Il Pozzo – The Well. Step through the door of this enticing Cortona shop and dive into a well of local art. This gallery showcases and sells pieces by local artists, hand-made cards, and leather-bound books.
Radda, an important town in the Chianti area of Tuscany, offers tourists places to taste and buy wine. An avid wine drinker myself, I simply enjoyed the sweet streets of this delightful town.
But you’ll find it in Radda in the heart of the Chianti hills.
Never mind the 2 1/2 hour lunch we just inhaled in the previous town — the Tuscan hamlet of Vertine hints at the lunch that could have been.
Pristine clean, this idyllic walled village perched high in the Chianti hills is a perfect Medieval wonder. As you walk the streets and vicoli (small alleys) of this hamlet, it’s hard to remember you are in the 21st century.
This ornate church, featuring a doorway with columns supported by stone lions, graces the well-preserved fortress town of Vertine, high in the Chianti hills. Never suffering the ravages of feudal fighting or world war bombs, a visit to this Medieval hamlet is a time travel experience.
Vicolo means narrow passageway and is one of my favorite things. So is the guy behind the video camera.
Another missed opportunity to eat, but a chance for a lovely picture.
Our destination was Volpaia, not only for the adventurous drive in getting there, but to eat at La Bottega, a delightful restaurant perched on a tree-shaded grassy apron at the edge of this hilltop town. We had read about the Barucci family restaurant, known for its delicious regional cooking, and drove a circuitous route over one of the area’s “white roads” to get here. Arriving at 11:00 a.m., we promptly requested a lunch reservation and were rewarded with the very last available table. Elated with our luck, we spent the next hour exploring the town while waiting for the appointed time to dine. We sat down at 12:15 and did not get up again until 2:30. One of the best lunches in Tuscany.
Mom, Dad, and Gino at our marathon lunch at La Bottega. Between the view, the food, and the company, it was one of the best meals of the trip.
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Volpaia is a mouth-wateringly beautiful village tucked high among the Chianti hills. Aside from the fabulous lunch we had at La Bottega, this town is squisito also for the achingly gorgeous views of rock walls decorated with life.
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Italy 2006
Melinda Trips 2007: Sicily and Peloponnese
Melinda takes you to Sicily and climbs a volcano. Wander through narrow, cobbled streets, seaside towns and ancient ruins on the Italian island of Sicily and the Greek Peloponnesian Peninsula at Melinda Trips 2007: Sicily and Peloponnese.Copyright
All posts and images on this blog are by Melinda Brovelli and copyrighted under a Creative Commons Attribution, Noncommercial, No Derivative Works License. Attribution should be to Melinda Brovelli with a link to Melinda Trips 2006: Italy.
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