Lee's Tuscan Odyssey: 13. Bagno Vignoni hot springs and Pienza

In 2001 I came to live in Italy. I had some fun, wrote a journal and this is the blog of my story...

"Tuscany is a state of grace. The countryside is so lovingly designed that the eye sweeps the mountains and valleys without stumbling over a single stone. The lilt of the rolling green hills, the upsurging cypresses, the terraces sculptured by generations that have handled the rocks with skillful tenderness, the fields geometrically juxtaposed as though drawn by a draughtsman for beauty as well as productivity; the battlements of castles on the hills, their tall towers standing grey-blue and golden tan among the forest of trees, the air of such clarity that every sod of earth stands out in such dazzling detail. The fields ripening with barley and oats, beans and beets. The grape-heavy vines espaliered between the horizontal branches of silver-green olive trees, composing orchards of webbed design, rich in intimation of wine, olive oil and lacy-leaf poetry. Tuscany untied the knots in a man's intestines, wiped out the ills of the world. Italy is the garden of Europe, Tuscany is the garden of Italy, Florence is the flower of Tuscany." Irving Stone from my favourite book " The Agony and the Ecstacy" A fictional biography of Michelangelo

It's the fourth consecutive sunny day of the year and school doesn't start back up in Italy until after the Epiphany on the sixth. After our mammoth day skiing in the mountains, a few drives out in the surrounding hills are about all we can manage. Today we are venturing out a bit further, to Bagno Vignoni, which is one of several well known hot springs to the south of Siena. We're driving through an area called the 'Crete,' a surreal grey, clay lanscape somewhat 'lunar' in appearance.

We pass San Quirico d'Orcia and I stop to take a photo of these famous cypress trees, which have a decidedly Wintry look about them.

At Bagno Vignoni our first stop is for lunch at a little cafè/deli, where we tuck into some very tasty vegetables drowning in oil and garlic and about 5 different local pecorino cheeses all washed down with a strong, fruity Vino Nobile di Montepulciano wine. We sit outside, enjoying some surprisingly strong January sun!

The main square at Bagno Vignoni is literally under water! The site of an ancient volcanic spa, there is a natural 52° C outdoor swimming pool and lots of small streams, which we go and explore. I take my socks off and have a dip, very warm and soothing...

By now the sun is beginning to go down, so we decide to head on to Pienza. Pienza is a very interesting hill top town and also a UNESCO world heritage site. http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/789

The small main square was the vision of Sienese Renaissance humanist and pope Pius II to be, Piccolomini, who in 1462, created the first urban planning concept using the design philosophies of Leon Battista Alberti. Probably one of the most perfect squares you are ever going to see, it gives you goose bumps just standing there!

We arrive just in time to see a beautiful sunset from the walls, but by now it's freezing and even a hot cappuccino fails to lift the cold that is numbing our brains, time to head back home to our warm open, log fire...

(Original journal entry 4/1/02)

In 2001 I came to live in Italy. I had some fun, wrote a journal and this is the blog of my story...

13. Bagno Vignoni hot springs and Pienza

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