Strada del Vino Nobile di Montepulciano e dei Sapori della Valdichiana Senese is a long name to remember, but its concept is easy to understand.
| San Biagio, Montepulciano |
| Italian National Tourist Board |
The partnership of communities, wineries, hotels, spas, restaurants, food producers and tourist attractions jointly promote this southeast region of Tuscany.
Driving directions to Valdichiana
Although the closest airport is in Perugia, and you can take a high-speed train (Rome-to-Florence line) to Chiusi, the best way to tour Valdichiana's towns and scenic landscapes is by car.
The region is located in the Tuscany province of Siena, which is why it's called Valdichiana Senese. Only 40 kilometers in length, it's easy to explore by car.
Driving distances are: Florence - 120 kilometers (1 hour, 30 minutes), Rome - 140 kilometers (1 hour, 45 minutes) and Pisa - (two hours). For visitors arriving on flights to Rome, the easiest way to drive to Valdichiana is on the A1 highway.
Alternatively, make Tuscany your base and travel from Valdichiana to Rome, Florence, Pisa and other Tuscan towns. Why? Restaurant and hotel prices are much less expensive in Valdichiana than in large Italian cities.
| Pecorino cheese |
| Photo © Barb & Ron Kroll |
Where to stay
Accommodations include hotels, holiday houses, villas, apartments, holiday farmhouses, historical houses, palaces, room rentals and bed-and-breakfasts. In total, Valdichiana has 15,000 beds in city and rural lodgings.
A major reason to visit Valdichiana is to enjoy the local olive oil, cheese, meat, saffron, pasta, honey, plum jams and produce.
Cooking class
For an overview of Tuscan cuisine, take a cooking class in a farmhouse kitchen. You'll learn to make handmade tagliatelle and pici, which look like thick spaghetti.
Pecorino cheese, made from sheep's milk, is delicious. Soft and fresh, medium texture or hard (aged), pecorino is fabulous with unsalted Tuscan bread and local fruit.
| Cinta Senese salami |
| Photo © Barb & Ron Kroll |
Culinary tours
On gourmet tours in Sinalunga, you can enjoy steak, hamburgers and other Chianina beef dishes after visiting a farm which raises the large white cattle.
In Trequando, taste top-quality extra virgin olive oil and flavorful salami made from Cinta Senese. These black pigs with white belts surrounding their midriffs have a history that goes back to ancient times.
Traditional sweets
Valdichiana is also known for its sweets, including panforte, made with dried fruits and almonds. The recipe for torta (cake) di Chianciano, which is flavored with Amaretto, is so special that it is copyrighted.
| Vino Nobile di Montepulciano and Rosso di Montepulciano |
| Photo © Barb & Ron Kroll |
During Carnival, look for crogetti — deep-fried crosses of dough scented with lemon rind. What is the traditional way to eat cantucci (almond biscotti from Prato)? Dunk them into glasses of Vin Santo!
Wine-tasting
On winery tours, you can visit Montefollonico to taste Vin Santo and see the barrels where this sweet dessert wine ages for at least three years.
The dry, red and full-bodied Vino Nobile di Montepulciano also ages in barrels for three years. Beneath the town of Montepulciano, you can view the oak barrels in historical underground cellars carved into rock.
Lightly tannic Rosso di Montepulciano is aged for just one year. Both of these delicious wines are made from the same local Sangiovese grapes — Prugnolo Gentile.
The grape harvest takes place in October and lasts for 10 days. The date varies with the weather and the location of the vineyards.
| Terme di Montepulciano |
| Italian National Tourist Board |
Spas and thermal pools
Tuscany is known for its spas, and Valdichiana is no exception. Terme di Montepulciano is a thermal spa and wellness center where you can relax with an anti-stress massage or a salt water treatment in the pool.
At Fonteverde Spa in San Casciano dei Bagni, spa-lovers can choose from warm water-jet massages, face and body treatments, a sauna and Turkish bath.
The Sensory Spa in Chianciano Terme combines traditional spa treatments with a wellness-enhancing river walk. The spa's Thermal Pools (also called the Etruscan Baths) feature hydro-massages in indoor and outdoor garden pools.
Etruscan culture
To appreciate Valdichiana's Etruscan history, take a tour of the Labyrinth of King Porsenna, the tunnels and lake in the Civic Museum Underground City below the town of Chiusi. The Etruscan National Museum displays Etruscan tombs and archeological artifacts, including ceramics.
| Cetona, Valdichiana |
| Italian National Tourist Board |
More history is evident in the architecture of the picturesque fortified town of Torrita di Siena. Walls and gates, dating back to the 13th century, still partially encompass the narrow, meandering streets of the old town.
A 10th-century tower crowns the hill town of Cetona and a medieval castle dominates the town of Sarteano.
Scenic Tuscany
The road from Sarteano to San Casciano dei Bagni also offers beautiful scenery.
How picturesque are the landscapes, hilltop towns and cypress tree-lined roads in Valdichiana? Just look at the lovely movie backdrops in The English Patient, The Twilight Saga: New Moon and Under the Tuscan Sun.
TRAVEL INFORMATION
Valdichiana Living
Strada del Vino Nobile
Italian National Tourist Board
