Tag Archives: Tuscany

Tuscany Hill Towns: Monte San Savino

Posted on February 25, 2015 by randysrules

The Medieval hill town of Monte San Savino in Tuscany is due east of Siena, located on a commanding hilltop rising above the Valdichiana (Chiana River Valley), about 2 kilometers west of the A1 tollroad.  The ancient core of the town is crowded within … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Italian Hilltowns, Renaissance, Tuscany | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Tuscany Hill Towns: Monte San Savino

Poggio alle Mura and Brunello

Posted on November 19, 2013 by randysrules

Castles, Stones and Glass Poggio alle Mura today means “Banfi” to most people.  Soaring majestically above 2,400 acres of vineyards in an estate encompassing 7,100 acres on an elevated benchland above the Fiume Orcia about one-half hour south of Montalcino (give or take a century … Continue reading →

Posted in Environment, Tuscany, Wine & Food | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Castello di Vertine in Chianti – Tuscany

Posted on February 8, 2012 by randysrules

Chianti, the legendary domain in the heart of Tuscany between Firenze and Siena, spanning provincial borders and several millennia.  The heart of Chianti enfolds many extraordinary, peaceful towns, country monasteries, castles, villas and vineyards, and the ruins of a thousand years of war.  … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Bauwerk, Discovery, Recapitulation, Renaissance Rules, Tuscany | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Castello di Gargonza – Tuscany

Posted on February 7, 2012 by randysrules

Castello di Gargonza rests steadfastly at the end of a small “white road”, Strada Communale di Gargonza, a narrow branch off of the serpentine Strada Statale Senese Aretina (S73) in the woods of the southern Chianti Mountains in Tuscany.  Not far west of stunning Monte San Sevino towering … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Bauwerk, Discovery, Recapitulation, Renaissance, Renaissance Rules, Tuscany | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Castello di Gargonza – Tuscany

Mate Winery – Montalcino – Oh, The Wines!

Posted on January 19, 2012 by randysrules

White Roads At Santa Maria Refugio, along a “white road” that is off of a “white road” between Montalcino and Poggio alle Mura (Banfi) in Tuscany, we searched for Mate Winery. The famous “white roads” of Tuscany are those shown as a double black line without … Continue reading →

Posted in Tuscany, Wine & Food, Zeitgeist | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Mate Winery – Montalcino – Oh, The Wines!

Castello di Brolio

Posted on March 22, 2011 by randysrules

Powerful Family, Powerful Fortress No, not imbroglio as in “fight”, or brolio as in “intermediator or negotiator”, but Castello di Brolio in the Chianti zone of central Tuscany.  This Brolio has many other definitions, most importantly as the home fortress (since 1141) of one of … Continue reading →

Posted in Discovery, Tuscany, Wine & Food | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Castello di Brolio

Castello di Meleto

Posted on March 21, 2011 by randysrules

From the Fires of War Castello di Meleto sits comfortably atop a 413m above sea level hill at the end of a westerly trending ridge of the Monti de Chianti, above the Borro (brook) Massellone.  A side road off of route … Continue reading →

Posted in Discovery, Tuscany, Wine & Food | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Castello di Meleto

Tuscany – Badia Coltibuono – The Good Harvest

Posted on January 25, 2011 by randysrules

High in the Monti del Chianti, looking out across the Val d’Arno to the villages on the Pratomagno far to the east, Badia Coltibuono (Abbey of the Good Harvest!) occupies a unique place in history, and yet has a welcoming and contemporary uniqueness today.  The stewards of … Continue reading →

Posted in Renaissance Rules, Tuscany, Wine & Food | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on Tuscany – Badia Coltibuono – The Good Harvest

Tuscany – Bagno Vignoni

Posted on January 24, 2011 by randysrules

Rising high on a bluff above the Val’Orcia in Tuscany, Bagno Vignoni lies about five kilometers south of San Quirico d’Orcia and just off the historic Via Cassia (now highway S2), the ancient road from Rome to Siena, Firenze and Fiesole.  Some … Continue reading →

Posted in Tuscany, Zeitgeist | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on Tuscany – Bagno Vignoni

Abbazia di Monte Oliveto Maggiore – Tuscany

Posted on December 16, 2010 by randysrules

Since I wrote recently about the Sant’Antimo Abbey in Tuscany, I was impelled to give “equal time” to its phenomonal younger “neighbor” (37km away), the great Benedictine Abbazia di Monte Oliveto Maggiore. Breaching the Wall of Remoteness Around an Abbey Abbazia di Monte Oliveto … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Discovery, Recapitulation, Religion, Renaissance Rules, Venice Italy | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Abbazia di Monte Oliveto Maggiore – Tuscany