Cathedral, Baptistry and Tower – are arranged. Two million visitors every year mean that crowds are the norm, many arriving by tour bus from Florence for a whirlwind visit.
Leaning Tower
Yes, the Torre Pendente ( ticket reservations 050 387 22 10; www.opapisa.it/boxoffice/index; 8.30am-8.30pm Apr—mid-Jun & last 2 weeks Sep, 8.30am-11pm mid-Jun—mid-Sep, 9am-7pm Oct, 10am-5pm Nov-Feb, 9am-6pm or 7pm Mar) really does lean; see the boxed text on Click here for some background as to how it ended up in its sorry state.
In 1160 Pisa boasted 10,000-odd towers – but had no bell tower for its cathedral. Loyal Pisan Berta di Bernardo righted this in 1172 when she died, leaving a legacy for construction of a campanile (bell tower). Work began in 1173 but ground to a halt a decade later, when the structure’s first three tiers were observed to be tilting. In 1272 work started again, with artisans and masons attempting to bolster the foundations but failing miserably. Despite this, they keep going, compensating for the lean by gradually building straight up from the lower storeys and creating a subtle curve.
Over the centuries, the tower has tilted an extra 1mm each year. By 1993 it was 4.47m out of plumb, more than five degrees from the vertical. The most recent solution saw steel braces slung around the third storey that were then joined to steel cables attached to neighbouring buildings. This held the tower in place as engineers began gingerly removing soil from below the northern foundations. After some 70 tonnes of earth had been extracted from the northern side, the tower sank to its 18th-century level and, in the process, rectified the lean by 43.8cm. Experts believe that this will guarantee the tower’s future (and a fat tourist income) for the next three centuries.
Access to the tower is limited to 40 people at one time, and children aged under eight are not admitted. If you don’t want to wait for hours, book in advance (online or by telephone); otherwise go straight to a ticket office when you arrive at the piazza and book the first available slot.
Visits – a steep climb up 294 occasionally slippy steps – last 30 minutes; late evening visits in summer proffer enchanting views of Pisa by night. All bags, including handbags, must be deposited at the free left-luggage desk next to the central ticket office.
Duomo
Construction of Pisa’s Cathedral ( 10am-8pm Apr-Sep, 10am-7pm Oct, 10am-1pm & 2-5pm 1 Nov-24 Dec & 8 Jan-28 Feb, 9am-6pm 25 Dec-7 Jan, 10am-6pm or 7pm Mar) began in 1063 and continued until the 13th century, when the main facade was added. The elliptical dome, the first of its kind in Europe, dates from 1380. The building’s striking cladding of alternating bands of green and cream marble became the blueprint for Romanesque churches throughout Tuscany.
The cathedral was the largest in Europe when it was constructed, its breathtaking proportions designed to demonstrate Pisa’s domination of the Mediterranean. The main facade has four exquisite tiers of columns diminishing skywards, while the vast interior is propped up by 68 hefty granite columns. The wooden ceiling decorated with 24-carat gold is a legacy from the period of Medici rule of the city.
Inside, don’t miss the extraordinary early 14th-century octagonal pulpit in the north aisle. Sculpted from Carrara marble by Giovanni Pisano and featuring nude and heroic figures, its depth of detail and heightening of feeling brought a new pictorial expressionism and life to Gothic sculpture. Pisano’s work forms a striking contrast to the modern pulpit and altar by Italian sculptor Giuliano Vangi, which were controversially installed in 2001.
Baptistry
The unusual, round Battistero ( 8am-8pm Apr-Sep, 9am-6pm or 7pm Mar & Oct, 10am-5pm Nov-Feb) has one dome piled on top of another, each roofed half in lead, half in tiles. Construction began in 1152, but it was notably remodelled and continued by Nicola and Giovanni Pisano more than a century later and was finally completed in the 14th century – hence its hybrid architectural style.
Inside, the beautiful hexagonal pulpit carved by Nicola Pisano between 1259–60 is the undisputed highlight. Inspired by the Roman sarcophagi in the Camposanto (see below), Pisano used powerful classical models to enact scenes from biblical legend. His figure of Daniel, who supports one of the corners of the pulpit on his shoulders, was clearly modelled on an ancient statue of Hercules and is one of the earliest heroic nude figures in Italian art, often cited as the inauguration of a tradition that would reach perfection with Michelangelo’s David.
Every 30 minutes, a custodian demonstrates the double dome’s remarkable acoustics and echo effects.
Camposanto & Museo delle Sinópie
Soil shipped from Calvary during the Crusades is said to lie within the white walls of the hauntingly beautiful Camposanto (Cemetery; 8am-8pm Apr-Sep, 9am-6pm or 7pm Mar & Oct, 10am-5pm Nov-Feb), a cloistered quadrangle where prominent Pisans were once buried. Some of the sarcophagi here are of Graeco-Roman origin, recycled in the Middle Ages.
During WWII, Allied artillery destroyed many of the precious 14th- and 15th-centuryfrescoes that covered the cloister walls. Among the few to survive was the Triumph of Death – a remarkable illustration of Hell attributed to 14th-century painter Buonamico Buffalmacco. A program of restoration of those frescoes damaged rather than totally destroyed by the bombs is currently underway and the sinópie (preliminary sketches) drawn by the artists in red earth pigment on the walls of the Camposanto before the frescoes were overpainted are now on display in the Sinópie Museum ( 8am-8pm Apr-Sep, 9am-6pm or 7pm Mar & Oct, 10am-5pm Nov-Feb), on the opposite side of the square.
Museo dell’Opera del Duomo
Housed in the Cathedral’s former chapter house, the Museum of the Cathedral ( 8am-8pm Apr-Sep, 9am-6pm or 7pm Mar & Oct, 10am-5pm Nov-Feb) is a repository for works of art once displayed in the Cathedral and Baptistry. Highlights include Giovanni Pisano’s ivory carving of the Madonna and Child (1299), made for the Cathedral’s high altar, and his mid-13th-century Madonna del Colloquio (Madonna of the Colloquy), from a gate of the Duomo. Legendary booty includes various pieces of Islamic art, including the griffin that once topped the Cathedral and a 10th-century Moorish hippogriff.
THE CITY
From Piazza dei Miracoli, head south along Via Santa Maria and turn left at Piazza Cavallotti for the splendid Piazza dei Cavalieri, remodelled by Vasari in the 16th century. Palazzo dell’Orologio, located on the northern side of the piazza, occupies the site of a tower where, in 1288, Count Ugolino della Gherardesca, his sons and grandsons were starved to death on suspicion of having helped the Genovese enemy at the Battle of Meloria, an incident recorded in Dante’s Inferno. Palazzo dei Cavalieri, on the northeastern side of the piazza, was redesigned by Vasari and features remarkable sgraffito (a surface covered with plaster which is then scratched away to create a three-dimensional trompe l’œil effect of carved stone or brick). It now houses the Scuolo Normale Superiore, considered by many to be the most prestigious university in Italy.
Wander south to the area around Borgo Stretto, the city’s medieval heart. Investigate the shops and cafes tucked under the monumental arcades, and marvel at the survival of the graffiti on the facade of Chiesa di San Michele in Borgo, which dates all the way back to a 15th-century election for the rector of a local school. A daily food market is held in adjoining Piazza delle Vettovaglie, which is ringed with 15th-century porticoes. In the evening, the piazza’s bars are popular spots for an aperitivo.
From Piazza Garibaldi, veer east along the Lungarno to visit the Museo Nazionale di San Matteo ( 050 54 18 65; Piazza San Matteo in Soarta, Lungarno Mediceo; adult/concession €5/2.50; 8.30am-7pm Tue-Sat, to 1.30pm Sun), a repository of medieval masterpieces housed in a 13th-century former Benedictine convent. This fine gallery has a notable collection of 14th- and 15th-century Pisan sculptures, including pieces by Nicola and Giovanni Pisano, Andrea and Nino Pisano, Francesco di Valdambrino, Donatello, Michelozzo and Andrea della Robbia, but its collection of paintings from the Tuscan school (c 12th to 14th centuries) is even better, with works by Berlinghiero, Lippo Memmi, Taddeo Gaddi, Gentile da Fabriano and Ghirlandaio on show. Don’t miss Masaccio’s St Paul, Fra’ Angelico’s Madonna of Humility and Simone Martini’s Polyptych of Saint Catherine.
To view art from a different era, make your way to the nearby Babette Food and Art Café ( 050 991 33 02; Lungarno Mediceo 15; 9am-11pm Tue-Sun; 
), a favourite haunt of the local bohemian set. Its exposed-brick walls play host to a changing programme of works by local artists and its casual vibe encourages coffee-fuelled conversation.
ACROSS THE ARNO
Cross the Ponte di Mezzo to reach Pisa’s major shopping boulevard, Corso Italia. West of the corso, facing the river, is the Palazzo Blu ( 050 2 85 15; www.palazzoblu.it; Lungarno Gambacorti 9; 20min tour in Italian free, pre-booked 1hr tour in English or French for up to 5 people €17; 10am-6pm Tue-Sun), a magnificently restored 14th-century building that sports over-the-top 19th-century interior decoration. Home to the Foundation CariPisa art collection, which comprises predominantly Pisan works from the 14th to the 20th century, the palazzo also hosts temporary exhibitions. Access is via a 20-minute guided tour only (at 4pm, 4.30pm and 5pm daily unless pre-booked).
Continuing west you’ll come to one of Pisa’s architectural gems, the Chiesa di Santa Maria della Spina (Lungarno Gambacorti; adult/concession €2/1.50; 10am-1.45pm & 3-5.45pm Tue-Fri, 10am-1.45pm & 3-6.45pm Sat Mar-Oct, 10am-2pm Tue-Sun Nov-Feb). A fine example of Pisan-Gothic style, this now-deconsecrated church was built between 1223 and 1230 to house a reliquary of a spina (thorn) from Christ’s crown. Its ornately spired exterior is encrusted with tabernacles and statues but the interior is simple and perfectly suited to quiet reflection. Inside, the focal point is Andrea and Nino Pisano’s Madonna and Child (aka Madonna of the Rose, 1345–48), a masterpiece of Gothic sculpture that still bears traces of its original colours and gilding. At the other end of the church is a copy of the graceful Madonna del Latte (Our Lady of Milk, 1343–47), sculpted by either Nino or Andrea Pisano and now occupying pride of place in the collection of the Museo Nazionale di San Matteo.
Festivals & Events
On 17 June, the Arno comes to life with the Regata Storica di San Ranieri, a rowing competition commemorating the city’s patron saint. On the night preceding this event (16 June), Pisa celebrates the Luminaria, when some 70,000 candles illuminate the streets running along the Arno river in honour of San Ranieri.
For the Gioco del Ponte (Game of the Bridge), on the last Sunday in June, two groups in medieval costume battle it out over the Ponte di Mezzo.
The Palio delle Quattro Antiche Repubbliche Marinare (Regatta of the Four Ancient Maritime Republics) sees a procession of boats and a dramatic race between the four historical maritime rivals: Pisa, Venice, Amalfi and Genoa. The event rotates between the four towns: it’s Pisa’s turn in 2010 and 2014. Although usually held in June, it has on occasion been delayed till as late as September.
Sleeping
BUDGET
There are no budget hotels or hostels in Pisa worthy of a recommendation.
Camping Torre Pendente ( 050 56 17 04; www.campingtorrependente.it; Via delle Cascine 86; camping 2 people, car & tent €20-71; Apr—mid-Oct; 
) Around 1km northwest of Piazza dei Miracoli, this camping ground isn’t Tuscany’s most attractive, but it has a supermarket, restaurant and small pool.
MIDRANGE
Hotel San Francesco ( 050 55 41 09; www.hotelfrancesco.com; Via Santa Maria 129; r €70-100; ) On a busy street leading to the Leaning Tower, the San Francesco offers 13 clean but characterless rooms. Though quiet and relatively well equipped, the standard choices are slightly overpriced; go for one of the 1st-floor rooms (Nos 201 and 202), which share a terrace.
Hotel Il Giardino ( 050 56 21 01; www.hotelilgiardino.pisa.it; Piazza Manin 1; s/d €80/100; ) A gaggle of souvenir traders might hit you the second you walk out the door, but the Garden Hotel – an old Medici staging post on the other side of the Cathedral square wall – does have the advantage of a peaceful garden terrace to breakfast on while enjoying the view of the Baptistry dome. Decor is contemporary, with original artworks in all rooms.
Hotel di Stefano ( 050 55 35 59; www.hoteldistefano.pisa.it; Via Sant’Apollonia 35-37; s with shared bathroom €45-65, d with shared bathroom €65-80, s with bathroom €65-140, d with bathroom €75-170; ) There are three reasons to stay at this friendly three-star: its location in a quiet backstreet in the medieval quarter; its smart, simple rooms; and its terrace with views of the tower’s top half. Deluxe rooms in the recently renovated Casa Torre (c 1045) feature wooden-beamed ceilings and exposed stone walls.
Hotel Bologna ( 050 50 21 20; www.hotelbologna.pisa.it; Via Mazzini 57; s €59-99, d €119-179; ) This four-star choice on the south side of the Arno offers quiet, well-equipped rooms, efficient service and a generous breakfast buffet. It’s only a 1km walk to Piazza dei Miracoli.
Royal Victoria Hotel ( 050 94 01 11; www.royalvictoria.it; Lungarno Pacinotti 12; r with shared bathroom €80, r with bathroom €100-150; ) This doyen of Pisan hotels, run with love and tender care by the Piegaja family for five generations, offers old-world luxury accompanied by warm, attentive service. The central location overlooking the Arno couldn’t be better.
Eating
Being a university town, Pisa has a good range of eating places, especially around Borgo Stretto, the university on Piazza Dante Alighieri and south of the river in the trendy San Martino quarter.
BUDGET
Il Montino (Vicolo del Monte 1; pizza slice €1.20-1.50, full pizza €3.80-7.20; 10.30am-3pm & 5-10pm Mon-Sat) Students and sophisticates alike adore the cecina (chickpea pizza) and spuma (a sweet, non-alcoholic drink) that are the specialities of this famous pizzeria. You can follow their lead or instead opt for a foccacine (flat roll) filled with salami, pancetta or porchetta (pork). Order to go or claim one of the outdoor tables. You’ll find it in the laneway behind Caffetiera Ginostra.
Bar Pasticceria Salza ( 050 58 02 44; Borgo Stretto 44; 8am-8.30pm Apr-Oct, varies Tue-Sun Nov-Mar) Salza has been tempting patrons off Borgo Stretto and into sugar-induced wickedness ever since the 1920s. Claim one of the tables in the arcade, or save some money by standing at the bar – the excellent coffee and dangerously delicious cakes and chocolates will satisfy regardless of where they are sampled.
Trattoria della Faggiola ( 050 55 61 79; Via della Faggiola 1; primi €7-7.50, secondi €8-9.50; dinner Fri & Sat, lunch Mon-Thu) This popular trattoria recently changed hands, and its loyal clientele suffered a few sleepless nights before the new owners managed to convince them that standards wouldn’t slip. Breathing sighs of relief, they continue to choose from the three or four daily specials per course, eaten in the homely interior or at streetside tables. No credit cards.
MIDRANGE
Enoteca Osteria Il Colonnino ( 050 313 84 30; Via S Andrea 37-41; meals €31; lunch & dinner Tue-Sun) Located in the warren of medieval streets between Piazza San Francesco and the river, Il Colonnino is a great spot for lunch, aperitivo or dinner, with modern-accented Italian dishes providing perfect accompaniments to an impressive wine list. The weekday lunch deal of a daily plate, water and glass of ‘good wine’ (€10) is a steal.
Osteria del Porton Rosso ( 050 58 05 66; Vicolo del Porton Rosso 11; meals €32; lunch & dinner Mon-Sat) Two menus – one from the land and one from the sea – tempt at this old-fashioned but excellent osteria in a laneway behind the Royal Victoria Hotel. Here, Pisan specialities such as fresh ravioli with salted cod and chickpeas happily coexist with Tuscan classics such as grilled fillet steak.
Ristoro al Vecchio Teatro ( 050 2 02 10; Piazza Dante Alighieri; set menu €35; lunch Mon-Sat, dinner Tue-Sat) The Vecchio Teatro’s genial host is proud of his set menu, and for good reason. The four courses are dominated by local seafood specialities and diners will encounter delights such as torta di ceci infranti con le arselle (an unusual savoury cake of smashed chickpeas with mussels) and risotto with prawns and orange. The dessert finale includes a castagnaccio (sweet chestnut cake) that has been known to prompt diners to spontaneous applause.
Drinking
Most of the student drinking action is in and around Piazza delle Vettovaglie and Piazza Dante.
