Montepulciano

"Pearl of 1500 "

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Nestling on the top of a 605mt. hill, on the vales of Chiana and Orcia, not far from Siena , Perugia and Arezzo, Montepulciano is to be considered one of the most characteristic and most intact medieval towns in the area.

According to a legendary tradition, Montepulciano was founded by the mythical Etruscan King Porsenna; more likely its origin dates back to 770 A.C., a period in which the town enjoyed indipendence, as a still existing parchment testifies, which reads of a “ Castrum Politianum”.

Montepulciano,already indipendence in the 12th century, was the object

of a dispute betwen Siena and Florence for its strategic position and

its wealth until it finally allied with Florence.

The golden age of the town started at the end of 1500, when

Montepulciano became a diocesan centre, under the Signoria of the Medici, and a privileged centre in the Grand Duchy of Tuscany.

The rich and noble families that alternated in the rule of the town succeded in enriching Montepulciano with beautiful buildings, both private and public, making of the town a rival for Siena and Florence

in its architectural beauty.

Between the 14th and the 15th centuries skilful architects improved the urban skyline with stately mansion, beautiful churches and cathedrals of

                 You will enjoy seeing these buildings and palaces just walking along

the streets of this wonderful town.

You shouldn’t miss a visit to the hidden by equally fascinating cellars where the Nobile wine ( of Montepulciano ) is Kept to age , the first italian wine to get the DOCG identification mark. This wine was already famous in 790 A.C. and is nowadays one of the main productive sources of the region. It was the great poet « Angelo

Ambrogini» otherwise  known as « Il Poliziano» to make the Nobile wine famous in his well-known dithiramb « Bacchus in Tuscany». Here  the poet gets Bacchus and Ariadne to taste all the vintage wines of Tuscany, so creating the famous motto « Montepulciano is King of all wines «, a sayng which makes the Poliziani proud. The rural areas around Montepulciano are still an essential element in the economic life of the town, infact together with the vineyards, the region is famous for its olive oil, produced by the olive groves which surround the hill and for its old cultivation of a special type of plum   ( the Moscina ), called  «Coscia di Monaca» (Nun’s thigh), which is particularly suitable to prepare tasty jams

Tourism has grown over the last years and has brought with it the rediscovery of Handicraft and the improvement of trade. Montepulciano has always been the land of very good craftsmen, especially carpenters and blacksmiths, who still work in little workshops along the roads of the town.

                Montepulciano with its picturesque lanes is a

                place which all those who want to get a good

                memory of the area won’t miss.