The weekend excursion through southern and central Tuscany with the Meredith College students, Betty and John, and Sarah (the Italian professor and my roommate) and with bus driver Emmanuel (who fit right in and taught us some Italian) was jam-packed, fun, and exhausting.
The highlight for me was seeing the breathtaking Tuscan countryside out of the bus window, with the varied shades of green, the olive trees planted in perfect rows, and the dramatic hills and valleys along the way.
Our first stop was at La Foce in Val D’Orcia - site of the compelling book by author Iris Origo (referred to earlier), and every bit as beautiful as she had described. Apparently some famous people were renting the entire estate, so we were not able to tour the actual house and gardens, but we saw the grounds, the kitchen garden, and the cemetery. It is hard to imagine her family taking in and/or feeding and otherwise providing for hundreds of people during WWII from orphans, children for safekeeping, and both British and German prisoners, while contending with Mussolini, the Nazis, and the constant sounds of bombs, but Mrs. Origo managed it with apparent equanimity. I loved her book so much that I purchased her autobiography and plan to read it during the remainder of my trip.
On the way to Montepulciano, we ate a wonderful lunch at Gabrielle’s restaurant, Pulcino. I read her book along the way (containing recipes), which is the diary of her life. She is a short, delightful lady in her 70’s, and she has built quite a little business which is more than just her restaurant (traditional Tuscan fare with the favorite pici – thick, rounded pasta) and includes things for purchase such as Etruscan ceramics, nativity scenes (whose profits are shared with entities in India and Bethlehem), food, olive oil, wine, etc. as well as a museum with everything from a Friar’s dining room table to fossils and from arrowheads to silver, even suits of armor - all thrown together much like a grandmother’s attic.
Montepulciano was a pretty little medieval town, with its piazza grande at the top, a fortress, and a commanding tower with a beautiful clock. Naturally I climbed the tower and was celebrating at the top. The Duomo has a façade that was not finished (waiting for the marble) and inside had beautiful religious paintings and altars. The civic museum is full of Etruscan artifacts and ceramics. The clown, Pulcinella, strikes the hour on the medieval clock tower.
On the way out of town, we passed the majestic church of San Biagio. These cathedrals are so grand, in every respect, and it is hard to imagine how many hours, days, and years of creation it took to create them.
A short visit to tiny Montisi was memorable more for the charming people and cats (there are cats everywhere in these towns!), but also for the lovely views.
We pulled up to our weekend lodgings at Sant’ Anna Monastery in Camprena, a truly gorgeous place to stay that also served breakfast and dinner and the food was quite good. We ate in a common dining room and were able to meet friendly Italians as well as students and their faculty from a Penn State architecture program located in Rome. The courtyard with its central fish pond, surrounding lemon trees, and aromatic herbs was hypnotic. Views from the site were equally lovely. We referred to it as a 5 star hotel without the tourists! Parts of The English Patient were filmed here! The abbey has beautiful frescoes by Sodoma and the cemetery was also lovely, unspoiled, and moving.
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