Bazeel (www.bazeel.it, in Italian; Lungarno Pacinotti 1; 5pm-2am) On the corner of centrally located Piazza Garibaldi, this bar draws a mixed clientele and is famous for its aperitivo spread. If you want to score one of the outdoor tables, get there a bit before 6pm. After 9pm there’s usually live music or a DJ.
Getting There & Away
AIR
Pisa International Airport Galileo Galilei (PSA; 050 84 93 00; www.pisa-airport.com), 2km south of town, is Tuscany’s main international airport and handles flights to most major European cities.
BUS
From its hub on Piazza Sant’Antonio, Pisan bus company CPT (Compagnia Pisana Trasporti; 800 012773; www.cpt.pisa.it, in Italian) runs buses to/from Volterra (€5, two hours, up to 10 daily) and Livorno (€2.50, 55 minutes, half-hourly). To get to Florence or Lucca, take the train.
CAR & MOTORCYCLE
Pisa is close to the A11 and A12. The SCG FI-PI-LI is a toll-free alternative for Florence and Livorno, while the north—south SS1, the Via Aurelia, connects the city with La Spezia and Rome.
Parking costs between €0.50 and €2 per hour, but you must be careful that the car park you choose is not in the city’s exclusion zone (see the boxed text, below). There’s a free car park outside the zone on Lungarno Guadalongo near the Fortezza di San Gallo on the south side of the Arno, and well-located pay parking to the west of the Piazza dei Miracoli just outside the Porta di Manin, at the bus station north of the Piazza dei Miracoli, in Piazza Santa Caterina (access this via Porta San Zeno) and on Via Cesare Battisti near the train station on the south side of the river.
TRAIN
Pisa is connected by rail to Florence and is also on the Rome—La Spezia train line. Destinations include Florence (€5.60 to €11.40, one to 1½ hours, frequent), Rome (€17.65 to €37.10, 2½ to four hours, 16 daily), Livorno (€1.80, 15 minutes, frequent) and Lucca (€2.40, 30 minutes, every 30 minutes). To get to Volterra, catch a train to Cecina (€4.20 to €8.60, 40 to 70 minutes, 23 daily) and then a connecting CPT bus (€3.50, frequent).
Getting Around
TO/FROM THE AIRPORT
For Pisa airport, take a train to/from Stazione Pisa Centrale (€1.10, five minutes, 33 per day) or the LAM Rossa (red) line (€1, 10 minutes, every 10 to 20 minutes), which is operated by CPT and passes through the city centre and train station on its way to/from the airport. If you purchase your ticket on board the bus rather than from the airport information office or a newsstand, it will cost an extra €0.50. A taxi between the airport and the city centre will cost between €8 and €10.
Terravision (www.terravision.eu) runs buses between the airport and Florence’s Stazione di Santa Maria Novella (adult €10/16 one-way/return, child €5/9, 70 minutes, up to 13 daily). Vaibus/Lazzi runs services between the airport and Lucca (€2.80, one hour, 30 daily). TRAIN S.p.A. ( 0577 20 42 46; www.trainspa.it) runs two services daily between the airport and Siena (€14/26 one-way/return).
Local company Ecovoyager ( 050 56 18 39, 339 7607652; www.ecovoyager.it; Via della Faggiola 41; 9am-midnight Mon-Fri) offers city bike hire for €12 per day and a 2½-hour Segway tour of the historic centre for €65 per person.
For a taxi call 050 54 16 00 (airport), 050 4 12 52 (Pisa railway station) or 050 56 18 78 (Piazza dei Miracoli).
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LIVORNO
pop 160,949
Livorno is Tuscany’s second-largest city and a quintessential port town with few apologies. Having been heavily bombed during WWII, the city was rebuilt with an unfortunate lack of aesthetics.
There’s a tourist kiosk ( 0586 20 46 11; www.costadeglietruschi.it; Piazza del Municipio; 9am-5pm Apr-Oct, 9.30am-12.30pm & 2-5pm Mon-Sat Nov-Mar) in the centre of town; the tourist office ( 0586 89 53 20; Jun-Sep) is near the main ferry terminal at Stazione Marittima.
Sights
Mercato Centrale (Via Buontalenti; 6am-2pm Mon-Sat), Livorno’s magnificent late-19th-century, 95m-long neoclassical food market, miraculously survived Allied WWII bombing. Arrive early to appreciate the wares on offer in the amazing fish section.
WARNING
There is a strict Limited Traffic Zone (ZTL) in Pisa’s historic centre for all nonresidents, and this is rigorously enforced. If you drive into the zone, your car will be photographed and a fine of €76 plus administrative costs will be sent to you (or the car-hire company you have used). If you are staying at a hotel in the zone, you must supply the car’s registration details to hotel staff as soon as you check in so that they can register you for a temporary permit; if you are disabled, call 800 086540 and you should also be able to obtain a free temporary permit. For maps of the ZTL, go to https://secure.comune.pisa.it/tzi/info.jsp.
The Fortezza Nuova (admission free), built for the Medici family in the late 16th century, is in an area known as Piccola Venezia (Little Venice) because of its small canals. The interior is now a park and little remains of the fort except for the sturdy outer walls.
Close to the waterfront is the city’s other fort, the Fortezza Vecchia (Old Fort; admission free), constructed 60 years earlier on the site of an 11th-century building. With huge vertical cracks and bits crumbling away, it looks as though it might give up and slide into the sea at any moment.
Livorno’s hands-on Museo di Storia Naturale del Mediterraneo ( 0586 26 67 11; www.provincia.livorno.it, in Italian; Via Roma 234; adult/child €10/5; 9am-1pm Tue-Fri, 3-7pm Tue, Thu & Sat, 3-7pm Sun) is an exhaustive, first-rate museum experience for the natural sciences. Temporary exhibits rotate continually.
The Museo Civico Giovanni Fattori ( 0586 80 80 01; museofattori@comune.livorno.it; Via San Jacopo in Acquaviva 65; admission €4; 10am-1pm & 4-7pm Tue-Sun), in a pretty park 1km south of the city, features works by the Livorno-based 19th-century Macchiaioli school.
Sleeping
Camping Miramare ( 0586 58 04 02; www.campingmiramare.com; Via del Littorale 220; camping per person €9-10, pitch €20-40; year-round; ) This is a shady place with its own restaurant and pizzeria, right beside the beach in Antignano, about 8km south of town. There are three categories of campsites, including some with sea views, sun chairs and umbrellas.
Pensione Dante ( 349 6260076; mihaela.b@hotmail.it; 1st fl, Scali d’Azeglio 28; s/d €30/40) New management has introduced new beds and vastly improved bathrooms and a kitchen here. Rooms are large and bare, some with a view of the canal, but everything is squeaky clean. The new breakfast room opens to the canal as well, and has a TV and coffee machine.
Hotel Al Teatro ( 0586 89 87 05; www.hotelalteatro.it; Via Enrico Mayer 42; s €95-110, d €130-150; ) This popular eight-room boutique hotel has smallish, colour-themed rooms with understated, classic furniture and tapestry bedspreads. A few have views of the garden with a 200-year-old tree. Disabled access.
Eating
Cantina Senese ( 0586 89 02 39; Borgo dei Cappuccini 95; meals from €19; Mon-Sat) Food- and value-conscious harbour workers are the first to fill the long wooden tables at this wonderfully unpretentious and friendly eatery, with neighbourhood families arriving later. Ordering is frequently done via faith in one’s server, rather than by menu. The mussels are exceptionally good, as is the cacciucco di pesce (fish stew).
Antica Venezia ( 0586 88 73 53; Piazza dei Domenicani; meals €23; Mon-Sat) A dog-eared, pen-written menu filled with tempting dishes can be produced, with difficulty, if requested, but servers prefer to launch straight into the catch-of-the-day specials, usually negating the need for further consideration. A giant cacciucco costs €16.
Osteria La Barrocciaia ( 0586 88 26 37; Piazza Cavallotti 13; meals €22; Tue-Sat) The worst-kept dining secret in Livorno it may be, but locating Barrocciaia still takes a careful eye, what with it being the most inconspicuous facade and well-hidden sign in Piazza Cavallotti. Big sandwiches (€5) are sold out of the tiny front room, but with luck and timing you can score a table and enjoy the real reason every local speaks of this place with reverence.
Getting There & Away
BOAT
Livorno is a major port. Regular departures for Sardinia and Corsica leave from Calata Carrara, beside Stazione Marittima. Ticket prices vary wildly depending on date and time of travel. Ferries to Capraia and Gorgona depart from Porto Mediceo, a smaller terminal near Piazza dell’Arsenale. Some services to Sardinia depart from Porto Nuovo, about 3km north of the city along Via Sant’Orlando. Ferry companies operating from Livorno include:
- Corsica Ferries & Sardinia Ferries ( 019 21 55 11; www.corsicaferries.com, www.sardiniaferries.com; Stazione Marittima) Heads to Bastia in Corsica (deck class €28 to €36, four hours, two or three services per week, daily summer) and Sardinia (deck class to Golfo Aranci, near Olbia, €32 to €40, six hours express, nine hours regular ferry, four services per week, daily summer).
- Lloyd Sardegna ( 0565 22 23 00; www.lloydsardegna.it) Daily ferries to Sardinia (Olbia, €15 to €45, 11 hours).
- Moby ( 199 30 30 40; www.moby.it) Services to Bastia, Corsica (€19 to €46, three to four hours) and Olbia, Sardinia (€16 to €83, eight to 12 hours).
- Toremar ( 199 12 31 99; www.toremar.it, in Italian) Daily services to Isola di Capraia (€14.20, 2½ hours).
BUS
ATL ( 800 317700; www.atl.livorno.it) buses depart Pisa International Airport Galileo Galilei travelling to Livorno; they return via Pisa’s Stazione Centrale (€2.90, one hour, hourly). CPT offers services to Pisa’s Piazza Sant’Antonio (€2.50, 55 minutes, half-hourly).
TRAIN
Livorno is on the Rome—La Spezia line and is also connected to Florence and Pisa. Destinations include Rome (€16.65 to €30, three to four hours, 12 daily), Florence (€6.50, 1½ hours, 16 daily) and Pisa (€1.80, 15 minutes, frequent).
Trains are less frequent to Stazione Marittima, the station for the ports, but buses to and from the main train station run regularly.
Getting Around
ATL bus 1 runs from the main train station to Porto Mediceo. To reach Stazione Marittima, take bus 7 or electric bus PB1, PB2 or PB3. All pass through Piazza Grande.
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ELBA
pop 31,000
Napoleon would think twice about fleeing from Elba were he exiled here today. Though it’s a bit more congested now than when he arrived in 1814 (he engineered an escape in less than a year), the island is an ever-glorious setting of beaches, blue waters, mountain trekking and mind-bending views.
Over a million visitors a year take the one-hour ferry cruise out here, and in Portoferraio, the primary arrival point, it sometimes feels like they’ve all decided to turn up on the same weekend. Elba is the largest, most visited and most heavily populated island of the Tuscan Archipelago – which incorporates the Parco Nazionale Arcipelago Toscano (www.islepark.it), Europe’s largest marine protected area – yet this 28km-long, 19km-wide island has plenty of quiet nooks, particularly if you time a visit for April, May or September. Avoid August at all costs.
ACTIVITIES
The multilingual tourist-office leaflet Lo Sport Emerge dal Mare has a useful map and lists walking and cycling trails plus where to sign on for scuba diving, windsurfing and other watery activities.
The Centro Trekking Isola d’Elba ( 0565 93 08 37; www.geniodelbosco.it), run by Il Genio del Bosco, leads trekking, biking and kayaking excursions around Elba, Capraia, Giglio and Pianosa.
Il Libraio ( 0565 91 71 35; Calata Mazzini 10, Portoferraio) stocks a variety of walking and biking maps for the island.
GETTING THERE & AWAY
Elba is an agreeable one-hour ferry journey from Piombino. If you arrive in Piombino by train, take a connecting train on to the port. Boats to Portoferraio are the most frequent, while some call in at Rio Marina, Marina di Campo and Porto Azzurro.
Boats are run by Moby and Toremar. Unless it is a summer weekend or the middle of August, when queues can form, simply buy a ticket at the port. Fares (€10 to €18 per person, €35 to €49 per small car) vary according to the season.
Toremar also operates a passenger-only hydrofoil service (€14 to €17, 40 minutes) year-round, and, between June and August, a fast vehicle and passenger service (two people and car from €69.20 return) to Portoferraio.
Portoferraio
Known to the Romans as Fabricia and later Ferraia (since it was a port for iron exports), this small harbour was acquired by Cosimo I de’ Medici in the mid-16th century, when the fortifications took shape.
It can be a hectic place, but wandering the streets/steps of the historic centre and indulging in the exceptional eating options more than make up for the squeeze.
INFORMATION
- Associazione Albergatori Isola d’Elba ( 0565 91 55 55; www.elbapromotion.it, in Italian; 2nd fl, Calata Italia 26) The island’s professional hotel association can reserve accommodation.
- Elba Link (www.elbalink.it) Carries lots of useful information about the island.
- Info Park Are@ ( 0565 91 88 09; infoparkare@gmail.com; cnr Viale Elba & Calata Italia; 9.30am-1.30pm & 3.30-7.30pm daily summer, Mon-Sat rest of year) Information office of the Parco Nazionale Arcipelago Toscano.
- Tourist office (Agenzia per il Turismo dell’Archipelago Toscano; 0565 91 46 71; www.aptelba.it; Calata Italia 43; 9am-7pm Jun-Sep, 9am-7pm Mon-Fri, 9am-1pm Sat & Sun Apr & May, 9am-1pm Mon, Wed & Fri, 9am-1pm & 3-5pm Tue & Thu Feb & Mar) Near the ferry port, it has a list of the island’s limited internet log-on options.
SIGHTS
From the ferry terminal, the old town, enclosed by a medieval wall and protected by a pair of brooding fortresses, is a bit less than a kilometre along the foreshore. Here you’ll encounter the Villa dei Mulini ( 0565 91 58 46; Piazzale Napoleone; adult/child €3/1.50; 9am-7pm Mon & Wed-Sat, to 1pm Sun), Napoleon’s home while he was emperor of this small isle, with its splendid terraced garden and library. During his Elban exile, he certainly didn’t want for creature comforts – contrast his Elba lifestyle with the simplicity of his camp bed and travelling trunk when he was on the campaign trail. While the history lesson is nice, the dearth of actual Napoleonic artefacts is a tad disappointing.
The Villa Napoleonica di San Martino ( 0565 91 46 88; adult/child €3/1.50; 9am-7pm Wed-Sat, to 1pm Sun), where Napoleon occasionally dropped in, is set in hills about 5km southwest of town. Modest by Napoleonic standards, it is dominated by the overbearing mid-19th-century gallery at its base, built to house his memorabilia. A combined ticket for both villas is €5.
SLEEPING & EATING
In the height of summer many hotels operate a compulsory half-board policy.
Camping Village Rosselba le Palme ( 0565 93 31 01; www.rosselbalepalme.it; per person/tent/rooms €16/21/23-90) Set around a genuine botanical garden, and said to be one of the best campsites in Europe, this ‘village’ offers activities including tennis, archery and diving classes taught by Jean-Jacques Mayol, son of legendary free diver Jacques Mayol. A mini-market, bar and pizzeria are on-site.
Albergo Ape Elbana ( 0565 91 42 45; www.ape-elbana.it; Salita de’ Medici 2; s €45-80, d €60-110; ) In the old town, overlooking Piazza della Repubblica (where guests can park for free), this butter-coloured building is the island’s oldest hotel, where guests of Napoleon are reputed to have stayed. The position is its best feature as rooms, while large, are a little soulless. Ask for one of the larger ones overlooking the piazza.
Villa Ombrosa ( 0565 91 43 63; www.villaombrosa.it; Via De Gasperi 3; s €57-132, d €82-224; ) One of the very few hotels on the island that’s open all year round. With a great location overlooking the sea and Spiaggia delle Ghiaie, it also has its own small private beach. Half-board, considerably more creative than many hotels’ bland buffet fare, is obligatory in summer.
Il Castagnacciao Pizzeria ( 0565 91 58 45; Via del Mercato Vecchio 5; half/whole pizzas €3/6) Down a narrow street from Piazza Cavour in the historic centre, this is a local institution for takeaway or sit-down pizza bliss. More than 20 different types of wood-fired pizza appear on the menu.
Cafescondido ( 340 3400881; Via del Carmine 65; meals €27; Mon-Sat) Way up the hill, towards Fortezza Falcone, with a raucous cafe at the front that gives no sign of the delicious food served in the impressionist art—festooned back room. Servers deftly explain Elba-centric culinary permutations on the chalkboard menu.
