Hi, we'll be in Italy in 2 weeks, flying into FCO around 7:30 am and picking up a car at the airport to drive to Pienza. Since we get in so early we thought it might be nice to drive around a little and make a couple stops along the way. Any recommendations for a good place to spend a couple hours exploring en route?

Thanks!

There are a couple of great ways to get to Pienza.

Go toward Rome the A1 North. Get off the A1 at Orvieto (great town to walk around) After Orvieto catch the S2 and head toward Pienza.

OR
Head up the coast on E80 (Porto S Stefano is a great stop) At Grosseto head toward Siena, getting off 223 at Paganico. From there you can cut straight up to Montalcino (beautiful vineyard country - S Angelo is very pretty)OR go over to 323 and head north (this option is more mountainous, rugged and beautiful).

jnj, can you tell me about S Angelo in Colle? Sorry for the threadjack, but we're thinking of staying there next summer at Tenuta Il Poggione and not many people know about it.

It is just a cute little hill town. Didn't even see stores, but there is a restaurant.

Thanks, I hear there are TWO restaurants, both are supposed to be excellent...I'm leaning towards staying there as opposed to Pienza.

The 2 restaurants in Sant'Angelo are Il Pozzo and Il Leccio, both of which are excellent. The town itself is lovely and very small -- you can find a photo and a little info here: http://www.montalcinoreport.com/mont...-in-colle.html. If you're interested in sight-seeing, I might consider Pienza, which is a bit more centrally located.

I agree---S. Angelo in Colle is a cute small town south of Montalcino but too far off the path to be a good base.

I too would stop at Orvieto and take S-2 north from there and stop at Bagno Vignoni.

If I have Il Poggione correct, it is a wine estate/agriturismo. I consider it and others as a destination. Sant Angelo is tiny and appropriate for a short visit while in the vast vineyards south of Montalcino. Your experience there will likely be very rural and remote.