Monday’s plan was to visit the neighboring village of Pienza and possibly a winery visit on the return to the villa. We travelled the short 20 minutes to Pienza, a small and stunningly quaint, hillside town in Tuscany.
Pienza
This time, it only took us two tries to find two parking spaces. As we were walking into the village, we made a snap and smart decision to skip the main road and skirted down an alley. The parallel stone wide walkway rimmed the scenic valley of the Val d’Orcia, a UNESCO world heritage site! The views of the valley were incredible with fields of red poppies beginning to bloom, as well as olive and cypress trees! And of course, acres and acres of vines could be seen!
Pienza is one of the first planned cities in the world! It was rebuilt by Pope Pius II during his brief papal stint. Pienza, Pius’ home village, is often described ass “Renaissance perfection”! The tidy narrow walkways are lined with terra-cotta pots and plantings filled with roses, peonies and geraniums.
We visited the medieval church untouched by Pius’ plans, St Francesco, which was dark and austere but with beautiful deteriorating frescos. Then we compared the Pius built Duomo, which was white and filled with the sunlight. The Duomo was built on a cliff, and large cracks line the back walls and floor, as the church leans into the valley!
We strolled through the beautiful streets, had some gelato at a recommended spot, and finished off the morning with pizza in the piazza.
Our group split up, with some returning to the villa and a few of us visiting a local winery across the vineyards from our house. We had a tasting of 3 wines and returned to join everyone on the villa lawn for the remainder of the afternoon.
The highlight of the day arrived at 5pm: a chef to prepare dinner for us at our villa! Alessandro, the chef, was from nearby Cortona, where we plan to visit Tuesday.
He prepared 4 kinds of bruschetta followed by a Fumo pasta (which is typical in Cortona, a smoky cheese and bacon pasta). Next, Alessandro made Tuscan style roast chicken and potatoes, which are typically served for Sunday dinners by families.
The final course were individual tiramisu cups! We ate outside under the portico as the sun set behind us. It was truly a very memorable dinner and day!
As mentioned, Tuesday we plan to visit Cortona for the morning and have a tasting reserved in the afternoon at a winery. Our trip continues with great weather, incredible scenery and memories that will last a lifetime.