La Libertaria ( 0565 91 49 78; Calata Matteotti 12; meals €30; Apr-Oct) Seating capacity and backdrops are meagre, but the food here is divine. The linguine sarde e finocchietto (pasta with sardines and fennel) is an unlikely treat, and the cooked-to-perfection tonno in crosta di pistacchi (tuna fillet with pistachio crust) may actually keep you in Portoferraio an extra night for a second helping.
GETTING AROUND
Scream around Elba by mountain bike or scooter. Typical high-season daily rates for city bikes are €15, mountain bikes €24, mopeds €28 and scooters (100 to 125cc) €40. Don’t bother with a vehicle: the roads are already overclogged with cars in summer. Two Wheels Network (TWN; 0565 91 46 66; www.twn-rent.it; Viale Elba 32, Portoferraio) rents bikes, scooters and even kayaks.
ATL runs an efficient trans-island service. Pick up a timetable from the main bus station (Viale Elba, Portoferraio). From Portoferraio (the bus station is almost opposite the Toremar jetty), there are at least seven runs daily (all €2) to/from Marciana Marina, Marina di Campo, Capoliveri and Porto Azzurro. A day pass costs €7 and a six-day run-around pass is €19.
Marciana Marina
Unlike most cookie-cutter marinas, Marciana Marina, 20km west of Portoferraio, has character and history to complement its pleasant pebble beaches. It’s a fine base for attacking the island’s best walking trails.
Hotel Marinella ( 0565 9 90 18; www.elbahotelmarinella.it; Viale Margherita 38; B&B per person €45-92, half-board €53-100; Easter—mid-Oct; ), located 200m from the beach, has facilities including two tennis courts, sea-water pool, garden, restaurant and bar.
Osteria del Piano ( 0565 90 72 92; Via Provinciale 24; meals €29; Apr-Oct), about halfway between Portoferraio and Marciana Marina, is on the road just outside Procchio. It serves up astonishing concoctions such as black-and-white spaghetti served with a crab sauce.
Il Ristorante Scaraboci ( 0565 99 68 68; Via XX Settembre 29; meals €40; Thu-Tue) is a promising fish and seafood venue where all pastas and desserts are homemade. For something special, try the spaghetto al sugo d’astice (spaghetti with lobster sauce).
Porto Azzurro & Capoliveri
Dominated by its fort, which was built in 1603 by Philip III of Spain and is now a prison, Porto Azzurro is a pleasant resort town close to some excellent beaches. There’s a tourist office ( 4-10pm Mon-Sat mid-Jul—Sep) on Via Vittorio Veneto.
Hotel Belmare ( 0565 9 50 12; www.elba-hotelbelmare.it; Banchina IV Novembre; per person €40-75; year-round; ) sits in an enviable location on the main promenade. It’s nothing fancy, but rooms are comfy enough. There’s a small bar and TV room for post-beach R&R. Only some rooms have air-con.
Osteria La Botte Gaia ( 0565 9 56 07; www.labottegaia.com; Via Europa 5-7; meals €34-38; dinner only, closed Mon winter) is Slow Food—featured and deservedly so. Homemade pasta supplements the ever-changing daily menu that runneth over with just-caught fish options and a few veggie plates.
From Porto Azzurro, take a short trip south to Capoliveri, one of the island’s little hill-top surprise packets. Wander its narrow streets and enjoy the giddy views before trying out one of the nearby beaches such as Barabarca, accessible only by a steep track that winds down the cliff, and Zuccale, more easily reached and perfect for a family outing. For more information, go to the tourist office ( 0565 96 70 29; Piazza Matteotti; 9am-noon & 7-10pm Mon-Sat mid-Jun—Sep).
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CENTRAL TUSCANY
This part of the region boasts famous wines, postcard-perfect landscapes and cultural gems galore, including the Gothic buildings of Siena, medieval towers of San Gimignano and the Renaissance town centre in Pienza.
CHIANTI
When people imagine classic Tuscan countryside, they usually conjure up images of Chianti – gentle hills, sun-baked farmhouses and lots of vines. This area between Florence and Siena produces some of the country’s most heavily marketed wine, the best known of which is Chianti Classico, a Sangiovese-dominated drop sold under the Gallo Nero (Black Cockerel/Rooster) symbol.
The area is split between the provinces of Florence (Chianti Fiorentino) and Siena (Chianti Sienese). The lovely Monti del Chianti rising into the Apennines marks the area’s eastern boundary and the scenic Strada Chiantigiana (the SS222) snakes from Florence to Siena. Vineyards and olive groves carpet much of Chianti, a wealthy pocket studded with Romanesque churches known as pievi and the historic castles of Florentine and Sienese warlords.
Bus-hopping is feasible, but having your own wheels – two or four – is the only real way to discover the region. You can rent wheels from Ramuzzi ( 055 85 30 37; www.ramuzzi.com; Via Italo Stecchi 23; bike/50cc scooter per day €20/30; 9am-1pm & 3-7pm Mon-Fri, 9am-1pm Sat) in Greve in Chianti. Florence by Bike (Map; 055 48 89 92; www.florencebybike.it; Via San Zanobi 120-122r) offers a 32km-long day tour of northern Chianti (including lunch and wine tasting, €76) leaving Florence at 9.30am and returning by 4pm. Other companies offering guided bike tours of the region include I Bike Florence ( 055 012 39 94; www.ibikeflorence.com), I Bike Italy ( 055 234 23 71; www.ibikeitaly.com) and I Bike Tuscany ( 335 812 07 69; www.ibiketuscany.com).
Greve in Chianti
pop 14,087
This small town, 20km south of Florence on the SS222 and the only one in Chianti easily accessible from Florence by SITA bus (€3.10, one hour, half-hourly), has two claims to fame. They are the historic macellerìa (butcher shop) Antica Macellerìa Falorni ( 055 85 30 29; www.falorni.it; Piazza Matteotti 71; closed Wed pm & daily 1-4pm), known for its mean cuts since 1729; and Giovanni da Verrazzano (1485–1528). Local-boy-made-good and discoverer of New York harbour, Verrazzano was commemorated there by the Verrazano Narrows bridge linking Staten Island to Brooklyn (the good captain lost a ‘z’ from his name somewhere in the mid-Atlantic).
In the first or second week of September, the town’s main square, Piazza Matteotti, hosts Greve’s annual wine fair. At other times, head to Le Cantine di Greve in Chianti ( 055 854 64 04; www.lecantine.it; Piazza delle Cantine 2; 10am-7pm), a vast commercial enoteca stocking more than 1200 varieties of wine. To indulge in some of the 140 different wines available for tasting here (including Super Tuscans, top DOCs and DOCGs, Vin Santo and grappa), buy a prepaid wine card costing €10 to €25 from the central bar, stick it into one of the many taps and out trickles your tipple of choice. Any unused credit will be refunded when you return the card. It’s fabulous fun, though somewhat distressing for designated drivers. To find it, look for the supermarket on the main road – it’s down a staircase opposite the supermarket entrance.
Three kilometres north of the town is the ancestral home of Greve’s New York pioneer, Castello di Verrazzano ( 055 85 42 43; www.verrazzano.com; guided tours 10am & 11am Mon-Fri), the castle of an estate where Tuscan produce – Chianti Classico, Vin Santo, grappa, honey, olive oil and balsamic vinegar – has been produced for centuries. You can tour its historic wine cellar and gardens and enjoy a tasting of its wines (1½ hours, €14, Monday to Friday only) or go the whole hog and lunch on five estate-produced courses in the company of five different wines (three hours, €48, Monday to Friday only). On Saturdays, there’s a 2½-hour ‘Chianti Tradition’ option including a tour, tasting and light repast (€28).
In the nearby 11th-century abbey of Badia di Passignano, another famous wine estate can be visited. The historic cellars here contain the viticulture stash of the Antinori family (www.antinori.it), one of Tuscany’s oldest and most prestigious wine-making families. Guided wine tours (2hr visit €25; 3.30pm Mon-Wed, Fri & Sat) visit the estate’s cellar and vineyard and you taste four Antinori wines; bookings must be made in advance at the Osteria di Passignano ( 055 807 12 78; www.osteriadipassignano.com; Via Passignano 31; wine shop 10am-11pm Mon-Sat), the Antinori wine shop and restaurant situated below the abbey. You don’t need to make a reservation to enjoy a wine-tasting (€15, €20 or €30 for three wines depending on what you taste) in the osteria.
The tourist office ( 055 854 62 87; Piazza Matteotti 11; 9am-1pm & 2-6pm Mon-Fri, & on Sat May-Sep) stocks a mine of electronic info on wineries to visit and trails to cycle or stroll. Particularly popular is the 3km-long walk west (1½ to two hours) to Castello di Montefioralle, a medieval fortified hill-top village with a 10th-century Romanesque church and a couple of restaurants to lunch at.
Note that a popular open-air market is held in Piazza Matteotti every Saturday morning – do not leave your car there the night before as it may be towed away.
SLEEPING
Ostello del Chianti ( 055 805 02 65; www.ostellodelchianti.it; Via Roma 137, Tavernelle Val Di Pesa; dm €14.50, d with shared bathroom €35, d with bathroom €45; reception 8.30am-11am & 4pm-midnight mid-Mar—Oct; ) One of Italy’s oldest hostels (it’s been going strong since the 1950s), this recently renovated hostel oozes dynamism. The dorms max out at six beds (those in the original wing even have two bathrooms), bike hire can be arranged and it has a great garden for aperitivi. Breakfast costs €1.70. Tavernelle is around 14km southwest of Greve.
Agrifuturismo ( 339 5019849; www.agrifuturismo.com; Strada San Silvestro 11, Barberino Val d’Elsa; 2-/4-/6-bed apt €70/100/120; ) Woods filled with oak, juniper, cypress and pine trees sit next to ancient terraces of olive trees on this farm estate 13km southwest of Greve. All cultivation is pesticide-, herbicide- and fertilizer-free, and sustainable features such as solar panels, rain collection and recycling are utilised. The apartments are charming, with a strong and attractive design ethos. All have kitchens. No credit cards.
Fattoria di Rignana ( 055 85 20 65; www.rignana.it; Val di Rignana 15, Rignana; d in fattoria €95-105, d in villa €130-140; ) This old farmstead and noble villa 3.8km from Badia di Passignano offers a textbook Chianti experience – namely, great views, wine and food in a tranquil and comfortable vineyard environment. Two accommodation options are on offer: utterly gorgeous frescoed rooms in the 17th-century villa and more rustic rooms in the adjoining fattoria (farmhouse).
Villa Vignamaggio ( 055 85 46 61; www.vignamaggio.it; Via Petriolo 5; d €135-450; ) A location in Kenneth Branagh’s film Much Ado About Nothing, this vast 15th-century complex 5km south of Greve makes wine and grappa, and has self-catering apartments and cottages to rent. From Greve, follow the SS222 south for 2km and turn left towards Lamole.
EATING
L’Antica Macellerìa Cecchini ( 055 85 20 20; http://dariocecchini.blogspot.com, Via XX Luglio 11; 9am-2pm Mon, Tue, Thu & Sun, to 6pm Fri & Sat) The small town of Panzano southwest of Greve is known throughout Italy for the macellerìa owned and run by extrovert butcher, Dario Cecchini. This Tuscan celebrity has carved out a niche for himself as a poetry-spouting guardian of the bistecca and other Tuscan meaty treats. He’s even opened a burger joint, Mac Dario, above the shop (€10 for a burger, potatoes and vegetables).
Osteria Le Pazanelle ( 0577 73 35 11; Lucarelli; meals €25; lunch & dinner Tue-Sun) Perfect for a light lunch beneath trees, this roadside inn makes a great lunch stop en route from Greve to Siena. Swiss-born chef Angelo cooks up a straightforward choice of around six dishes per course. Don’t miss his crostini topped with lardo and orange peel, or his pasta dressed in a pecorino and pear sauce. Find it 5km south of Panzano on the SP2 to Radda in Chianti.
La Cantinetta di Rignana ( 055 85 26 01; www.lacantinettadirignana.it; Rignana; meals €30; lunch & dinner Wed-Mon) Idyllically nestled in the old oil mill on the Rignana estate (left), this eatery offers quintessential Tuscan views from its large terrace. Rustic dishes on offer include wild boar carpaccio (thin slices of fish or meat), truffle-stuffed ravioli, warm gooey oven-baked tomino (a type of cheese) with locally gathered mushrooms or a simple grilled slab of meat. Service is friendly, but we were perplexed by the fact that the cantinetta doesn’t serve wine by the glass – a real problem for diners who need to get back behind the wheel. It’s a 15-minute drive from Badia di Passignano, between Panzano and Mercatale Val di Pesa.
Osteria di Passignano ( 055 807 12 78; www.osteriadipassignano.com; Via di Passignano 33; meals €65, degustation menus €60 & €100; lunch & dinner Mon-Sat) This elegant dining room on the Antinori Estate is one of Tuscany’s most impressive restaurants. The delectable food utilises local produce and is decidedly Tuscan in inspiration, but its execution is refined rather than rustic.
Castellina
The cylindrical silos at Castellina’s entry brim with Chianti Classico, the wine that brought wealth to this old frontier town between warring Siena and Florence.
From the southern car park, take Via Ferruccio, then turn almost immediately right to walk into town beneath the tunnel-like Via del Volte. This medieval street, originally open to the elements, then encroached upon by shops and houses, is now a long, vaulted, shady tunnel, particularly welcome in the summertime. Nearby, the area’s Etruscan roots form the focus of the modern Museo Archeologico del Chianti Sienese ( 055 74 20 90; www.museoarcheologicochianti.it; Piazza del Comune 18; adult/concession €3/2; 10am-1pm & 3.30-6.30pm Thu-Tue).
The privately run tourist office ( 0577 74 13 92; www.essenceoftuscany.it; Via Ferruccio 26; 10am-1pm & 2-6pm daily Mar-Nov, 10am-1pm & 2-4pm Mon-Sat Dec & Feb) can help with maps, tours, accommodation and information.
Down a valley at the end of a 1.5km dirt road, Locanda La Capannuccia ( 0577 74 11 83; www.lacapannuccia.it; Borgo di Pietrafitta; d €95-125; Mar—mid-Oct; ) is a charming Tuscan getaway. Its five rooms are furnished with antiques and hosts Mario and Daniela couldn’t be more welcoming. Reserve in the morning for one of Daniela’s very special dinners (€24 to €28, Monday to Saturday). To get there, head north along the SS222 from Castellina and turn left to Pietrafitta.
Radda in Chianti
Shields and escutcheons add a dash of drama to the facade of 16th-century Palazzo del Podestà (Piazza Ferrucci), facing the church on the main square of this popular tourist spot 11km east of Castellina. The volunteer-staffed Ufficio Pro Loco ( 0577 73 84 94; Piazza Castello 6; 10am-1pm & 3-7pm Mon-Sat, 10.30am-1pm Sun mid-Apr—mid-Oct, 10.30am-12.30pm & 3.30-6.30pm Mon-Sat mid-Oct—mid-Apr) supplies tourist information, including ample info on walking in the area, such as several pretty half-day walks. Enoteca Toscana ( 0577 73 88 45; Via Roma 29) is the place to taste and buy local wine and olive oil.
Alternatively, head 6km north to the gorgeous old-stone hill-top hamlet of Castello di Volpaia ( 0577 73 80 66; www.volpaia.it; Piazza della Cisterna 1, Volpaia), where particularly lovely wines, olive oils and vinegars have been made for aeons. Book ahead to enjoy a tour or take a cooking class, or pop into the enoteca, which is inside the main tower of the castle, to stock up on a few bottles.
Continuing south to Siena, take a walk on the wild art side at the Parco Sculture del Chianti ( 0577 35 71 51; www.chiantisculpturepark.it; adult/child €7.50/5; 10am-sunset Apr-Oct, by appointment Nov-Mar), a vast green wooded area studded with contemporary sculptures and art installations in Pievasciata, 20km south of Gaiole and 13km north of Siena.
Return to beginning of chapter
SIENA
pop 53,881
The rivalry between historic adversaries Siena and Florence continues to this day, and every traveller seems to strongly identify with one over the other. It often boils down to aesthetic preference: while Florence saw its greatest flourishing during the Renaissance, Siena’s enduring artistic glories are largely Gothic – though there’s also the eternal question of who has the best patron saint (Siena’s Santa Caterina, obviously).
One of Italy’s most enchanting cities, Siena’s medieval centre is chock-full of majestic buildings and its profusion of churches and small museums harbour a wealth of artwork. Make sure you allow enough time to wander the snarled lanes of the historic centre, a Unesco World Heritage site.
