Montalcino Report

The Piazza del Campo in Siena

The Piazza del Campo is the central public square of Siena, which is the head of our province. It is one of the most beautiful places in our land and is too the place where takes place the Palio, the horse race of the city of which the 16 "contrade" or neighborhoods of the city compete.

The Palio is held every years on the 2 July and the 16 August. I was born on the 16 August: the doctor said he wanted me to come quickly because he wanted to go see the race! 

Val d'Orcia UNESCO protected site

A Twitter conversation this evening with an excellent wine blogger from London Wine Woman Song reminded me that the Val d'Orcia where we live is a UNESCO protected site for its beauty and its historical importance. Herewith Sant'Angelo in Colle, our village, seen from our vineyards below in the photograph.  

The landscape of Val d’Orcia is part of the agricultural hinterland of Siena, redrawn and developed when it was integrated in the territory of the city-state in the 14th and 15th centuries to reflect an idealized model of good governance and to create an aesthetically pleasing picture. The landscape’s distinctive aesthetics, flat chalk plains out of which rise almost conical hills with fortified settlements on top, inspired many artists. Their images have come to exemplify the beauty of well-managed Renaissance agricultural landscapes. The inscription covers: an agrarian and pastoral landscape reflecting innovative land-management systems; towns and villages; farmhouses; and the Roman Via Francigena and its associated abbeys, inns, shrines, bridges, etc".

Justification for Inscription

Criterion (iv): The Val d’Orcia is an exceptional reflection of the way the landscape was re-written in Renaissance times to reflect the ideals of good governance and to create an aesthetically pleasing pictures.

Criterion (vi): The landscape of the Val d’Orcia was celebrated by painters from the Siennese School, which flourished during the Renaissance. Images of the Val d’Orcia, and particularly depictions of landscapes where people are depicted as living in harmony with nature, have come to be seen as icons of the Renaissance and have profoundly influenced the development of landscape thinking.

Please visit the site of the UNESCO to read more and thanks @winewomansong for reminding me how beautiful the Val d'Orcia is. :)

We will await you and your friends in Sant'Angelo in Colle!
 

A beautiful video about the Val d'Orcia (Orcia River Valley)

Even if you do not speak the Italian, I think you will like the beautiful video on the Val d'Orcia, "Orcia River Valley", from the RAI Uno Linea Verde Show. 

Our zone of the Toscana is one of the most beautiful places in the world. In the video, the announcer speaks about the Chianina, a special breed of cattle that is used for the bistecca fiorentina, sheep raising, and also, of course, about the Brunello di Montalcino. It is very beautiful to watch. 

Buona visione!

A dedication to the Paratroopers of Folgore Brigade

Today I would like to make a dedication to the 6 Paratroopers of Folgore Bridage and their families. The 6 brave men have died in the Kabul in the Afghanistan attack on Thursday. 

Here is a report about it on the site of the BBC.

The Folgore Brigade is a Paratrooper unit made of volunteer sodliers and is one of the best in the Italian military. It is based mostly in Tuscany, with bases in Pisa, Siena, and Livorno. 

The name "Folgore" means lightning and the brigade has served in peacekeeping missions in Iraq, Afghanistan, East Timor, Kurdistan, Somalia, and it has also worked as part of the anti-crime operation Vespri Sicliani. 

Tomorrow their bodies will be brought back to Italy and on Monday the funeral rites will take place in Roma. 

I would like to dedicate this post to those men and their families for their sacrifice. 

Michelangelo Buonarotti self-portrait in Siena Duomo

The land where we make wine is in the province of Siena. It takes about 40 minutes from my house in Sant'Angelo in Colle, depending on how fast you drive, to get to the historical centre of Siena.

Siena is one of the most beautiful medieval cities in Italy, including the Duomo Cathedral above, and it is also home to the Enoteca Nazionale, which is a wine store and education studio where you can learn about and taste wines from all the regions of Italy.

There are many amazing works of art and things to see in Siena and this summer there is something very special: the Duomo of Siena has recently unveiled four newly restored statues by Michelangelo Buonarotti, including his depiction of St. Paul which is considered the Renaissance master's earliest self-portrait.

This is just one of the many amazing things to visit this summer if you are coming to the Montalcino and Sant'Angelo in Colle wine country.