By Luisa Terzulli
We are at the second appointment with the column Italian Cities, and once again authoritative narrator of this journey through the Sienese territory is our photoalbum.
We move the first steps from La Velona, agritourism in Castelnuovo dell’Abate – hamlet of Montalcino – that has hosted GIORGIOSTUDIO, with its cordial and very kind owner Cavaliere Eugenio Buontempo who has led us in the discovery of the gems of this zone. The farm is named after the Castle of Velona, residence of the 11th century which rises at 10 km circa from Montalcino, and is constituted of Podere Pietranera – nucleus where it is carried out the excellent production of wines and the rearing of the swine from which sausages and fresh meats of superior quality are made – and of Villa Casa Nuova. The photographs, more than words, can describe the charming view from these nineteenth-century farmhouses, with lavender and olive trees to welcome the visitors, and are a virtual tour inside the laboratories and the farm of the cinta senese pigs – an autochthonous breed of optimum quality, here reared in a natural state and with the ideal conditions for its purity preservation. La Velona reaffirms, moreover, its close tie to the territory’s traditions and peculiarities not only in its production but also in the image: its logo, in fact, portrays one of the capitals of Saint Antimo Abbey, few kilometres away from the farm.
The abbey, built in the 12th century as enlargement of a pre-existent monastery, hosts a community of monks and priests committed to the dialogue with the youths. Particularly suggestive are the moments of community prayers, during which the simple beauty of the church unites with the essentiality of the Gregorian chants. Here all the services are sung in Gregorian, and almost seem to accompany the gentle movements of the surrounding landscape and the curves by which it docilely bends the horizon.
Land of striking views and simplicity, but also of vineyards and ancient traditions, the Sienese is an obliged halt for the estimators of good food. Montalcino is the “homeland” of Brunello and Saint Antimo, renowned wines of protected origin, and in the historic centre of the town is absolutely a must to stop at the Ristorante al Giardino, where it is possible to relish the delicate thickness of the local wines together with the refinement of the dishes ably realised with simple and first-quality ingredients. To welcome the guests is the Chef Patron Giovanni Luca Di Pirro, who has made cookery an art and this art his life. Well-known for his frequent apparitions on the cookery strip of TG5 [an Italian TV News – Author’s Note] “Gusto”, Giovanni Luca takes care of the kitchen by himself and never fails to visit any tables of his restaurant – elegant but sober – to advice his customers. A menu is rarely seen around here and it is fairly frequent, and warmly recommended, to completely rely on the fantasy and inspiration of the Chef.
Let’s leave Montalcino to head for some of the places awarded as human heritage by the UNESCO: Siena, San Gimignano and Pienza, three historical towns of undoubted beauty contained into the same province. Let’s start from the chief town, Siena, awarded as the most liveable city in Italy by the classification drafted by Il Sole-24 Ore [the most important Italian economics newspaper – Author’s Note]. Here GIORGIOSTUDIO has enjoyed an exceptional guide: Andrea Ceccherini, from the Opera della Metropolitana – board in charge for the administration of the monumental historical-artistic legacy of the Duomo [Cathedral – Author’s note] – has led us through the cathedral, whose façade was officially unveiled on 30th November 2006 after the restoration work started during spring 2004. Part of the work aimed at the conservation of the statues of the façade, whose originals – by Giovanni Pisano – have therefore been transferred and exhibited at the Museo dell’Opera, and the same has been done for the stained glass window of the Duomo, dating back to 1280 and fruit of the collaboration between Duccio di Buoninsegna as the author of the project and a master glass maker. Both the cathedral, with the crypt and the baptistery, and the Museo dell’Opera, contain an inestimable artistic heritage, and not of little account is the fact that Siena gave birth to three popes, who therefore contributed with illustrious artists to enrich the beauty of this jewel-town and of his famous contrade unfolding through typical lodgings and handicrafts shops.
Nicknamed “town-of-one-hundred-towers”, San Gimignano is a town arisen in the 10th century, again upholder of precious oenogastronomic traditions. Among these is the renowned Vernaccia wine – protected by DOPG regulation – and the so-called “gold of San Gimignano”: saffron. Among the town’s alleys and slopes – to be rigorously passed through on foot, to be fully enjoyed – it is possible to venture in one of the many restaurants and let oneself to be tempted by the local specialities. Of the former one hundred towers – that actually were 72 – only 14 are left, almost intact, rising on the village and testifying the ancient power of the patrician families in San Gimignano, integral part of the Medieval architecture that contributed to the coveted award by the UNESCO. Here, too, can be breath art, but not hooked to the past only: in San Gimignano we can discover the installations of contemporary art of which the town is studded, and an ex-theatre of the Fifties that hosts the art gallery Galleria Continua and the cultural association Arte Continua. The gallery has an international scope, offering visibility even to the most audacious works, and courageous choices are found in the activity of the association, too, committed to the promotion and reaffirmation of the local territory’s cultural values, but with attention to the developments of art around the world.
Pienza […] place of elevated universal value […] first application of the humanistic-renaissance conception of town planning […] determining in the development of the conception of the ideal city’s project […]. These are the words drawn from the motivations that the UNESCO produced for the inclusion of Pienza among the human heritage’s sites. Also in this case, the best way to discover the town that was the birthplace of Pope Pio II is to travel the journey together with our photoalbum as a faithful fellow traveller. What probably strikes the most is the harmonious cohabitation of past and present, tradition and innovation, in the churches’ walls uncertain between Middle Age and Renaissance and in the high-tech stores, touching like the card left in the window informing that the shop would open on rainy days only because the owner is busy with the olive harvesting…
Pure work of art under the open sky is the square of Bagno Vignoni, village famous for its thermal water, constituted of a pond from which water gushes out at the temperature of 52°C. the pond is encompassed on three sides by a boundary wall and buildings realised in honour of Pope Pio II by Bernardo Rossellino, and by an arcade beneath which – according to the tradition – Saint Catherine of Siena stopped.
Only 4 kilometres away from Bagno Vignoni is another little gem: San Quirico D’Orcia, village of Etruscan origin surrounded by a boundary wall holding inside the Horti Leonini. So-called because realised, around 1580, by Diomede Leoni, the Horti are a large garden disappearing in the wood for going up then to a large square where an ancient tower, destroyed during the latest war, used to rise. Crossing the Roses Garden, partly still flowering in November, it is possible to reach the boundary wall from where to enjoy a panorama of the Sienese’s hills inundated with colours at sunset.
It is among these villages that our journey concludes, through the alleys, the squares and along the walls, among the landscapes and fruits of these fields. A journey of which, once again, images only can talk: a journey through traditions, culture, sublime food and wines and, above all, respect for art.
For further information:
Abbazia di Sant’Antimo: www.antimo.it
Arte Continua: www.arteallarte.com
Brunello di Montalcino: www.consorziobrunellodimontalcino.it
Galleria Continua: www.galleriacontinua.com
La Velona: www.lavelona.com
Opera della Metropolitana: www.operaduomo.siena.it
Ristorante al Giardino: www.ristorantealgiardino.it
Senese: www.provincia.siena.it
Siena: www.comune.siena.it
UNESCO: www.unesco.org
Vernaccia: www.vernaccia.it
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