History
According to legend, Siena was founded by the son of Remus, and the symbol of the wolf feeding the twins Romulus and Remus is as ubiquitous in Siena as in Rome. In reality the city was probably of Etruscan origin, although it didn’t begin to grow into a proper town until the 1st century BC, when the Romans established a military colony here called Sena Julia.
In the 12th century, Siena’s wealth, size and power grew along with its involvement in commerce and trade. Its rivalry with neighbouring Florence also grew proportionately, leading to numerous wars during the first half of the 13th century between Guelph Florence and Ghibelline Siena. In 1230 Florence besieged Siena and catapulted dung and donkeys over its walls. Siena’s revenge came at the Battle of Montaperti in 1260 but victory was short-lived. Only 10 years later, the Tuscan Ghibellines were defeated by Charles of Anjou and for almost a century Siena was allied to Florence, the chief town of the Tuscan Guelph League (supporters of the Pope).
This was when Siena, ruled by the Council of Nine (a bourgeois group constantly bickering with the aristocracy), enjoyed its greatest prosperity. It was the Council that directed the construction of so many of the fine buildings in the Sienese-Gothic style that give the city its striking appearance, including lasting monuments such as the cathedral, the Palazzo Comunale and Il Campo.
The Sienese school of painting had its origins at this time and reached its peak in the early 14th century, when artists such as Duccio di Buoninsegna and Ambrogio Lorenzetti were at work.
A plague outbreak in 1348 killed two-thirds of the city’s 100,000 inhabitants and led to a period of decline.
At the end of the 14th century, Siena came under the control of Milan’s Visconti family, followed in the next century by the autocratic patrician Pandolfo Petrucci. Under Petrucci the city’s fortunes improved somewhat until the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V conquered it in 1555 after a two-year siege that left thousands of people dead. He handed the city over to Cosimo I de’ Medici, who barred the inhabitants from operating banks and thus severely curtailed Siena’s power.
Though the hapless residents that endured it may not agree, Siena’s centuries-long economic downturn in the wake of the Medici takeover was a blessing that resulted in the city’s present-day, matchless allure. Its predominantly Gothic surroundings have survived largely intact as no one could be bothered to undertake (or fund) demolition or new construction. Furthermore, unlike the poundings endured by neighbouring cities in WWII, the French took Siena virtually unopposed, sparing it discernible damage.
Orientation
Historic Siena, still largely surrounded by its medieval walls punctuated by the eight original city gates, is small and easily tackled on foot, although the way streets swirl in semicircles around Piazza del Campo (known as Il Campo) can be confusing. At the city’s heart is this gently sloping square, around which curve its main streets: the Banchi di Sopra, Via di Città and Banchi di Sotto.
Information
- Book Shop ( 0577 22 65 94; www.bookshopsiena.com; Via San Pietro 19) Restock your suitcase library at this emporium of English-language books.
- Hospital ( 0577 58 51 11; Viale Bracci) Just north of Siena at Le Scotte.
- Internet Train (Via di Città 121; per hr €4; 10am-10pm Sun-Fri) A popular cafe with cables for laptop hook-ups. Another branch is at Via di Pantaneto 57.
- Libreria Senese ( 0577 28 08 45; Via di Città 62-6) Stocks English, French and German books. Also sells international newspapers.
- Netrunner ( 0577 4 49 46; www.netrunnersiena.net; Via di Pantaneto 132; per hr €6; 10am-11pm Mon-Sat, 3-9pm Sun)
- Police station ( 0577 20 11 11; Via del Castoro 23)
- Post office (Piazza Matteotti 1)
- Tourist office ( 0577 28 05 51; www.terresiena.it; Piazza del Campo 56; 9am-7pm) Reserves accommodation and sells direct bus tickets to Pisa airport (€14/26 one-way/return).
- Wash & Dry (Via di Pantaneto 38; 8am-10pm) Laundrette.
Sights
PIAZZA DEL CAMPO
Sloping Piazza del Campo (Il Campo) has been Siena’s civic and social centre ever since it was staked out by the Council of Nine in the mid-14th century. It’s paving is divided into nine sectors, representing the members of the Council of Nine. In the upper part of the square is the 15th-century Fonte Gaia (Happy Fountain), now clad in reproductions of the original panels by Jacopo della Quercia.
At the lowest point of the square (or the tap of the above mentioned metaphorical sink), the spare, elegant Palazzo Comunale is also known as the Palazzo Pubblico, or town hall. Entry to the ground-floor central courtyard is free. From the palazzo soars its graceful bell tower, the Torre del Mangia (admission €7; 10am-7pm mid-Mar—Oct, to 4pm Nov—mid-Mar), 102m high, completed in 1297.
The lower level of the palazzo’s facade features a characteristic Sienese-Gothic arcade. Inside is the Museo Civico ( 0577 29 22 63; adult/student €7.50/4.50, museum & tower €12; 10am-7pm mid-Mar—Oct, to 5.30pm or 6.30pm Nov—mid-Mar), occupying rooms richly decorated by artists of the Sienese school. Of particular note is Simone Martini’s famous Maestà (Virgin Mary in Majesty), on display in the Sala del Mappamondo. Completed in 1315, it features the Madonna beneath a canopy surrounded by saints and angels and is Martini’s first known canvas. In the Sala dei Nove are Ambrogio Lorenzetti’s didactic frescoes depicting Allegories of Good and Bad Government, contrasting the harmony of good government with the – alas, much deteriorated – depiction of the privations and trials of those subject to bad rule.
DUOMO
Siena’s cathedral ( 0577 4 73 21; www.operaduomo.siena.it; Piazza del Duomo; admission €3; 10.30am-7.30pm Mon-Sat, 1.30-6.30pm Sun Mar-Oct, 10.30am-6.30pm Mon-Sat, 1.30-5.30pm Sun Nov-Feb) is one of Italy’s greatest Gothic churches. Begun in 1196, it was completed by 1215, although work continued on features such as the apse and dome well into the 13th century. The magnificent facade of white, green and red polychrome marble was begun by Giovanni Pisano – who completed only the lower section before his death – and finished towards the end of the 14th century. The mosaics in the gables are 19th-century additions. The statues of philosophers and prophets by Pisano above the lower section are copies; the originals are in the adjacent Museo dell’Opera Metropolitana (see right).
In 1339 the city’s leaders planned to enlarge the cathedral and create one of Italy’s biggest churches. Known as the Nuovo Duomo (New Cathedral), the remains of this project are on Piazza Jacopo della Quercia, on the eastern side of the cathedral. The daring plan, to build an immense new nave with the present church becoming the transept, was scotched by the plague of 1348.
The most precious feature of the cathedral’s interior is the inlaid marble floor, decorated with 56 panels depicting historical and biblical subjects. The earliest ones are graffiti designs in simple black-and-white marble, dating from the mid-14th century. The latest, panels in coloured marble, were created in the 16th century. The most valuable are kept covered and are revealed only from 21 August through 27 October each year (admission is €6 during this period).
Other drawcards include the exquisitely crafted marble and porphyry pulpit by Nicola Pisano, aided by his equally talented son, Giovanni.
Through a door from the north aisle is another of the cathedral’s jewels, the Libreria Piccolomini, built to house the books of Enea Silvio Piccolomini, better known as Pius II. The walls of the small hall have vividly coloured narrative frescoes by Bernardino Pinturicchio, depicting events in the life of Piccolomini.
MUSEO DELL’OPERA METROPOLITANA
This museum ( 0577 28 30 48; www.operaduomo.siena.it Piazza del Duomo 8; admission €6; 9.30am-7pm Mar-May & Sep-Nov, to 8pm Jun-Aug, 10am-5pm Dec-Feb), also known as Museo dell’Opera del Duomo, is in what would have been the southern aisle of the nave of the Nuovo Duomo.
Inside, formerly adorning the cathedral, are the 12 statues of prophets and philosophers by Giovanni Pisano that decorated the facade. The highlight is Duccio di Buoninsegna’s striking early 14th-century Maestà, which is painted on both sides as a screen for the cathedral’s high altar. The front and back have now been separated and the panels depicting the story of the Passion hang opposite the Maestà. Other artists represented are Ambrogio Lorenzetti, Simone Martini and Taddeo di Bartolo, and there’s also a rich collection of tapestries and manuscripts.
For a great panoramic view, haul yourself up the 131-step, narrow corkscrew stairway to the Panorama del Facciatone (admission €6) at the top of the facade of the putative Nuovo Duomo. A combined ticket for the museum and panorama costs €10 and is valid for three days.
CRYPT
Just north of the cathedral and down a flight of steps is the crypt (admission incl audioguide €6; 9.30am-7pm Mar-May, to 8pm Jun-Aug, to 7pm Sep-Oct), a room below the cathedral’s pulpit discovered in 1999. Its walls are completely covered with pintura a secco (‘dry painting’) dating back to the 1200s. There’s some 180 sq metres’ worth, depicting several biblical stories, including the Passion of Jesus and the Crucifixion.
BATTISTERO DI SAN GIOVANNI
Opposite the crypt is the Battistero di San Giovanni (Piazza San Giovanni; admission €3; 9.30am-7pm Mar-May, to 8pm Jun-Aug, to 7pm Sep-Oct).
While the baptistery’s Gothic facade has remained unfinished, the interior is richly decorated with frescoes. The centrepiece is a marble font by Jacopo della Quercia, decorated with bronze panels in relief and depicting the life of St John the Baptist. Artists include Lorenzo Ghiberti (Baptism of Christ and St John in Prison) and Donatello (Herod’s Feast).
SANTA MARIA DELLA SCALA
In the basement of this former pilgrims’ hospital ( 0577 22 48 11; Piazza del Duomo 2; admission €6; 10.30am-6.30pm Apr-Oct, to 4.30pm Nov-Mar) is the Sala dei Pellegrinaio clad in vivid secular frescoes (quite a relief after so much spirituality all around town) by Domenico di Bartolo, lauding the good works of the hospital and its patrons. There’s also a collection of Roman and Etruscan remains.
PINACOTECA NAZIONALE
Within the 15th-century Palazzo Buonsignori, this art gallery ( 0577 28 11 61; Via San Pietro 29; adult/child €4/free; 10am-6pm Tue-Sat, 9am-1pm Sun, 8.30am-1.30pm Mon) is a showcase for the greatest of Sienese artists. Look for the Madonna col Bambino (Madonna with Child) by Simone Martini, and a series of Madonnas by Ambrogio Lorenzetti.
CHIESA DI SAN DOMENICO
Santa Caterina di Siena took her vows within this imposing church (Piazza San Domenico; 7.30am-1pm & 3-6.30pm). In the Cappella di Santa Caterina are frescoes by Sodoma depicting events in her life – as well as the saint’s head, held in a 15th-century tabernacle above the altar. St Catherine died in Rome, where most of her body is preserved, but, in line with the bizarre practice of collecting relics of dead saints, her head was returned to Siena. In a small window box to the right of the chapel are her desiccated thumb and the nasty-looking whip that she flogged herself with for the wellbeing of the souls of the faithful.
For more of Santa Caterina – figuratively speaking – visit Casa di Santa Caterina ( 0577 22 15 62; Costa di Sant’Antonio 6; admission free; 9am-6.30pm Mar-Nov, 10am-6pm Dec-Feb), where the saint was born and lived with her parents plus, says the legend, 24 siblings. The rooms, converted into small chapels in the 15th century, are decorated with frescoes and paintings by many Sienese artists, including Sodoma.
OTHER CHURCHES & PALAZZI
Loggia dei Mercanzia, the 15th-century triple-arched balcony where merchants used to plot deals, is just northwest of Il Campo. From here, strike east along Banchi di Sotto until you pass Palazzo Piccolomini, a Renaissance palazzo housing the city’s archives. Further east are the 13th-century Basilica di Santa Maria dei Servi (Via dei Servi), with frescoes by Pietro Lorenzetti in a chapel off the north transept, and 14th-century Porta Romana.
Return to Piazza del Campo and head north on Banchi di Sopra, past Piazza Tolomei, which is dominated by the 13th-century Palazzo Tolomei. Further along, Piazza Salimbeni is bound to the north by Palazzo Tantucci, Gothic Palazzo Salimbeni (the prestige head office of Monte dei Paschi di Siena bank) to the east and, on the third flank, Renaissance Palazzo Spannocchi, from where 29 finely carved busts stare down at you from beneath the eaves.
Northeast of here, along Via dei Rossi, is the Chiesa di San Francesco, with its vast single nave. It has suffered over the years from a devastating 17th-century fire and use as army barracks. Beside the church is the Oratorio di San Bernardino ( 0577 28 30 48; www.operaduomo.siena.it; Piazza San Francesco 9; admission €3; 10.30am-1.30pm & 3-5.30pm mid-Mar—Oct) with its small museum of religious artworks.
Courses
LANGUAGE & CULTURE
- Scuola Leonardo da Vinci ( 0577 24 90 97; www.scuolaleonardo.com; Via del Paradiso 16) Italian-language school with supplementary cultural and culinary options.
- Società Dante Alighieri ( 0577 4 95 33; www.dantealighieri.com; Via Tommaso Pendola 37) Language and cultural courses southwest of the city centre.
- Università per Stranieri (University for Foreigners; 0577 24 01 15; www.unistrasi.it) Offers various courses in Italian language and culture. It’s off Via di Pantaneto 45.
MUSIC
- Accademia Musicale Chigiana ( 0577 2 20 91; www.chigiana.it; Via di Città 89) Offers classical-music courses every summer, as well as seminars and concerts performed by visiting musicians, teachers and students as part of the Settimana Musicale Senese (see below).
- Associazione Siena Jazz ( 0577 27 14 01; www.sienajazz.it; Piazza Libertà) One of Europe’s foremost institutions of its type offering courses in jazz.
Festivals & Events
The Accademia Musicale Chigiana (left) mounts the Settimana Musicale Senese in July and the Estate Musicale Chigiana in July and August. Concerts in these series are frequently held in the magnificent settings of the Abbazia di San Galgano, about 20km southwest of the city, and Abbazia di Sant’Antimo, near Montalcino. For information, call 0577 2 20 91.
In November, the Festa di Santa Cecilia, a series of concerts and exhibitions, takes place to honour Cecilia, patron saint of musicians.
Sleeping
Vacanze Senesi ( 0577 4 59 00; www.vacanzesenesi.it) has a representative in the tourist office who can arrange all forms of accommodation, or book on its website. Siena Hotels Promotion ( 0577 28 80 84; www.hotelsiena.com; Piazza Madre Teresa di Calcutta 5; 9am-8pm Mon-Sat) offers online booking, or you can book in person (in-person fee €2).
BUDGET
Siena Colleverde ( 0577 28 00 44; www.campingcolleverde.com; Via Scacciapensieri 47; per person/site/tw mobile home €9.50/5.70/45; mid-Apr—mid-Oct; ) This recently renovated campsite, 2km north of the historical centre, rents mobile homes that sleep two to five people (some have full kitchens) and standard campsites. There’s an onsite restaurant and mini-market. To get there take bus 3 from Piazza Gramsci, direction Siena Due Ponti (last bus 11.45pm) or bus 8 from Piazza del Sale (to 9.10pm).
Ostello Guidoriccio ( 0577 5 22 12; www.ostelloguidoriccio.com; Via Fiorentina 89, Località Stellino; per person €20; ) All rooms are doubles at Siena’s HI-affiliated youth hostel, about 2km northwest of the city centre. Take bus 10 or 15 from Piazza Gramsci, or bus 77 from the train station.
Albergo Bernini ( 0577 28 90 47; www.albergobernini.com; Via della Sapienza 15; s €50, d with shared bathroom €30-65, d with bathroom €45-85; ) A welcoming, family-run hotel with a tiny terrace sporting views across to the cathedral and the Chiesa di San Domenico. For space and views, choose room 11.
Hotel Le Tre Donzelle ( 0577 28 03 58; www.tredonzelle.com; Via delle Donzelle 5; s/d with shared bathroom €38/49, d with bathroom €60) Central and popular, this hotel was originally constructed as a tavern in the 13th century. Rooms are clean and simple and the shared bathrooms are spotless. Ask for a room facing away from the noisy street.
Hotel La Perla ( 0577 22 62 80; www.hotellaperlasiena.com; Piazza Indipendenza 25; s €40-60, d €70-85; ) A very friendly and well-run budget option. Bathrooms are small and a few rooms are musty, but that’s a small price to pay when the location, seconds from Piazza del Campo, is considered.
MIDRANGE
Albergo Cannon d’Oro ( 0577 4 43 21; www.cannondoro.com; Via dei Montanini 28; s €45-85, d €66-105; ) A trim, attractive and excellent-value hotel. Don’t be deterred by the golden cannon (the very one that gave the place its name) trained upon you as you face the otherwise amicable reception desk. Only a few rooms have air-con.
