Cathedral in PistoiaIn addition to revisiting hill towns we had fallen in love with love like Siena and Lucca, we also went to towns we hadn't seen on previous trips to Tuscany, towns often overlooked by tourists such as Pistoia immortalized by Dante . The main attraction is the cathedral with a very impressive facade. Unfortunately the facade was all we saw, as we arrived during the 2-hour mid-day closing. While major tourist spots like Florence have generally stopped the traditional midday closing, in towns off the main tourist track the mid-day closing still prevails and should be taken into account when planning a trip to Italy.
In addition to the Cathedral, Pistoia has a spectacular Piazza del Duomo, bordered by well-maintained medieval and renaissance buildings, including a perfectly proportioned Renaissance palazzo, now the town hall.
Campanile in Piazza del Duomo,PistoiaSiena and Lucca have been supplanted as my favorite hill town by Montepulciano, the most beautiful Tuscan hill town that we’ve visited. Perched on a steep hill above the lush vineyards which produce Montepulciano wine, it has spectacular panoramic views.
Views of surrounding hillsides from streets of Montepulciano.At first we didn’t think we were up to trekking up the hill to the Piazza Grande, but the town is so beautiful that we kept climbing the hill and eventually reached the Piazza Grande—certainly one of the most impressive piazzas in the country of beautiful piazzas.
We set in a café on the Piazza drinking Campari for far too long, and didn’t have time for the visit to the Abbey at Monte Oliveto Maggiore we had planned for that day.
Cafe on Piazza Grande in Montepulciano When you find yourself in a town as beautiful as Montepulciano, you just have to take the time to savor the experience. It’s always impossible to see everything you’ve planned, and maybe that’s a good thing—a reason to return. If there’s a next time in Tuscany, we’ll see the Abbey and we’ll make sure we get back to Montepulciano.
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