Tuscany is undoubtedly the land of castles. The combination of a turbulent history of contending city states and marauding foreign armies with a ready supply of stone and stone masons has produced a huge number of picturesque Tuscan castles – fortresses, walled hamlets, fortified abbeys and towers in Tuscany. The amazing variety of fortified stone
Posts Tagged ‘Val d’Orcia’
Best place to stay as a base to explore Tuscany
One of my strongest recommendations for getting the most out of your vacation in Tuscany is to choose a single base and explore Tuscany from there. Why do I say that? I find that many visitors to Tuscany greatly underestimate the amount of time that will be lost each time they change accommodation. That includes
Abbey of Sant’Antimo near Montalcino where you can hear Gregorian chant
One of the most photogenic and atmospheric sights in Tuscany is the Abbey of Sant’Antimo near Montalcino. The abbey, abbazia in Italian, is located in a beautiful valley within easy reach of Montalcino in the Val d’Orcia. This is also one of the few churches in Tuscany at which you can regularly hear Gregorian chant,
Big sky country – the Val d’Orcia
From time to time, I post about sights outside of the Chianti region but within easy reach for visitors who are making Chianti their Tuscany base. One of the most famous and beautiful regions of Tuscany is what my friend Anna Maria Baldini calls “big sky country” – the Val d’Orcia. In contrast to the