A Day-Trip in Tuscany
Among the Beautiful Scenery of Val d'Orcia
Much like the city of Florence itself, Tuscany inhabits a mythological space in the American mind. A pastoral and agrarian land, ranched and farmed and cultivated for centuries by a simple and traditional and hospitable people who are nevertheless endlessly welcoming of foreigners. To Americans, the simple invocation of “Tuscany” conjures an image of the pure bella vita.
More realistically, the autobiographical accounts of finding oneself among the olive groves seem either dilettantish or insane (depending on how serious one is about picking olives in 100-degree heat). The imagined purity of the Tuscan peasant is an abstraction made possible only by its unfamiliarity. And Americans’ focus on the beauty of the Tuscan countryside is funny in the context of the great many places of similar natural beauty at home (Kansan tallgrass prairie; Southwestern Wisconsin hills; Shenandoah or other parts of Appalachia).
But if the American imagination of Tuscany is burnished by what it is not (Confederate-flag-waving; jingoistically patriotic), the beauty of its hills and valleys is unexaggerated. Just have a look.
Gelsey and I went with a friend of a friend of my aunt on a drive through the Tuscan countryside while we stayed in Citta della Pieve (which is just across the border in Umbria). It was a spectacular day, just at the tail end of spring. Many of the hills were still green (there are likely brown even now 1 week later). And the wildflowers were in full bloom.
Much like my recollection of driving through the Canadian Rockies as a child, every 5-10 kilometers, a car was parked at the side of the road so people could get out and admire the view and take a picture. Here, however, the natural landscape (rather than animals) was the attraction. Despite perfection of the day, it wasn’t crowded. We had a whole field of wild poppies practically to ourselves.
As a sort of means of mapping out a route, we planned four stops at towns along the way: Bagno Vignone; San Quirico d’Orcia; Pienza; and Castiglione del Lago.
At Bagno Vignone, Gelsey enjoyed dipping her toes in the warm water of the hot springs (see photo below). We walked through a small public garden in San Quirico d’Orcia (which otherwise seemed a bit sleepy). We had lunch in Pienza (with, ironically, better cacio e pepe than we would eat in Rome). And we went for a walk by Lake Trasimeno beneath the eponymous castle at Castiglione del Lago.
While the villages are perfectly charming, we both principally enjoyed the scenery.
