(A steep-streeted mediaeval hill town of moderate interest, but with a most beautiful Romanasque abbey nearby).

Montalcino

Turn right off the SS 2 (via Cassia)where it is signposted just after Buonconvento. The best car-park, if there is space, is right up the hill in front of the Fortezza.

Montalcino has all the required attributes of a Tuscan hill town: fortress, mediaeval town hall with tower; irregularly shaped central piazza; art gallery; duomo. But none is outstanding - although the art gallery has recently been modernised and is now one of the best set out in the Senese. Historically, the town's main claim to fame is as the place to which 700 leading Sienese families fled in 1555 when Siena finally fled to the French and Florentines. They stayed for four years, flying the black and white flag of Siena, until Montalcino also submittted to Florence. Now, Montalcino is a wine and honey town, famed for its 'Brunello' wine, which is on sale in every other shop in the town.

The fortress (Fortezza, open 9-13 and 14.30-1) is impressive. The ramparts were built by the Florentines after they took control of the town, and there are the usual extensive views from them. The way up to the ramparts and the small museum in the Fortezza is through the wine-bar (enoteca) on the ground floor; tickets can be purchased from the bar.

From the Fortezza, one can go down via Ricasoli to the 14th century church of San Agostino on the right. Its elegant Gothic marble doorway has a discreet touch of Sienese black and white stripiness.

Just up the road to the left, at No 4, is the art gallery, the Museo Civico e Diocesano. It has a small collection of mainly 15th century Sienese painting and sculpture.

Down the hill behind San Agostino, a road (or steps through a tunnel) leads down to the diminutive main square, the Piazza del Popolo. It is dominated by the mediaeval town hall, the Piazza del Popolo, complete with tower and family crests of mediaeval mayors. In the arcade beneath the tower there is a 16th century statue of Cosimo I, the Grand Duke of Tuscany at the time of the Florentine take-over, no doubt commissioned to mark that event. There is a cafe under the pretty 14th century loggia on the other side of the square that makes a good place for a coffee-break.

San Antimo

This abbey church, one of the oldest and most beautiful in Tuscany, is about 10 km to the south-east of Montalcino, well sign-posted with yellow signs. It is set in a grove of olives and cypresses just below the village of Castelnuovo del Abate (the olive trees include some of the few survivors of the great frost of 1985 that killed almost all olive trees in Tuscany down to ground level; they were at first thought to be completely dead, but then sprouted branches from the roots -which explains why most now look like bushes rather than trees). Until 1979, the church was deserted, the abbey buildings having long since disappeared. But now a small group of monks has come back, living in the building to the right of the church. The church is open to visitors from 10-12.30 and 15-18.30, but it is usually possible to sit at the back to listen to the monks chanting the Offices at 12.45, 14.45 and 19.00. There is also a Gregorian Mass at 11.00 on Sundays.

The abbey was founded by Charlemagne when he conquered Tuscany in the 8th century. The legend is that his army, returning from Rome, were struck by an epidemic when they got to this spot. The church was the fulfilment of a vow made by Charlemagne if the sickness stopped. But all that remains of the Carolingian church is its apse (to be seen on the outside next to the main apse) and the crypt. The present church was built in around 1118 of wonderful pale honey-coloured stone.

The exterior is dotted with ancient carvings of fantastical animals, although some of the best are unfortunately round the door on the right-hand side of the church which has now been closed off to accommodate the monks. Particularly unusual for that early period is the panel with a Virgin and Child at the base of the tower. The facade was never finished, and there was obviously uncertainty as to whether to have a double or a single door. The original ornate porch has not survived, although the lions on which its pillars rested are just inside the door.

Inside, there is a marvellous feeling of light and height. The church is built on the normal Romanesque basilica pattern, with elegant and interesting capitals; note in particular Daniel in the lions' den above the second column on the right (with two lions eating each other simultaneuosly on the other side). The deambulatory behind the altar is one of the most beautiful parts of the church, several of the columns or their bases being of alabaster or onyx, translucent when the sun - or a torch - shines through them. The Piccolomini Pope Pius II suppressed the abbey in 1462 and made it part of the diocese of Montalcino, rubbing in his dominance by leaving left his half-moon crest all over the place, for instance on the flag-stones round the altar. The carved stones round the door into the sacristy (on the right) are supposed to have come from the original Carolingian church. The sacristy itself (rarely open) is in what remains of the Carolingian building; it is covered in 15th century grisaille frescoes of the life of St Benedict.
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The church contains two ancient and beautiful wooden sculptures: a stark and tragic crucifix over the altar and a Virgin and Child in a glass case on the right, both dating from the l3th century. Beneath the altar is a small crypt with a fresco of the Pieta.

Restaurants

Montalcino is a bit of a gastronomic centre, and most restaurants are reasonably good. In the town, a good value basic Tuscan meal can be had at Trattoria Sciame on via Ricasoli half-way between the fortress and San Agostino. Out in the country on the way to San Antimo, the Taverna dei Barbi is an agreeable, smart and fairly pricy restaurant in an old farmhouse. Poggio Antico, 4 km to the south-west, is one of the few restaurants in the Senese to have a Michelin star.
(1996)