iwna2018no2

32 / 47

*
Located right in the heart of Tuscany, within easy reach of Arezzo, Siena, and Florence, Residence La Ferriera is a historic
property that dates to the 19th century. Indulge in the area’s history, and enjoy the multitude of amenities and facilities
offered at the resort including summer swimming in the outdoor pool, tennis, cooking lessons, tastings of local products,
and organized tours of the region.
AREA RESORT
60 INTERVAL WORLD n Issue 2, 2018
SIME/eStock Photo
bigger Florentine names such as Botticelli and Michelangelo. But gaze
at his most famous work, the 12 frescoed scenes of The History of
the True Cross, in Arezzo’s basilica, and you’ll find his simple geometry
and honest humanism startlingly modern.
From Arezzo, you can follow the artist’s trail to Sansepolcro,
where he was born, and to Monterchi, where you’ll find the moving
Madonna del Parto (Madonna of Childbirth). Or head farther south
to the Val di Chiana and pretty Cortona, a slice of loveliness made
famous by the 2003 romantic comedy Under the Tuscan Sun, in
which American divorcee Frances Mayes finds love in its hills.
THE ETRUSCAN ADVENT
With its crumbling palazzi (palaces), medieval traditions, and
Girifalco Fortress, it’s easy to get lost in time in Cortona’s walled
labyrinth. Perhaps nowhere is this truer than at the Etruscan
Academy Museum of Cortona (MAEC). It chronicles the history
of Tuscany’s original inhabitants, who farmed these fertile lands
between the eighth and third centuries B.C., long before the
Romans started dreaming of a hilltop escape.
No one knows exactly why the Etruscans settled in Tuscany, but
artifacts at MAEC give clues as to why they might have stayed: dinner.
The wild boar roaming these hills were a favorite part of the Etruscan
diet, and boar hunts are a recurring theme on their ceramics, tomb
paintings, and even bronze hand mirrors. In case the odd truffle shav-
ing headed down the windpipe while eating, Etruscans washed down
their meals with plenty of wine, thereby introducing viticulture to Italy.
IDYLLIC HILLTOPS
The taste for wine lingers in the town of Montepulciano, which sits
on a high tufa ridge overlooking the unfolding valleys, as if positioned
by a painter mindful of the picturesque effect. No major construc-
tion has taken place here since 1580. The steep cobbled streets
still snake up to cozy restaurants, such as Osteria Acquacheta, and
to age-old wine cellars, where vaulted brick walls frame towering
barrels of the internationally renowned Vino Nobile di Montepulciano,
a classic red deserving of its name.
From this perch you can cast your eye down the length of the
Val d’Orcia and marvel at how it still matches Renaissance fres-
coes. Nestled in its hills are the homes of celebrities and artists,
including John Voigtmann, who left his career as a music executive
in New York to open a countryside retreat, La Bandita Townhouse.
The boutique hotel and modern Tuscan restaurant are housed in
a 15th-century convent in the town of Pienza, a UNESCO World
Heritage site. Pienza is a gorgeous place to spend a day eating,
browsing artisanal shops, and stocking up on slabs of pecorino
cheese, for which the town is most famous.
From here, it’s a 14-mile drive to Montalcino, another lofty hill town
with views over the Asso, Ombrone, and Arbia valleys. More famous
than Montepulciano, Montalcino produces one of Italy’s finest red
wines, Brunello di Montalcino, a Super Tuscan made from the san-
giovese grosso grapes grown only within the 94-square-mile comune.
Come here in the fall to taste the very best from the tiny town’s 200
producers and to enjoy the Sagra del Tordo (Festival of the Thrush),
when neighboring factions battle in medieval archery competitions.
SUMMER BY THE SEA
While the hill towns steal the show in the golden glow of autumn,
Tuscany’s warm summers are best spent at local seaside resorts
in Talamone, Alberese, Cala Violina, and Populonia, to name a
few. The beaches here in the southernmost reaches of the region,
unlike the better-known towns farther north, are inhabited entirely
by local sunseekers who religiously make their pilgrimages to the
same cabanas and loungers as their parents and grandparents
before them. The strands remain pristine and tranquil, and the towns
preserve an easy, laid-back charm.
This coastal stretch is known as Maremma, and it encompasses
a national park. The unspoiled area protects the habitat of thousands
of migrating birds, and is also home to the hard-working butteri,
skilled cowboys who preserve a 250-year-old tradition of breeding
horses, and tending cattle and sheep.
AGE-OLD CRAFT
Just two hours southwest of Florence is the ancient alabaster-mining
town of Volterra. Since the Etruscan era, artisans here have sculpted
the white stone into all manner of decorative objects. The calcareous
material is softer than marble, lending the pieces an extraordinary,
luminous quality.
The town is seemingly oblivious to the allure of tourism income,
and retains a rustic vitality and connection with the past that is pal-
pable. Its Guarnacci Etruscan Museum is filled with rare artifacts,
while the stone gateway, Via Porta all’Arco, is lined with traditional
craft shops that produce incredible alabaster works. At the top
of the street is Volterra’s main square, which is dominated by the
Palazzo dei Priori, built around 1200 and thought to be the oldest
town hall in Tuscany. There’s also a fine art museum, which show-
cases Florentine paintings, and a Roman theater. More ruins can
be seen in Volterra’s archaeological park. An acropolis stood
here from 1500 B.C. to 1472 A.D., when Florence conquered the
rival city, burning the historic center to the ground and building a
Medici fortress, which still does duty as a prison.
A VINOUS LEGACY
It is this effortless bridging between the past, present, and future that
makes Tuscany’s tapestry of small towns so fascinating. Nowhere
typifies this more than the high-tech Antinori winery in Chianti. One
of the area’s most distinguished wine-making families, the Antinoris
have been producing Chianti Classico since 1385. But rather than
rest on the laurels of this impressive legacy, they unveiled a stunning
piece of modern architecture in 2013 — a 540,000-square-foot
cantina that is embedded in the rolling Tuscan landscape, with vines
growing over its deeply cantilevered roof.
Designed by Florentine architecture firm Archea Associati, the
winding, modern interior is characterized by COR-TEN steel, tinted
concrete, glass, and terra-cotta, and houses huge subterranean
cellars, a library, 200-seat auditorium, museum, tasting rooms, and
a restaurant with breathtaking views over the vineyards. The project
took nearly a decade and more than twice the original budget to
complete, but it perfectly demonstrates how culture here isn’t frozen
in time. Instead, it is lived every day through traditions and innova-
tions that root locals in the region’s history, while lending them the
tools for a dynamic future. The Antinori winery just goes to show
that Tuscans are still in the business of making history. n
Paula Hardy is a London-based writer and editor. She has been researching
and writing Lonely Planet’s Italian guides for more than 15 years, and is
the author of numerous guidebooks and features covering the length and
breadth of the country, from Venice to Sicily.
Enchanted Tuscany
at .
Getaways start at $299.*
The Getaway price is valid for travel between
Aug. 1, 2018, and Feb. 28, 2019.
*All-inclusive/meal-plan purchase is mandatory;
it may be based on a 7-night stay
and maximum occupancy.
.
Montepulciano’s elegant Piazza
Grande represents a study
in Renaissance architecture.
FACING PAGE, LEFT: A wine butler
carefully filters out sediments
while pouring. FACING PAGE,
RIGHT: First Etruscans, then
Romans, and now generations of
happy beachgoers occupy the
coastline at Talamone.
*All-inclusive/meal-plan purchase is mandatory; it may be based on a 7-night stay and maximum occupancy.
Accommodations at FRA are available for purchase through the Getaway program and generally will not be available for exchange.