This large mural lit up the side of a remote farmhouse near Gambassi Terme
This account of the Italian leg of our travels forms the second part of the walking trip that Rachel and I completed recently. After five days in the Alps we left Switzerland by train, departing the mountains as we headed southward to Milan, and thence to Venice for three days, before travelling by rail again to Pisa for a night. We then teamed up with an Exodus group of 16 like-minded folk for a week of ‘Walking and Wine’ at a family-run hotel in Pancole amongst the Tuscan vineyards, just outside of the unique hill town of San Gimignano. Our experiences certainly met, and indeed exceeded, our expectations; here are a few of the highlights.
First stop, Venice – where one can hire a tenor, as well as a gondolierIt is always busy on the quayside of the Grand Canal at RialtoChillies for sale at the nearby marketCity days often involve a lot of walking, up to 20,000 steps per day, we find – and so a roof-top prosecco is always welcome . . .. . . before an evening stroll and a well-earned dinner: this image is of the Basilica Santa Maria della Salute on the Grand Canal, from the Ponte dell’Accademia, close to our hotel, the Locanda Fiorita, in the city centreAfter a three days in Venice we travelled to Pisa – another city to explore . . .. . . and then to our final destination in TuscanyOur fist morning with the Exodus walking group, and off we go!Through the vineyards . . .. . . and an early view of San GimignanoA short climb . . .. . . took us eventually to the village of Gambassi Terme, and some interesting window boxesThen a tasting afternoon at Le Caprine WineryNext morning, and our Exodus guide Jordan shows us the wayThe Tuscan skies are blue today . . .. . . with some low-lying mist in the valleysFollowing the September harvest, these piles of spent grape-mulch are about to be recycled as fertiliser: they certainly give the landscape a pleasing aroma to match the seasonCompleting the inevitable ascent . . .. . . to an ancient Etruscan burial site . . .. . . on the scenic track . . .. . . to the town of Castellina in ChiantiQuite a wine cellar, beneath the main street!Day Three, and a trip to Siena for a walking tour, where Alyssia, our native guide for the day, was able to access the private museum of the ‘Porcupine District’ of the city, one of the 17 factions who compete in the twice-yearly Palio horse-race around the city’s central piazza; the banners are victory trophies from the District’s spasmodic successes over the centuriesThe central piazza, where the races take placeThe spectacular frontage to the Cathedral . . .. . . and the equally ornate interiorA guilt-ridden visit to the ‘Magnifico Bakery’ . . .. . . where we met master-baker LorenzoAfternoon in the Tuscan Wine School classOuch! High time to beat a hasty retreat from Siena, I think!Our ‘free day’, so what better than another walk, starting out on the road from our base at Pancole . . .. . . for a glance back to the village . . .. . . then joining farm tracks towards San GimignanoAutumnal vineyards, recently harvested, overlooking the distant towers of the medieval hill town . . .. . . before a rather wet arrival in San Gimignano for lunchNext day, Florence, and one of the dozens of fourteenth-century ‘wine windows’ that date from the times of plague – some of these openings saw use once more during Covid 19The central Piazza del Duomo is presided upon by the Gothic structures, in pink, green and white marble, of the Baptistery, the Campanile (bell tower), and the Cathedral of Santa Maria del FioreAfternoon shopping . . .. . . on the Ponte VecchioAnd so to our last day’s walking . . .. . . starting out from the hamlet of San Donato . . .. . . towards the hilltop village of Montauto . . .. . . that proved quite a vantage pointOur distant destination, San Gimignano (but this time from the south) . . .. . . although to get there required traversing some quicksand . . .. . . and a U-turn to a lane (involving an additional long climb), after reaching this torrent caused by last night’s storm, and through which only Jordan dared to venture!Just one more ascent . . .. . . and we arrived, once more, in San GimignanoOur final evening, and another wine tasting at the Cesani Winery in Pancole . . .. . . as the sun set finally on our Tuscan adventure
The fruits and flowers of Tuscany added another dimension of interest to our walks, so I thought I would share just a few more pictures.
A grapefruit tree at our hotel in Pancole . . .. . . and a ‘Buddha’s fingers’ lemon plantA pomegranate tree by the Via Francigena . . .. . . plentiful olives, awaiting their imminent harvest . . .. . . flowering rosemary . . .. . . and vivid fungi near Gambassi TermeToadflax (they tell me) . . .. . . and an unfamiliar species of oak
Lastly, a group photo on the trail, where we were joined briefly by a small group of cyclists.
Our walking group of Julia, Kim, myself, Ian, Christian, Mary, Miriam, Marina, Dick, Shirley, Helen, Jeff, Hazel and Rachel (plus cyclists, but minus photographers Rachel, Robin and Jordan): many thanks to you all for such a memorable few days!
And, as with all good things, our time in Italy flew by, as we did too, from Pisa; swapping the emerald beauty of the Tuscan Hills for the russets and ambers of late October in the Chilterns. I hope to be back shortly with some pictures of Hertfordshire in its autumnal glory. Arrivederci!
The view from Pancole
Today’s Blog heading ‘Tuscan Skies’ is the English translation of ‘Ciele di Toscana’, the title of Italian pop tenor Andrea Bocelli’s 2001 eighth studio album. This is the first time that I have adopted an album title, rather than that of a mere song, for my Blog headline, and the vibe of the work meets entirely the relaxed mood of our time in Italy, in particular our last week in Pancole. As for the album itself, the disc reached Number 3 in the UK charts, becoming the highest-ranked foreign language pop album. In selecting an individual track for my playlist I have adopted ‘Mille Lune Mille Onde’ a number that was released as the second single from the album, later included in Bocelli’s 2007 greatest hits. Happy memories indeed, not just of skies, but of hills, walking, wine and camaderie!
The Via Francigena is an ancient pilgrimage route, that runs from Canterbury in south-east England, through France, Switzerland and Italy, to Rome: an idea for another year perhaps?
Walking for Fun, Challenge and Charity! 
Did you stay
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