Travel Guide To Val D'Orcia

South of Siena lies a remote valley full of surprises, with rolling landscapes, a renaissance 'new town', ancient spas and, most amazingly of all, little sign of tourism. Today, the Val D'Orcia is a destination in itself, and its expansive, sweeping landscape is wildly compelling. The Rome-Florence railway line and most of the road traffic passes well to the east, down the Val di Chiana, leaving Orcia to walkers, cyclists and those who motor rather than drive. Its new-found vocation for luxury is reflected in a proliferation of creative trattorias and wine-and-walking holidays and in the discreet infiltration of Roman and Milanese VIPs. If the trend has slowed down in the past five years, it is only because every last ruined farmhouse has been bought and converted. The other big pull these days is the area's abundance of thermal springs: small-scale private spas are booming, partly because of their glorious Tuscan surroundings.

Where to stay in Val D'Orcia

HOTEL TERME DE' MEDICI

San Casciano dei Bagni (00 39 0578 572 41; www.fonteverdeterme.com). For the full-on hot water experience, the restored Hotel Terme de' Medici has become the Tuscan spa of choice. A Renaissance portico built in the reign of Grand Duke Ferdinando I has been elegantly restored and extended to create a warm, stylish 80-room hotel, which adjoins the modern Fonteverde spa, centred on a huge thermal swimming pool. The hotel restaurant, which occupies the original Medici bathing establishment (complete with marble basins), is an elegant affair with a lighter menu for dieters, although its soul is in heavier Tuscan pasta and game dishes. Be warned, though: this is very much an international spa experience, with prices and attitudes to match. £££

IL BORGHETTO

Via di Borgo Buio, Montepulciano (00 39 0578 757 535; www.ilborghetto.it). This is a simple, clean place right in the centre; rooms are small, but any claustrophobia is dispelled by the fine views out across the vine- and cypress-covered hills. £

IL CHIOSTRO DI PIENZA

Corso Rossellino 26, Pienza (00 39 0578 748 400; http://www.relaisilchiostrodipienza.com). This has the historic credentials (it's housed in a 15th-century convent) and the central position, but it feels a little impersonal and is heavily geared to groups. £

LA ROSA DEL TRINORO

Via di Mezzo 3, Castiglioncello del Trinoro (00 39 0578 266 946; www.rosadeltrinoro.it). Situated in the postcard-perfect hilltop village of Castiglioncello del Trinoro, this is a great budget option: a solid, rustic affair that more than fulfils its humble ambition: to provide a comfortable bed and a filling meal in friendly surroundings. £

LOCANDA DEL LOGGIATO

Piazza del Moretto 30, Bagno Vignoni (00 39 0577 888 925; www.loggiato.it). In Bagno Vignoni, by all means use the Hotel Posta Marcucci's thermal swimming pool, which is open to non-guests; but the Locanda del Loggiato on the main square is a much nicer place to stay. Terracotta floors and exposed beams are pretty much the norm around these parts, but the four friends who restored this medieval house have done so with the sort of restrained design flair that ends up in coffee-table books; the 'Romantica' and 'Sogno' rooms are particularly attractive. Shiatsu and Ayurvedic
massages are on offer, and there's a well-stocked wine bar. £

L'OLMO

(00 39 0578 755 133; www.olmopienza.it). With a car (or a bike, or a strong pair of legs), you'd do better to head for this tastefully restored farmhouse on the Monticchiello road. For the price of an urban three-star you get
a heated open-air pool, good country cooking (if you opt for half-board) and stunning views across the Val d'Orcia. £

PALAZZO DEL CAPITANO

Via Poliziano 18, San Quirico d'Orcia (00 39 0577 899 028; www.palazzodelcapitano.com). San Quirico d'Orcia is a handsome, untouristy walled town with a beautiful Romanesque church and a hotel that finally does the place justice - a restored 15th-century townhouse, with 11 rooms with antique furniture, cast-iron four-poster beds and soothing, colour-washed walls. But the real joy of the place is the walled garden where breakfast is served in summer. £

SETTE QUERCE

Viale Manciati 2, San Casciano dei Bagni (00 39 0578 58174; www.settequerce.it). To put together a DIY spa holiday, stay at Sette Querce, just outside the walls of this medieval town, and use the free public thermal basin a short walk away. The hotel, designed by Tricia Guild, is bright, colourful, friendly and affordable. £

OTHER OPTIONS

Several farmhouses on the Origo family estate of La Foce (00 39 0578 69101; www.lafoce.com) have been turned into luxury self-catering villas, each with its own pool; Fontalgozzo (sleeps eight) and Gonzola (sleeps 10) are favourites, as well as the castle of Castelluccio - also on the estate - which has two rentable apartments. The largest villa sleeps 14. Prices vary from low season to high season.

