Tuscan Towns

During our stay in Siena, we rented a car for a couple of days to let us explore a bit of the Tuscany countryside.  We went on a little half-day driving tour to the Crete Senesi area, southeast of Siena, returning to Siena for the night.  The next morning, we departed Siena and headed to two hilltop towns, first Volterra, then San Gimignano, where we spent a night.

Our midday drive around Crete Senesi was quite fun.  Tom was a bit apprehensive about driving ... not being familiar with all the local "customs," etc. ... but it turned out fine.  Fortunately, the rental car office in Siena was, in fact, a ways out of town, and in the direction we were headed.  So, we had minimal interaction with traffic.  Lots of small, narrow, windy roads through lush green hilly countryside.  We stopped to look around a couple of towns and have lunch.  We also explored the Abbey of Monte Oliveto Maggiore, which is an active St. Benedict Monastery.  There was some incredible (and famous) inlaid woodwork in the choir area of the church.  And there were dozens of large frescos surrounding the adjacent courtyard (the cloister) depicting the life of St Benedict ... all done around 1500 AD.  We rented an audio tour and got the full scoop on multiple inferences of each fresco ... 'cuz we wouldn't have figured any of it out!  Our drive back to Siena was pretty smooth ... not a given since we had to get back to our hotel (i.e., not way outside of town)!

Lush Tuscan Countryside

Sant'Agata Church, Asciono

Inlaid Woodwork in Sanctuary Choir, Abbey of Monte Oliveto Maggiore

Sanctuary Dome, Abbey of Monte Oliveto Maggiore

Frescos, Abbey of Monte Oliveto Maggiore

Wine for sale, Abbey of Monte Oliveto Maggiore

A relatively early departure from Siena gave us about half a day to explore the medieval hill-top town of Volterra.  We mostly wandered the narrow curvy streets around the town, seeing lots of stone buildings, some shops and restaurants, and commanding views of the countryside.  We went through the Guarnacci Etruscan Museum, which contained hundreds and hundreds of funeral urns.  To our untrained eyes, however, they all looked pretty much the same.  All in all, the town was enjoyable, and relatively uncrowded.

Ancient gate (Porta all'Arco), Volterra

Street Scene, Volterra

Ruins of Teatro Romano, Volterra

Small welcomer atop a residential portico, Volterra

Burial Urn, Volterra

Baptistery and Duomo, Volterra 

After driving down the mountain from Volterra and up another mountain, we arrived at a mob scene (aka, San Gimignano).  Florence-based masses make a day trip here, and we arrived mid-afternoon ... so no big surprise.  After a long wait for parking, we made it up to the central plaza (Piazza della Cisterna) and our accommodations for the night.  We then proceeded to (you guessed it) walk around the city along the narrow winding streets ... mostly pretty crowded.  San Gimignano is known for its numerous (14) medieval towers, and they, along with the city center, are a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  Apparently, back in the day, your tower was a measure of your prominence (or, perhaps, manliness), so it became kind of a contest.  At the end of the 14th century, there were 72 towers!!  We had a nice dinner, an evening walk after the crowds had thinned, and some gelato (at the shop that made the dubious claim of "the best gelato in Italy").  We departed the next morning, hoping that the threatening clouds wouldn't burst open during our long walk back to the car.

Puppeteer in Piazza della Cisterna, San Gimignano

Garden Path, San Gimignano

Old City Wall, San Gimignano

Model of City, San Gimignano

Evening Arch, Plaza Comunale, San Gimignano

Damp Street, San Gimignano

More Photos

Activities

• Wandering/Sightseeing
• Asciano
• Abbey of Monte Oliveto Maggiore (St Benedict Monastery).  
• Buonconvento
• Volterra
• St. Gimignano

Random Scenes

• When we made our first stop in Asciano, Tom pulled into a parking lot, and need to back up a bit.  But where was reverse?  It was labeled on the shifter (over beyond 6th gear).  Everytime he tried to engage the gear, he'd have to let out the clutch to test it, and the car would inch forward a bit.  Soon, we were about to nudge the car in front of us, so Karen got out and pushed us backwards!  We then proceeded to look in the owner's manual, but it was in Italian (big surprise!), and didn't really seem to address it, anyway (based on the pictures).  But Karen went to YouTube, and found the answer (a ring around the shifter-shaft boot needed to be lifted up)!
• We saw lots of bicyclists tackling the hills.  It'd be beautiful, but quite the grunt!

Sleeps

• Leon Bianco (San Gimignano)