After our experience in Venice, to say that I was looking forward to spending 4 peaceful days at a small Tuscan villa is the understatement of the century. My parents stayed at Villa Casalecchi just outside the small town of Castellina in Chianti nearly 10 years ago, and raved about a garden room that opened onto a large portico with sweeping views of the valley’s vineyards and olive trees. When I reserved the room, I requested the same. Never did I expect that it would be truly 100% the same. It’s like time stands still in Tuscany. The chianti wine region really is everything the postcards paint it to be. The villa was difficult to find (and we nearly ran out of gas – gas stations in Italy are few & far between), but aren’t all good things a little bit tucked away and worth hunting for?
Siena
On our first full day in Tuscany, we took a quick 30 minute hop south to the ancient high walled city of Siena. The narrow winding cobblestone streets (and, yes, laundry!) were very much like Venice, only this place felt quite cheery & welcoming. Locals and tourists alike sprawled on the warm bricks of the Piazza del Campo (where the famous Palio horse race is held every June & August) sunning themselves, dogs romped around and kids chased pigeons.
Statues of Romulus & Remus and the she-wolf are all over Siena, as according to legend the city was founded by Senius, the son of Remus. The day’s highlight was most likely the Duomo del’Assunta, which unfortunately had scaffolding all over the outside for restoration (this would become a reoccurring theme in Italy), but fortunately the real eye candy of the duomo lay inside. The amazing marble inlaid floors held 56 individual scene panels created by Sienese artists between 1369-1547. Folks jokingly call it the “Beetlejuice duomo”, and from the photos below it’s easy to see why (each of those stripes is layers of solid marble). Also of note was the massive Basilica San Domenico, a Franciscan church where St. Catherine is said to have had her visions and received the stigmata (oooo, stigmata!) Oh yes, and of final note was the delicious gelato (which thankfully has nothing to do with stigmata) and more espresso. We made it back to the villa at nightfall, and were pretty beat so decided to make a small dinner ourselves of wine, baguettes, cheese, prosciuto and grapes out on the portico to watch the bright stars. To say there were shooting stars is incredibly cheesy but also incredibly true.
