Articoli marcati con tag ‘autumn’

Banfi Castle, Brunello wine producers

In the splendid setting of Montalcino countryside, walking on breathtaking panoramic white lines snaking through vineyards, olive groves, castles and ancient isolated farms… here you are a really unforgettable road that you can do with your favourite means: walking, by bike, horseriding or simply by car… HIGHLY SUGGESTED!!!

If you stop at the beautiful Banfi Castle, Poggio alle Mura, you can stop at the wine shop, drink something, visit the Museum of Brunello, and (only if you have booked some days before!!!) visit the cantines. For more information visit the website of Banfi Castle.  In the Banfi property there are also an osteria (not an economic one:-)) and a very beautiful, chic and expensive restaurant, which is in restoration at the moment.

Castello Banfi

+39-0577-877700

borgo@castellobanfi.it

Another highly suggested stop: Sant’Angelo in Colle, a small pictoresque medieval village with breathtaking panoramas and an hosteria that I always suggest: Trattoria il Pozzo!!! It has a beautiful dehors in the medieval little square of the village…it is very nice to sit down and feel like in an open living-room.

A walk through the vineyards, Tavernelle - Poggio alle Mura - Sant'Antimo - Montalcino

Pan co' Santi, traditional sweet bread of Siena

When autumn arrives, the Siena territory becomes really magnetic for people loving open air life, and living in the countryside becomes truly fascinating. I love this period! After hot summer months, it is quite wonderful to light the fireplace, to put on the first pullovers and look at the woods changing colours into the warmer nuances of red and yellow while the air becomes more fresh.

In this magical period, in which the vineyards are full of workers for the harves, the osterias are often attended by groups of laughing hunters and the days slowly shorten, it is really funny to sit down at lunch time in a restaurant or a little osteria and enjoy the many culinary traditions of this period.

A typical recipe of the Siena territory in this period, particularly in October and November, is the “Pan co’ santi” (Bread with Saints – where the “Saints” stay for nuts and raisins), an ancient recipe, a sort of sweet bread..

Since I am in Tuscany, I’ve always eaten Pan co’ Santi in autumn, often on sunday, together with my husband and my husband’s father, which are both very traditional and buy it very . The only problem is that now it is very difficul to find the Pan co’ Santi with the same taste of the past, because nowadays they tend to prepare it sweeter than in the past and not so spicy as it used to be.

For this reason, both my husband and my husband’s father buy Pan co’ Santi in bakeries and not in pastries.. always hoping to come back to ancient times, when the tastes were really stronger and pepper, here in Tuscany, was really very very used..

A place where we always find a very good Pan co’ Santi is in San Quirico d’Orcia, in the backery just outside the town walls, next to the pharmacy:

Panificio Salvatori

Via dei Canneti, 39

53027 San Quirico d’Orcia (Siena)

swimming pool of Hotel La Posta, Bagno Vignoni, San Quirico (Siena)

I suggest you a bath in the swimming pool with mineral water of Hotel La Posta: it has both outdoor and indoor spaces and offers its guests a wonderful view of the valley  and  of  Rocca d’Orcia.

Check on the hotel’s website as the swimming pool is not always open: only from spring to autumn.

Price for a whole day (last year 2009): 14 euro/per person

I suggest this kind of bath especially in spring and autumn, when it’s very pleasant to bath in warm water! A relaxing bath in the swimming pool surrounded by the magnificient nature of our countryside is what you need to forget stress and Bagno Vignoni is a marvellous place to be in!

Swimming pool by Hotel La Posta

Bagno Vignoni

San Quirico d’Orcia, Siena

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