After much research, I THINK I've come to the decision that the San Quirico d'Orcia area will be our home base. It's not "centrally located" to all of Tuscany, but I'm very much drawn to the scenery there.
What I'd like to know is -- of the following San Q area agri's , which is most ideally situated (not tooooo remote). Or maybe a better question would be, which is least ideally situated?
All 4 seem to be nicely situated. Il Rigo and Cretaiole sem to appeal to me the most because they seem a litttle more isolated than the others. But that may be exactly why you would prefer one of the others.
Terrapille seems very close and accessable to Pienza and would be the easiest on that regards. There are a lot of shops in Pienza (it seems that almost every storefront on the main street is a cheese shop!) and there are a lot of country restaurants in the surrounding area.
Certainly the other three will ahve far less alternatives in terms of shops and restaurants, but they are in what is to me a more beautiful area. They are also closer to my ideal of the perfect town in Toscana: Montalcino. They all seem to have good access to the ss2 which is important when doing day trips.
Chianti are not right out your door, but Nobile di Montepulciano and Brunello are. You will be the best part of an hour away from Siena and a little more than that from Chianti Classico. San Gim is probably 1.5 hours away- easily doable but a hike. Volterra would be an additional 1/2 hour drive.
On the other hand, Bagno Vignoni is about an hour from Pitigliano and that might be a better day trip. The place is spectacular, you can taste some Morellino di Scansano and other local wines and there will be a tiny fraction of tourists in Pitigliano as you will find in San G. I think Pitigliano, Sorano and Sovara are far more striking physically than San Gim and the food is beter overall. Try Il Tufo Allegro or Scilla (click on my Tuscan restaurant link).
words of wisdom to live by from Stephen Sondheim's The Frogs {The chorus is singing a prayer to Dionysus...} Dionysius "A hymm to me, the god of wine..." Xanthius (His slave) "I thought you were the god of drama?" Dionysius "I am the god of wine and the god of drama. A little wine will get you thru a lot of drama"
Posts: 4612 | Location: Casa del Fenicottero Rosa, Silver Spring, MD USA | Registered: 06 August 2002
Terrapille is definitely the closest to Pienza...it is located just below the town on the road that cuts through to the SS 2.
From my reckoning, Le Cretaiole and Il Rigo may well be on the same road, which is just off the road to San Quirico d'Orcia, about 4-5 km from Pienza. Le Cretaiole has a splendid view back toward Pienza. Both are convenient to main roads for day trips, etc.
The most remote to my mind (although closest by distance to Montalcino) is Agriturismo Aiole. It appears to be be located a few km east of the village of Monte Amiata. The crossroads town is Ansidonia.
I just found this link from one of Pauline's reports which describes her ride in the area.
Thank you both. We'd like reasonably easy access to some main roads (within 10 min); Am I understanding you correctly (Jim) that this isn't the case with Aiole?
I'm a little confused because Jim thought Aiole was the most remote, whereas dean wrote that Il Rigo and Cretaiole were the most remote.
Perhaps it's just too hard to tell by the directions on the sites?
Posts: 84 | Location: Milwaukee, WI, USA | Registered: 18 January 2004
>>Am I understanding you correctly (Jim) that this isn't the case with Aiole?<<
Looking at your map of Tuscany, put your finger on Montalcino. Trace the road that goes southeast out of Montalcino past Sant'Antimo and Castelnuovo dell'Abate. It continues on to the village of Monte Amiata. Agriturismo Aiole is located between Monte Amiata and the junction of the road that goes north to Castiglione d'Orcia. That road meets the SS 2 at Bagno Vignoni. It is about 13km from the junction SS 2 junction to the white road that goes to the agriturismo.
I would leave about 20-30 minutes for the trip to the S.S. 2. As I remember, the road has to climb to the village of Castiglione d'Orcia and then descend to the valley floor near Bagno Vignoni.
I am sure that this is a very picturesque setting also, but it is definitely more "remote" than the other three.
Thank you, Jim, for taking the time to help me. I understand now. (I'm using ViaMichelin.com, and am having a hard time locating the roads the websites mention.)
I didn't realize Aiole is that far south. Perhaps that explains the great price! A little too remote, though, I think.
Thanks again.
Posts: 84 | Location: Milwaukee, WI, USA | Registered: 18 January 2004
Although I use viamichelin.com frequently and was able to pinpoint Aiole's location using it, sometimes when you are dealing with more remote places and country roads, a paper map is more useful. When you get to Pienza, there is a very good bookshop right outside the walls. You will be able to buy a very detailed map of the area--1:50,000 ratio. With that map, things will be even clearer.
By the way, if you do contact Le Cretaiole, tell Isabella that I said hello.
Topic Closed
