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OUR FAVORITE TRIPS
Dear guest,
We’d like to suggest you some trips for your holiday at our place : nice towns and country side villages you should not miss! The list is made according to how close these towns are from our “agriturismo” ;
- The small “Borgo” of Serre di Rapolano (at 3 km; 5 minutes by car; the visit takes 30-40 minutes);
We suggest you to visit this small medieval village; take the “superstrada” (=highway) in direction Arezzo and the first exit for Serre di Rapolano; follow in direction centre and park your car outside the walls of the village. Walk through the narrow roads of this small “Borgo” ( a very small antique village) that has maintained its original medieval structure. Visit the antique “Grancia” (the medieval granary) and if you can also the small Olive Oil Museum.
- The village of Lucignano (at 15 km ; 15 minutes by car; the visit takes 30 – 40 minutes)
We suggest you to visit this little medieval jewel, characterized by a very particular elliptic plan : so the visit consists of a “ring” - walk through the historical centre, that ends where you started.
Take the “superstrada” (= highway) in direction Arezzo and the exit in direction Arezzo-Rigomagno. Then continue in direction Lucignano. Park your car outside the town walls and walk to the centre. We also suggest a dinner at the very good restaurant “Il Goccino” (see our restaurant list) that has a beautiful terrace outside.
- Siena (The visit takes from ½ to 1 day)
Our agriturismo is only 20 minutes far from Siena, and is connected very well with this town through the “Superstrada” (= highway); we suggest you the exit “Siena-Ovest – San Marco” (= Siena West) that you can reach driving in direction Florence for a couple of kilometres; the easiest parking is “Lo Stadio” close to the stadium that is well indicated.
The historical centre is only for pedestrians.
Remember that Wednesday is market day and that the market takes place where the main parking is – therefore it cannot be used on that day. So, we suggest you to arrive in Siena very early on Wednesdays, not later than 8.30 am, in order to find a parking.
The very lively roads of the historical centre lead you to the Campo Square, no doubt one of the nicest and majestic squares in Italy. You can stop in one of the many bars with chairs in the open that are situated on the Square and just “contemplate” the beauty of it. Every year, the 2 July and the 16 August, the famous “Palio”-horserace takes place on this square with the “Contrade” of Siena. We recommend you to see at least the horse trials that take place during the 4 or 5 days before the Palio (we will inform our guests about the times), and the joyful parades of the “Contrade” through the town (= the people from the historical districts of Siena).
Walk up to the Duomo, which we recommend you to visit; opposite to the Duomo, the “Santa Maria della Scala” Museum.
Finally, visit the small “Pinacoteca di Siena”, the picture gallery with the beautiful pictures by Simone Martini and Duccio da Buoninsegna (medieval painters), the most famous painter of Siena.
- The “Crete Senesi” Tour; Montalcino, Sant’Antimo, Pienza (it takes from 1 hour to a whole day, depending how many places you decide to visit).
The so called “Crete Senesi” is the region of 5 “Comuni” (= the village and its region) : Rapolano, Asciano, Buonconvento, San Giovanni D’Asso and Monteroni.
Characterized by the typical clay hills, cultivated with wheat or left as pasture for the sheep, they offer beautiful landscapes: “calanchi” (the clay hills which show the soil erosion), fields of green wheat in spring, small high grounds with lonely cypresses , sheep flocks led by the “Maremmani” dogs (=the big white sheep dogs) : post-card landscapes!
We suggest you to cross Rapolano and then continue on the country-roads in direction Asciano and then in direction Buonconvento, stopping at the many panoramic lay-by. We highly recommend a stop at the Monteoliveto Maggiore Abbey, built on the clay hills, where you can visit the beautiful cloister with medieval frescos (the monks close it between 12 and 15.00). Continue in direction Montalcino, where we suggest you to stop to visit the town and taste the famous Brunello di Montalcino Wine; don’t miss the very close “Sant’Antimo Abbey” , just 5 kilometres from Montalcino, built in a small Valley where time seems to have stopped since the Middle Age.
And then continue to Pienza, the town of Pope Pio Piccolomini and of the famous … pecorino cheese!
Otherwise, you can also drive to San Giovanni D’Asso, where you can taste the very good truffles of The Crete Senesi (see list of Restaurants), though this means a changing of your itinerary.
- The Chianti Classico Tour (it takes from 2 hours to 1 day, depending how many places you decide to visit)
You cannot miss this kingdom of real good wine: The Chianti Classico Region! Drive on the superstrada (= highway) in direction Siena and take the exit Castelnuovo Berardenga; continue in direction Gaiole, on the Chianti wine road.. You will drive through the Chianti hills where one of the most famous wines in the world was born : the Chianti Classico or Gallo Nero (= black rooster).
Stop and visit the small village of San Gusmè, and the Castle of Brolio, symbol of the Classico History; or the Castle of Meleto where they organize tastings for visitors (you can ask us their brochures with times and rates). Continue in direction Radda in Chianti (to be visited!) and then in direction Castellina in Chianti (to be visited also). Drive down to Castellina Scalo and stop also at Monteriggioni, the very nice village surrounded by walls.
You can easily drive back taking the “superstrada” (= highway) in direction Siena and then in direction Arezzo Perugia (exit at Rapolano).
We highly recommend the whole day program.
- Cortona and the Trasimeno Lake (it takes from 2 hours to 1 day depending on how many places you decide to visit)
Drive on the superstrada (= highway) in direction Arezzo and then continue in direction Perugia. Take the exit Cortona. Visit this very pretty town, with its medieval roads, recently celebrated by the American writer Frances Mayes in her famous novel “Under the Tuscan Sky”.
Continue in direction Perugia on the superstrada and take the exit Passignano (which we suggest to visit). The Trasimeno Lake is particularly nice and from Passignano there are also some ferries which reach in a very short time the pretty islands on the Lake. Continue to drive in direction Castiglion del Lago (to be visited) and then continue to drive around the Lake (the whole tour of the lake takes about 1 hour). At San Feliciano , on the less crowded but most picturesque side of the lake, you also find a very good restaurant called “Rosso di Sera” (= Red in the evening) , because of the beautiful sunset on the lake, you can enjoy from its terrace in the evening (see our list of restaurants).
You can easily drive back driving on the “superstrada” from Torricella to Rapolano (direction Siena).
- Arezzo (the visit of the town takes from ½ to 1 day)
Drive on the “superstrada” in direction Arezzo ; take the exit Rigomagno-Arezzo and continue to Lucignano and then to Monte San Savino where you can enter the superstrada to Arezzo.
We recommend the visit of this very nice town, with its historical centre (most of it only for pedestrians) , the Church of San Francesco with the very important frescos by Piero della Francesca, recently restored, its lively roads with many nice shops that make this trip also a good occasion for shopping . Moreover, every first Sunday of every month – and Saturday before – you can vist the famous, “Arezzo Antiques Fair” , a big market in the open situated in the historical centre of the town where you can find every kind of object : precious antique furniture, objects for collections, antique prints, Sheffield objects, antique books a.s.o.
To end the day you can also visit the region called “Casentino” , a valley not far from Arezzo, and visit its many villages like Poppi and its famous castle.
These are only a few suggestions about the many trips you could make during your holiday at Buoninsegna. There are still many , many towns and villages missing! Contact us if you want more suggestion about trips in our area! |
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