Montalcino and Pienza Tour from Rome

Our English-speaking chauffeur/guide will welcome you at your hotel or any other place of your convenience at 8:00am (suggested time) to spend a relaxing day in the rolling hills of Tuscany, among olive groves and vineyards, in one of the most evocative region in Italy.

We will drive via the A1 highway straight to the rolling hills of Tuscany, among olive groves and vineyards, in one of the most evocative region in Italy. You will see places rich in art, history and charm, old towns where you can taste typical Italian food, extra fine wine and visit the traditional handicraft workshops.

Our first stop will be Montalcino, a tenacious city made of history and will for good living. Successful through the centuries at resisting powers like Siena and Florence or economic crises and bad taste, Montalcino has become the world capital of wine, without losing the taste for everyday good things.

Montalcino is world famous as the birthplace of one of the finest wines of Italy, the “Brunello Di Montalcino”, a red, Italian wine produced in the vineyards surrounding the town of Montalcino, located about 120 km south of Florence in the Tuscany wine region.

Brunello, a diminutive of Bruno, a male-given name meaning brown, is the name that was given locally to what was believed to be an individual grape variety grown in Montalcino. In 1879, the Province of Siena’s Ampelographic Commission determined, after a few years of controlled experiments, that Sangiovese and Brunello were the same grape variety, and that the former should be its designated name. In Montalcino, the name Brunello evolved into the designation of the wine produced with 100% Sangiovese. In 1980, Brunello Di Montalcino was awarded the first Denominazione Di Origine Controllata e Garantita (DOCG) Montalcinodesignation, and today is one of Italy’s best-known and most expensive wines.

A short visit is also deserved by Montalcino town, particularly the medieval fortress and the town center. Then we will take you to visit the Barbi farm and vineyards, one of the famous Brunello Di Montalcino producers. Next to the Barbi cellar, there is the Taverna Dei Barbi, open since 1972, where, with its easy going atmosphere, you can taste the typical dishes of the Tuscan tradition.

After lunch, our next destination is Pienza, another beautiful Renaissance city in Tuscany, Pienza is a hilltop village famous not only for its architectures, but also for the excellent sheep’s milk cheese (also known as ewes’ milk cheese,) pecorino, produced in the area.

There, you can stroll around this beautiful town of the Val D’Orcia where there are many charming, little, local grocery stores specializing in Pecorino cheese and other local treats.

At the end of the visit, we’ll make our way back to Rome with good memories of an unforgettable day spent in this beautiful part of Tuscany.