When we decided to hire a driver for the day to tour parts of Tuscany we have to admit we really were at the whim of the driver who selected four stops for us to tour that day. I had forgotten about this stop in my excitement to share our stories of Siena and San Gimignano – perhaps it was because it was the first stop or maybe I was trying to block out the monsoon that began the moment we got out of the van (me. check; Italy. check; downpour, check). Again, have to admit we were still getting a handle on our guides accent and it was early so I am not sure we even knew where we were when he ushered us out of the van and handed us a couple of umbrellas and left us on our own to explore. I honestly wasn’t sure what was going on – or if he’d even be there when we went back to look for our ride.

The rain poured as we climbed to the tops of the castle walls and looked out onto the lush green fields and valleys that surrounded us.

One of the first sign we saw on the site explained that Castello di Monteriggioni, which was part of the Via Francine, takes you through from medieval to renaissance times. In the stretch between San Gimignano and Siena, the Via Francigena crossed the territory of Monteriggioni  where one of the ancient pilgrim stopping places still survives, the abbey at Abbadia Isola. The castle was built by the Sienese between 1213 and 1219 for defensive purposes: its strategic location atop a hill overlooking the Cassia Road allowed the castle to control the cities of the Val d’Elsa and Staggia and be on the lookout for any armies approaching Siena.

Discovery Tuscany  filled in what the rest my memory does not recall – or maybe we never really figured out while we were there lost and wandering in the rain – “Monteriggioni represents one of the most important walled castles in the territory. It has incredibly preserved an intact structure as if time had never passed on the hill from which it elegantly dominates the surrounding landscape. Its perfect circular perimeter makes one suppose it to be an artificial construction while in actuality it was created by just following the curves in the natural ground.”

“The intact fortified wall presents 14 towers along which the guards used to walk and patrol the walls and 2 gates, one called the Franca or Romea Gate which faces Rome and the other known as the Florentine Gate since it heads toward Florence. The current structure of the village is essentially the original one, the only changes it went through date back to the 16th century when the towers were lowered and some earth accumulated at the base of the walls and another dating back to 1921 when 3 of the 14 towers were reduced to the level of the walls.”

As we sought shelter as the rain got harder, we wound our way through cute little cobblestone side streets, tiny shops and what looked like little apartments in the village.

 

Certainly not the best way to start a tour, but I don’t think this is one of those stops that you immediately think of when you make your check-list for Tuscany so we are pretty glad our driver knew it was just the introduction we needed to the story of the medieval times that we we about to experience here and in Siena and San Gimignano later in the day.

 

Next up?  Finally, Flip Flops is getting into the grappa….and a little Chianti Classico wines.