“What is the name of the town where you’re getting married?” I know I asked my niece this question 3 or 4 times before I received her beautiful Save the Date card in the mail and tacked it to the fridge and could go look it up myself when I forgot. Even though I’ve been to Italy multiple times, I’d never been to this town – or even this part of Tuscany. I owe my niece and her now husband a big thank you for introducing this region to me, and I will definitely always remember the name. In addition to being a memorable place to visit it’s so much fun to say – MONTEPULCIANO – (mon-teh-pool-CHAH-noh.)
Montepulciano as seen from the wedding venue
Because we were there to celebrate a wedding, our “tourist” experiences were more limited but I do want to share what we did see in this wonderful place.
We stayed at Albergo San Biagio Restaurant & Spa, which was a little outside of the city center and we needed a car to get into the main part of town. It was walkable, but further than we wanted to walk and very hilly which I’ll talk about later. Albergo San Biago was the closest accommodation to the wedding venue and was a sweet place to stay. Our room was basic but clean with a comfortable bed and lovely balcony. The service, breakfast and view from our room were NOT basic and we were very pleased with all of them. (A pool and spa area are available, for an additional cost, but we did not have time to experience them.)
Our bed
The bathroom
View to our balcony
Great breakfast spread served daily
Morning view from our balcony
Some of the wedding guests stayed in the town and took advantage of taxis or the shuttle provided for wedding guests, while others rented AirBnB’s in the area. Anyone not staying in town had rental cars for getting around.
Our first evening there we had a private wine tasting and tour at De Ricci winery. The winery has a fascinating history Walking among centuries old barrels and hearing stories of the Ricci family made for an interesting tour. De’Ricci offers a variety of experiences and is open daily by reservation.
In the Wine Cathedral, circa 1500’s. The cathedral was built around these giant wine barrels.
We ate most of our meals at the wedding venue, but we did have a welcome dinner downtown at La Vineria on our first night. Our large group had a set menu. The restaurant has 2 locations which are about a block apart. We enjoyed lunch at the smaller venue the following day.
The smaller location
I mentioned the hills earlier. Montepulciano sits at the top of a mountain on a 1,985 ft) limestone ridge. The cobblestone streets are narrow and steep. Traffic is carefully regulated and extremely limited. Case in point, on our last evening, our hotel restaurant didn’t open until much later than we wanted to eat so we decided to go to a pizza place in town recommended by the hotel. The closest parking spot we found required 67 steps and 6 hills of varying degrees of steepness to reach our dinner! And that was just one direction, we had to repeat the process in reverse to get back to our car! Thankfully it was worth it!
I do not see Montepulciano as a destination of its own, but as part of an Italian itineary, I do highly recommend it. Especially, on a driving itinerary where you can get out and explore the area in depth.
And for those thinking, “Well! What about the wedding?!”, it was an absolutely stunning wedding! While I won’t post wedding pictures, I will share the gorgeous backdrop for the ceremony!
