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Montepulciano lies 600 metres high
hill between the Chiana and the Orcia Valleys,
in a hilly region, rich in history and interesting buildings.
The towns is said to have been
founded by the Etruscan king Porsenna and inhabited by
his people. In the following centuries it developed into a strategic
area and Siena and Florence fought for its possession.
The town reached its maximum
splendour under Florence in 1511, when the noble families had the most
famous architects build their homes and palaces.
Besides architectural beauties,
Montepulciano offers views of astonishing landscapes, from Val d’Orcia
with mount Amiata to Val di Chiana with Lake Trasimeno, Cortona,
The Sibillini Mountains and, further away, Mount Gran Sasso,
Perugia, Assisi In the old part of the town, not far from the main gate
called Porta al prato, stands a column with a lion on the top, the
symbol of Florence and of the Medici family.
Behind the column there is the
Hotel Il Marzocco, the oldest in town.
It was built in 1500 as a farm
of the nearby convent. In 1860 it became a hotel and since the early
1900s it has been run by the same family.
The hotel looks like a large
house where the atmosphere of the old times is still kept.
Its bedrooms open on wide
lounges that, like the reading room and the sitting room, are furnished
with genuine XIX century pieces.
Some bedrooms have balconies
or terraces with a view on the valleys, other ones have their windows
over the Renaissance houses of the ald town.
The hotel has had important
guests as actors, writers, politicians, all of whom are fond of the
great view from its terraces.
A large private parking area
is availble, as well as comfortable relax spaces and a wide dining room
where breakfast is served from a rich buffet with home-made bread and
cakes, jams and pies.
Among the roses of the garden, the Canada creeper
climbs until the terraces and creates a pergola uo to the roof, at first
green in summer, than all red in September an yellow during the autumn.
Red geraniums at the windows, together with the old lace curtains , add
to the building a perfectly romantic touch.
Piazza
Savonarola, n°18
53045
Montepulciano (Siena)
TOSCANA
/ ITALY
tel 0578 757262
fax 0578 757530
albergomarzocco@cretedisiena.com
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