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Castelnuovo dell'Abate, Montalcino, 53020, Italy
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The Cherry tree
Le Chiuse 1-3 and the winery underground
Le Chiuse, at the foot of Montalicino's mountain
Abbey of San Antimo near Montalcino
2 females, 42 & 73 (both car-less), taking a bus from Pienza to Montalcino in hopes of visiting Sant'Antimo in the morning. Can someone suggest a way to get to the Abbey without taking a car? I know of 2 buses to the abbey, but they leave at 710am and then not until 145pm. Our bus from Pienza drops us off around 730am, so we'll miss the first bus and I'm planning to photograph the interior of the Abbey in the morning, with the light streaming in so the 145pm bus won't do. Are there taxis to hire? Or is it possible to hitch a ride? I don't think my mother can handle a walk, if it's very far or very hilly. Suggestions?
Hi. It is all downhill on the way to San Antimo so you might walk that way. It really is not a great distance so a taxi would probably be reasonable. It certainly is worth a consideration. If you are staying in Montalcino, ask your hotel if they know a driver. That is often the easiest and cheapest way if you can't take the bus.
I wish I could help with buses but we have a car so have only driven it. You mother will probably not want to walk back up the hill from the Abbey to Montalcino although I'm nearly 70 and if it weren't terribly hot, the walk would be fine with me. It is very hilly back up though.
Good luck and enjoy your trip. It is a stunning area.
Banking on 'hitching a ride' is really not a good idea. No guarantee whatsoever that anyone will stop for you.
I believe you are staying in Pienza? If so, you could ask your hotel (or the tourist info people) to arrange a Montalcino taxi to collect you from the abbey at a pre-arranged time (I assume you do not wish to wait for the afternoon bus?). That assumes you are happy to walk down to the Abbey. If not, then perhaps the hotel/tourist info people can suggest a car + driver, or help arrange a taxi for both journeys.
Ah, leics, I never thought of that! I can ask my hotel to arrange for the taxi to be waiting for us. Sounds great! Or, if the walk wouldn't be too far? We can walk there and arrange for the taxi back. I wasn't sure if there were taxis to be found in Montalcino, that was the big question. There is also a bus from the Abbey back to Montalcino, so we could do that. I think the time schedule is actually reasonable. Thanks for the wonderful ideas!
I don't know how long the walk is, to be honest.
But your hotel should be able to help you sort out a taxi...(especially if you smile nicely!). Give them time though, don't ask just the night before.
At the very least they should be able to find the number for a local taxi company, and help you make the phone call if your Italian is not up to it.
"Mount of the Olive Grove" stands in the beautiful countryside of hills and cypress trees between Montalcino, Pienza, and Siena. The Benedictine Abbey on top of the hill dates back to the 1300's. Numerous small chapels and other buildings surround the main Gothic Abbey. Besides milling olives, the monks here have restored & maintained a library of old books.
Montalcino is best known for its wine, Brunello. Brunello has been rated the # 1 red wine by wine magazines - not that I knew this at the time of my trip here. I'm no wine connoisseur, but I really enjoyed our tour of a winery anyway. It was a beautiful place, it was interesting learning about the vineyards, and we got to taste one of the wines. We toured Costanti Winery, one of the smaller, family-run wineries (as opposed to Castello Banfi), and I think that made the experience more intimate and personal. Be sure to make an appointment at whichever winery you want to tour, otherwise you might find them too busy working to be able to show you around.
Montalcino is known for being the place that one of Italy's finest (and most expensive) wines is produced - Brunello di Montalcino. Brunello must not be released until at least 5 years after harvest, and is aged in both barrel and bottle.
Also produced is Rosso di Montalcino, which is made from grapes that are not good enough to be used for Brunello. This wine does not have any ageing restrictions, and although not to the level of the Brunello, it is still pretty tasty, and a lot cheaper.
Wine can be tasted and purchased all over Montalcino - there are numerous wine shops to browse and taste in, the largest of these is the Enoteca La Fortezza. Here you can buy and taste around 130 types of Brunello and many more other wines. Wines can be shipped for you all over the world.
The Hotel Il Giglio Montalcino is a family run hotel that specialises in caring attention to its guests. I was lucky enough to be able to photograph Anna and her mother making Pici for the hotel's restaurant. Pici is a hand made thick spaghetti. It took an hour to make enough pasta for an entree for 8 guests so it is pretty labour intensive. Briefly boiled and rolled in garlic flavoured breadcrumbs with a drizzle of local olive oil ---- fantastic.
This Abbey is situated some 9 kms. from Montalcino, built at the beginning of the 12th century on the ruins of an old 8th century monastery. Remains of the 8th century building are on one side of the cloister: the finely worked frames and architrave that make up the lateral door of the building. The Abbey, well preserved thanks to recent restoration work, is one of the most brilliant examples of romanesque architecture in Italy
The Abbey is very famous, still not known at all people, for the "Gregorian chant". It is one of the few places in the world for the genuine "Gregorian chant"(Absolutely without music, only human voice). It is known as "The singing stone" for its particular travertin marble of whose its nave is built up. This travertin reflects the voices in a wonderful manner! It's incredible!!
It seems that the stone itself is singing!
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Q: hours of operation of restaurants "Are restaurants open on Sundays for breakfast/lunch/dinner?"
A: "I don't know about breakfast but on Sunday Osteria al Giardino is open for lunch and dinner and is an excellent restaurant in a lovely setting. You can check it at..."
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