Exploring Pitigliano and Sorano

Saturday 18^th September

Our stay last night was at the Spa Relais Orientina, just a few minutes drive outside the center of Pitigliano.  A small family run hotel, friendly, and very comfortable with a good restaurant.  The spa facilities looked lovely, but didn’t (for us) operate at very convenient hours, they closed as we arrived at 7pm last night, and didn’t open until 11am this morning meaning we didn’t get to use the spa at all, we were both disappointed as we had been looking forward to a swim and a sauna before dinner. 

The hotel rooms were spotlessly clean, and the beds moderately comfortable, I would stay here again and happily recommend this hotel to anyone visiting this area.

                                         Taken outside our hotel, Spa Relais Orientina 

After breakfast we drove back into Pitigliano, through the entrance gate, once provided with a drawbridge, into the old walled town. We parked in Piazza Garibaldi, and strolled leisurely through the lovely old medieval town, built in 1545.  The history of this whole area can be traced back to the Bronze age (2000-1000 B.C.)

                                              One of the beautiful little streets in Pitigliano

There was a collection of lovely old vintage Citroen car’s on display in the Piazza, and many of the locals and visitors were wandering around admiring them.  Angie and I headed off to explore the little streets.  I bought a bottle of locally made wine to take back for Bob. Pitigliano produces a lovely white wine called Bianco di Pitigliano. 

 We peeped into the Cathedral dedicated to Saints Peter and Paul, built in 1509.  The baroque style interior was characterized by a magnificent high altar, on either side were two statues symbolizing Faith and Charity,  and on the walls are two paintings by Pietro Aldi (1852 - 1888), an artist born in nearby Manciano.  We slipped quietly in  to light a candle and say a prayer.

                                        Angie outside a local store

Pitigliano sees far fewer tourists than other Tuscan hill towns and cities, which is a shame because this stunning little medieval town is a real jewel in Tuscany's crown, and very worthy of a visit.  

Dug into the tufa beneath the city are underground caves and tunnels, which have been in use since Etruscan times when the cliff was dotted with tombs.  Today many of the caves are used for storing wine. There is also a Christian cave chapel dating from 400AD, it is said to be the oldest in Italy.

                      Taken at the entrance gate to the walled town of Sorano

The next item on our agenda was to return to Sorano, which turned out to be Angie's favorite place.  Sorano is four miles from Pitigliano, thirty-two miles from the A1 autostrada, fifty-eight miles from Grosseto, eighty-six from Rome, and one hundred and five from Florence.  The town sits dramatically perched atop a tufa ridge, surrounded by lush vegetation, vineyards, sheep farms and olive groves,  clear evidence of the area's strong agricultural vocation.

                                Our little car just fit through these narrow streets

We drove through the tiny streets, and into the main Piazza, when we parked the car and walked around taking photographs and admiring the lovely old buildings.  When we returned to the car, a funeral procession of about one hundred people was passing slowly through the Piazza, so we sat and waited for it to pass before moving on.