suddenlytuscany

zoecat,

Thanks! We will be starting that day from Lucignano, and spending the night in Tarquinia, which will tour the next day. So maybe it is doable.

Vetralla,

We hear you! THe entire genesis of this spur of the moment trip came out of a conversation where several of us were talking about how we had deliberately avoided the "fashionable" Tuscany for years and years, even though between us we've been to Italy about 20 times. In fact, my husband and I have toured small towns in Lazio and loved it. One of the reasons we have included Tarquinia and lingering in Chiusi in this brief trip is because of the interest we acquired in Etruscan culture traveling through Lazio.

But we, as a group, decided that we were finally going to be brave tourists and see those famous Tuscan towns, and make up our own minds about the hype. So off we go to Montepulciano, Pienza, Montalcino, etc. We're not very brave, mind you, we're being very off-season, and we're giving Arezzo the priorty. And we still quail at the thought of Chianti! But we finally had to admit we really do want to see much off the architecture and art in this area, even at the cost of lesser food and more people who talk like us. But we'll be marching forward from here to the unfamous, less tourist-trodden Italy. You may see us very soon!

Can you advise on an easy route from Lucignano to Sorano? Will Terrazza Aldobrandeschi be open for lunch on Tuesdays?

I also have a deep curiousity about Saturnia. Might it make for a lunch destination between Lucignano and Tarquinia?

Thank you!

suddenlytuscany

Alas, I just looked up La Terrazza Aldobrandeschi's website and it is closed Tuesday for lunch. And Tufo Allegro doesn't serve lunch (and it's closed all day Tuesday).

But using viamichelin it does appear I wouldn't have too much trouble getting into that area in time for lunch. Any other recommendations for towns or lunch places around Sorano, Pitigliano, etc?

suddenlytuscany

nametaken,

Thank you for that information about the museum in Chiusi! We are looking forward to it.

birdgirl

Dear Suddenlytuscany:
I live in Italy in the summer and my favorite spot is a small town about 15 miles from Pienza called Montisi. It is a beautiful community full of life, historic architecture and lovely people. You can walk to a lovely tratoria, or if you stay at La Romita, my home during the summer, Giovianna and Alberto, the owners will prepare a wonderful meal for you. At the end of the Village is Da Roberto's the food quite good, and the owner a great treat! A great bar,owned by La Romita's son Ricardo offers great food in the evening also, and it is where the village life happens,and across the street from La Romita, morning coffee stop available within a few steps. In the neighboring villages are great meals at reasonable prices. Try Trequanda & Petroio, for dinner. Petroio has a lovely little inn with an awesome view and great food.
The drive between Pienza to Monticchiello is the most beautiful tusan landscape in the whole area, may be very different this time of the year but still beautiful. I live in Tuscany to enjoy the tranquil life, eat fresh food, practice the slow food and travel movement. Another village that you need to know about is Bagnoregio and the old civita, an ancient medevial village only accessable by a foot bridge. If you go to Bagnoregio, stay with my friends at Pucci's Romantica, owners Pucci and Lamberto have a lovely villa in the old village, good price, clean comfortable rooms , he is a chef and she is a beautiful Italian Hostess. You will be close to Orvieto, a must see. A lovely Etruscan museum. Laggo Bolsenia is also a nice community. If you want more information and a referral to La Romita or Puccis write to me and I will email my friends/like my family now, for you. Grazie Katia

BarryWHaight

We spent 3 days in Tuscany last summer. I would recommend visiting and possibly staying in Montalcino or Montepulciano, which is larger. We stayed in Montebenichi, east of Sienna, in a renovated castle but it was expensive. But our interest was in wine/vineyards. I don't remember the names of the restaurants; the food was great all over as we spent time in Florence and CinqueTerre; we went by recommendations from our hotels, and they were excellent but in Tuscany in the middle of nowhere. South of Sienna there is an interestin old Abby.
You will enjoy driving more if you have a GPS. We rented from Hertz in Florence.

suddenlytuscany

birdgirl,

Thank you for sharing that information with me. The weather forecasts indicate we are likely to have some perfectly sunny days, and we're going to grab one to take a scenic drive. We've been trying to nail down just which road to take to understand why others love Tuscany as much as they do, so Pienza to Montichiello or vice versa is on our itinerary. Thank you too for your other recommendations. We realize that by coming in late November we won't have the chance to enjoy Tuscany's finest weather and flowers, but we hope to meet some of the wonderful people we keep hearing about and enjoy the well-preserved architecture. We've been fortunate enough to have previously seen Orvieto, and I worry about trying to squeeze in Civita Bagnoregio, We'll just have to see how it goes.

