Say the word “Tuscany” and splashes of orange and burnt sienna bolt across the inward eye. You think of castles, breathtaking-undulating countryside, three-cottage villages, sequestered pathways, virulent sunsets, wine, and yes, Italian men.
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Author: Gopika Kaul
Say the word “Tuscany” and splashes of orange and burnt sienna bolt across the inward eye. You think of castles, breathtaking-undulating countryside, three-cottage villages, sequestered pathways, virulent sunsets, wine, and yes, Italian men. It was no surprise then, that when it came to choosing a backpacking destination with my friends, I had only one word on my mind: Tuscany.
Florence: A crowded but charming city
The airport at Florence is surprisingly small, given the fact that it must receive thousands of tourists every year. But size notwithstanding, it functions perfectly. The city, however, more than lives up to its expectations (though you have to get used to the traffic, which, like in most Italian cities, comprises of a lot of two-wheelers that whiz past you at the speed of light). The fact that the lanes are narrow makes it hard not to jump out of your skin every time that happens! If you can ignore that, however, and you do, Florence is a delightful city full of pretty bridges, grand cathedrals, the world’s best museums and great shopping. One suggestion, and there are many more to follow, is to book your hotel in time. We didn’t and there were times when the park bench looked like the only option to spend the night. Luckily it didn’t come to that, but only because some larger force seemed to land us at the doorstep of a hotel where a room had just become available.
Having safely secured a room for the night, we set out to explore the town, which is best done on foot. Armed with our security pouches, money belts, cameras, guide maps and English-to-Italian dictionaries, all of which should be added to your must-carry list, we first went to see the much acclaimed Duomo, which had been described by one of our guide books as “a cathedral in striped pajamas”. I realized what it meant when I saw it. Though its interior is extremely austere, the exterior is quite ornate – green marble stripes and a conglomeration of statues standing around the entire circumference of the terrace. It looked like a giant green and white pudding jostling for room in the heart of an overcrowded town, and at first it seemed out of place – rising quite suddenly in the middle of the square, surrounded by cars and buses bellowing smoke and hundreds of shops selling everything from leather bags to overcoats – but it has a charm of its own that will definitely grow on you. To truly admire it, you need to sit on a bench and gaze at it, and only then does its magnificence sink in.
The Uffizi, for me, was the most delightful part. If you are a museum lover, and specially that of renaissance art, then this is one stop you don’t want to miss. It houses one of the best art collections in the world. Not only do you get to see acclaimed paintings like Botticelli’s ‘Primavera’ and ‘The Birth of Venus’ but also myriad other exquisite ones by masters like Raphael, Leonardo Da Vinci, Caravaggio and Michelangelo, apart from some majestic ancient statues. You need a full day to do justice to this museum. What you may want to check before you go to Florence, if this stop holds utmost importance for you, is weather any of the rooms are closed to public view, as they are off and on for maintenance. You don’t want to make that trip specially to see Botticelli, for instance, only to find a temporarily closed sign outside that section.
To complete your art trip, though, you have to make one more stop, at the Galleria Dell’Accademia. This is where you will find Michelangelo’s David and it’s well worth making the trek.
A word or two of caution
Be wary of groups of children whose modus operandi is to distract and pick pockets. The trick is to wear money belts and walk away if they approach. The other thing to remember is not to give your camera to anyone to click your photograph; you may never see that camera again.
Siena: The land of the Tuscan Sun
Our next stop was Siena, a beautiful university hill-town. The drive between Florence and Siena, about an hour long, is one of the prettiest that you will come by – picturesque, heart-stopping landscape rolling around for miles, the far end blurring the blue and the green like a Monet painting had been blown life-size and stretched across the horizon; quaint derelict castles standing grand and alone on little hillocks surrounded by nothing but elegant dark green cypress trees. Any postcard that you may have seen of the Tuscan countryside pales in comparison to the real thing.
I caught the first glimpse of Siena when we were still a few miles away. It is a sight that will always remain etched in my memory – the grand Duomo surrounded by a cluster of deep ochre buildings standing magnificently against the azure sky. As we drew nearer and the faint outlines took on a definite form, I realized how grand it really was.
Siena is one of the bigger hill towns of Tuscany and without doubt, the prettiest – with its elegant medieval architecture, grand ochre buildings with antique facades, open squares dappled with quaint cafes, pebbled dark alleys where scooters whizzed about, much like they did in Florence, still at the speed of light. The best way to enjoy this town is to sit, as we did, in the cafes sipping wine, enjoying delectable Italian food and looking up at the rich, golden glow of the Tuscan sun bouncing off the buildings, giving them a hue of burnt Siena. You could visit Siena Square and plant yourself in a little café in the sun and watch the crowds go by, then, when you are suitably happy on the fine wine, take a walk into the little alleys around the square on your way to the Grand Duomo.
Montalcino: A quaint little hill-town
If you’ve not had enough of soaking in the Tuscan Sun and long for some lazy days then Montalcino is just the place for you. Located about twenty miles from Siena it is a quiet, sleepy little hill-town that is best suited for those who want to relax and walk around the countryside. When you go from Siena to Montalcino what you have to be careful of is not to miss the stop, since you pass several little hill-towns and it is hard, at first, to distinguish one from the other. This is where your get-by Italian might prove very helpful. The buses are full of locals who speak only Italian so asking them, or telling the driver beforehand, might be a good idea.
We stayed in this hotel called Al Brunello, which is run by a stoic old man who didn’t quite fancy the idea of making any more conversation than was necessary. His sons, however, more than made up for their father’s reticence. The hotel is perched up on a little hillock with a view of the vast landscape and this is the sort of place you want to stay in. The blurred outline of the mountains in the far background will remind you Tolkien’s Misty Mountains and you may well fall into a reverie picturing goblins and elves trekking around them. You can sit staring out of the window for hours, mesmerized by the spectacular sunsets when the sky turns from a flaming orange to varying shades of purple and lilac.
To discover this town, and it does not take much time, walk to the piazza, the town square. Don’t expect the place to be buzzing with an army of animated tourists following a leader with a flag. It is a pleasant change to find peace and quiet and not that many restaurants, so you can amble down quaint little passageways that may have been inhabited once, but now house souvenir shops and bars. Then visit the castle, a splendid structure that reminds you of the bygone era. When you are tired from all the walking around, enter any one of the restaurants and order some Bruschetta, which by the way is how you should start your Italian meals while in Tuscany – scrumptious pieces of bread garnished with plum, mouth-watering tomatoes tossed in Olive oil and herbs – and drink some Brunello wine with it, which is produced in Montalchino. To buy your own bottle visit one of the vineyards nearby.
Before you leave this pretty little town, make a day trip to Pienza, a little so called village about half an hour’s drive from Montalchino. You can take a cab and if you are lucky, as we were, the driver will speak English and play delightful Italian music in the car, as you gaze out at the breathtaking countryside.
No matter how much time you spend in Tuscany it will seem too little, and you will leave vowing to return one day, and though you may not remember all the little details of the places you visit, you will never forget the glow of the Tuscan Sun.
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