Interesting places near Montepulciano, Italy?

Question

We are going to spend a week at a villa in the countryside near Montepulciano, Italy in late June. Does anyone have any suggestions for day trips near Montepulciano? We like things cultural, historical and artistic.

Answer 1

Montepulciano is a good base for Perugia and Assisi to the east, Siena to the west, Arezzo to the north and Orvieto to the south. All are close enough for day trips as are Rome and Florence.

The Giostra in Arezzo will be toward the end of June - I think on the 21st. It's a joust with costumed parades. http://www.lagiostradelsaracino.it/ Even without the event, Arezzo is worth a visit. The old town on the hilltop is very nice.

St John's Day is the 24th of June. It's widely celebrated here. There are several events in Florence - including a costumed parade from Piazza Signoria to the Baptistry and fireworks at night.

Answer 2

I only had a half day in Montepulciano.....its a lovely village on the top of a hillside and there are lots of wineries all around the area ( you can buy wine in the village as well)......as my time was severaly limited I didn't see a huge amount of the surrounding area but there are a couple of churches in the village and a few other villages reasonably close by that looked ok.  The views from the Montepulciano to the surrounding areas are great.....I still have a photo of a german shepard dog sitting on the roof of a garage enjoying the views....its was actually quite surreal when I saw it......

Have a great time....I wish I had seen more of the area.

Answer 3

Volterra:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volterra

San Gimignano:

http://www.sangimignano.com/sghomei.htm

for example...

Answer 4

One of my favorite spot in the area is Montalcino and Sant'Antimo Abbey. Here you can join history and culture to good wine and food.

http://www.wel.it/Welcome/Toscana/Senese...

Please see this site. If you will be able to reach it, as it is not so easy being out of the main roads, I am sure you will love it.

I was there last week with a small group of seven Americans.

We all enjoyed it very much!