Next time in Tuscany, the Crete is on my ‘bucket list’

Entry by guest blogger: Lee Robinson
Each trip to Tuscany we find ourselves on the strade bianchi…preferring to find our own way around the Chianti hills on these lovely by-ways. The possibility of a surprise around each bend in the road is an adventure in itself.  It’s difficult to take a bad picture in Tuscany, and these quiet back roads offer the opportunity to pull over and enjoy the views and take the perfect picture.

On this trip we found some exceptional new routes.  For instance leaving the Villa Bordoni we cross the #222 and twist and turn up a very steep hillside passing some dreamy villas including Vinamaggio – the reputed the home of da Vinci’s Mona Lisa, and the setting for Kenneth Branugh’s (and Shakespeare’s) “Much Ado About Nothing”, tiny hamlets and farms to views of the vineyards surrounding Panzano. 

Suddenly, an enormous panicked cinghiale crosses the road just in front of our bumper, and disappears into the underbrush of an olive grove.  A mile or so further on we see racks of  grapes drying in the afternoon sun on the back porch or a winery for vin santo.  And, in a wooded area we come upon two small cars parked by the side of the road; while a little further on an older couple emerge from the woods to the road, each with a walking stick and a basket brimming with funghi.

Volpaia

Just over a ridge, a beautiful Chianti valley appears below, and then the village of Volpaia appears.  A tightly-packed jumble of roofs and stone.  Volpaia has recently been restored by a consortium into a winery and rentable villas which includes at least two restaurants.  Today the winery is busy crushing the harvest, the restaurants are dressing their terrace tables for lunch, and wandering the village is a very charming medieval experience.  Perhaps one day we will come for a longer stay; but we are on our way to Radda to visit Allegra’s friend, Nora, who owns a cashmere goat farm and guesthouse.  We weave our way down a steep dirt road and clinging to the side of the hill just below the town is her farm overlooking a valley and up to Volpaia.  Nora now has 1,500 goats, and perhaps 20 dogs which she leases in small herds to villas and hotels nearby to keep their lawns groomed.  She also has an interesting farm shop with beautifully woven cashmere shawls, scarves, baby’s hats, etc. all in natural colors, as well as skeins of wool to knit your own.  This is a woman who is constantly in motion…1,500 goats are a lot to take care of, and coordinating local workers to shear, card, spin and weave these - oh so soft - cashmere threads.  We visit, but will catch up more over dinner at The Pizzeria in Castellina in a few days.

in Volpaia

I could drive these roads for days on end and never be bored; but the truth is, we have now seen most of them at least once.  The explorer in me wants to see the Crete in the same way.  On past visits to Pienza and wonderful Montalcino we have gone to Monte Olivetto to see their magnificent mosaic  murals, to Saturnia for the thermal springs, and to Sant'Antimo to sit in that simple church at dusk in the glow of an alabaster light and listen to monks chant their prayers accompanied by a persistent and repetitive cuckoo.  On these visits we saw only a small part of the Crete. I hope to see more.

A hare among the vines outside of Montalcino

Tuscany’s landscape varies so much from region to region.  The duney beaches and umbrella pine forests of the coast give way to the hills where Sardinian shepherds follow their herds on upland pastures.  Chianti is all about steep hills and blue mists wafting in the warm morning sun.  Siena looks to the southeast toward the brunello towns of Montalcino and Montepulciano with sweeping views of giant undulating golden hills of wheat folding into each other, and perfectly laid out vineyards marching to the horizon.

But the clay hills of the Val d’Arno and Cal d’Orcia slip away into a ravines of dark green juniper.  The crete is an intriguing and fascinating moonscape.  I’m already making a list of ‘must sees’: a visit to Iris Origo’s  beautiful garden at La Foce, and a summer concert at Catellucio, a stroll through the village of Montechiello, an afternoon in the piazza in San Casiano di Bagni with its gorgeous wide view of the Val d’Orcia valley.  Chianciano, Sarteano, perhaps a train ride on one of the local tiny trains which still crisscross these valleys stopping briefly at a crossroads or a tiny village.  Maybe next year!