30 Days in Italy » Tuscany

Pienza: A Beautiful Little Renaissance Town in Tuscany

Barbra — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 06:59:30 +0000

Street in Pienza, Italy

Pienza is a beautiful little Renaissance town in Tuscany with a fascinating history. It’s located between Montepulciano and Montalcino, and is less than an hour’s drive or bus ride from Siena.

As a perfectly preserved Renaissance town and a UNESCO world heritage protected site, Pienza is a favorite for period film locations. Director Franco Zeffirelli filmed the 1968 film Romeo and Juliet in Pienza, and the town was also used in the movie The English Patient.

What to see in Pienza

When you get to Pienza you’ll definitely want to see the Piazza Pio. Also, check out the Piazza Piccolomini, which was the Pope’s residence and was lived in by descendants of the Piccolomini family until 1968. Of course, there’s the Duomo (cathedral). When you walk behind the Duomo, you get fantastic views of the whole Val d’Orcia (Orcia Valley). A tourist office in Pienza is right in the main piazza. During summer months, you can get free guided tours of the town.

View of Val D'Orcia seen from Pienza

On the main street, there are lots of food stores that specialize in gourmet products from Tuscany such as wine, honey, and the local pecorino (sheep’s milk) cheese. You can do cheese tastings and wine tastings at a number of shops.

A good place to have lunch in Pienza is the popular Trattoria Latte di Luna or the reasonably priced Del Falco (Piazza Dante Alighieri 7, phone 0578-748551 closed on Fridays).

It only takes a couple of hours to see most of Pienza. It’s a pretty small place. But if you’ve got more time to spare, you can stay overnight in a charming B&B in Pienza and take your time soaking up the Renaissance atmosphere.

Wonderful Place to Stay in Lucca

Barbra — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 04:03:14 +0000

Garden room at Locanda S. Agostino in Lucca

With 26/28 five star reviews on TripAdvisor.com, Locanda S. Agostino appears to be a sure bet for a wonderful place to stay in Lucca.

One reviewer admits that she would “prefer to keep this little gem of a place all to myself – but I just can’t, as I think that everyone should have the chance to have as perfect a time as we had at the Locanda”.

Another guest writes:

We stayed one night in the garden room earlier this month. Locanda is almost like a “stealth” hotel – the outside of the building is quite anonymous, but the interior is fabulous, with interesting art and beautiful decor. The garden room was absolutely gorgeous, with lovely touches like a vase of fresh pink peonies on the dresser. The furniture is antique, and the atmosphere reminiscent of the napoleonic era. The bathroom was lovely, hidden in the wall, with really great olive oil toiletries. You can borrow movies and music from the main hallway. Breakfast out on the little terrace was really good, and beautifully presented. Sarah did her utmost to make us feel welcome and recommended different bars and restaurants as well as places to see in the vicinity… I would definitely go back to stay at Locanda S. Agostino. And as soon as possible!

Rates for a double room are between 130 – 180 Euros a night, depending on season. Check out the photos on the Locanda S. Agostino website.

Piazza S. Agostino, 3
55100 Lucca (LU), Italy
+39 0583 467884

Montalcino

Barbra — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 08:44:39 +0000

Montalcino, Italy

While you’re in the Siena area, you’ll want to make a side trip to Montalcino. Montalcino is a walled hilltop town in Tuscany that has wonderful views of the surrounding valleys.

Located 27 miles south of Siena, Montalcino is where the famous Brunello and Rosso di Montalcino wines are made. It’s a small town and you can get there from Siena by taking the Tra-In bus. It takes 60 to 90 minutes on the bus and costs about four Euros one way.

When you’re in Montalcino, make sure you see the 14th Century fortezza, and drop in to the Enoteca la Fortezza wine-tasting shop which is located under the fort. The Enoteca is a great place to sample the local Brunello and Rosso wines (phone 0577-849211). You can get a variety of Tuscan wines by the glass for about four Euros each. Since you’re there, you’ve got to sample the regional Brunello, which is about seven or eight Euros for a glass. They’ll serve it with plates of savory local cheeses so you can have lunch there.

Ariel view of Montalcino

Another great place in Montalcino for wine tasting is the Piazza del Popolo (phone 0577-849043). When you get to the Piazza del Popolo, find the Caffe Fiaschetteria Italiana No. 6. Check out the days. It can be closed on Monday and Tuesday, I’ve heard. You can get a wine tasting there with three or four varieties of Brunello to choose from, ranging from about four Euros on up to well over ten Euros a glass.

Also in Montalcino, check out the small civic museum, which has a really nice collection of Sienese paintings ranging from the 1400’s to the Renaissance. A few years ago the Civic Museum moved its collection to a new home at the former St. Augustine Monastery on Via Ricasoli 31 (phone 0577-846014). It’ll cost you about five Euros and it’s open Tuesday through Sunday.

Another thing to see in Montalcino is the 12th Century Cistercian Abbey of Sant’Antimo, which is about ten kilometers south of Montalcino. It’s one of Tuscany’s most beautiful, intact Romanesque churches. An extra special experience is if you time your visit to coincide with the Gregorian chants that are performed daily by the monks that still live there.

