The gentle hills of Tuscany, swathed in morning mist, hovered in front of us as we left crowded Florence behind and headed toward Sinalunga in the southern reaches of the Tuscan countryside. We were looking forward to a few days at a country hotel that was to become one of our very favorites. After a 65 mile journey through Chianti wine country, we followed signs to a lane shaded by tall cypress trees that led to a most unusual hotel.
The Locanda dell Amorosa (inn of the lovers) is what Tuscans call a fattoria. It is a medieval farmstead, almost a small village, with a large gracious house, a tiny chapel still in use, and outbuildings that once were used to house farm workers. All the brick and stone buildings, except the chapel, have been turned into a luxurious country-style hotel.
Guest rooms in the house are more elegant with high ceilings and antique furniture while others in the former worker's quarters are transformed into comfortable quarters with wood-beamed ceilings, white stucco walls and enormous marble bathrooms. In our room there was a view through a tiny window near the bathtub of a distant church perched atop an ocher-colored hill laced with grape vines. It could have come from a Renaissance painting and made a soak in the tub doubly enjoyable.
The restaurant, once the stables, enjoys a fine reputation for producing the simple but delicious Tuscan fare. Fresh pasta is made daily by a grandmotherly lady who greeted us with a floury wave from the open kitchen each morning when we appeared for breakfast. Herbs such as basil, rosemary and fennel are used with abandon in many dishes, and the famous grilled meats and game of Tuscany are featured according to season. Rush-seated chairs and candle-lit tables sat amidst stone arches and polished brick floors creating a setting of rustic elegance.
The gathering place in good weather is the grass and gravel courtyard encircled by the outbuildings. White market umbrellas plunged into huge terra cotta pots planted with rosemary bushes give shade. Comfortable canvas chairs are just right for reading a book or sipping a cool drink.
Locanda dell Amorosa is the perfect center for exploring the nearby hill towns of Tuscany and Umbria. Within a thirty mile radius lie Montepulciano and Montalcino, famous for their red wines as well as the beauty of their sites. They sit high above the fertile vineyards and beg to be explored by foot. Chiusi has a fine Etruscan museum and tombs to visit, but our favorite stop was the Benedictine abbey of Monte Oliveto Maggiore.
The abbey lies in an unusual geographic area of deep gorges and high gray peaks. Massive red brick buildings are built high on a ridge surrounded by pine and cypress trees. The serendipity of our visit was the array of 36 frescoes depicting scenes from the life of St. Benedict. They were painted in the 15th century by Luca Signorelli and Antonio Bazzi, known as Sodoma. In one scene Sodoma painted himself and his two pet badgers.
We spent more than an hour gazing at these splendid paintings that lined the walls of the ancient cloister. Nowhere else were we able to enjoy such fine art with good natural light and intimate viewing. The peacefulness of the surroundings with distant, lavender-misted landscapes gave us an understanding of the monks’ love of such a place.
Another day of touring led us to Pienza. It was rebuilt in 1460 for Pius II and was to be the ideal Renaissance city, but Pius died before it was completed. We explored the church and palazzo on the handsome main square and discovered a fine array of shops selling cheese and crusty breads. In one, a young lady took delight in introducing us with tasty samples to the various ages of Pecorino cheeses. We settled on a tasty middle-aged one, some olives and bread, and headed out of town for a picnic in the olive groves.
The afternoon was spent searching out the 11th century Romanesque church called Sant Antimo. Our first sight of the golden stone church, nestled in a low grassy area surrounded by steep slopes of vineyards, was breathtaking. Inside, windows of alabaster gave off an ethereal glow. We rested in a pew and admired the mythical animals and gargoyle faces carved on the stone columns by ancient stone cutters.
this area of Tuscany has many appealing drives down country lanes. Each turn brings new vistas of hilltops crowned with warm-colored stone houses topped by red tile roofs. Often these farmsteads are approached by long drives bordered with the same dark green cypress trees that stand like verdant exclamation marks throughout Italy.
All too soon we left the Locanda dell Amorosa, feeling as though we were being expelled from Eden. But the map was well marked for future explorations.