Montalcino – the gateway to Val d’Orcia

We arrived in Saturnia yesterday to visit the hot springs. Since we arrived late, I wanted to save that for the next day. I had made myself comfortable when Icke jumped up and declared, “I must see the hot springs. Now.”

I know that arguing is pointless – not at all and especially not in such cases. And since there is a marked footpath from our parking spot to the springs, I thought: Let the little one go on her own.

And indeed! After about two hours and a long foot bath – half a dozen swimsuits are hanging at home in my part of the closet – she came back. The thermals were nice to look at, but crowded with people!

Since I’m not the bathing type anyway, we skipped the walk to the springs this morning and set off for Montalcino, the famous wine town that marks the beginning of our drive through Val d’Orcia – one of the most beautiful landscapes in Tuscany.

It took us almost two hours to cover the nearly 70 kilometers from Saturnia to Montalcino. I have never driven a route where every curve follows another like this. There’s not even 50 meters straight! And the roads are narrow and largely in a catastrophic state. Fortunately, we were almost alone on the road. Still, after 35 kilometers I needed a break – and a double espresso.

After that, things went better. Whether it was due to the espresso or the better-developed road, I don’t know. In any case, we arrived in Montalcino shortly after 2 p.m. and immediately found the designated parking spot – the only one in Montalcino. However, the slope was too steep for our motorhome. We scraped the back. Just lightly, nothing happened, but we had to look for another parking spot.

We drove right into the city – following the motto: The world belongs to the brave! And behold: Right next to the fortress Rocca di Montalcino, three parking spaces were free in a row, so we could park without any problems. And we will also spend the night here.

When we turned off the engine, the sun lay like liquid gold on the walls of the fortress. The Rocca di Montalcino towers over the city like a guardian of past times. It was built in 1361, shortly after Montalcino had freed itself from Siena – and you can still feel today that it embodies not only protection but also pride.

The walls are mighty, the towers defiant, and yet the castle has something conciliatory: In the courtyard, there is today an enoteca where you can taste the famous Brunello di Montalcino.

I stood for a while on the wall, letting my gaze wander – over the rooftops, the hills, the distant rows of cypress trees. And for a moment, everything was silent. Only the wind, swirling through the old battlements, sounded as if it were telling stories from bygone centuries.