BYOB IS LIVE AT CAPRICCIO!

BACK FROM TUSCANY!

CHAPTER 7 - CHIANCIANO TERME AND PIENZA
TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 22 - MORNING

Adriana woke up with a bad sore throat and a bit of ear pain - a scary sign of a cold going for an ear infection. No problem!! we mentioned it to Leonardo (our driver) who immediately called his friend/doctor who, in turn, forwarded a prescription for antibiotics to the local pharmacy in the town of Terranieri. So our first stop was the pharmacy and put Adriana on a strict non-alcohol/antibiotic program. She endured this program for the next 2 days (maybe day and a half) until she felt better.

Here is a very nice picture of Phil (center) animately talking to our driver Leonardo (right) and our villa keeper Claudio (left) before leaving for the day. The most interesting thing is that neither Claudio, nor Leonardo speak any English. And Phil's key Italian word is "Sangiovese". But, still, it looks like they were communicating just fine!

Phil talking Italian

After the medicine pickup we went to the little town of Chianciano Terme.

At the time of the Etruscans, in the 5th century B.C., there was a temple close to the spring named Sillene, where Chianciano Terme is today. Dedicated to the god of Good Health, it contained larger bronze statues. Abundant archaeological evidence, recently discovered, goes back as far as the 7th century B.C..
In Roman times, the curative power of its waters had spread Chianciano's fame far and wide. In the first century B.C., Antonio Musa the doctor, suggested them to the poet Horace, who went, drank and was cured. Luxurious villas were built in the area, with thermal baths.

Here we are feeling the warm water:

Thermas

Nothing new: the views from here are breathtaking. What can I say?

View from therma

After this stop we were on our way to the town of Pienza. This small town was very lucky in having been the birth place of Pope Pius II. During his "reign" in Renaissance times, the center of Pienza was completely redesigned. Pius II planned to transform his birthplace into a model Renaissance town. The architect Bernardo Rossellino was commissioned to build a Duomo, papal palace and town hall, and the construction was completed in three years. Here is the entrance to Pienza:

Pienza entrance

And here we are doing what we do best: eat and drink wine. We managed to find a small restaurant with a second floor dining room that barely fit us!

I don't even remember what we had here but I bet it was more of that wonderful Tuscan pasta Pici with meat ragu. We also had a few liters of the house wine:

Pienza lunch

After lunch we took a little walk around the town and, again, captured some absolutely amazing views. Take a look at this one (from outside the city wall:

Outside Pienza view

After our "light" lunch and walk around town we departed to the town of Montepulciano and to visit the Corte alla Flora winery owned by our good friend Sergio Cragnotti. This visit was so amazing that I need to dedicate a whole issue to it. Please check back next week for details of this visit.

Until then...cheers!

Gerry