Spring Break 2014 Pienza, Montepulciano, and San Gimignano

This will be a longer than usual post since we stopped in three towns in one day.  Sounds crazy, I know.  But, Pienza and Montepulciano are next to each other.  And, San Gimignano came so highly recommended that we just didn't want to miss it.

We scheduled a guide for Pienza and Montepulciano to tour the towns and have a wine tasting. The drive to Pienza, through Tuscany, was gorgeous.  There was one particular cypress lined lane that caught my eye.  It was perfect.  Giant cypress trees framing the lane that led up to a home.  I hesitated, and I didn't ask Chris to stop the car, so I could get a picture.  And, I really should have because we learned on our tour that the lane was used in Gladiator to lead to his Maximus' home.  UGH!!!  Darn it!!!

PIENZA

Pienza is a picture perfect Tuscan town that Pope Pius II called home as a boy.  Rebuilding was done for the Pope, and the city would serve as a retreat for him from Rome.

Visiting the Gothic church, you can see the remains of the frescos on the walls.

A stark contrast to the Gothic Church is the  Duomo.  It was consecrated by the Pope in 1462.

As you can see, the Duomo is under some extreme wear.  The front of the church has large, visible cracks.  This is the section of the church on the hillside.  However, they do not believe it will fall off the side of the hill….well….not in our lifetime.

St. Catherine is on the right and St. Agatha on the left.
Saint Agatha is usually depicted carrying her breasts on a plate (as she is in this painting.)  Why?  She was tortured and had her breasts cut off because she would not have sex with a man and completely committed herself to God.  Can you imagine??  Today, she is the patron saint of breast cancer patients.

Our guide, Roberta, sharing the stories and history of Pienza.

As you walk around the town, there are two lanes to choose from…the lane of luck or love…but you could not choose to walk both.  We chose to take love….awwww!

The town is so beautiful, so you can see why it has been used for movies.  The English Patient was filmed here!  We were able to see the hotel where Ralph Fiennes stayed.  Of course, that is Lord Voldemort to Allison and Thomas. Pienza is also an UNESCO World Heritage site.

The Renaissance inspired Duomo (once again.)

And, the Gothic Church (an outside view.)  They could not be more different from one another!

We visited this great shop!

There was cheese being aged.  It is covered in ash and stored in a terra-cotta pot for 5+ months.  EWWW!

He just had to try some.  This is actually a much younger, softer cheese.

Good stuff!

More sites around Pienza...

We were freezing!  The sunny skies are deceiving.

I love this place!

Pinocchio is everywhere in this region.  Come to find out, the original tale is a Tuscan tale.  Who knew???  It has only taken me since our first trip to Rome in 2012 to finally ask someone. 2012??  That seems so long ago.  Have we really been here that long already?!

Oh you know…just cruising' through Tuscany.  We say that a lot because usually what we are doing is surreal for us.

 Montepulciano

So, we stayed in Volterra because I just had to stay there.  I'm a huge Twilight fan, and since that is the home of the Volturi I really, really wanted to see it.  And, Chris was nice enough to give in.  What we found out is that none of the movie was actually filmed there. WHAT?!  All of the filming was done in Montepulciano.  Thank goodness our wine tour was taking us to this town.  I really would have hated to miss it!

Please pardon the Hollywood references…but this is the clock tower Bella is running towards, Edward is standing in the doorway ready to sparkle, you know the rest…..

The doorway!  Thomas asked me if I was going to kiss the step.  If you all weren't standing here….I might. 

In the movie, there is a fountain.  There is actually no fountain. That is all Hollywood.  It was a nice touch though.

Thomas and I are standing in the doorway.  He is unbuttoning his shirt.  He thought it would be nice if he sparkled for the picture.  I'm telling him to button it back up. Hahahaha!

On to the wine tasting.

Learning all about the barrels, time wine spends in there, etc.

The grotto from the 13th century.

They were all delicious, and a shipment will be arriving in Belgium in the next two weeks!

The views from Montepulciano

Breathtaking!

Our fabulous guide!  Thank you Brandi for the recommendation.

One last shot….say EDWARD!

 Driving the streets of Montepulciano…yikes!

 San Gimignano

We ended our day in San Gimignano.  This town came recommended by a friend of Chris, as well as, the waiter back at The Blue Marlin in Vernazza.  So, we had to stop in.  It was actually over an hour drive to get there and would have made more sense to stop there on our way to Florence.  But, we didn't want to take any time away from Florence.  We had the whole evening, so why not?!

The town once had 72 towers.  Only 14 now stand.  It is an impressive town as you are driving by as it is perched up on a hill.  Our guide referred to it as the Manhattan of Tuscany.

Are you kidding me?!  Is this place real?  Gorgeous!

The main square (which is actually triangular) with a well in the center.  The well dates back to 1346!

The marks of the past are still along the edges of the well.

We've clearly exceeded our family time allotment for the day…..

A view of the towers.

Back at the well and just hanging out…watching Frozen.  That's normal, right?

Still watching it…exhaustion had set in.

I could do a whole post on the doors….

….and the knockers.  Yes, I laughed when I typed that.  

Dinner time at Peruca.  This restaurant was recommended by my friend Lucinda's guide.  The food was great!

"Mom, I don't want my picture taken."

"I'm NOT smiling…."

The perfect ending to the day!

 Until next time and Ciao!

Wendy