Antica Residenza Cicogna ( 0577 28 56 13; www.anticaresidenzacicogna.it; Via dei Termini 67; s €70-75, d €90, ste €130; ) Springless beds, soundproof windows, ornate frescoes, antique furniture and a lavish buffet breakfast make this central option justifiably popular. Reception has limited core hours (8am to 1pm), so arrange your arrival in advance.
Piccolo Hotel Etruria ( 0577 28 80 88; www.hoteletruria.com; Via delle Donzelle 3; s without bathroom €40-50, s with bathroom €45-55, d with bathroom €80-110; ) A welcoming family hotel, just off Il Campo. The rooms are rather plain with zero soundproofing, but there’s a central light, airy sitting area and the location is outstanding. There’s a 1am curfew. Breakfast costs €6.
Chiusarelli ( 0577 28 05 62; www.chiusarelli.com; Viale Curtatone 15; s €65-91, d €88-132; ) Functioning continuously since 1870, this hotel has a pleasant, spacious breakfast room and attractive, though somewhat dark, bedrooms. It has a popular restaurant (meals €20) where you’ll be dodging elbows to find a seat among the locals.
Palazzo Bruchi ( 0577 28 73 42; www.palazzobruchi.it; Via di Pantaneto 105; s €80-90, d €90-150; ) The six rooms in the ‘ancient and noble’ Landi-Bruchi family home may be the only place in Siena where one wakes up to church bells and chirping birds, rather than street noise. The hospitality of Maria Cristina and her daughter Camilla is warmly consistent. There’s a shared kitchen and a peaceful inner courtyard.
Villa Scacciapensieri ( 0577 4 14 41; www.villascacciapensieri.it; Via Scacciapensieri 10; s €75-140, d €110-265; ) Around 2.5km north of Siena is this 19th-century villa with carved wooden ceilings, oil paintings, antiques, formal gardens, tennis courts and an old family chapel. Access for disabled guests.
Pensione Palazzo Ravizza ( 0577 28 04 62; www.palazzoravizza.com; Pian dei Mantellini 34; s €95-150, d €115-200; ) Pensione is a far too modest title for this intimate, sumptuous place. Occupying a delightful Renaissance palazzo, frescoed ceilings and antique furniture co-exist with flatscreen TVs and comprehensive wi-fi coverage. Service is courteous and efficient, and there’s a small, leafy garden.
Eating
According to the Sienese, most Tuscan cuisine has its origins here. Among many traditional dishes are panzanella (summer salad of soaked bread, basil, onion and tomatoes) and pappardelle con lepre (ribbon pasta with hare). Panforte (a rich cake of almonds, honey and candied fruit) was originally created as tucker for crusaders to the Holy Land.
BUDGET
Kopa Kabana (Via dei Rossi 54) Flout the places with enviable locations and be rewarded with absurd mountains of Siena’s freshest gelato, starting at €1.70. A second location is at Via San Pietro 20.
Nannini (Banchi di Sopra 22) Always crowded, Nannini is something of a Sienese institution, baking its finest cakes and serving up good coffee with speed and panache.
MIDRANGE
L’Osteria ( 0577 28 75 92; Via dei Rossi 79-81; meals €27) We promised a local we wouldn’t put this one in the book. We lied. It was just too good. Plus the place was half-filled with tourists when we visited, so it’s not exactly a secret. No nonsense, but savoury dishes at prices locals will pay.
Osteria da Cice ( 0577 28 80 26; Via San Pietro 32; meals €28; Tue-Sun) In the hands of a friendly team, reflecting its mainly youthful clientele, this is the place for an informal, relaxed meal. The menu has plenty of vegetarian options among its primi piatti.
Osteria Boccon del Prete ( 0577 28 03 88; Via San Pietro 17; meals €30) A small, hectic, typical Sienese place, offering a daily changing menu. Dishes are largely composed of lighter fare such as smoked swordfish and salmon salad. There’s downstairs seating, so don’t back out if the place appears to be full.
Il Carroccio ( 0577 4 11 65; Via del Casato di Sotto 32; meals €34; closed Tue dinner & Wed) Exceptional pasta and exceptionally busy, so arrive early for lunch and call ahead for dinner. Try the pici, a thick spaghetti typical of Siena, followed by the tegamate di maiale (pork with fennel seeds). It’s a member of the Slow Food Movement – always a good sign.
Osteria Le Logge ( 0577 4 80 13; www.osterialelogge.it; Via del Porrione 33; meals €45; Mon-Sat) This place changes its menu of creative Tuscan cuisine almost daily. In the downstairs dining room, once a pharmacy, bottles are arranged in cases, floor to ceiling, like books in a library; there are over 18,000 more in the cellars so you won’t go thirsty. There’s also a large streetside terrace.
Antica Osteria da Divo ( 0577 28 43 81; www.osteriadadivo.it; Via Franciosa 29; meals €50) This place plays background jazz that is as smooth as the walls are rough-hewn. At the lower, cellar level you’re dining amid Etruscan tombs. The inventive menu includes dishes such as cannelloni with ricotta, spinach, grilled sweet peppers, tomatoes and Tuscan pesto sauce.
SELF-CATERING
Conad Market (Galleria Metropolitan, Piazza Matteotti; 8.30am-8.30pm Mon-Sat, 9am-1pm & 4-8pm Sun) Self-caterers can stock up on piazza picnic provisions here.
Consorzio Agrario Siena (Via Pianagini 13) An enticing emporium of local food and wines.
Pizzicheria de Miccoli ( 0577 28 91 84; Via di Città 93-95) Richly scented, de Miccoli has windows festooned with sausages, piled-up cheeses and porcini mushrooms by the sackful.
Wednesday market ( 7.30am-1pm) Spreads all around Fortezza Medicea and seeps towards the Stadio Comunale. One of Tuscany’s largest markets, it’s great for foodstuffs, cheap clothing or just aimless browsing.
Drinking
Enoteca Italiana ( 0577 28 84 97; Fortezza Medicea; noon-1am Tue-Sat, to 8pm Sun) Within the fortress walls, the former munitions cellar has been artfully transformed into a classy enoteca that carries over 1500 labels.
Getting There & Away
BUS
TRAIN S.p.A. ( 0577 20 42 46; www.trainspa.it) runs two services daily between Pisa airport and Siena (one-way/return, €14/26).
The local bus station is on Piazza Gramsci. Both TRAIN S.p.A. and SITA have ticket offices underneath the piazza, where there’s also a left-luggage office (per day €5.50). Express buses race up to Florence (€6.80, 1¼ hours, at least hourly). Other regional TRAIN S.p.A destinations include San Gimignano (€5.30, one to 1½ hours, 10 daily either direct or changing in Poggibonsi), Montalcino (€3.30, 1½ hours, six daily), Poggibonsi (€3.80, one hour, up to 10 daily), Montepulciano (€4.70, 1¾ hours) and Colle di Val d’Elsa (€2.60, 30 minutes, hourly), with connections for Volterra. Other destinations in the area include Pienza (€3.80) and Grosseto (€6.60).
Sena ( 0577 28 32 03; www.sena.it) buses run to/from Rome (€20, three hours, eight daily) and Milan (€29, 4¼ hours, three daily) and there are seven buses daily to Arezzo (€5.20, 1½ hours).
CAR & MOTORCYCLE
For Florence, take the SS2, the superstrada, or the more attractive SS222, also known as the Strada Chiantigiana, which meanders its way through the hills of Chianti.
TRAIN
Siena isn’t on a major train line so buses are generally a better alternative. By train, change at Chiusi for Rome and at Empoli for Florence.
Getting Around
TRAIN S.p.A. operates city bus services (€0.90). Buses 8, 9 and 10 run between the train station and Piazza Gramsci.
Perozzi Noleggi ( 0577 28 83 87; www.perozzi.it; Via dei Gazzani 16-18; 8.30am-12.30pm & 3-7pm) rents mountain bikes (per day/week €10/50) and 125cc scooters (per day/week €45/260). If there’s no-one in the showroom, pop round the corner to Via del Romitorio 5.
Cars are banned from the town centre, though visitors can drop off luggage at their hotel, then get out (don’t forget to have reception report your licence number or risk receiving a ‘souvenir’ fine). Park illegally inside the city and you’ll be towed away in a flash. Try the large car parks at the Stadio Comunale and around the Fortezza Medicea, both just north of Piazza San Domenico, or the one at Il Campo, south of the centre.
DETOUR
About 20km southwest of Siena on the SS73 is the 13th-century Abbazia di San Galgano ( 0577 75 67 00; admission free; 8am-7.30pm), in its day one of the country’s finest Gothic buildings.
There are large car parks at the Stadio Comunale and around the Fortezza Medicea, both just north of Piazza San Domenico. There’s also another big one at Il Campo, south of the centre.
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SAN GIMIGNANO
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As you crest the hill coming from the east, the 14 towers of this walled town look like a medieval Manhattan. And when you arrive you might well feel that half of Manhattan has moved in. Within easy reach of both Siena and Florence, San Gimignano is a tourist magnet. Come in winter or early spring to indulge your imagination a little; in summer you’ll spend your time dodging fellow visitors. Even then, though, you’ll discover a different, almost peaceful San Gimignano once the last bus has pulled out.
There’s good reason for such popularity. The towers, which once numbered 72, were symbols of the power and wealth of the city’s medieval families. San Gimignano delle Belle Torri (meaning ‘of the Fine Towers’ – though they’re actually almost devoid of design and rather dull unless sheer height impresses you) is surrounded by lush, productive land and the setting is altogether enchanting.
Originally an Etruscan village, the town was named after the bishop of Modena, San Gimignano, who is said to have saved the city from Attila the Hun. It became a comune in 1199, but continually fought with Volterra. Internal battles between the Ardinghelli (Guelph) and Salvucci (Ghibelline) families over the next two centuries caused divisions. Most of the towers were built during this period; in the 13th century, one podestà forbade the building of towers higher than his own 51m pile. In 1348 plague wiped out much of the population and weakened the nobles’ power, leading to the town’s submission to Florence in 1353. Today, not even the plague would deter the summer swarms.
Orientation
From the main gate, Porta San Giovanni, at the southern end of the town, Via San Giovanni heads northwards to central Piazza della Cisterna and the connecting Piazza del Duomo. From here the other major thoroughfare, Via San Matteo, extends to the principal northern gate, Porta San Matteo.
The tourist office ( 0577 94 00 08; www.sangimignano.com; Piazza del Duomo 1; 9am-1pm & 3-7pm Mar-Oct, 9am-1pm & 2-6pm Nov-Feb) hires out audioguides of the town (€5) and organises Vernaccia di San Gimignano vineyard visits (two-hour tours, Tuesdays and Thursdays, from May to October; €20). Advance reservations are essential.
Sights
COLLEGIATA
The 13th-century Palazzo del Podestà and its tower, the Torre della Rognosa, look across to the town’s Romanesque basilica (adult/child €3.50/1.50; 9.30am-7.30pm Mon-Sat, 12.30-5pm Sun Apr-Oct, 9.30am-5pm Mon-Sat, 12.30-5pm Sun Nov—mid-Jan & Mar). Access is up a flight of steps. Its bare facade belies the remarkable 14th-century frescoes that stripe the interior walls like a vast medieval comic strip.
Along the northern aisle are frescoes of key moments from the Old Testament by Bartolo di Fredi. Opposite, covering the walls of the south aisle, the school of Simone Martini illustrates New Testament scenes. On the inside wall of the facade, extending onto adjoining walls, Taddeo di Bartolo probably scared the daylights out of pious locals with his gruesome depiction of the Last Judgment. The Cappella di Santa Fina is adorned with naive and touching frescoes by Domenico Ghirlandaio depicting events in the life of the saint, and a superb alabaster and marble altar picked out in gold.
Across the square, the Museo d’Arte Sacra ( 0577 94 03 16; Piazza Pecori 1; adult/child €3/1.50; 9.30am-7.30pm Mon-Fri, to 5pm Sat, 12.30-5pm Sun Apr-Oct, 9.30am-5pm Mon-Sat, 12.30-5pm Sun Nov—mid-Jan & Mar) has some fine works of religious art, collected in the main from the town’s churches.
PALAZZO COMUNALE
From the internal courtyard, climb the stairs to the Pinacoteca ( 0577 99 03 12; Piazza del Duomo; museum & tower adult/child €5/4; 9.30am-7pm Mar-Oct, 10am-5.30pm Nov-Feb), which features paintings from the Sienese and Florentine schools of the 12th to 15th centuries. In the main room, the great poet Dante addressed the town’s council, urging it to support the Guelph cause. The room contains an early 14th-century fresco of the Maestà by Lippo Memmi. Climb up the palazzo’s Torre Grossa for a spectacular view of the town and surrounding countryside.
MUSEUMS
In an unmarked gallery just outside the town’s fortress is Museo del Vino (Wine Museum; 0577 94 12 67; Parco della Rocca; admission free; 11.30am-6.30pm Thu-Mon, 3-6.30pm Wed Mar-Oct). A sommelier is usually on hand to lead an informed – and paid – tasting of some of the choice local white wines.
The Museo Archeologico & Speziera di Santa Fina ( 0577 94 03 48; Via Folgore da San Gimignano 11; adult/child both museums €3.50/2.50; 11am-5.45pm mid-Mar—Dec) complex is home to the town’s small archaeological museum and a reconstructed 16th-century pharmacy and herb garden. There’s also a modern art gallery that in itself merits a visit.
OTHER SIGHTS
From the Rocca (what remains of the town’s fortress), there are great views over the surrounding countryside.
At the northern end of the town is the Chiesa di Sant’Agostino (Piazza Sant’Agostino; 7am-noon & 3-7pm Apr-Oct, to 6pm Nov-Mar). Its main attraction is the fresco cycle in the apse by Benozzo Gozzoli, depicting the saint’s life.
Sleeping
In high summer San Gimignano can be as unpromising for accommodation as Christmas Eve in Bethlehem. This said, Siena Hotels Promotion (Click here) will book hotels and some affittacamere. The tourist office, for its part, will reserve a wider range of affittacamere and also agriturismi if you call by in person.
Camping Boschetto di Piemma ( 0577 94 03 52; www.boschettodipiemma.it; per person €6.70-10.10, tent €4.90-8.90, car €1.50-3; Easter-Oct; ) The closest campsite is located in Santa Lucia, 2km south of town. There’s a bus service between the two (€0.50).
Foresteria Monastero di San Girolamo ( 0577 94 05 73; www.monasterosangirolamo.it; Via Folgore da San Gimignano 26-32; per person €27; ) This is an excellent budget choice. Run by friendly nuns, it has basic but spacious, comfortable rooms with attached bathrooms, sleeping two to five people. Breakfast is €3. Ring ahead as it is perpetually booked. If you don’t have a reservation, arrive between 9am and 12.30pm or between 3pm and 5.45pm and ring the monastery bell (not the Foresteria one, which is never answered). Kitchen use costs €3 per day. There’s access for disabled guests.
Hotel Leon Bianco ( 0577 94 12 94; www.leonbianco.com; Piazza della Cisterna 13; s €65-80, d €85-135; ) Occupies a 14th-century mansion. This smoothly run hotel is welcoming and friendly with a ground-floor abundance of plants, a pretty inner courtyard, a breakfast patio, a billiard table and a fitness room.
Hotel La Cisterna ( 0577 94 03 28; www.hotelcisterna.it; Piazza della Cisterna 24; s €62-78, d €88-145; ) Located in a splendid 14th-century building, this accommodation option now offers 21st-century comfort in quiet, spacious rooms.
Hotel L’Antico Pozzo ( 0577 94 20 14; www.anticopozzo.com; Via San Matteo 87; s €85-100, d €110-140; closed first 2 weeks Nov & Jan; ) L’Antico Pozzo is named after the old, softly illuminated pozzo (well) just off the lobby. Each room has its own personality, with thick stone walls, high ceilings, wrought-iron beds, frescoes, antique prints and peach-coloured walls.
Eating
Each Thursday morning there’s a produce market (Piazza della Cisterna & Piazza del Duomo).
Gelateria di Piazza (Piazza della Cisterna 4; Mar—mid-Nov) As the pictures on the wall attest, many celebrities have closed their lips around one of these rich ice creams (‘All the family thought the ice cream was delicious,’ attested one Tony Blair). Master Sergio uses only the choicest ingredients: pistachios from Sicily and cocoa from Venezuela.
Enoteca Gustavo ( 0577 94 00 57; Via San Matteo 29; snacks & wine from €2.50; 9am-8pm) Snacks include bruschetta and a plate of cheese with honey to go with your choice from the impressive selection of wines.
