DISCOVERING CITTA DELLA PIEVE & MONTEPULCIANO

It was Sunday morning, the day before we were due to return to the UK, the weather was once again glorious and Lake Trasimeno sparkled in the sharp early morning sunlight. How lucky we were to have chosen these few days - evidently this sort of weather in January was unusual by any standards. It was good to have the opportunity to get to know the local area a bit better and to take a rest from property viewings or even talking about them. We thought we'd start off by driving back to Citta della Pieve and stop off for a coffee there before deciding where to go. 

After breakfast we drove back to Citta along the ridge road with views of the Lake on one side and the Chiana valley on the other. Even at this time of year it was easy to see what a lovely area we had arrived in. Though grape vines were bare and stick like, the oranges on the trees in house gardens looked ripe and ready to eat. Occasionally we'd see individuals or couples tending to their olive trees, pruning tools to hand. Soon we were ascending the hill which would lead up to Citta della Pieve again. From the ground its impossible to see the overall shape of the town, but an aerial view like the one seen in the photograph below, reveals it to be bird like in appearance, complete with head, wings and tail. One legend I'd read about Citta suggests the town was, using the landscape contours, configured in this way to represent an eagle, allying itself during the medieval period with the forces of the Holy Roman Emperor rather than those of the Pope. It's an appealing story. 

Aerial View of Citta della Pieve

In Citta itself we parked the car in one of the municipal car parks outside the town walls and strolled towards the centre where we soon ended up in the main square. It was mid morning by now and quite busy - though the cathedral church, the duomo, was boarded up and a sign indicated the interior was under renovation. Across the square the worn but imposing stonework and classical architectural features of the Palazzo Corgna drew us nearer so we could take a closer look and a peek through the lower floor windows revealed pastel looking frescoed ceilings; we made a note to come back for a further investigation on another occasion. Strolling back across the square an interesting plaque high up on a wall above a shop revealed the birthplace of Renaissance master painter Pietro Vannucci - Perugino - the artist who was not only famous in his own right but also tutor to Raphael. 

A walk down the cobbled and charming main street brought us to another square with more large and imposing characteristically red brick municipal buildings, including a grand looking market hall with large metal double doors and then a new looking branch of the local Umbrian bank which we would later visit to open a bank account. Across the street an attractive looking cafe/ bar with seats outside drew us closer. This was the Cafe degli Artisti - a place we would also come to know well during later visits. This morning it was the perfect place to stop for a coffee and watch the world go by. Though the interior was attractive and welcoming we chose to sit outside and enjoy the warm sunshine; already people were coming out of the little church opposite where mass was just finishing and visitors to the town were ambling up and down. Seated at one of the tables a perusal of the map we'd brought with us made us aware we were not that far from the renowned Tuscan hill town of Montepulciano, so we decided we'd head there for a late lunch and an afternoon walk. 

Interior of the Cafe degli Artisti - Citta della Pieve

It took about three quarters of an hour to make the short journey down the hill again and cross the Chiana valley to head north west to Montepulciano. This delightful medieval walled town, known the world over for its fine Tuscan wines, occupies a strategic position high up on a ridge  separating the now familiar Val de Chiana from another valley - the Val d'Orcia. The area was once occupied by both the Etruscans and the Romans, but it was during the medieval period that the town's importance as a settlement, surrounded as it was by rich, fertile and productive land, made it a target for both Siennese and Florentine domination. An alliance forged with Florence in 1390 led to a sustained period of economic, political and cultural stability which was to last 200 years and it became known locally as the "Pearl of the 16th century". 

Montepulciano

An interesting legend tells a tale which links Montepulciano with Citta della Pieve. The story goes that following the collapse of the Roman Empire and the continual invasion of the Chiana valley by barbarian forces from the north, the local communities sought refuge in the hills surrounding the lower ground. The social elites - the patricians - are said to have moved to the mount that took the name of Mons Politicus which later became Mons Politianus and later still Montepulciano. The lower social classes (plebeians) according to the legend, moved to the other side of the valley establishing the settlement of Civitas Plebis - which later became Citta della Pieve.

