Adventures in Italy: Day 3 Rome, Pieve, Chianciano Terme


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April 10th 2017
Published: April 10th 2017
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Italy Day 3, Thursday, October 6, Rome to Pieve and Chianciano

After the Hotel Albani’s elaborate breakfast offerings of eggs, ham, bacon, cheeses, yogurts, breads, pastries, fruit of all kinds, cereals and delicious coffees we chose our selections and prepared for the rainy travel day ahead.

Our original party of four, Donna, John, my husband Dave and I settled into our seats on the bus along with 27 other Grand Circle tourists and watched Rome with its unique orange colored stone buildings pass away on our journey north to Tuscany. The color of stone used in buildings throughout Italy is as unique to the area as the landscape they sit on. Elegant and tall Maritime Pines punctuated the urban landscape. These tall stately pines with their dark green umbrella tops are as much a part of Rome as the colosseum. We also saw Aleppo Pines and Italian Stone Pines (aka umbrella pines, so pruned as to resemble umbrellas), found also in the coastal areas of Italy and the Mediterranean region. Italians seem to love these iconic towering green giants as a symbol of elegance and money. The pencil shaped Cypress trees are also found in landscapes in Rome and throughout Tuscany, especially defining a grand entrance along a road or drive.

Our Grand Circle Travel (GCT) guide Ben Slavin took advantage of the captive audience on the bus to introduce himself and give us a brief overview of Italian history and culture. He pointed out the area just outside the city of Rome as Lacivio, the countryside included in official Rome, where we began to see broad lowland farms with sheep and growing fields all surrounded by the Apennine mountains and ancient hillside towns perched high in the distance. Each hillside town is centered around a church and Piazza. Although on the surface they might seem the same but each town is founded by a different nobility and the architecture is unique to each town. As we traveled deeper into the mountains we observed "rock" wall enclosures made of “tuffo” or tuff volcanic rock surrounding ancient hill towns. The beginnings of small vineyards and fruit groves gave life to the ancient towns.

Our plan for this next week was to stay in the area of the Val d’orcia in Chianciano Terme, Tuscany. Tuscany gets its name from the Etruscans, the pre-Roman people who lived in the region of Tuscany roughly 1350-1150 BC. The Etruscans were probably the first to produce oils, soaps and cosmetics made from olives. We are told the best olives grown in Tuscany are Frantoio olives. Each olive tree produces roughly a liter of good oil which is referred to as Tuscany’s “liquid gold” and is cherished throughout the world. Most of the good olives are picked by hand but in this harvest season we observe netting underneath the trees to catch olives that fall or have been shaken from the tree. Our guide Ben informs us that we can bring home up to 2 bottles of olive oil reminding us that the best olive oil and wine to buy is from Tuscany not Sorrento. Ben also tells us to eat the freshest olive oil possible since unlike wine, olive oil doesn't age well.

On our way north, we passed into Umbria, the green heart of Italy and home of St Francis, Patron saint of Italy. Here we begin to see large olive groves with their beautiful silver leaves. It is said that in Umbria there is an olive tree that is 1,720 years old, the oldest in the world.

Our bus traveled past Orvieto perched high on a hillside surrounded by medieval tufo or tuff walls. Orvieto, which we will visit later, is in the process of becoming a Unesco World Heritage Site. We are told there are more World Heritage sites in Italy than anywhere else in the world. Orvieto is known for its white wine. A brief note on wines from Ben: Brunello wine, a Tuscan notable wine, is about $30-50 Euro and can be kept for years. Montepulciano wines are best found around Chianciano.

We stopped for lunch in Pieve, a medieval village completed in 1326 perched high on a hill overlooking the Chiana Valley in the province of Perugia. Like most villages in the Middle Ages, this town was built around a parish church called a “Pieve”, dedicated to a saint, in this case, Saints Gervasio and Protasio.

