Cortona may not have been visited as much as it is now because of the book, Under The Tuscan Sun. The author lives somewhere near here. I kept my eyes open but didn’t see her, not that I would know her if I did unless she resembles Diane Lane. Cortona is another one of those villages that is really steep. We arrived early enough that we got parking near the square that we wanted to see.

A look at the main square. There is also a French terrace built by Napoleon’s people when he occupied this area with a view of the countryside way below.

A model made of Cortona in wood to give you an idea of just how steep it is. I didn’t make it to the very top.

A statue of Saint Marguerite, the patron saint of Cortona.

An altar devoted to reliquaries which are little containers for bits and piece of saints or pieces of the cross, etc. I’ve never seen so many in one place. This was in a small church of Saint Marguerite. There was a basilica devoted to her (she died in Cortona) on the top of the village but we decided to visit the museum instead which was full of Etruscan finds, Cortona once being a major Etruscan city. There are mounds in the area, once major burial sites.

I tried to get a photo of what this man was carrying-two huge cakes about 1 1/2 feet across. He had to carry it down some very steep stairs, of which there are many here.

We crossed the border from Tuscany into Umbria to visit Orvieto which is such a high village that once you park your car you have to take a series of escalators through tunnels underground before finally reaching the top. Surely this was once the spot of a volcano. The main reason to come to Orvieto is the cathedral, a true masterpiece, and probably the most well done gothic cathedral ever.

The cathedral comes into view as you head up the main street there.

All of the colored sections are mosaics. It was just incredible.

Not a painting but mosaic work.

Loved this column.

There were incredible sculptures of marble too depicting Biblical scenes. This is of God taking the rib of Adam to create Eve.
I wish I could have taken photos of the chapel inside. It was amazing. Started by Fra Angelica and finished by Signorelli, it showed the Last Days, Judgement Day, and heaven and hell. Signorelli had even put an ex girlfriend in it, being taken to hell on the back of a devil. Sort of creepy stuff but fascinating to look at. I guess, if you weren’t able to read the Bible and saw these paintings you would be inclined to keep coming to church and supporting it financially.

Montalcino is a full out wine town like Napa Valley or Bordeaux except it’s all compressed into one village. We passed vineyard after vineyard while going there and it was just about harvest time. The village itself was nice but not my favorite.

Wine tasting stores all over the place.

We did a wine tasting at this fancy place. They gave you a card which you stuck in a slot. Then you pushed a button for the wine you wanted to taste and a small amount came into your waiting glass. I have to say that I think I prefer French wine, at least the ones I’ve tried. I’m not a huge fan of red wine to start with but if there is a lot of tannic acid and oak taste, I’m not a fan. I like light red wines like those in Provence or the Loire Valley. I found in Italy that I prefered the plain old table wine. If we spent any money on a bottle I didn’t like it as well. I guess my palate just isn’t developed.

A shot of some of those grapes growing by the roadside. They were so ripe and heavy that they were starting to fall on the ground.

A view of a tower that we saw as we ate lunch there and drank, of course, some of the local wine. The Brunello is what is famous here but I liked the cheaper variety called Rossa being an amateur.

A closeup of the tower with its interesting shields with family crests.

I wish this were a little clearer. One of my favorite things in Tuscany was the countryside, especially the cyprus trees running along the crest of a hill or leading up curving roads to a house. I thought Tuscany would be a lot like Provence but it wasn’t. It was much more hilly and green. Provence has many more valleys and flat areas and is much dryer. I don’t know if I like Tuscany more than Provence but I did think it was more beautiful.

We were off to another Tuscan village, this time Pienza. My friend had a guide book by Rick Steves-doesn’t everyone?-and he was sort of “meh” about Pienza. I guess it’s too clean and tidy and not really lived in but I liked it. Pienza once had another name but it was changed when a resident became a pope, Pope Pius II. He and an architect redesigned the village in the Renaissance style and it has a wonderful ambience. The main street was lined with shops with very nice things for sale. I especially liked the gourmet food shops and bought a mix of dried beans and spices for an Italian soup back home and some spices for spaghetti.

An alley leading off the main street. The village was one of the few flat ones that we walked in although it was up on a hill.

This area is the home of pecorino cheese. I never got that fond of it unless I ate something sweet with it like honey or fig jam.

The crest of the family of the Pope. Their symbol is the half moon and we saw it all over Pienza and in many places in Tuscany.

The castle belonging to the Pope and his family. The last descendent died in WWII so it now belongs to Italy. We took a tour with a girl of the castle who had incredibly bad English. It was hard to understand her but we did get to see some of the interior of the castle.

Yet another view of the Tuscan countryside from the back of the castle. I just thought it was so beautiful.

A small, walled medieval walled town and a Unesco site, San Gimignano was next on our list. It was said to be very touristy and I guess it was, but I still enjoyed our visit there. It once had forty towers but is now down to fourteen.

One of several large piazzas in the village.

A view of just a few of the towers there.

There were many shops selling local products such as, boar sausage.

We found a great place to eat and had some of the very good local white wine. You know the book, and now film, Eat, Pray, Love? I could write one called Eat, Eat, Eat because I did a lot of it in Italy.

As noted by my plate of lasagna-very tasty.

The view from the window by our table. Isn’t it fabulous? I just loved Tuscany. I found it much greener than Provence and packed with hills. Provence has hills but there seem to be more flat areas in between the perched villages and many valleys.

Maurice had this good looking boar stew with polenta. In this restaurant, and many others, the people working there took one look at Maurice and started speaking in French to him. He doesn’t look that different from the Italian to me but what do I know.

After two nights in Siena we went to the Tuscan village of Montepulciano. It was a great place to stay as a base and I liked the village itself although anytime we went to the grocery store it was a huge trudge uphill to get back.

Seen on a square near the apartment we rented.

We could see this every morning from our apartment. We were next door to a church.

The sillouhette of a figure that bangs on the bell every hour.

You see cyprus trees everywhere.

You could see an incredible view from every window in the village. Here was the sunset from the window of a local cafe.