Montepulciano Travel Guide

13km (8 miles) E of Pienza; 67km (40 miles) SE of Siena; 124km (74 miles) SE of Florence; 186km (115 miles) N of Rome

The biggest and highest of southern Tuscany's hill towns, steeply graded Montepulciano, with its medieval alleyways and plethora of Renaissance palaces and churches, has just enough city feel and tourist infrastructure to make it one of the best bases for visiting the region. The fields around the town produce a violet-scented, orange-speckled ruby wine called Vino Nobile di Montepulciano. This area has been known since at least the 8th century for its superior wine, and in the 17th century, when Francesco Redi wrote his vino-praising poem, Bacchus in Tuscany, he described the Noble Wine of Montepulciano as "The King of all wines." Vino Nobile is known as Tuscany's number-two red because it's slightly less beefy than Montalcino's Brunello. But for my money, its high quality and more mellow character make it a better all-around wine, good to age and save for special occasions but also to toss back with dinner or on a picnic.

The locals call themselves Poliziani after the Roman name for the town, and Poliziano is also the name the local classical scholar/humanist Angelo Ambrogini took when he went to Florence to hold discourses with Lorenzo de' Medici, tutor Lorenzo's sons, and write some of the most finely crafted Renaissance poetry of the era -- some say his Stanze per la Giostra inspired Botticelli's mythological paintings, such as the Birth of Venus and Allegory of Spring.