There’s a tourist office in Montalcino that you can check with for the hours the chants are going to be performed.

Where to Eat in Tuscany: Insider Tips

Barbra — Wed, 27 May 2009 02:54:20 +0000

Latte di Luna restaurant in Pienza, Italy

Looking for restaurant recommendations for the hilltowns of Tuscany? I’ve gleaned some insider tips from Ferenc Mate’s delightful memoir A Vineyard in Tuscany.

Mate loves food and wine with a passion. While renovating his dream house in Tuscany and starting his own small winery, Mate enjoyed meals at these favorite restaurants:

Trattoria Latte di Luna in Pienza

Most of the reviews I’ve read stress that Latte di Luna serves simple, home cooked meals. You won’t find anything fancy, but you will find tasty local specialties at reasonable prices. Very popular so make reservations. See photo at right and read slowtravel.com reviews.

Trattoria La Torre in Monte Oliveto Maggiore

Although Mate recommends this restaurant, I found mixed reviews online. On the positive side, travellers Jane and Ken say “If you visit the abbey (which you should), then plan on having a very nice lunch in the ristorante. We so enjoyed it there.”

But TuscanHouse warns “Ristorante La Torre at the Abbey is a big operation to accommodate the frequent busloads of tour groups and sometimes fails to give good food or good service”.

Closed on Tuesdays
53020 MONTE OLIVETO MAGGIORE
Tel. +39 577 – 707022

Trattoria da Mario in Buonconvento

Buonconvento is a lovely small town and not very touristy. Mate mentions eating at Trattoria da Mario in Buonconvento, and apparently he is not alone in his enjoyment of this restaurant. A report on slowtravel.com has this to say about the eatery:

We came back and had dinner at Da Mario in Buonconvento. I will say no more than Da Mario is a gem of a local ristorante with great ambiance (mangiare a fuori) and dynamite food and is considered a secret find by the local inhabitants of this working village.

Via soccini, 60
53022 – Buonconvento
Tel. 0577.806157

Trattoria La Tagliola in Arcidosso

Trattoria La Tagliola in Arcidosso

On TripAdvisor.com the one review for this restaurant proclaims “Migliore ristorante ad Arcidosso”. I don’t speak Italian but it’s safe to assume this means something along the lines of “best restaurant in Arcidossa”. The reviewer gave it the highest rating – 5 stars.

On Trattoria La Tagliola’s website you can see more photos of the restaurant interior, along with a sample menu.

Bagnoli, Arcidosso
Tel. +39 0564 967351

Trattoria Sciame in Montalcino

Located just a block from the fortress, Trattoria Sciame in Montalcino is a small restaurant with a big reputation. Many independent travellers recommend Trattoria Sciame, as do the big guide books. Frommer’s writes:

You’ll be lucky to wrest one of the seven tables (crammed into Sciame’s small, modern dining room) away from the devoted locals who fill it with clamorous chatter almost every night. The food here is firmly cucina casalinga. You needn’t decide on an appetizer because everything is gathered together in the antipastone misto. Top honors go to both the pinci al cinghiale (fat spaghetti in a sauce of tomatoes and wild boar) and the zuppa di fagioli (a bean-and-cabbage soup poured over bread, with a red onion slice over it). Afterward try a pollo arrosto (roast chicken or guinea hen) or the scaloppina agli asparagi (veal scallop with wild asparagus). For dessert, order the cantucci e ossi di morti con moscadello (almond cookies and brittle, hollow “bones of the dead” cookies with sweet white dessert wine).

Prices are reasonable – about $7 – $14 for each course. Closed Tuesdays, the last week of July and the month of February. Reservations strongly recommended.

Via Ricasoli 9
53024 Montalcino
0577 848-017

Ristorante Nello La Taverna in Siena, Italy

Barbra — Thu, 14 May 2009 01:47:49 +0000

Entrance to La Taverna Nello in Siena, Italy

Looking for a Tuscan cafe that serves vegetarian food in Siena, Italy? I’ve got a great suggestion for you.

Nello La Taverna

Nello La Taverna is sometimes referred to as La Taverna di Nello. This is a Tuscan restaurant that serves a good number of vegetarian dishes. It’s on the Via del Porrione 28 and the phone number is 0577-289043 (reservations recommended). If you’re trying to find this lovely Siena restaurant, it’s on a narrow, stone-covered street very close to the Piazza del Campo (the big piazza). We discovered that the easiest way to find La Taverna di Nello is to approach it from the Piazza del Campo. To orient yourself, stand facing the tall clock tower and then look for the little street just to your left that leads off the Piazza del Campo. The restaurant is just a few doors down the street.

We visited La Taverna di Nello on a warm evening in October. It’s got an inviting atmosphere with brick walls, racks of wine bottles and interesting orginal artwork. The decor and menu has a bit more of an “upscale” feeling than your typical Tuscan family-run restaurant.