Citta della Pieve is famous for its saffron production. Saffron has been produced here since the 13th century. Each October Pieve hosts a Saffron Festival to celebrate this special spice. This town was voted one of the best small villages in Italy and I can see why. Most of the buildings in this hilly town were constructed in the Middle Ages using red brick. The red-orange colors of the bricks interspersed with gray stones brought a warm cast to the village even on a cloudy day.
For many years Pieve used to be considered a poor farm town. In addition to their remote and poor living conditions, this village suffered a siege of malaria, but since WWII this Etruscan, then Roman era village is now considered upper middle class with real estate that is fairly expensive.

Our Roman breakfast was well worked off walking up and down the charming narrow streets. We peeked into closed shops, (afternoon siestas), photographing all the unique aspects of the village such as the elaborate wooden doors and stone archways, church towers and bell towers. Restaurants did not open until 12:30pm so we had plenty of time to read restaurant menus to scope out the best location to sample the delicacies of this region. We settled on the Trattoria Bruno Coppetta, a charming little restaurant with an open fire oven in the back. Mushrooms are in season now so many of the specialties featured these large local varieties. Four of us settled on a tomato and a meat bruschetta and mushroom vegetable soup with Parmesan. We were not yet used to the large portions and frequent dining so sadly we left food on the table, much to the disappointment of the waiter.

Less than an hour after leaving Pieve, we arrived in Chianciano Terme in the Province of Siena, in the region of Tuscany. This town, known for its excellent water and thermal baths, is an hour and a half from most major tourist destinations in Tuscany, says Ben. We will stay in the modern center of town while the old part of town, Chianciano Vecchio, is only a mile away. Felini's movie 8 1/2 was filmed there.

We arrived on a cold and overcast afternoon at the Hotel Le Fonti located near several well known termes, or spas. After unpacking Dave and I headed out to explore this area of town. After a brisk walk in the breezy, damp and rain-threatening chill of a late autumn afternoon we decided to head back to the hotel to rest and freshen up for yet another meal. Besides, the shops are closed from 2-4:30 p.m. for siesta to “maybe” reopen around 5 or 6 p.m. so all I can do is window shop! Frustrating for us as well as other would-be shoppers but we are told the shopkeepers love it for the time spent with family.

Thirty seven GCT travelers congregated in the hotel’s meeting room for an introduction to Tuscany followed by a meet and greet with fellow travelers. It turned out to be a nice icebreaker and way to meet the very interesting well travelled group we were with. Ben, our guide, introduced himself by telling us he was born in the US and lived in New Jersey with an Italian mother and Irish father. He often visited his relatives in Naples, where he now lives. He had an excellent voice studying music and opera in the US and almost accepted a spot with our very own Sarasota Opera House but decided to study in Milan instead. After his career began to take off Ben needed surgery on his vocal chords and sadly had to give up singing. He does still sing but he is unable to reach the notes required to perform in an opera. Later he would give us little musical renditions on our bus throughout our trip. In our group meeting, Ben gave us an overview of what to expect on our trip with an introduction to Italian hand gestures and expressions, “Our Italian Survival Guide”, that later proved to be most helpful!

That evening we all hopped a bus for a ride to the nearby Palazzo Bandino on a hilltop overlooking Chianciano, the first of many agriturismos (basically a farm turned bed and breakfast) we visited, for a dinner that featured local wines, meats and produce. Our primo course at the Bandini farmhouse consisted of a grilled zucchini and eggplant tomato bruschetta with a slab of very good sharp pecorino cheese and a stuffed pepper. Bread was served with lots of their own delicious chianti wine from their Sangiovese grapes. Our table wine was only 3 euro a bottle and so delicious Donna and I each bought a bottle to savor in our rooms. Our second course was pasta with mushrooms and tomato followed by the third course of a melt in your mouth lean beef burger from the locally famous Chiana steers, accompanied with stewed tomatoes and potato. I was told that you never see the famous Tuscan Chiana beef cattle grazing outdoors because they are raised indoors but Ben disagreed, yet we did not see evidence of Chiana cattle grazing anywhere. We finished our dinner with a delicious prune tart and two biscotti and a Toscana semi sweet wine. The farmhouse was fun and the pecorino cheese plus their own wine and olive oil made it special.

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