Osteria al Carcere ( 0577 94 19 05; Via del Castello 5; meals €35; closed Thu lunch & Wed) A fine osteria, offering an atypical menu (the words ‘primi’ and ‘secondi’ are nowhere to be seen) loaded with distinctive plates. There are a half-dozen soups, including zuppa di farro e fagioli (spelt and white bean soup) and creative flashes like tacchina al pistacchi e arance (turkey with pistachios and orange sauce).
Il Castello ( 0577 94 08 78; enotecailcastello@iol.it; Via del Castello 20; meals €37; Mar—mid-Jan) Both wine bar and restaurant, this place has a delightful patio with views and an all-brick, glass-domed courtyard. Nosh on a macho-meaty bistecca alla fiorentina or cinghiale alla sangimignanese con polenta (wild boar with polenta), or opt for a lighter option such as the pennette with broccoli, wild mushrooms and saffron.
Il Pino ( 0577 94 04 15; Via Cellolese 8-10; meals €40; Fri-Wed) The atmosphere here is spruce, vaulted and airy. Service is friendly and attentive and the seasonal menu, which includes massive pasta plates and several truffle-based specialities, is a winner.
Dorando ( 0577 94 18 62; www.ristorantedorando.it; Vicolo dell’Oro 2; meals €60; daily Easter-Oct, Tue-Sun Oct-Easter) Recognised by the Slow Food Movement, Dorando runs a classic five-course menu with dishes based on authentic Etruscan recipes. The menu is otherwise brief and focused (only four primi and four secondi). The atmosphere is swanky yet cool, with intimate corners and works of art.
Drinking
DiVinorum (Piazza della Cisterna 30; 11am-8pm Mar-Oct, to 4pm Nov-Dec) This cool wine bar is housed in cavernous former stables. In summer, sip your drink on the tiny outdoor terrace with stunning valley views.
Getting There & Away
The bus station (Piazzale dei Martiri di Montemaggio) is beside Porta San Giovanni. Buses run to/from Florence (€6, 1¼ hours, over 30 daily) but almost always require a change at Poggibonsi. Buses also run to/from Siena (€5.30, one to 1½ hours, 10 daily).
For Volterra (€4.30, 1½ hours, four daily except Sunday) you need to change in Colle di Val d’Elsa, and maybe also in Poggibonsi.
Poggibonsi (by bus €1.80, about 30 minutes, frequent) is the closest train station.
From Florence or Siena, take the SS2 to Poggibonsi, then the SS429 and finally the SP63. From Volterra, take the SS68 east and follow the turn-off signs north to San Gimignano. There are car parks (per hour €2 or per day €5 to €20) outside the city walls and beside and below Porta San Giovanni.
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VOLTERRA
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Volterra’s well-preserved medieval ramparts give the windswept town a scrappy, yet proud, forbidding air deemed ideal for the discriminating tastes of the planet’s principal vampire coven in the wildly popular book series Twilight, by Stephanie Meyer. Where San Gimignano has its towers, Volterra has its archaeological sites, extensive network of mysterious alleys to explore and steep, stone stairways to scale.
Orientation & Information
Whichever one of the four main gates you enter, the road will lead you to central Piazza dei Priori. The tourist office ( 0588 8 72 57; www.volterratur.it; Piazza dei Priori 19-20; 10am-1pm & 2-6pm) offers a free hotel-booking service and rents out a town audioguide (€5).
Sights
PIAZZA DEI PRIORI & AROUND
Piazza dei Priori is ringed by austere medieval mansions. The 13th-century Palazzo dei Priori (admission €1; 10.30am-5.30pm daily mid-Mar—Oct, 10am-5pm Sat & Sun Nov—mid-Mar), the oldest seat of local government in Tuscany, is believed to have been a model for Florence’s Palazzo Vecchio. Highlights are a fresco of the Crucifixion by Piero Francesco Fiorentino on the staircase, the magnificent cross-vaulted council hall and a small antechamber on the 1st floor giving a bird’s-eye view of the piazza below.
Palazzo Pretorio dates back to the same era. From it thrusts the Torre del Porcellino (Piglet’s Tower), so named because of the wild boar protruding from its upper section.
The cathedral (Piazza San Giovanni; 8am-12.30pm & 3-6pm) was built in the 12th and 13th centuries. Highlights include a small fresco, the Procession of the Magi by Benozzo Gozzoli, behind a terracotta Nativity group tucked away in the oratory at the beginning of the north aisle. There is also an exquisite 15th-century tabernacle by Mino da Fiesole that rises above the high altar. Just west of the cathedral, the 13th-century baptistry features a small marble font by Andrea Sansovino.
Nearby, the Museo Diocesano d’Arte Sacra ( 0588 8 62 90; Via Roma 1; 9am-1pm & 3-6pm mid-Mar—Oct, 9am-1pm Nov—mid-Mar) merits a peek for its collection of ecclesiastical vestments, gold reliquaries and works by Andrea della Robbia and Rosso Fiorentino. The Pinacoteca Comunale ( 0588 8 75 80; Via dei Sarti 1; 9am-7pm mid-Mar—Oct, 8.30am-1.45pm Nov—mid-Mar) houses a modest collection of local art.
For admission prices, see the boxed text, right.
MUSEO ETRUSCO GUARNACCI
In terms of content, this is one of Italy’s finest Etruscan Museums ( 0588 8 63 47; Via Don Minzoni 15; adult/student €8/5; 9am-7pm mid-Mar—Oct, 8.30am-1.45pm Nov—mid-Mar). Much of the collection is displayed in the old-style didactic manner, though exhibits on the upper levels have been artfully enriched. The multilingual audioguide (€3) is worth the investment.
All exhibits were unearthed locally. They include a vast collection of some 600 funerary urns carved mainly from alabaster and tufa and are displayed according to subject and period. The best examples (those dating from later periods) are on the 2nd and 3rd floors.
Original touches are the Ombra della Sera bronze ex-voto, a strange, elongated nude figure that would fit harmoniously in any museum of modern art, and the urn of the Sposi, a terracotta rendering of an elderly couple, their faces depicted in portrait fashion rather than the usual stylised manner.
OTHER SIGHTS
On the city’s northern edge lies the Roman Theatre ( 10.30am-5.30pm daily mid-Mar—Oct, 10am-4pm Sat & Sun Nov—mid-Mar), a well-preserved complex complete with a Roman bathhouse.
The Fortezza Medicea, built in the 14th century and altered by Lorenzo Il Magnifico (Lorenzo de’ Medici), is nowadays a prison (admission one felony). To its west is the pleasant Parco Archeologico. Little of archaeological interest has survived, apart from a few battered Etruscan tombs, but it’s a good place for a picnic.
Le Balze, a deep eroded limestone ravine about 2km northwest of the city centre, has claimed several churches since the Middle Ages as the buildings tumbled into its deep gullies. A 14th-century monastery, perched on the precipice, seems perilously close to continuing the tradition.
Festivals & Events
On the third and fourth Sundays of August, the citizens of Volterra roll back the calendar some 600 years, take to the streets in period costume and celebrate Volterra AD 1398 with gusto and all the fun of a medieval fair.
Sleeping
Camping Le Balze ( 0588 8 78 80; Via di Mandringa 15; person/tent/car €8/7/3; Easter-Oct; ) The closest campsite to town sits right on Le Balze.
Seminario di Sant’Andrea ( 0588 8 60 28; semvescovile@diocesivolterra.it; Viale Vittorio Veneto 2; r with shared bathroom €14.28, d with bathroom €36; ) Still an active church retreat, this place is peaceful, if a mite dilapidated, with vaulted ceilings and 60 large, clean rooms. Open to all comers, it’s a mere 600m or so from Piazza dei Priori.
Albergo Villa Nencini ( 0588 8 63 86; www.villanencini.it; Borgo Santo Stefano 55; s €60-73, d €73-88; ) A tranquil family hotel, Villa Nencini is a mere 200m beyond Porta San Francesco yet a world away from the town’s summer bustle. Choose the original 17th-century mansion or the recently constructed wing.
Appartamenti l’Etrusca ( 0588 8 40 73; letrusca@libero.it; Via Porta all’Arco 37-41; 1-/2-/3-person apt €55/80/90; ) Unlike most such rental companies, this place is happy to take you in for even a single night. The exterior of this late-Renaissance building gives no hint of all the mod cons within.
Albergo Nazionale ( 0588 8 62 84; www.hotelnazionale-volterra.com; Via dei Marchesi 11; s €65-75, d €78-88; ) DH Lawrence once stayed in this late-19th-century hotel. Rooms vary in size and style and some have balconies; room 403, with a pair of them, is your best option. Meals in its summertime restaurant are simple, solid and uncomplicated; the reception desk betrays the same qualities.
Albergo Etruria ( 0588 8 73 77; www.albergoetruria.it; Via Giacomo Matteotti 32; s €60-70, d €80-90; closed Jan; ) This is a good-value hotel realised by two friendly English-speaking ladies. Look for the remains of an Etruscan wall upstairs and savour the fine views from the roof garden – a genuine garden with lawns and bushes. There’s also a self-catering kitchen.
Agriturismo San Lorenzo ( 0588 3 90 80; www.agriturismosanlorenzo.it; B&B d €90, apt without breakfast €95-110; ) Just 3km outside Volterra on the road to Siena, this is a giddying fusion of sustainable tourism, countryside vistas, mod cons and wonderful food (dinner per person €28) served in the 12th-century Franciscan chapel. The mountain-spring-fed biological swimming pool, complete with frogs and salamanders, fronts the converted farmhouse (c 1400s). Rooms are ‘farmhouse chic’, individually decorated and colourful with modern kitchens and bathrooms. Walking, biking, horseback riding and hands-on, seasonal olive-oil production (October to November) are immediately available, as are cooking classes (per person €90).
Eating
Visola del Gusto (Via Antonio Gramsci 3) Gelato lovers look no further: this place serves the freshest in town, starting at €1.50 for a small cone.
Pizzeria da Nanni ( 0588 8 40 47; Via delle Prigioni 40; pizzas €6.20-8.50; Mon-Sat) A hole-in-the-wall-plus – the plus being the excellent pizzas that Nanni spatulas from his oven while sustaining a vivid line of backchat, notably with his wife. Unscheduled closings are increasing as the couple eases into retirement.
Trattoria del Sacco Fiorentino ( 0588 8 85 37; Piazza XX Settembre 18; meals €32, tasting menu €26-28; Thu-Tue) A great little vaulted trattoria that serves up imaginative dishes with a happy selection of local wines. Try the piccione al vin santo e radicchio rosso (pigeon baked with red radicchio and wine) or the critical mass of flavour in the beef tartare with artichokes and fresh onions.
Osteria dei Poeti ( 0588 8 60 29; Via Giacomo Matteotti 55; meals €35, tourist menus €13-35; Fri-Wed) Get here right at noon, before the business lunchers fill the last seat. Typical Tuscan fare includes antipasto del poeta (€15), a rich assortment of canapés, cheeses and cold cuts that is an unexpected delight.
Ristorante Don Beta ( 0588 8 67 30; Via Giacomo Matteotti 39; meals €40, set menus €12-21; closed Mon Oct-Apr) With four truffle-based primi piatti and five secondi enhanced by their fragrance, this is the place to sample the prized fungus, which abounds – insofar as it abounds anywhere – in the woods around Volterra.
Drinking
Web & Wine ( 0588 8 15 31; Via Porta all’Arco 11-13; 9.30am-1am Fri-Wed) At once an internet point (€3 per hour), a stylish enoteca (with a good selection of tipples), a snack stop (that also serves full meals) and a hip designer cafe with underlit Etruscan remains.
Getting There & Around
Driving and parking inside the walled town are more or less prohibited. Park in one of the designated areas around the circumference, most of which are free. There’s a four-level underground pay car park beneath Piazza Martiri della Libertà, which is also the bus station.
The tourist office carries bus and train timetables. CPT buses connect the town with Cecina (€3.50, frequent) and its train station. From Cecina, there are trains to Pisa (€4.20 to €8.60, 40 to 70 minutes, 23 daily).
For San Gimignano (€4.30, 1½ hours), Siena (€4.50, 1½ hours) and Florence (€7.40, two hours), change at Colle di Val d’Elsa (€2.50, 50 minutes), to where there are four runs daily from Volterra except on Sunday. The rare, direct run to Florence from Volterra costs €7.10.
By car, take the SS68, which runs between Cecina and Colle di Val d’Elsa.
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LE CRETE
Le Crete (a Tuscan dialect word meaning clay) is an area of rolling hills scored by steep ravines offering a feast of classic Tuscan images – bare ridges topped by a solitary cypress tree and hills silhouetted one against another as they fade into the misty distance. Its most harmonious valley, the Val d’Orcia, is a Unesco World Heritage site.
Abbazia di Monte Oliveto Maggiore ( 0577 70 76 11; admission free; 9.15am-noon & 3.15-6pm Apr-Oct, to 5pm Nov-Mar), a 14th-century monastery, is still a retreat for around 40 monks. Frescoes by Signorelli and Sodoma decorate the Great Cloister, illustrating events in the life of the ascetic St Benedict.
Montalcino
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This retiring hill town is a perfectly nice place to bulk up your calf muscles wandering inhumanly steep streets, but its real attraction is the internationally coveted wine, Brunello, which has been produced here since the middle of the 19th century. You can also savour the more modest, but still very palatable, Rosso di Montalcino.
If you’re a jazz-loving oenophile, you’ll savour the town’s annual Jazz & Wine festival, held in the second and third weeks of July.
The tourist office ( 0577 84 93 31; www.prolocomontalcino.it, in Italian; Costa del Municipio 1; 10am-1pm & 2-5.40pm daily Apr-Oct, closed Mon Nov-Mar) is just off Piazza del Popolo, the main square.
SIGHTS
Museo Civico e Diocesano d’Arte Sacra ( 0577 84 60 14; Via Ricasoli 31; adult/child €4.50/3; 10am-1pm & 2-5.50pm Tue-Sun), just off Piazza Sant’Agostino, occupies a former monastery. In addition to canvases by Giovanni di Paolo, Sano di Pietro and others, it has a fine collection of painted wooden sculptures by the Sienese school.
DETOUR
The beautiful Abbazia Di Sant’Antimo ( 0577 83 56 59; Castelnuovo dell’Abate; 10.30am-12.30pm & 3-6.30pm Mon-Sat, 9-10.30am & 3-6pm Sun) lies in an isolated valley just below the village of Castelnuovo dell’Abate. Its Romanesque exterior, built in pale travertine stone, features stone carvings set in the bell tower and apsidal chapels.
Within the 14th-century fortress ( 0577 84 92 11; courtyard free, ramparts adult/child €4/2; 9am-8pm Apr-Oct, 10am-6pm Nov-Mar) is an enoteca where you can sample and buy local wines. The view is almost as magnificent from the courtyard as it is from the ramparts.
A combined ticket giving full access to the museum and fortress costs €6.
There’s a vigorous Friday market on and around Via della Libertà.
SLEEPING & EATING
Il Giardino ( 0577 84 82 57; albergoilgiardino@virgilio.it; Piazza Cavour 4; s €40-45, d €55-60) An excellent-value, friendly, family-run, two-star hotel. Occupying a venerable building overlooking Piazza Cavour, its decor has a distinct 1970s feel.
Hotel Il Giglio ( 0577 84 81 67; www.gigliohotel.com; Via Soccorso Saloni 5; s €82, d €122-135, annex s/d/tr €60/92/115, 2-4 person apt €90-120; ) Montalcino’s oldest, but substantially renovated, hotel. Rooms have comfortable wrought-iron beds – each gilded with a painted giglio (lily) – and all doubles have panoramic views. There’s a small annex just up the street and a couple of apartments. Room 1 has an enormous terrace that comes at no extra cost.
Hotel Vecchia Oliviera ( 0577 84 60 28; www.vecchiaoliviera.com; Via Landi 1; d €160-190; ) Just beside the Porta Cerbaia, this is a former olive mill that has been tastefully restored utilising earthy colours and terracotta tiles. Tranquil (it’s at the very limit of the town), each room is individually decorated. The back patio has stunning views.
Al Baccanale ( 340 7810273; Via Matteoti 19; meals €32) A family operation favoured by locals, serving belt-challenging, pick-and-mix pasta/sauce plates, including the popular, idiosyncratic maltagliati, or ‘badly cut pasta’, the random, leftover bits after other pasta has been cut.
Re di Macchia ( 0577 84 61 16; Via Soccorso Saloni 21; meals €34, fixed menu €23; Fri-Wed) This is a very agreeable small restaurant run by an enterprising couple. Roberta selects the freshest of ingredients and the wine cellar is impressive; to sample a variety, try Antonio’s personal selection of four wines (€16), each to accompany a course.
