A Day in Montepulciano, Italy, Montepulciano, Italy

My tennis partner Ann organized a girls trip to Tuscany. Ten of us came from near and far. Some arrived in Italy early; others arrived the day we were transported to Tuscany from Rome. With the exception of Mary, most of us enjoyed a smooth arrival to Rome not counting the deluge of water falling from the sky!

We took two vans to Il Colombaio, our villa on the border of Tuscany and Umbria. We settled in for a lovely evening of food and drinks and prepared for our first full day in Tuscany in Montepulciano.

Montepulciano is a medieval and Renaissance town that sits atop a 2,000 foot limestone ridge in southern Tuscany. It is renowned for its pici pasta and Vino Nobile wine. Our drivers delivered us directly to its Piazza Grande formed in the typical medieval fashion with a church, the city hall, and a wealthy man’s residence with a portico below for socializing and doing business. On a side note, the FREE public bathrooms were nearby (a nice change from the Amalfi Coast). ...... (follow the instructions below for accessing the rest of this article).