After my last sunburn this past weekend on the Tuscan beaches, I’ve decided to skip the seaside and visit Valdorcia, an area I personally love because of its stunning landscapes, many of which have been immortalized in movies.

On Saturday we’ll first go to San Quirico D’Orcia for a quiet walk through the historical center, with the intention to specifically revisit the striking Romanesque Collegiata Church and the Leopoldini’s Gardens, a wonderful example of Renaissance gardens. For lunch we’ll then head on to Bagno Vignoni and have a delicious lunch with local specialities at the Locanda del Loggiato, where I’ve been in the past and return to often. Then we move on to Pienza where the Cheese Festival, or Festa del Cacio, will be taking place on the following Sunday, September 5th with its particular games. I also want to take the opportunity to visit the splendid Palazzo Piccolomini, a fine example of Renaissance architecture.

On Sunday, we’ll head on to Montepulciano to see the exhibition about the Macchiaioli, called “The Macchiaioli in Montepulciano. Hidden and Private Masterpieces”. The exhibit is at the Crociani Art Gallery at the Logge della Mercanzia and displays over 70 works by Macchiaioli masters from a private collection, generally not open to the public. In the afternoon we’re looking forward to witnessing the Bravìo delle Botti, a hard race where the eight districts of Montepulciano push large barrels uphill to win the Bravio, a precious painted cloth. The race has two strong men from each district thrust the heavy barrels along the streets of the historical center of Montepulciano, which were also seen in the recent Twilight New Moon series film. The race will start at 7pm but starting from 3 pm there will be a parade in historical costume and then a Renaissance show in the main square.

Wish you a happy ending for this August, hoping my suggestions help you plan your own last weekend of the month!

As usual there will take place the wonderful FAI di Primavera. The event is organized by Fondo Italiano per l’Ambiente (FAI – Italian Fund for Environment), a no-profit organization preserving and promoting Italian cultural heritage, and will open to public almost 600 Italian hidden treasures. Guided tours will be in Italian and for free donation.On 27 and 28 March 2010 FAI opens to public secret and unknown sites, buildings and museums that are generally closed or have never been opened before. And Tuscany doesn’t excepted.

In Florence is possible to visit for the first time the beautiful Palazzo della Banca d’Italia in via dell’Oriuolo with guided tours from 10 to 5. Villa il Gioiello, last residence of Galileo, in Pian dei Giullari is going to be open as well.

In Pisa there is a special itinerary, called “Past and future on the right riverbank of the Arno“, that touches beautiful buildings, churches and museums. In Lucca opens the Summer apartment at Palazzo Tucci. And then opens in San Miniato the Diocesan Museum, in Prato the friars’ cells at San Niccolò Conservatory, in Pistoia the Palazzo Amati Cellesi, in San Quirico and Bagno Vignone.

The 18th edition of Fai Primavera is certainly a unique occasion to discover hidden and unknown Italian treasures. If you are in Tuscany during this week end I strongly recommend you take this opportunity. Even if tours are in Italian you can still admire the beauty of our cultural heritage making a donation.

Who knows how many times browsing through a book or calendar on Tuscany you were left enchanted in front of an image of green rolling hills of such an intense color that left you marveling at the great photographer or at at least at the great skill on touching up those photos. The truth is that neither is absolutely necessary to experience such scenery! Val d’Orcia, commonly portrayed on calendars and postcards of Tuscany, is splendid just like that, with incredible landscapes, intense green and yellow hues and stone villages sitting atop hilltops that take your breath away.

This past week we spent two days in the beautiful Val d’Orcia, visiting the towns of Pienza, San Quirico d’ Orcia and Montalcino.
On Sunday the 7th, Pienza hosted the closing day to the traditional Fiera del Cacio, a festival dedicated to cheese and, in particular, to the tasty pecorino cheese made in Pienza and in Val d’Orcia in general. The small village streets were set up with stalls that offered tastings of cheeses as well as other typical local products including cold cuts and honey. A real paradise for foodies such as ourselves!

In the afternoon we saw the town’s historical procession and the fun and popular “Gioco del cacio al fuso“, or the cheese around the spindle game! In this game, the four contrade of Pienza challenge each other in the roll of a whole round of pecorino cheese in the main town piazza (right in front of the Cathedral… even if the game has little to do with spirituality!). In the piazza, a “fuso” or wooden spindle is set up and around this, various circles are drawn, each one worth a certain number of points. The players of the various contrade push the pecorino to a roll around the spindle and get the points where the cheese round stops. The skill most sought after is the ability to make the cheese roll around the spindle at least once before stopping since this doubles the points the contrade gets on that roll. Naturally the contrade with the most points wins the game.

The atmosphere in the town was very cheerful and, between cheese tastings, we were also able to visit the most important sights. We heartily recommend a visit to Palazzo Piccolomini where the entrance ticket also includes a very interesting guided visit. The palace was the seat of Pope Pius II, a native of Pienza who transformed Pienza into an “ideal town”, a project entrusted to the worthy Rossellino. In just three years, from 1459 to 1462, Pienza was transformed into the most beautiful Renaissance city we still admire today.

Just 10 km from Pienza, about halfway between Pienza and Montalcino, is the small but gracious San Quirico d’Orcia. We spent the night there at the La Dimora del Poeta, a nice bed and breakfast even if some of the rooms lacked a bit of light. San Quirico is crossed by the ancient Via Francigena, one of the main arteries of communication during the Middle Ages between Rome and France.

The following morning we visited the Sant’ Antimo Abbey, an imposing Romanesque church whose foundation is traced back to Charlamagne and the 9th century. The external visual impact of the Abbey is very particular: the complex is completely isolated at the bottom of a small valley, almost as if it landed there from the heavens. Sant’Antimo is managed by a small community of friars that join several times a day for prayer in the Abbey, singing in Gregorian chants.

In the afternoon we visited Montalcino, famous for its production of the Brunello di Montalcino wine. We had a nice stroll through the village’s streets including the Piazza del Popolo, the main square where you’ll also find the Palazzo Comunale, the Cathedral (unfortunately closed in the afternoon), the Church of Sant’Agostino and the Fortress of Montalcino. For anyone wishing to take a bottle of wine home, there is an embarassing wealth of options: many of the shops in the center offered tastings and the possibility to purchase a bottle of the famous Brunello as well as the excellent red wines of Montalcino.