GETTING THERE & AWAY
Regular TRAIN S.p.A. buses (€3.30, 1½ hours, six daily) run to/from Siena.
Pienza
pop 2172
The World Heritage—listed town of Pienza is on the primary road to Montepulciano. Its tourist office ( 0578 74 99 05; Corso Il Rossellino; 10am-1pm & 3-7pm Wed-Mon) is located within the Museo Diocesano.
Spin 360 degrees in Piazza Pio II and you’ve taken in Pienza’s major monuments. Gems of the Renaissance, they were all constructed in a mere three years between 1459 and 1462. The square is named after the pope who, in one of the earliest examples of urban planning, commissioned the architect Bernardo Rossellino to rebuild the little town of his birth.
Highlights of the cathedral ( 8.30am-1pm & 2.15-7pm), with its Renaissance facade, are a superb marble tabernacle by Rossellino, and five altarpieces, all by Sienese artists.
Palazzo Piccolomini, Padre Pio II’s country residence, is considered to be Rossellino’s masterpiece. From its loggia, there are spectacular panoramic views over the Val d’Orcia below.
Palazzo Borgia, also called the Palazzo Vescovile, houses Pienza’s small Museo Diocesano ( 0578 74 99 05; adult/child €4.10/2.60; 10am-1pm & 2-7pm Wed-Mon mid-Mar—Oct, Sat & Sun only Nov—mid-Mar), with paintings of the Sienese school and some striking 16th-century Flemish tapestries.
Almost a monument in its own right, the pungent Bottega del Naturalista (Corso Rossellino 16) has a truly mouthwatering choice of cheeses, in particular the renowned ewe’s milk pecorino di pienza.
Up to four buses run between Siena and Pienza on weekdays (€3.80, 1¼ hours) and nine travel to/from Montepulciano (€1.80). The bus station is just off Piazza Dante Alighieri. Buy tickets at the nearby bar.
Montepulciano
pop 14,389
You’ll acquire a newfound appreciation for the term ‘hotel restaurant’ after a day of street (read: hill) climbing here. When your quadriceps reach their failure point, self-medicate with a generous pour of the highly reputed Vino Nobile while drinking in the views over the Valdichiana countryside.
ORIENTATION
The town sheers off to the left and right from the main street, which rises steeply southwards from Porta al Prato to the Piazza Grande and fortress beyond. The 750m walk bordered by the town’s finest buildings may leave you breathless but is well worth the exercise.
INFORMATION
- Strada del Vino Nobile di Montepulciano Information Office ( 0578 71 74 84; www.stradavinonobile.it; Piazza Grande 7; 10am-1pm & 3-6pm Mon-Fri) Books accommodation, arranges cooking courses, Slow Food tours, wine tastings, bike rentals and unstrenuous country walks culminating in lunch.
- Tourist office ( 0578 75 73 41; www.prolocomontepulciano.it; Piazza Don Minzoni; 9.30am-12.30pm & 3-8pm Easter-Jul & Sep-Oct, to 8pm Aug, to 12.30pm Mon-Sat & 3-6pm Sun Nov-Easter) Reserves accommodation without charge, as well as selling local bus tickets and train tickets and renting bikes and scooters.
SIGHTS
Most of the main sights are clustered around Piazza Grande, although the town’s streets harbour a wealth of palazzi, fine buildings and churches.
From the Porta al Prato, walk south along Via di Gracciano nel Corso. At the upper end of Piazza Savonarola is the Colonna del Marzocca, erected in 1511 to confirm Montepulciano’s allegiance to Florence.
Among several noble residences lining the main street is the Palazzo Bucelli at No 73, whose lower facades are recycled Etruscan and Latin inscriptions and reliefs. The Palazzo Cocconi, nearly opposite at No 70, was also designed by Sangallo.
Continuing up Via di Gracciano nel Corso, you will find Michelozzo’s Chiesa di Sant’Agostino (Piazza Michelozzo; 9am-noon & 3-6pm). Opposite, the Torre di Pulcinella, a medieval tower house, is topped by the town clock and the hunched figure of Pulcinella (Punch of Punch and Judy fame), who strikes the hours.
Overlooking Piazza Grande, which is the town’s highest point, is the Palazzo Comunale (admission free; 9am-6pm Mon-Sat). Built in the 13th-century Gothic style and remodelled in the 15th century by Michelozzo, it still functions as the town hall. On a clear day, you can see as far as the Monti Sibillini to the east and the Gran Sasso to the southeast from the top of its tower (entry 2nd fl; admission €1.60; Apr-Oct). Opposite is the Palazzo Contucci and its extensive wine cellar, Cantine Contucci ( 0578 75 70 06; www.contucci.it; 8am-12.30pm & 2.30-6.30pm), which is open for visiting and sampling.
The 16th-century cathedral (Piazza Grande; 9am-noon & 4-6pm) has an unfinished facade. Above the high altar is a lovely triptych by Taddeo da Bartolo depicting the Assumption.
SLEEPING & EATING
Bellavista ( 347 8232314; bellavista@bccmp.com; Via Ricci 25; d €65-70; ) Nearly all of the 10 high-ceilinged double rooms at this excellent hotel have fantastic views; room 6 has a private terrace. Some rooms have refrigerators and all have great beds. No-one lives here so phone ahead in order to be met and given a key (if you’ve omitted this stage, there’s a phone in the lobby from where you can call).
Albergo Il Marzocco ( 0578 75 72 62; www.albergoilmarzocco.it; Piazza Savonarola 18; s €60-75, d €90-95; ) Run as a hotel by the same family for over a century, the rooms in this fabulous 16th-century building are large, comfortable and well furnished. Those with a balcony and views come at no extra cost.
Meublé Il Riccio ( 0578 75 77 13; www.ilriccio.net; Via Talosa 21; s/d €80/100; ) This gorgeous tiny hotel, with only six bedrooms, occupies a Renaissance palazzo just off Piazza Grande. It has large rooms, antiques, a solarium, a porticoed courtyard and a terrace bar for your glass of vino with a view.
Osteria dell’Acquacheta ( 0578 75 84 43; www.acquacheta.eu; Via del Teatro 22; meals €20; Wed-Mon) This is a small eatery with the look and feel of a country trattoria. The food is excellent and mainly meaty, ranging from misto di salami toscani (a variety of Tuscan sausages and salamis) to huge steaks.
Caffè Poliziano ( 0578 75 86 15; Via di Voltaia nel Corso 27; meals €26) Established as a cafe in 1868, this elegant place has been lovingly restored and has tiny, precipitous balcony tables with expansive views.
Enoteca a Gambe di Gatto ( 0578 75 74 31; zelfdizekf@yahoo.it; Via dell Opio nel Corso 34; meals €30; closed Jan-Easter & Wed) Renowned throughout the region, exacting husband and wife team of Emanuel and Laura travel the country each winter to acquire the absolute best products from organic producers. The daily menu fluctuates wildly, depending on market offerings.
GETTING THERE & AROUND
TRAIN S.p.A. (www.trainspa.it) runs five buses daily between Montepulciano and Siena (€4.70, 1¾ hours) via Pienza. Regular LFI (www.lfi.it) buses connect with Chiusi (€2.30, 50 minutes, half-hourly) and continue to Chiusi-Chianciano Terme train station, on the main Rome—Florence line. There are three services daily to/from Florence (€9.40) and two to/from Arezzo (€3.70; change at Bettolle).
By car, take the Chianciano Terme exit from the A1 and follow the SS146. Cars are banned from the centre. There are car parks near the Porta al Prato, from where minibuses weave their way to Piazza Grande.
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SOUTHERN TUSCANY
This is a landscape of lush rumpled hills, distant smoky mountains and ancient hill-top villages. For pure drama, there are Etruscan sites such as the enigmatic vie cave (sunken roads), over whose significance archaeologists still puzzle. You can dunk yourself in the hot natural pools of Saturnia; laze on the smart marinas and good beaches of Monte Argentario; and trek through the quiet Parco Regionale della Maremma, which embraces the most varied and attractive stretch of the Tuscan coastline.
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PARCO REGIONALE DELLA MAREMMA
This spectacular nature park (admission €6-9) includes the Monti dell’Uccellina, which drops to a magnificent stretch of unspoiled coastline. The main visitor centre ( 0564 40 70 98; www.parco-maremma.it; 8am-5pm mid-Mar—Sep, 8.30am-1.30pm Oct—mid-Mar) is in Alberese, on the park’s northern edge. There’s a small seasonal centre ( 0564 88 71 73; 8am-noon & 5-8pm Jul & Aug, to 1pm Sep-Jun) at the park’s southern extremity, 400m up a dirt lane about 1km before Talamone. Park access is limited to 11 signed walking trails, varying from 2.5km to 12km. Entry (by ticket bought at the visitor centre) varies according to whether a minibus transports you to your chosen route. Depending on your trail, you stand a chance of spotting deer, wild boar, foxes and hawks.
The Centro Turismo Il Rialto ( 0564 40 71 02), 600m north of the main visitor centre, offers guided canoe outings (adult/child €16/8; two hours) and rents mountain bikes (per hour/day €3/8). It doesn’t have set core hours, so call ahead or risk finding the place abandoned.
To restore your energy after a walk, Trattoria e Pizzeria Mancini e Caduro ( 0564 40 71 37; Via del Fante 24; meals €21; Wed-Mon Apr-Sep), in nearby Alberese, has an affordable menu of homemade Tuscan standards, including tortelli ricotta e spinace (pasta with cheese and spinach) and aquacotta (soup with bread, onion, tomatoes, celery and egg).
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ETRUSCAN SITES
Terme di Saturnia
This thermal spa ( 0564 60 01 11; www.termedisaturnia.it; day admission €22, 3pm-closing €17, parking €4; 9.30am-7.30pm Apr-Sep, to 5.30pm Oct-Mar) is about 2.5km south of the village of Saturnia. You can spend a whole day dunking yourself in the hot pools and signing on for ancillary activities such as the alluring ‘four-hand massage shower’ or the somewhat sinister-sounding ‘infiltration of gaseous oxygen to reduce excess fat’.
Econo-bathers can avail themselves of the waters running parallel to the road for several hundred metres, starting just south of the Terme di Saturnia turn-off. Look for the telltale sign of other bathers’ cars parked on the road, then forage down the path until you find a suitable spot of cascading water.
Pitigliano
pop 4008
Growing organically from the high rocky outcrop that towers over the surrounding countryside, Pitigliano is outstanding long-shot, photo-op fodder. The main monuments are within a stone’s throw of Piazza Garibaldi, where you’ll find the tourist office ( 0564 61 71 11; 10.20am-1pm & 3-7pm Tue-Sun Apr-Oct, to 1pm & 2-6pm Tue-Sun Nov-Mar).
SIGHTS
Off the square are an imposing 16th-century viaduct and the 13th-century Palazzo Orsini ( 0564 61 44 19; adult/child €2.50/1.50; 10am-1pm & 3-7pm Tue-Sun Apr-Sep, to 5pm Oct-Mar). The latter’s small museum houses a cluttered collection of ecclesiastical objects.
Opposite is the altogether more organised Museo Archeologico ( 0564 61 40 67; Piazza della Fortezza; adult/child €2.50/1.50; 10am-1pm & 3-7pm Tue-Sun Apr-Sep, to 1pm & 3-6pm Tue-Sun Oct-Mar), with a rich display of finds from local Etruscan sites. They’re well displayed, though the descriptive panels are in Italian only.
The town’s medieval lanes and steep alleys are a delight to wander, particularly around the small Ghetto quarter. Take Via Zuccarelli and turn left for La Piccola Gerusalemme ( 0564 61 60 06; Vicolo Manin 30; adult/child €3/2; 10am-12.30pm & 4-7pm Sun-Fri May-Oct, to 12.30pm & 3-6pm Sun-Fri Nov-Apr). The area fell into disrepair with the demise of Pitigliano’s Jewish community at the end of WWII and was practically rebuilt from scratch in 1995. A visit includes the tiny, richly adorned synagogue and a small museum of Jewish culture, including the old bakery, kosher butchers and dyeing shops.
There are some spectacular walks around Pitigliano. The base of the rocky outcrop is stippled with Etruscan tomb caves carved into the soft tufa, many of them recycled as storage cellars. From there, you can follow a signed trail (about 6km) to Sovana.
SLEEPING & EATING
Albergo Guastini ( 0564 61 60 65; www.albergoguastini.it; Piazza Petruccioli 16; s €35-40, d €58-66; closed mid-Jan—mid-Feb) Pitigliano’s only hotel is particularly friendly and welcoming. Perched on the edge of the cliff face, many of its rooms have marvellous views. Breakfast costs €8.
Osteria Il Tufo Allegro ( 0564 61 61 92; Vico della Costituzione 2; meals €31; closed Wed lunch & Tue) This osteria is just off Via Zuccarelli. The aromas emanating from its kitchen should be enough to draw you into the cavernous chamber, carved out of the tufa foundations.
Il Forno (Via Roma 16) Pick up a stick or two of sfratto, a gorgeously sticky local confection made of honey and walnuts, from this place. Counterbalance the sweetness with a glass or two of the town’s excellent dryish Bianco di Pitigliano wine.
GETTING THERE & AWAY
Rama (www.griforama.it) buses run between Pitigliano and Grosseto’s train station (€6, two hours, four daily). They connect Pitigliano with Sorano (€1.20, 15 minutes, seven daily) and Sovana (€1.20, 20 minutes, one daily). For Saturnia, change at Manciano.
Necropoli di Sovana
One and a half kilometres south of the pretty nearby village of Sovana are Tuscany’s most significant Etruscan tombs (admission €5; 9am-7pm Mar-Nov, 10am-5pm Fri-Sun Dec-Feb). Look for the yellow sign on the left for the Tomba della Sirena, where you follow a trail running alongside a rank of tomb facades cut from the rock face, as well as walk along a via cava.
The Tomba di Ildebranda, by far the grandest of Etruscan mausoleums and the only surviving temple-style tomb, still preserves traces of its columns and stairs. Tomba del Tifone is about 300m down a trail running alongside a rank of tomb facades cut from the rock face. A few arresting lengths of via cava exist here as well.
Due east of the village, just outside the tiny hamlet of San Quirico and signposted from the main square, are the Vitozza rock caves ( 0564 61 40 74; admission €2; 10am-6pm Tue-Sun Mar-Oct, by appointment Nov-Feb), more than 200 of them, peppering a high rock ridge. One of the largest troglodyte dwellings in Italy, the complex was first inhabited in prehistoric times.
Sorano
High on a rocky spur, Sorano’s houses, many of which are nowadays unoccupied, seem to huddle together in an effort not to shove one another off their precarious perch. The town’s main attraction is the partly renovated Fortezza Orsini ( 0564 63 37 67; Piazza Cairoli; adult/child under 11yr/child over 11yr €2/free/1; 10am-1pm & 3-7pm Apr-Oct, to 1pm & 3-5.30pm Fri-Sun Nov-Mar) with its medieval museum and underground passageways, visited by separate guided tour (€3; hourly).
A few kilometres out of Sorano on the road to Sovana is the Necropoli di San Rocco ( 0564 63 30 99; admission €2; 11am-6pm Mar-Oct), another Etruscan burial area.
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EASTERN TUSCANY
This corner of Tuscany holds some cinematic oh-wow moments, and the fact that relatively few tourists bother to venture here means that you’ll find yourself with plenty of elbowroom.
Fans of Piero della Francesca can follow a trial of his paintings through the towns of Sansepolcro and Monterchi, finishing with a viewing of his fresco cycle in Arezzo’s Chiesa di San Francesco.
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AREZZO
pop 97,493
Arezzo may not be a Tuscan centrefold, but those parts of its historic centre that survived merciless WWII bombings are worthy competition for any destination in the region: particularly the sloping Piazza Grande, the Pieve di Santa Maria and the five-star frescoes by Piero della Francesca in the Chiesa di San Francesco. The setting for much of Roberto Benigni’s Oscar-winning film La vita è bella (Life is Beautiful), it’s well worth a visit, easily accomplished as a day trip from Florence.
Once an important Etruscan town, Arezzo was later absorbed into the Roman Empire. A free republic as early as the 10th century, it supported the Ghibelline cause in the violent battles between pope and emperor and was eventually subjugated by Florence in 1384.
Arezzo was the birthplace of the Renaissance poet Petrarch, who popularised the sonnet format, penning his verses in both Latin and Italian; and of Giorgio Vasari, the prolific painter and architect who contributed so much to Renaissance Florence.
On the second-last Sunday of June and first Sunday of September, the town hosts the famous Giostra del Saracino, a horse-jousting competition. A huge, 500-exhibitor antiques fair takes over Piazza Grande on the first weekend of every month.