BarryWHaight,

Thank you for your help. We do plan to see Montepulciano and Montalcino (to also see the Abbey close by), but we are increasingly happy with our choice of staying in the town of Lucignano, which seems lovely but not all that well known to tourists. I think it will make for a nice contrast. Just before I checked into see if there were any more replies on Fodor's, I hunted through my cupboards to find the GPS, and it's already in the suitcase.

We have also spent time in beautiful Florence, Siena and le Cinque Terre on previous trips, and we are very curious to see the very famous small bit of Italy people love so much.

zoecat

Montisi is also one of my favorite villages. I agree about De Roberto's- wonderful food and a beautiful and unique interior dining room. It is also entertaining and informative- Roberto is quite a character.

bobthenavigator

Have a great trip--I am sure you will. I have 2 comments:
Be sure your accommodation has good heat--often an issue that time of year.
And, Pitigliano may be a longer drive than you know. I would stay closer to home.

suddenlytuscany

Hmmm. Montisi. It is going to be quite the struggle to choose, zoecat.

Thank you, bob. We are going to spend a night in Tarquinia at the end of this trip (and our final night in Rome before leaving from the airport). So we are not thinking of doing Pitigliano as a day trip from Lucignano, but were thinking to stopping there for lunch on our way to Tarquinia.

My concern with that plan is that Pitigliano is too enticing a place to simply stop in for lunch and move on. (We would like to get to Tarquinia before dark.)

So we are looking for a lunch option for that day of travel from Lucignano to Tarquinia. Right now I am thinking that, since we are arriving so late in Chiusi, we might simply get up the next morning, pick up the car and proceed to Lucignano, and come back to Chiusi on our way to Tarquinia to see the Etruscan sights and visit the museum, and have lunch.

And if our accommodations are not warm enough, we'll take one of the fine recommendations here.

suddenlytuscany

By the way, I am beginning to get the impression from further research that getting from the Chiusi train station into Chiusi itself means either a bus or a cab, and that the car rental pick up office is someplace else again, outside of town. Can anyone advise?

bobthenavigator

There are 2 car rental offices. The Hertz is acorss from the station, and the Euorpcar is only a 5 minute walk, but still in Chiusi Scalo---the lower town where the train stops.

tedgale

Hertz is on a corner plainly visible from the station, as the previous poster indicates. You can't miss it.

Given the general disatisfaction of current Europcar patrons, according to wholesaler Autoeurope -- the "mandatory gas purchase" at outrageous prices + their curiously consistent tendency to put fraudulent additional charges on your bill -- I'd stick with Hertz, as you are doing.

We have dealt with the Hertz personnel at that location (March 08) -- we had a flat tire in Montalcino and had to turn in our rental car for a new one. They were helpful and efficient.

Maureen_QC

Re Abazzia Monte Olivetto Maggiore, I don't agree at all with one of the other posters. We enjoyed it a lot (maybe we are less discriminating in our tastes). Also there is a restaurant on the premises that is operated independently of the monastery. The meals (we were staying at an agriturismo outside of Asciano that didn't provide meals, so we ate at the monastery 3 times) were delicious.

Also, one of the waiters at this restaurant recommended we visit Montalcino and eat at "Taverna Grappolo Blu". Unbeknownst to us, he gave them a heads up and when we turned up at the restaurant, we were welcome like long lost family. A very warm welcome and another delicious meal.

Have a nice trip!

russwuf

Montepulciano is fantastico! Try the Il Marzocco for accomodations which is just inside the old city wall ....ask for a room has sweeping views of the valley below. There are wonderful eateries and many shops will have wine tastings ...There is a wonderful coppersmith shop that stays open late...pardon but the name escapes me..take in a tour of one of the wineries and sample de Nobile de Montepulciano..wonderful.

sssteve

SUDDENLY:

Perhaps you've left already, but if not, check out my web-page on our most recent visit to Tuscany. Maybe it will help you in your planning.

http://www.travel.stv77.com/tuscany2005/tuscany05.htm

suddenlytuscany

Hi,

We just got back last night, and had a very quirky, fun adventure, visiting places that perhaps most people bypass in Tuscany. We ended up dodging snow as well as having absolutely glorious sunshine, and I must agree with Maureen QC that the freschi at Monte Oliveto Maggiore are an artistic highpoint in the region, and we see a lot of art in Italy. (We took our lunch nearby in Buonconvento, which is absolutely flat and therefore apparently gets very few tourists, but it is nice, filled with history and charming large families and pets.)

