Siena, Italy - views

We used Siena, Italy as home base for 5 nights. We had stayed there before in 2003 (on our honeymoon!). Actually - we chose the same hotel: Hotel Duomo. Up on a hill with views of the Duomo and the city of Siena!

Darrell loves his terrace! A great place to unwind - with a cigar - and some peace from the hectic pace.

I took the stairs (steep and winding spiral staircase with one way up and same way down) for the views. Could see all the city and the campo from the top!!

Cortona, Italy - Under the Tuscan Sun and Steep Streets

Had to add a few more photos from Cortona! Movie posters of Under the Tuscan Sun were in several stores. What a beautiful little village. Wonderful shops, steep winding streets, unbelivable views...

And again - steep streets!!

Under the Tuscan Sun

Frances Mays wrote her famous book about traveling to Italy and falling in love with the countryside. She finds an old villa that she buys on an impulse thens spends years repairing the home and finding herself. This is Bramsole - Frances Mays real home. A beautiful villa just above Cortona - beautifully landscaped with gorgeous views.

Darrell thought I was crazy to try to find this house. But Under the Tuscan Sun has long been a favorite book then movie. The Page Turners (my book club) even went to hear her speak in Memphis. I have her coffee table book on beauiful Tuscan villas. We had to see this house!! So a few wrong turns, on narrow cliff side roads - there it is! It is easy to see how she fell in love with Italy and the beautiful city of Cortona.

Cortona Museum of Renaissance Art

Renaissance art is beautiful with the gold background and vividly color clothes.
For a small town, Cortona is fortunate to have several important pieces.

Fra Angelico's Annunication (The archangel Michel tells Mary that she will have the baby Jesus) dates from 1400's.

Oldest houses in Italy

Cortona claims some of the oldest homes still standing and occupied in Itlay. These homes look straight from the middle ages. They are located on Ianilli Street and hug the outside of the old city wall. They are still occupied.

Views from Cortona

The town is contained within the city walls - but just outside (and below the city) are 2 beautiful ancient churches (Saint Margarhita shown) and the Necropolis (city of the dead - or cementary). The views of the valley below are wonderful.

Cortona, Italy

Cortona is located in Eastern Tuscany and such movies as Oceans 12 and Under the Tuscan Sun were filmed here. Cortona clings to the side of a mountain with 1 flat street with steep, almost ladder like lanes leading up or down.

We enjoyed lunch at La Loggea Restaurant overlooking the Grand Pizzia. (With the required city hall and clock tower.) Most Tuscan towns have a similar design with the large open piazza at the town hall center of town. This is our first trip to Cortona and we have been looking forward to finally seeing this gem of Tuscany.

Florence Baptistry

The Baptistry is built separate from the Duomo - built clad with the same beautiful marble. The bronze doors were designed and cast by Ghiberti in 1425 and are called the "Gates to Paradise" featuring biblical scenes.

Duomo in Florence

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One of the largest Christian Churches and the influence for Saint Peter's in Rome, the Florence Duomo is beautiful. The pink and green tints of Tuscan marble are magnificant. The dome is a breakthrough in engineering architecture - created by Brunellesci. Inside the ceiling is beatuifully frescoed

Medici Family Palace

Home to many generations of the Medici family and located adjacant to San Lorenzo Church in the heart of old Florence, the palace has a famous chapel. The chapel is fescoed with a painting called "The Journey of the Magi" painted by Gozzoli in the late 1500's. The painting shows a long procession of people - led by Lorenzo Medidi as one of the Kings (The 3 Kings of Orient) painted in brillant colors!

The teenage Michelangelo lived here. Also Leonardo da Vinci visited frequently as well as many scholars and philosophers. The Reniassance was funded in part by the Medici Family. We have them to thank for many of the freedoms of thought we have today and for much of the beauty of the Reniassance Art which has influenced every major painter since.

Florence - San Lorenzo Church

The Medici Family were the patron's for San Lorenzo Church. The church is plain on the outside - but houses the Medici Chapels (no photos allowed). Several of the "Dukes" and leading men from the Medici family are buried in the Chapel. Michelangelo designed and sculpted many of the pieces in the chapel. Michelangelo lived with the Medici family as a boy and the family was his patron for many years.

This family also provided scanturary to Galileo when he was persecuted by the Church for his teaching on astronomy. He was excommunicated because he declared this sun was the center of our solar system and not the earth.

Florence Italy - San Lorenzo Library

The Medici Family were wealthy bankers who supported learning and the arts in Florence in the 1500's. The family is credited with funding the Renaissance Era.

We are in Florence today and decided to devote most of the day to the Medici Family. We have been to Florence 2 times before and have seen the beautiful Duomo and the major art museums - which we love.

Michelangelo designed this library built within the Church of San Lorenzo - which is the Medici Family Church. Scribes or monks would set in this room and copy manuscripts. There were no printing presses at this time - so every manuscript had to be copied by hand. The Medici had one of the largest libraries in the world at this time. The original manuscripts were chained to these desks. Also scholars could obtain permission to come inside to read.

The steps were also designed by Michelangelo and were called the "path to light" (the path to learning.)

Rooftop Terrace on Hotel in Sienna

Darrell's favorite hangout - perfect for cigars and crosswords - not to mention beautiful views of the red time old roof tops of Siena.

Tuscan sunsets

Tuscan hillside towns - beautiful views!

These were taken from Montepulciano! Spectacular sunset!

Arches and narrow steep streets

The Tuscan hill towns are loved for the location and the cobblestone streets. It is hard to take a photograph that really shows the steep slope of some of these streets. Arches and ports (a arched gateway into a city) further add to the architectural interest. Usually there are also remaindes of the old city wall.

Montepulciano 's Duomo and Architecture

Montepulciano's Duomo is really plain for Tuscany without a marble facade the city ran out of money to finish.. Inside is also austere. But the central location in the Piazza Grande shows its importance in the community.

The architecture is really diverse in Montelpuciano. The Contucci Palace dating back to the 15th century -is in the Renaissance style. Descendants of the Contucci family still live in the Palace.

Twilight "New Moon" Movie location

Ok - another Twilight update: Even though the book "New Moon" is set in Volterra - Hollywood doesn't always follow. The town of Montelpuciano was chosen as the Italian film location. There are a few posters in the window and also photos of some of the cast. The center of the town is "Piazza Grande" with the city hall which has the clock tower. The trailer for the movie shows a huge festival in the square - so its a cool location.

Vino Nobile in Montepulciano, Italy

It seems we talk about wine a lot - but it is such a part of the way of life for many places in Europe. Italy is especially noted for wonderful wines - but Montepulciano is noted for its Vino Nobile de Montepulciano! We drove through the beautiful Tuscan countryside from Siena to Montepulciano and spent the afternoon. (After a navigation malfunction delay/or the scenic route!)

Montepulciano was originally an Etruscan town called Chiusi then captured by the Romans. It has one of the highest elevations in Tuscany - we are going to 3 towns that all have higher elevations (Volterra, Montepulciano and Cortona).

The food is what's so great! Every little restaurant seems to have wonderful meals.