# Under the Tuscan Sun



## oarsman (Nov 6, 2005)

Umbria had fabulous riding. Tuscany (more particularly the Chianti region), I dare say, was even better. The landscape is a little different. The hills are a bit longer, but somewhat less steep (with a few notable exceptions). It is all a bit gentler, less wild, with more evidence of human hands. Instead of the hard scrabble farms and olive groves, the hills are covered with vinyards. The towns are just as small, but are a little closer together. 

My Umbria photos are here:
http://forums.roadbikereview.com/showthread.php?t=190987

My Rome photos here:
http://forums.roadbikereview.com/showthread.php?t=190840

I was centered at Castello del Pastine, which is, indeed a castle. Or at least it was. Built 13th century or thereabouts:

http://www.ownersdirect.co.uk/italy/IT479.htm

If one were to draw a triangle between Florence, Siena and San Gimignano, the Castle would be pretty much right in the middle, near the town of Barberino (Florence is just off this map to the north, Siena to the southeast)

<iframe width="425" height="350" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" src="http://maps.google.ca/maps?hl=en&ie=UTF8&ll=43.569447,11.269226&spn=0.796002,1.555939&t=h&z=10&output=embed"></iframe><br /><small><a href="http://maps.google.ca/maps?hl=en&ie=UTF8&ll=43.569447,11.269226&spn=0.796002,1.555939&t=h&z=10&source=embed" style="color:#0000FF;text-align:left">View Larger Map</a></small>

There are some amazing places within a day long cycle, including the above three "stars" of Tuscany. I did not actually ride into any of these places, mainly because I was traveling with a non-cyclist, so that wouldn't have worked so well. I visited them all mind you.

I have organized this post starting with the immediate area of the Castle (including shots from the grounds themselves) then move on to shots taken on day rides. I end with towns: Pienza, Volterra, and San Gimignano. I have decided to reserve Siena, Florence and Pisa for another post

The first shot (assuming the browser co-operates, never a sure thing) is the Castle itself, in a commanding position on a hilltop (everything is on hill tops). You will also see a shot of San Gimignano in the distance. There are several shots of a place called "semifonte" including a "mini-duomo": exactly 1/8 the size of the great Duomo in Florence. Semifonte was a rival to Florence in about the 13th or 14th century. True to form, upon their victory, the Florentines leveled the place, not allowing any buildings at all for several hundred years.


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## oarsman (Nov 6, 2005)

*Riding into Chianti*

East of our Castle is the "Chianti Classico" wine region. Hills upon hills covered in vineyards. I cycled there for three days, returning to the Castle each afternoon. This first bunch centers on the area near Greve in Chianti. It is an area of swooping hills and first rate views. I can't really describe how beautiful the area is. I could have stopped every 100 meters to take a photo. Each turn revealed an even better vista. I could have spent weeks riding here. The hills are criss-crossed with roads, often unpaved. I got lost several times (even more so on another day, memorialized in the next post). The weather was perfect, sunny but not too warm.


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## oarsman (Nov 6, 2005)

*Strada Bianchi*

The legendary "white roads". They aren't really white, more of a beige-pink colour. Generally well graded (but not always), they twist and turn up and down every hill. Occasionally ending at no particular place (oh well, turning around never hurt anyone). Sometimes there are sign posts, sometimes not (a map is often helpful, but not necessarily). GPS pretty well useless except in a general way. My favourite day of cycling - maybe ever. 

Especially sweet was the descent from Castellini in Chianti to Poggibonsi. Smooth tarmac, a constant gentle downward gradient, turn after turn after turn. The road follows a ridge as it descends to the west with views to the horizon. I never wanted this 20 kilometres to end. Not all that many photos, I am afraid. I was enjoying the riding too much. 

Near the end of the ride I decided a short cut was in order. The map suggested that this alternate route was shorter and on a quieter road. Well, it might have been shorter. The road was certainly quieter, but it was the steepest bit of tarmac I have _ever_ been on. I was essentially unloaded (food eaten, water consumed) and my bike has some pretty easy gears. I barely made it. I was sure I was going to have to walk. Best guess? Had to have been over 20% for maybe 1.5 or 2 km. It was way steeper than the 15% hill in one of the photos or the 17% hill I went up on another day. No photos (if I had stopped I would never have been able to mount the bike again). My that beer tasted good when I finally got back.


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## oarsman (Nov 6, 2005)

*Northern Chianti*

This day involved riding to the outskirts of Florence. I was hoping for some views of the city from the surrounding hills, but the traffic was getting quite insane. Very dangerous cycling. While the Italian drivers are quite courteous to cyclists out in the country, as you approach the cities all bets are off. I chickened out and turned around which led to getting completely lost in a town just south of the autostrada. The map was useless so I just sort of guessed. Found myself on what I thought was the right road and headed back south. It was the right one as it turns out, but that was more good luck than good management. I kept worrying that I would suddenly find myself popping out on an slip road for the freeway. This happened to me in Spain once - not nice at all.

The first photo, BTW, is of the American Cemetery commemorating those who died during the invasion of Italy in WWII. One thing I found is that as the days progressed, I took fewer photos. It began to seem irrelevant. The green hills, the blue mountains, the brown earth continued to fan out in every direction. Each bump, each corner revealed another spectacular sight. One thing that did happen this day is that I started bombing down a hill (saw the 17% sign flash by) and thought, hmmm... I hope I fixed that wonky brake properly... Turned out to be no problem, but of course what goes down must go up: also at 17%!