We arrived at the main entrance to the old part of town, the Porta al Prato, a huge arched structure built by Sangallo the Elder in the 16th century. Though cars were making their way through the arch we decided to park our car in the bays outside the gate and later I was thankful we did as the narrow main street would have made for some difficult manoeuvring for Jon. The low wall near where we put the car provided some splendid views over the valley below. 

Inside the gate we could see ahead of us the main street, the Via di Gracciano del Corso which we had noticed from the town map wound up in circular fashion to the main square at the top. Here at the bottom was an unusual columned stone structure bearing carved Griffins and Florentine 'marzocco' - symbolic of Montepulciano's long association after the treaty of 1390 with the city of Florence. As is the case with many town monuments, these are copies of the originals which are now in the town museum. Montepulciano is a major tourist destination so here there are also many small artisan shops selling locally produced foods and of course wines as well as others with the usual selection of tourist tat. Most of them are open, even at this time of year. 

Pozzo dei Griffi e dei Leoni
The Griffins represent Montepulciano - the lions the city of Florence

We set off up the atmospheric main street noting several imposing stone palazzi - evidence of Montepulciano's aristocratic families who'd played a significant part in the city's history over the centuries. In the Piazza Michelozzo, a little bit further up, we stopped to have a look at the Rennaissance facade of Sant' Agostino - shame we couldn't get inside at this time of day. On the nearby crenellated tower stood a figure I'd read about and made from carved wood in the 1520's and covered in sheet metal. Every hour and half hour it strikes the adjoining bell. It's affectionately known as Pulcinella because of its resemblance to the Commedia dell Arte character from Naples. 

Renaissance facade of Sant Agostino - Piazza Michelozzo

Torre dell 'Orologico - 'Pulcinella'

 It was about now that I noticed that the main street was now starting to rise sharply and I knew at this point that we probably wouldn't make it to the top. Though my health is good these days I still need to pace myself and this street was much steeper than those we'd encountered in Citta. I made a pact with myself that one day I would walk it to the top. We carried on and I was taken by the views up and down narrow alleys to our right and left. On one side - dark narrow stone staircases led upwards, steeply to streets at higher level and on the other stone stairways leading downwards with glimpses of the bright light and landscape of the sunny Chiana valley visible. I thought of how hard life must have been in past times for the elderly and frail. You would have had to have a good pair of lungs to do this on an everyday basis. 

A little further on, on the left hand side, we came to an impressive shop frontage the Caffe Poliziano - it looked interesting and we decided this was an ideal place to stop for refreshment. It turned out this cafe was famous and dated back to 1868. Over the decades it had played host to many famous celebrities and even now there were posters advertising up coming 'artistic' events of one sort and another. It had an interesting late 19th century ambience about it, no doubt set off by the dark wood fittings and the organic looking mouldings. Our guide book described it as a 'Liberty' cafe and I knew this to be the Italian term for the progressive style of late 19th century France - Art Nouveau. In Italy they chose to name this progressive taste after the progressive London department store. There was a a large glass covered counter near the entrance area full of produce and in one case cafe pastries which all looked delicious and beyond seating areas which ended with glass windows which looked out over the valley. We ordered paninis and coffee and managed to get a table where we could take in the wonderful view.

Caffe Poliziano (1868)

The delightful and atmospheric interior of Caffe Poliziano restored in 1992

It was only at this point we decided to have another chat about what we might do about properties. The first question to answer was would it be France or Italy for our new holiday home? This one was easy and we didn't need to each twirl cards with France on one side and Italy on the othe to see if we had made the same decision - as they do on the TV programme about emigrating to Australia. We both agreed that Italy had won hands down. After going through the list of properties we'd looked at and thought about we thought there were three possibilities, the village house, the house with studio apartments and the professor's apartment - the latter two both in Citta della Pieve, the little hill town we had fallen in love with. After spending an hour or so going backwards and forwards and with more cups of coffee, we decided we must not be precipitate and plunge in head first the following morning. In true English fashion - we thought we should go home and reflect and make sure it was right for us to go ahead with the big decision to buy a property in this part of Italy. That was the decision - little did I know at this point that we would be back within a couple of weeks to take things further.