Specialties include great salads made with the common Tuscan ingredient, radicchio, and other vegetarian delights. How does ravioli in a velvet creamy artichoke sauce sound (14 Euros)? Or crepes stuffed with ricotta cheese and fresh truffles (20 Euros).

The food was lovely and the service from our English-speaking waiter was kind and attentive.

There are rave reviews from other customers on the Nello La Taverna website (note: the restaurant’s website seems to be down), such as this one:

La Taverna Nello in Siena, Italy

When I visit Siena, I always make sure I include a meal at Nello La Taverna in the Via Del Porrione, a small side street off the campo. They make the most wonderful Porcini Tagliolini which arrives as fresh egg noodles folded with the fresh porcini mushrooms. The pungent, gutsy flavours of these mushrooms require only a dash of the best olive oil and perhaps a clove or two of crushed garlic to bring out the best they have to offer and at this time of year, you will find them folded through risotto, a multitude of pasta and even char-grilled whole and dressed with a little balsamic. We also enjoyed the local pasta called ‘pici’ which is a kind of roughly extruded, thick spaghetti, served simply with diced, briefly stewed tomatoes and basil.

Another customer wrote:

Ristorante Nello La Taverna, just off Il Campo, is one of the best Tuscany cafes. We had gnocchi with bolognese sauce and the gnocchi was to die for! They melt in your mouth! Also had great wine and deserts (puff pastry stuffed with ice cream and hot chocolate sauce). He is very friendly and the atmosphere is charming.

Summary

Highly recommended restaurant in Siena, Italy. Ristorante Nello La Taverna, Via dei Porrioni 28, tel. 0577 289043 Closed on Sundays. Map

Why You Can’t Trust Travel Guidebooks

Barbra — Tue, 05 May 2009 06:58:37 +0000

Room at Antica Torre

If you just read reviews of Antica Torre hotel in the Italy travel guidebooks, you’d be forgiven for thinking it would make a great place to stay in Siena, Italy.

For example, both the Frommer’s guidebook and the EyeWitness Guide to Florence and Tuscany provide glowing reviews of Antica Torre hotel in Siena:

From the Frommer’s guidebook:

Antica Torre is a restored 17^th Century tower within the city walls of Siena. It’s a ten-minute walk from Piazza del Campo. Tall and graceful, the tower sits on top of the century’s old potter’s workshop that is now the breakfast room. Take a stone staircase to the small but comfortable guestrooms, each with some Tuscan antiques, iron filigree headboard and marble floors. Try to get one of the accommodations on the top floor for a panoramic view of the medieval city and the rolling Tuscan hills. It costs 90 Euros a night and there is parking on the street nearby.

Antica Torre hotel Siena, Italy

Sounds delightful, but not so quick

Sounds delightful and good value for Siena, right? But wait, check out the “real-life advice” on TripAdvisor:

We stayed there for a single night. It was OK, but I am glad we did not spend too much time there.

- location is good, about 5 min walk from main square in Siena
- room is quite small but it’s actually the bathroom that feels very very small – and while it has recent fixtures, it does not feel terribly clean
- if you stay at the top (as we did), going up and down is quite challenging

The one employee we interacted with was the most clueless and least helpful person we met in Italy. In general, it was an ok experience but if I return to Siena I’ll first look for something else.

Some people liked it…

The most complimentary review on TripAdvisor put Antica Torre at a 4/5 with these comments:

My partner and I stayed for one night at the Antica Torre so that we could spend a day in Siena. We found both our room and the hotel itself to be very well-kept and charming. It’s in a pleasant neighborhood of Siena that is close to all of the sights but also quiet and residential (I stepped out early in the morning and was pleasantly surprised to see real people going to work, as opposed to other tourists, which seems to be the norm in Tuscany).

The hotel appears to be family run, and the main proprietor was very friendly and called us a cab the next morning so that we could go pick up our rental car in the Siena suburbs. At 113 euros per night the hotel in not exactly a bargain for budget travellers (we stayed at places in Florence for less), but what you are paying for is a clean space and a bit of charm and it is definitely worth it!

On a final note, the hotel is definitely not a good option for the elderly or disabled- I had to carry our very large suitcase up three flights of narrow stairs to reach our room.

Antica Torre hotel, Siena

But just as many didn’t like it…

What follows is not the most scathing TripAdvisor review about Antica Torre (I usually ignore the most scathing as possibly written by an unreasonable person), but it is representative of those who were disappointed by Antica Torre.

Two nights in this hotel was plenty. It’s recommended in some guidebooks, but I’m sure they haven’t been there in a while. We knew we’d have to haul our own bags up the stairs. Okay. The bathroom had blackish mold on the wall. The sheets and towels seemed clean. The a/c worked. The view out the window was nice. Location was okay. I think the bathroom was once a closet or small hallway — access was through a folding door. Maybe other rooms are better. I’d pass next time.

I don’t know about you, but I’m too picky about accommodation to risk staying in a place described by several reviewers as just “OK” and as having “blackish mold on the wall”.

The moral of this story

Don’t just buy an Italy travel guide and trustingly follow the recommendations. Use travel guidebooks as a starting point but double-check at places like TripAdvisor.