Orientation
From the train station on the southern edge of the walled city, pedestrianised Corso Italia leads to the Piazza Grande, Arezzo’s nucleus.
Information
- APT tourist office ( 0575 2 08 39; www.apt.arezzo.it; Piazza della Repubblica 28; 9am-1pm & 3-7pm Apr-Sep, 10am-1pm & 3-6pm Mon-Sat, 10am-1pm Sun Oct-Mar) Has a representative from Colori Toscani onsite who can arrange accommodation and tours free of charge.
- Centro di Accoglienza Turistico ( 0575 40 35 74; Via Ricasoli; 9.30am-6.30pm Jun-Oct, 10am-6pm Nov-May) Hires out audioguides to Arezzo (adult/child per day €2.50/2) with an accompanying map. Its ‘Room 180’ shows a 30-minute film about Arezzo (adult/child €2.50/2) in six languages on a 180-degree screen.
- Eutelia (Via Guido Monaco 61; per hr €2; 9am-9pm) Internet access and cheap international phone calls.
- Nuovo Ospedale San Donato ( 0575 25 50 01; Via A de Gasperi) Arezzo’s hospital, located outside the city walls.
- Police station ( 0575 31 81; Via Fra Guittone 3)
- Post office (Via Guido Monaco 34)
Sights
CHIESA DI SAN FRANCESCO
Gracing the apse of this 14th-century church (Piazza San Francesco; 9am-7pm Apr-Oct, to 6pm Nov-Mar) is one of the greatest works of Italian art, Piero della Francesca’s fresco cycle of the Legend of the True Cross (1452–66). This masterpiece relates in 10 episodes a highly coloured subsequent history of the cross on which Christ was crucified.
You can get some sense of the frescoes from beyond the cordon in front of the altar, but to really appreciate them up close, plan ahead for a visit with audioguide ( reservations 0575 35 27 27; www.pierodellafrancesca.it; admission €6; 9am-7pm Apr-Oct, to 6pm Nov-Mar). As only 25 people are allowed in every half-hour, it’s essential to prebook by phone or at any of the sites that participate in the combined ticket scheme. The ticket office is at Piazza San Francesco 4, to the right of the church’s main entrance.
PIEVE DI SANTA MARIA
This 12th-century church (Corso Italia 7; 8am-1pm & 3-7pm May-Sep, to noon & 3-6pm Oct-Apr) has a magnificent Romanesque arcaded facade, in form reminiscent of the cathedral at Pisa, yet without the glorious marble facing. Over the central doorway are lively carved reliefs representing the months of the year. The 14th-century bell tower with its 40 apertures is something of an emblem for the city. The monochrome of the interior’s warm, grey stone is relieved by Pietro Lorenzetti’s fine polyptych, Madonna and Saints, beneath the semidome of the apse.
PIAZZA GRANDE & AROUND
The porticoes of Palazzo delle Logge Vasariane, completed in 1573, overlook this cobbled piazza. In the northwest corner, Palazzo della Fraternità dei Laici, with its churchlike facade, was started in 1375 in the Gothic style and finished after the onset of the Renaissance. Via dei Pileati leads to Casa di Petrarca, the poet’s former home.
CATHEDRAL
Arezzo’s cathedral (Piazza del Duomo; 7am-12.30pm & 3-6.30pm) was started in the 13th century yet was not completed until well into the 15th century. In the northeast corner, left of the main altar, an exquisite fresco of Mary Magdalene by Piero della Francesca is dwarfed in size, but not beauty, by the rich marble reliefs of the tomb of Bishop Guido Tarlati.
CHIESA DI SAN DOMENICO & AROUND
The short detour to the Chiesa di San Domenico (Piazza San Domenico 7; 8.30am-6pm) is a must so you can see the haunting Crucifixion – one of Cimabue’s earliest works, painted around 1265 – that rears above the main altar. To the west, the Casa di Vasari ( 0575 40 90 40; Via XX Settembre 55; adult/child €2/1; 8am-7.30pm Mon & Wed-Sat, to 1pm Sun) was built and sumptuously decorated (overwhelmingly so in the case of the Sala del Camino, the Fireplace Room) by the architect himself; ring the bell if the door’s closed.
Down the hill, the Museo Statale d’Arte Medievale e Moderna ( 0575 40 90 50; Via San Lorentino 8; adult/student €10/7; 9am-6pm Tue-Sun) houses works by local artists, including Luca Signorelli and Vasari, spanning from the 13th to 18th centuries.
MUSEO ARCHEOLOGICO & ROMAN AMPHITHEATRE
East of the train station, the Museo Archeologico ( 0575 2 08 82; Via Margaritone 10; adult/child €4/2; 8.30am-7pm) is in a convent overlooking the remains of a Roman amphitheatre (admission free; 8.30am-7pm Apr-Oct, to 6pm Nov-Mar). It has a sizeable collection of Etruscan and Roman artefacts.
Sleeping
Camping Le Ginestre ( 0575 36 35 66; www.campingleginestre.it; Via Ruscello 100; per person €7-8, pitch €8-10; year-round) From Arezzo train station, take the LFI bus to Ruscello and request the camping stop.
Camera Caffé ( 347 0324405; www.cameracaffe.net; Via Guido Monaco 92; s with shared bathroom €35, s/d with bathroom €40/55; ) Across the street from the train station, the dorm-room decor here is supplemented by cushy beds and fat duvets. The huge, self-serve kitchen has a gorgeous dining terrace and some rooms have air-con.
La Terrazza ( 0575 2 83 87; laterrazza@lycos.it; 5th fl, Via Guido Monaco 25; s/d without bathroom €40/50, d with bathroom €60) Comprising apartments on two floors with eight large, bright rooms and a kitchen for guest use, this place is welcoming and good value. Go down the passage beside Blockbuster.
La Corte Del Re ( 0575 29 67 20; www.lacortedelre.com; Via Borgunto 5; s €60-75, d €70-90; ) A collection of six apartments, centimetres from Piazza Grande, harmoniously blending contemporary design into elements of the historic building. Some apartments have kitchenettes and views of the square. Three night minimum stay.
Hotel Patio ( 0575 40 19 62; www.hotelpatio.it; Via Cavour 23; s €115-130, d €155-176, ste €190-230; ) This is Arezzo’s most characterful hotel, with 10 themed rooms, each dedicated to one of Bruce Chatwin’s travel books. Each has original furnishings from the various countries represented, including Australia, Morocco and China.
Eating
La Tua Piadina ( 0575 2 32 40; Via de’ Cenci 18) A justifiably popular takeaway place hidden away down a side street, where you can get a range of hot, tasty piadine, the Emilia-Romagna version of the wrap, from around €3.50.
La Torre di Gnicche ( 0575 35 20 35; Piaggia San Martino 8; meals €26; Thu-Tue) Just off Piazza Grande, this is a fine traditional restaurant offering a rich variety of antipasti. Choose from the ample range of local pecorino cheeses, accompanied by a choice red from the extensive wine list.
Trattoria Il Saraceno ( 0575 2 76 44; www.ilsaraceno.com; Via Giuseppe Mazzini 3a; meals €30; Thu-Tue) This trattoria serves quality, varied Tuscan fare. The impressive wine collection is hard to miss, as it conspicuously lines the walls. Pizzas start at €5.
La Lancia d’Oro ( 0575 2 10 33; Piazza Grande 18-19; meals €47; closed Sun dinner & Mon) Your order here is supplemented by excellent snacks and titbits that arrive unannounced. There’s a jolly, waggish waiter, while the interior, painted with swags and green-and-white stripes, is like dining in a marquee. Good light lunch menus (€15, two courses, plus glass of wine) are served on the terrace under the loggia that looks down over Piazza Grande.
A veritable produce melee erupts at Piazza Sant’Agostino’s market each Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.
Getting There & Away
Buses depart Piazza della Repubblica for Cortona (€2.80, one hour, more than 10 weekdays, three Saturday), Sansepolcro (€3.30, one hour, seven daily) and Siena (€5.20, 1½ hours, seven daily). For Florence, you’re better off hopping on the train.
Arezzo is on the Florence—Rome train line with frequent services to Rome (€11.70, two hours) and Florence (€5.60, 1½ hours). Trains also call by Cortona (€2.40, 20 minutes, hourly). Arezzo is just a few kilometres east of the A1 and the SS73 heads east to Sansepolcro.
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SANSEPOLCRO
pop 16,161
Sansepolcro was the birthplace of Piero della Francesca and is an important stop on any itinerary inspired by his work. On your way from Arezzo, stop in Monterchi to see his famous fresco Madonna del Parto (Pregnant Madonna; 0575 7 07 13; Via della Reglia 1; adult/child €3.50/free; 9am-1pm & 2-7pm Tue-Fri, 9am-7pm Sat & Sun Apr-Sep, to 5pm Oct-Mar). A sensitive touch: pregnant women get free admission.
The tourist office ( 0575 74 05 36; infosansepolcro@apt.arezzo.it; Via Matteotti 8; 9.30am-1pm & 3-6pm Apr-Sep, to 12.30pm & 3.30-5.30pm Mon-Sat, to 12.30pm Sun Oct-Mar) is packed with multilingual information.
Within the Museo Civico ( 0575 73 22 18; www.comune.sansepolcro.ar.it, in Italian; Via Aggiunti 65; adult/child €6/4.50; 9.30am-1.30pm & 2.30-7pm Jun-Sep, to 1pm & 2.30-6pm Oct-May), around the corner from the tourist office, are two Piero della Francesca masterpieces: his Resurrection, and the Madonna della Misericordia (Madonna of Mercy) polyptych, where the Virgin spreads her protective cloak over the painting’s benefactors.
Locanda Giglio & Ristorante Fiorentino ( 0575 74 20 33; www.ristorantefiorentino.it; Via Pacioli 60; s/d/tr €55/80/110; ), a very friendly hotel and restaurant, has been in the same family for four generations. The four hotel rooms with their oak floors, underfloor lighting and period furniture recovered from the family loft have been imaginatively renovated by Alessia, an architect/sommelier and youngest of the family (ask for La Torre, with a lovely low bed and the best views), while Dad, Alessio, still runs the restaurant with panache. The pasta’s homemade and the imaginative menu (meals €30 to €34) changes with the seasons.
SITA buses link Sansepolcro with Arezzo (€3.30, one hour, seven daily) and there are several trains daily to Perugia (€4.15, 1¾ hours).
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CORTONA
pop 22,901
With a layout indicative of someone spilling a bucket of ‘Etruscan town’ down a hillside, rooms with a view are the rule rather than the exception in Cortona. In the late 14th century Fra’ Angelico lived and worked here, and fellow artists Luca Signorelli (1450–1523) and Pietro da Cortona (1596–1669) were both born within the walls. More recently, large chunks of Under the Tuscan Sun, the soap-in-the-sun film of the book by Frances Mayes, were shot here.
A full week of merriment in May or June (the date varies to coincide with Ascension Day) culminates in the Giostra dell’Archidado, a crossbow competition first held in the Middle Ages.
Orientation
Piazzale Garibaldi, on the southern edge of the walled city, is where buses arrive. From it, there are sensational views across the plain to Lago di Trasimeno in Umbria. From the piazzale, walk straight up Via Nazionale – about the only flat street in the whole town – to Piazza della Repubblica, the main square. The friendly tourist office ( 0575 63 03 52; Via Nazionale 42; 9am-1pm & 3-7pm Mon-Sat, 9am-1pm Sun May-Sep, 9am-1pm & 3-6pm Mon-Fri, to 1pm Sat Oct-Apr) has maps, brochures and timetables, sells bus and train tickets and can book rooms.
Sights
Brooding over lopsided Piazza della Repubblica is the Palazzo Comunale, built in the 13th century, renovated in the 16th and once again in the 19th. To the north is attractive Piazza Signorelli and, on its north side, 13th-century Palazzo Casali, whose rather plain facade was added in the 17th century. Inside is the Museo dell’Accademia Etrusca ( 0575 63 04 15; Piazza Signorelli 9; adult/child €7/4; 10am-7pm daily Apr-Oct, to 5pm Tue-Sun Nov-Mar), which displays substantial local Etruscan finds, including an elaborate 2nd-century-BC oil lamp.
Little is left of the Romanesque character of the cathedral, northwest of Piazza Signorelli. It was completely rebuilt late in the Renaissance and again, indifferently, in the 18th century. Its true wealth lies in the Museo Diocesano ( 0575 6 28 30; Piazza del Duomo 1; adult/child €5/3; 10am-7pm Tue-Sun Apr-Oct, to 5pm Tue-Sun Nov-Mar) in the former church of Gesù. Its fine collection includes works by Luca Signorelli and a beautiful Annunciation and Madonna by Fra’ Angelico.
Wriggle up through a sleepy warren of steep cobbled lanes in the eastern part of town to the largely 19th-century Chiesa di Santa Margherita (Piazza Santa Margherita; 7.30am-noon & 3-7pm Apr-Oct, 8.30am-noon & 3-6pm Oct-Apr). The remains of St Margaret, the patron saint of Cortona, are on display in an ornate, 14th-century, glass-sided tomb above the main altar. It’s a stiff climb, but worth it – and it’s worth pushing even further uphill to the forbidding Fortezza Medicea ( 0575 63 04 15; adult/child €3/1.50; 10am-1.30pm & 2.30-6pm Apr, May, Jun & Sep, to 7pm Jul & Aug), Cortona’s highest point, with stupendous views over the surrounding countryside.
Sleeping
Santa Margherita ( 0575 63 03 36; comunitacortona@smr.it; Via Cesare Battisti 15; s/d €40/54; year-round) Run by sweet, obliging nuns from the religious institute, this is a popular place with Italian groups, so call ahead (with Italian phrasebook at the ready). A renovation in 2009 included new beds, fresh paint and sparkling bathrooms. Breakfast costs €5. Disabled access.
Hotel Italia ( 0575 63 02 54; www.hotelitaliacortona.com; Via Ghibellina 5/7; s €83-88, d €110-116; ) A casual but atmospheric 17th-century palazzo just off Piazza della Repubblica. Standard rooms have traditional cross-beamed ceilings and are decorated in warm orange tones, while each of the unique superior rooms features giant bathtubs. Views are breathtaking from the roof-level breakfast room. Oriental massages, wi-fi and mountain-bike hire are available.
Hotel San Michele ( 0575 60 43 48; www.hotelsanmichele.net; Via Guelfa 15; d €79-220; closed Jan—mid-Mar; ) This is Cortona’s finest hotel. Primarily Renaissance, but with elements dating from the 12th century and modifications over subsequent centuries, it’s like a little history of Cortona in stone. Rooms are airy, spacious and exquisitely furnished. Prices vary wildly due to frequent special offers and festivals.
Eating
Snoopy’s (Piazza Signorelli 29) Gelato is served in generous portions here, starting at €1.50 for a small cone.
Trattoria Dardano ( 0575 60 19 44; Via Dardano 24; meals €24; Thu-Tue) Dardano is one of those no-nonsense yet still unexpectedly wonderful trattorie that feature prominently in every Tuscany travel memoir, doing amazing things with ostensibly simple dishes. You’ll be elbow-to-elbow with locals and giddy, idealistic visitors seriously considering buying and fixing up a nearby farmhouse on the strength of their lunch.
Osteria del Teatro ( 0575 63 05 56; www.osteria-del-teatro.it; Via Maffei 2; meals €40; Thu-Tue) Friendly service, fresh flowers on every table and a liberal meting out of truffle shavings awaits diners here. Featured in nearly every Italian gastronomic guide, its seasonally driven dishes include the ravioli ai fiori di zucca (pumpkin-flower ravioli) in summer.
La Bucaccia ( 0575 60 60 39; www.labucaccia.it; Via Ghibellina 17; meals €45) Decidedly tourist-targeted, with Etruscan cellar ambience: wine racks, grape press, tiny wine barrels, cheese wheels and an Etruscan cistern displayed under a glassed floor. The service is indisputably warm, and the food notable in both taste and presentation, but lofty wine prices push the final total quite high.
There’s a Saturday market (Piazza Signorelli), which sells farmers’ products.
Getting There & Around
From Piazzale Garibaldi, LFI buses connect the town with Arezzo (€2.80, one hour), via Castiglion Fiorentino.
The nearest train station on the main Rome—Florence line is located about 6km away at Camucia-Cortona, to which shuttle buses (€1, 15 minutes) run at least hourly. Destinations include Arezzo (€2.40, 20 minutes, hourly), Florence (€7.10, 1½ hours, hourly), Rome (€9.40, 2¼ hours, every two hours) and Perugia (€3.15, 40 minutes, over 12 daily).
The tourist office has timetables and sells both bus and train tickets.
By car the city is on the north—south SS71 that runs to Arezzo. It’s also close to the SS75 that connects Perugia to the A1.