I'll write up a whole report if I can find time, but I just wanted to add here that we rented from Avis in Chiusi and the location was quite inconvenient. It's on via Molise in an area off from the train station called Po Bandino. Since we spent the night in Chiusi and picked up the car in the morning, we took a taxi from our hotel in central Chiusi to the car rental office. Otherwise, I'm not sure how one finds it, and I certainly would not have wanted to be hauling luggage from the train station to there. We rented through AutoEurope, so we had no control over the vendor. The Avis desk clerk was a lovely man who spoke perfect English.

Also, the name of the coppersmith's in Montepulciano is Bottega del Rame. When we passed by the workshop in the fading November light, it was a very eye-catching, glowing sight. The coppersmith looked so happy to have some time alone to do his work-- in fact, he waited for my gawking companions to move on so he could continue -- we didn't go in. Just as well, since we would have probably gone overboard on copper, with no way to carry it back home.

Since we had to head south to fly out from Rome, we spent a chunk of time in Tarquinia, which we found highly rewarding in every way. We didnt expect the center of town to be so pleasant and pretty. We also managed to see Ostia and Ostia Antica before flying out of Fiumicino on a day when the flowers were out and there were only a smattering of people enjoying traipsing through the ruins with us. It was so sunny we got sunburnt.

But more at some later point. In the meantime, thanks much for your advice!

vetralla

Ah so glad to hear that you liked Tarquinia...its just as pretty as San Gimignano with all the towers and lovely old palazzi plus the added attraction of the Etruscan museum, the nearby seaside, the necropolis .
Where did you stay? ...eat?
I hope you printed out the itinerary of the tombs from www.elegantetruria.com to bring along .

suddenlytuscany

vetralla,

In many ways I found Tarquinia more exciting and more dramatically beautiful than San Gimignano, which I visited a few years ago, also in the down season (whilst I was staying in Lucca).

I was totally taken aback by how very user-friendly Tarquinia is in its central core, having passed it on the SS1/via Aurelia once or twice, where it looks it sprawls. But the roads into town are quite straightforward, and one you are there -- what a town! I agree the 27 towers set the tone, but everywhere you go, it is gracious and at the same time a very atmospheric antique city. We were there on market day, and it bustled with life and delicious looking produce.

We had an enchanting stay at the Gran Bed and Breakfast Duomo, right on the Piazza Duomo, and right around the corner from the Etruscan museum, about 50 steps.

http://www.granbandb.it/presentazioneINGL.htm

The B&B is in a grand palazzo and the rooms are beautifully restored, with large bathroom and modern amenities, while retaining many of the beautiful features of the original palazzo. The price is quite cheap.

Our hosts recommended Il Cavatappi for our dinner, but it was closed for a bit of renovation. Instead we went to Arcadia, which shows up on many recommended lists, and we were so happy, we ate our next meal there as well. We had exquisitely fresh seafood -- which we pounced on after all that Tuscan meat! -- and the staff recommended a gentle local wine that really came to life when paired with our seafoods. A real standout, and very modestly priced, was the oyster risotto, but we also enjoyed a fish "crudo" and an octopus "sopressata" (more like a carpaccio, over radicchio), as well as zuppe di cozze, with huge plump mussels. A whole branzino baked in salt was perfectly done.

http://www.on-web.it/arcadia/

We will happily go back to Tarquinia (I could live there!) and we will come armed with a tomb itinerary, as we are curious to explore Cerveteri as well. To be perfectly honest, we found the Etruscan museum in Chiusi to be better organized and more accessible as the national museum in Tarquinia (although not in as beautiful a building). The painted tombs inside the museum Tarquinia, however, are worth the price of admission, and we would return to Tarquinia again, just to enjoy the town. If the train connections are good enough, I could see myself basing there for sightseeing forays into Rome, a city I sometimes find exhausting. Tarquinia is more charming.

tedgale

tt
Great trip report. I am surprised that you even needed Fodorite counsel: You seem a seasoned and, if I may say it, sophisticated traveller.

suddenlytuscany

I picked up some very good advice in this thread from people far more sophisticated about Tuscany than we are. In particular I am glad to have the recommendation of the Locanda San Francesco in Montepulciano for future reference. Also the discussions of the smaller Etruscan towns is of interest, and in following up on information about Montisi, I became quite interested in the work of an artist who apparently lives there and has a website. So I'm grateful for the Fodorite input.