15-20 May 2024

We said goodbye to Richard, driving him to the Siena train station to catch a train to Florence. The end of our stay in Siena was closing in so we planned a few more excursions beyond the city.

Volterra

We visited Volterra briefly in 2019 as part of Richard’s 65th birthday celebration based nearby in Lucca. Volterra lies a short distance from Siena but the drive takes longer than you expect because of the winding roads. We have seen many gorgeous views in the past month, but the final drive toward Volterra surprised us with even more spectacular vistas because of the bigger more dramatic swaths with green rolling hills dotted by patches of vineyards and large expanses of woods. Bonnie found it difficult to capture the breadth in a single photograph from the passenger seat of the car. Apparently on a clear day, from at the edge of Volterra you can see Elba and Corsica.

We approached this medieval mountaintop comune on a skyline road that increases in elevation with each hairpin turn. The town dates to the eighth century BCE. Like many towns in this area, it thrived as an important Etruscan center when Rome took over control in the third century. Because it sat on deposits of salt and alum it attracted the interest and eventual control of the Republic of Florence. Our friend the Duke of Montefeltro from Urbino eventually sacked Volterra for Florence.

The town is small. You can do it easily in an afternoon including lunch at one of the MANY restaurants. The one we chose was OK but Robert was put off by their insistence on speaking to us in English even after he requested that they exchange the English menus they gave us for Italian ones.

Lunch, a Stroll, and Gelato

Pinacoteca di Volterra

A national museum focusing on local Volterra artists and artisans of alabaster.

Views From Volterra and the Drive Back to Siena

Back in Siena
Grocery Shopping, Another Bracelet for Robert, and Drinks on the Campo

Robert decided to complete his new collection of bracelets with one in silver. He and the jeweler are now friends!

Hermitages

Our art guide Giulia recommended that we visit the Eremo di San Leonardo al Lugo for its frescos. While there, two hikers recommended that we also visit the Eremo di Lecceto.

Eremo di San Leonardo al Lago

This small hermitage near Monteriggioni was established in 1119 by the Augustines. Reconstruction in the 13th and 14th centuries included fortifications against raiding armies to protect the convent and nearby residents. The frescos include those by Lippo Vanni and Giovanni di Paolo del Grazia. When we approached, the site seemed closed or even abandoned, but we read the small sign, rang the bell as instructed, and an older man appeared to let us in.

Eremo di Lecceto
(Monastery of the Holy Saviour)

This Augustine monastery, founded in 1223, has been known for its focus on contemplation. It fell into disrepair and underwent restoration in the late 1960s.

Back in Siena

Bonnie’s Buon Compleanno!

17 May. Bonnie’s birthday wish was to sleep in and rest up in the apartment. She wanted two light meals so she could search for an interesting pastry in place of cake. Her wish was Robert’s command. No big lunches or dinners. She found a very nice chocolate and pear torte at the lovely cafe where Robert goes for breakfast every morning. The staff was very surprised to see Robert in the afternoon!

A stroll, a drink and a snack, and then a surprise event at a small plaza nearby: the local contrada, Civetta, had set up booths selling drinks, porchetta sandwiches, and desserts.Everything except the table with the spinning wheel and prizes.

Montepulciano

Another day excursion. This time to Montepulciano, again about an hour from Siena. Everything is about an hour from Siena. This time southeast. Montepulciano is a total tourist town but very charming nevertheless with restaurants and shops. It is long and thin, stretching for a kilometer along two parallel streets on a ridge. Many of these medieval towns were built on long ridges.

Tempio di San Biagio

We discovered this architectural jewel by chance, looking down over the edge of the parking lot in Montepulciano. After some quick research we determined it was built between 1518 and 1580, a prime example of renaissance architecture. We arrived just before a wedding began, the attendees assembled on the lawn outside and the interior of the church awash in beautiful flowers. We can’t imagine how lavish the reception was. The architect of the church was Sangallo the Elder. We learned about his career and his talented nephew, the Younger, by reading entries in Wikipedia.

A Day of Surprises

We set out around noon for lunch and to explore an abbey.

Robert came across the monastery white trolling the internet. Unfortunately it was closed between noon and 3:00pm. Fortunately, Bonnie found this out before we left.

Bonnie found for a place for lunch fairly near the abbey. There were not many choices. As we got within a few miles of the restaurant, Waze directed us under some train tracks and onto a gravel road. You have to love Waze to show you routes off the beaten path.

We entered, surprise, a tiny village of perhaps fifteen buildings, one of which was Rita and Eraldo’s bistro. English and French-speaking folks populated the outdoor seating. Because there was threat of rain, Eraldo (?) set up an umbrella over a table for us. The food was great. Probably the best bresaola Robert has had on this trip. A ten-minute walk after lunch gave us a thorough experience of this hamlet. Oh. And the views were great.

Then on the way to the abbey a traffic guard stopped us one kilometer from the abbey. Surprise. Turns out there was bicycle race from Siena to Montalcino. About thirty minutes later and after many scouting and police vehicles and motorcycles, the bicyclists arrived, in a dense pack. A few poor souls trailed about fifteen minutes behind.

Finally arriving at the abbey, we settled into an electronically controlled parking lot that worked off QR cards and then proceeded down a tree-lined path to the abbey. Our third surprise of the day was how large it was because Robert assumed a 15th-century abby in the woods would be small and secluded. Not the case. The interior of the church was vast with an ample supply of paintings and statues. None identified.

The return trip home thanks again to Waze took us along a two-lane road that followed a gentle rolling ridge line with, surprise, the best views yet on both sides.

Lunch at Da Rita e Eraldo

Bicycle Race

Abbazia Monte Oliveto Maggiore

Benedictine monastery founded in 1313. The photo below shows the abbey on one of the most notable portions of the Crete Senesi, the clays of Siena. Robert noted that the gift shop reflects those of many catholic monasteries because it offers an extensive collection of liqueurs and homeopathic products.

The Drive Back

Back in Siena

Last Day and Some Observations

We spent the final day in Siena taking it slow and easy, doing our last load of laundry and organizing our packing. Lunch and dinner were at the same restaurant around the corner. We took a stroll while dodging umbrellas, and had a final drink on the Campo.

The citizens of Siena are friendly. Even though the town is a mecca for tourists, shops and restaurants are fairly down to earth and you find locals and tourists eating together. Prices for primo and secondo vary from place to place with the more expensive being 16 to 28 euro (18 to 30 dollars) for each. We tend to choose the 12 to 16 euro range and have yet to be disappointed.

The electronic handshake—using your phone instead of a credit card—has taken over methods of payment in Italy. We even found it on the autostrada where on our last trip we used to dig for change to pay the toll.

Robert figures that since he arrived in Siena, he has drunk 50 to 60 lattes and has eaten approximately 30 cornetti, some filled with crema, at Nannini’s cafe. Usually Carlos served them to Robert along with an occasionally free cookie or two. On the second to last day, he actually gave Robert a discount. Nice guy.

Although we read about Italy’s low birth rate, we see many young couples pushing baby strollers. Perhaps an effect of the severe covid restrictions imposed by the Italian government. (Think about past power outages in NYC and the birth rate increase nine months later.)

Italian residents were not allowed out of their homes except for grocery shopping or medical purposes. There was one exception. If you had a dog, you could go out to walk the dog twice a day. It appears that many Italians adopted dogs, and we see them being walked along the main streets in Siena in the early evening. Robert calls these covid dogs.

Lunch, Drinks, Dinner

Drinks and Dinner

Next stop—More Cousins!—Gabriela and Dinesh!