By Lisa T. Bergren

So our fabulous, summer-like weather has come to an end, and it’s suddenly autumn here in Tuscany. Dips in the pool are no longer a possibility since the high is about 55 degrees today and it’s not looking like it will get warmer. The staff has covered the pool and anchored it with rocks–not something you can just peel back–and apparently believe that we’ve finally embraced our Octoberdom.

Stormy Skies

Cloud banks roll in and out, but after lunch, we decide to risk a drive to Montalcino. We know nothing about the town, other than it produces a fine brunello, and hope that by the time we get there, the rain will recede enough to let us walk about. Even if it rains the whole way, we’ll appreciate being out and about–this is the area where they shot scenes for visually-rich movies like Gladiator and The English Patient. The drive itself will be a joy, regardless of where we “tour.”

We pause in Bagno Vignoni, once the hot spring/bathing pools for the likes of St. Catherine of Siena and Lorenzo il Magnifico, but it’s raining too hard and we’re not intrigued enough to get out of the car. We then climb the steep roads to Castiglioni d’Orcia, a weirdly modern city on one side, medieval on the other, perched at the top of an incredible bluff and showcasing the remains of a cool old fortress, la Rocca. But the wind is now driving the rain so hard it comes down in sheets, and there are branches from trees coming down with it. So we manage little more than glimpsing her medieval gates. On a clear day, we’re sure this would be an amazing town for views.

Montalcino

We press on toward Montalcino, still stubbornly hoping for a break. And…we leave the storm behind us. Heading West, the gray skies succumb to white, puffy clouds and brilliant blue skies. By the time we reach Montalcino, it’s cold–about 45 degrees–but clear. And so are the streets. We easily score a parking spot next to a little Conad (the local grocery store chain) and set out to walk from one end of the small town to the other. Shopkeepers, clearly weary of their task, dolefully watch us enter and quickly exit their tour-centric shops with all manner of medieval and wine kitsch.

At the end of the town is the Fortezza. I talk Tim into paying the entry fee at the enoteca (we walk by a case of wine labelled for a customer in Santa Barbara, CA) and we climb upward.

Montalcino’s fortezza (castle) offers the impressive remains of a pentagonal, fortified wall you can walk and towers you can climb for the quintessential view of Toscana. Green and gold hills spread out and climb, ringing the Asso, Ombrone, and Arbia valleys–all within view from here. On one corner–above the enoteca three levels below–I imagine locals setting up chairs on Saturday nights, since there’s a pigeon’s perfect view of the neighboring soccer fields. In the center of the old fort, they’ve obviously had a concert, and I muse over what a cool place this would be to see a concert or attend a party.

We stop in one shop for a silver wine aerator, then head back to the Conad for a few more supplies. It’s been discovered that we bought carrot-orange juice, not orange juice, and I’m not wild about the combo, even if I feel healthier just pouring the brilliantly orange stuff. A bit of veal, some more veggies, fresh pasta…and we depart, following, in error, brilliant blue arrow signs, thinking they point to an easy way out of town.

Instead, we enter one of the scariest, narrowest, one-way roads we’ve ever been on, deeply rutted and slick with mud and meandering past villas and vineyards clinging to the side of the old, walled city. I suck in my breath, as if I can shrink the car, when we squeeze between a stone building to our right and a cliff to our left. We pray the whole time we won’t meet any oncoming cars or tractors, and thankfully, we don’t. Eventually we reach bottom and gain our bearings again, but we enjoy seeing families outside tiny, stone houses, men on tractors, others beside vines, some of the leaves tinged with the golds and burnt red of autumn. The sun is just beginning to set–and we decide it was a lovely time to get lost among vineyards.

We drive back into rain and pass Pienza and a tiny chapel (see the “title image”) that I know you’ve seen in Tuscany calendars and eventually, Montepulciano. We’re saving these two cities for exploration at the end of our sojourn.

Once back at the villa, we lay a fire in the fireplace, light some candles, and get dinner going. Smells of sauteing garlic and onion fill the air.  Water boils on the stove, awaiting coils of fresh noddles. It’s too cold (and wet) to eat outside, so instead, we set the table in front of the fire. We eat, heartily, and sit back, staring at the flames. And sigh in contentment.

READ PART 1: Umbria and Orvieto

READ PART 2: Monticchiello

READ PART 4: Pitigliano and Saturnia

READ PART 5: Pienza

READ PART 6: Montepulciano