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## oarsman (Nov 6, 2005)

*Pienza and Volterra*

Visited these two towns on different days, but somehow it makes sense to put them together in a post. Both are at the top of cliffs (but that is hardly surprising in Tuscany) and both are truly gorgeous. Pienza is best known as the location Zefferelli used for his Romeo and Juliet. It was also perhaps the first "planned" city (way back in the 15th century). 

Volterra is the alabaster capital. I saw some lovely pieces (including a globe that was perhaps 75 cm in diameter), and was tempted to pull out the credit card. I dared not imagine how much shipping would have cost (the alabaster is paper thin). We got to both places in the afternoon, which trial and error showed us was the best time to avoid the crowds.


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## oarsman (Nov 6, 2005)

*San Gimignano*

San Gimignano is the stuff of legend. There were once 72 towers here, each raised by a noble family. Now, 14 remain. It is sometimes called a "medieval Manhattan". Inundated by tourists, it is nonetheless magnificent to behold, particularly as sunset approaches. There are two great squares and a famous cathedral, the "Collegiata". The outside of the Collegiata is not terribly impressive (it is from the 13th century) but the inside is quite something. It holds a really scary Last Judgement, complete with graphic depictions of disemboweling, raping and many imaginative methods of torture. No pictures allowed, but once again a bit of web snooping leads to results:

http://images.google.ca/imgres?imgu...q=taddeo+di+bartolo&gbv=2&hl=en&safe=off&sa=G

http://www1.appstate.edu/~gravettsl/images/lucifer.jpg

I really liked San Gimignano. Had a memorable gelato in the square and the crowds really did begin to thin out. I found it difficult to get good shots of the towers, but the ones below are OK.


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## oarsman (Nov 6, 2005)

*A few thoughts*

Cycling in Tuscany is a dream trip for any cyclist. I have a hard time imagining a better place to ride. Once I would have said that Provence was the finest place in the world to ride. Now, I am not so sure. Both have endless charms, but Tuscany just might be even more special. It might be because it is fresher in my mind. Time will tell. I still have dreams about cycling in Provence, though Tuscany now drifts into my reveries as well.

There is still more to post: Florence, Siena, Pisa and Cinque Terra, but that will have to wait for at least a day or two. Planning to ride around tomorrow instead of spending hours editing my photos.


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## sometimerider (Sep 21, 2007)

Ah, wonderful.

I found gelato was essential on at least a daily basis.

Can you tell us more about how you got so much cycling time when accompanied by a non-cyclist?


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## oarsman (Nov 6, 2005)

sometimerider said:


> Ah, wonderful.
> 
> I found gelato was essential on at least a daily basis.
> 
> Can you tell us more about how you got so much cycling time when accompanied by a non-cyclist?


Yes, gelato is clearly an essential food group. So is vino rosso. And Campari - life without campari is not worth living.

As to getting all the cycling in, that was a bit of a balancing act, a never-ending study in compromise. Generally, I would get up reasonably early, have my espresso and head out not all that long after sunrise. My friend is _not_ a morning person, so she usually saw me off then either went back to bed or hung around reading and enjoying the grounds of wherever we happened to be. A couple of times she went off with some of the other guests. I usually got back a bit after lunch and we would then hop in the car and visit wherever. I did not cycle every day, so a few times we spent the day sightseeing (like when we went to Siena or to Assisi). It was not perfect. I would have enjoyed some longer days in the saddle and I like packing up my stuff and riding to the next town every now and again. But overall, it worked pretty well.


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## il sogno (Jul 15, 2002)

Nice. I'm looking forward to the Cinque Terre pics. Vernazza is one of my favorite spots. My sister in law just got back from there and she absolutely loved it.


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## Mapei (Feb 3, 2004)

An earthly paradise for sure. The establishing shot of Pienza is a true classic. And here I thought I'd seen enough of Toscana. Keep 'em coming.


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## sometimerider (Sep 21, 2007)

oarsman said:


> It was not perfect. I would have enjoyed some longer days in the saddle and I like packing up my stuff and riding to the next town every now and again. But overall, it worked pretty well.


It sure did (from our point of view, at least). Thanks.


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## MB1 (Jan 27, 2004)

Northern and Eastern Europe have been our intended cycling destinations for the next few years.

We may have to rethink that......


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## philippec (Jun 16, 2002)

.... and on the 7th day, God sat back, smiled.... and created Tuscany.

Beautiful pictures of a stunning region. I agree with you that this is one of the best cycling regions in the world ... along with the Piedmont (Barolo region) and Provence, of course!

Why choose? I'd just as soon alternate all three!


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## WI B16 (Aug 28, 2009)

I spent a week in Tuscany last June, alas without my bike. I'm a wine geek and just spent the week touring wineries and eating in all the little hill towns. I stayed at the "Fonti de Medici" just by Tavernelle which is run by the Antinori wine group. The "Chianti Trail"is inded most beautiful and lush scenery.We might go back for a month next summer to do the "Palio" ( a horse race and event in Sienna"

You went to many of the places we did and I recognised many spots from your photos.
Lovely there isn't it!


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