Where to eat out in Val D'Orcia

DIVA E MACEO

Via Gracciano nel Corso 92, Montelpulciano (00 39 0578 716 951). A basic, filling centro storico trattoria. Closed Tuesday.

LA GROTTA

San Biagio, Montepulciano (00 39 0578 758 354). For a really special meal, head down the hill to La Grotta - next to the glorious Renaissance church of San Biagio. In two 16th-century vaulted rooms (or, in summer, in the garden out the back) a gourmet menu is served, its creativity rooted firmly in local traditions and ingredients. The delicious malfatti are gnocchi-like balls of sheep's-milk ricotta and basil, served with a taleggio sauce; this might be followed by brasato di cinghiale alle prugne su letto di spinaci - wild boar braised in plum
sauce on a bed of spinach. The elegant table linen, service and wine list and the elevated (but not exaggerated) prices make it clear that this is not your average Chianti-in-a-straw-flask experience. Closed Wednesday.

LATTE DI LUNA

Via San Carlo 2-4, Pienza (00 39 0578 748 606). Pienza was one of the main locations for The English Patient, and Latte di Luna was the cast and crew's favourite restaurant. It's really just a down-home trattoria serving decent local cuisine at a fair price, which is why it's always packed. In warm weather, a pretty terrace clinches the deal. Start off with a plate of assorted crostini (bread slices with boar pâté, mushrooms, truffles, and other toppings) and finish off with semifreddo alla nocciola (hazelnut ice-cream dessert), leaving room for at least one serious pasta or meat dish in between (the duck with olives is justly famed). Be sure to book ahead, even out of season. Closed Tuesday.

OSTERIA DA GAGLIANO

Via Roma 5, Sarteano (00 39 0578 268022). Situated in a quiet walled town south of Chianciano Terme, the 20 lucky diners who manage to cram into this tiny osteria will be treated to a succulent (though little-changing) menu that stretches from acciughe sotto pesto (anchovies in pesto sauce) through stringozzi (similar to pici), tagliatelle or gnocchi in various sauces or - for those who stop at nothing - tripe. Do not miss the excellent panna cotta.

OSTERIA DEL LEONE

Piazza del Moretto 3, Bagno Vignoni (00 39 0577 887 300). This a good fuelling-up stop. The decor is
rustic-elegant, the food traditional Tuscan. The primi include pasta dishes such as pici alle briciole (fat, handmade spaghetti in bread sauce); main courses revolve around wild boar, rabbit, and other local meat and game specialities. In summer, the terrace is a lovely place for an alfresco meal. Closed Monday.

OSTERIA LA PORTA

Via del Piano 1, Monticchiello (00 39 0578 755 163). In the picturesque village of Monticchiello, east of Pienza, this family-run osteria clings proudly to its local character. The pici is made fresh every day, and served with cacio e pepe (sheep's-milk cheese and pepper) or sugo di anatra (duck sauce). In the autumn, funghi porcini and truffles feature strongly. Although it sticks to local bottles, the wine list is well chosen and well priced.

RISTORANTE DANIELA

Piazza Matteotti 7, San Casciano dei Bagni (00 39 0578 58041). This occupies a large vaulted space giving onto the town's main square and scenic promenade. Run by Sette Querce (see Where to stay), it offers a creative, lighter take on traditional local dishes such as flour-and-potato tortelli filled with pigeon meat, or grilled pork spiedini(on skewers) with asparagus. Once the local bar-trattoria, the restaurant now has contemporary paintings on bare stone walls and a state-of-the-art wine list; but, for once, the transformation is fully justified by the results. Closed on Wednesday.

What to see in Val D'Orcia

BAGNO VIGNONI

This is a tiny spa village, comprising a scattering of houses, a few hotels and a newspaper shop that doubles as a haberdashery. Then you turn a corner, and where a main square should be, there is water: steaming hot water in an ancient walled basin the size of a small piazza, surrounded by lanes on three sides and a covered loggia on the fourth. Sixteen years or so ago, Bagno Vignoni had just two hotels, now, the elegantly rustic new hotel, the Locanda del Loggiato, has opened overlooking the square. See Where to Stay.

LA FOCE ESTATE

The Anglo-American marchesa Iris Origo bought the vast, still feudal La Foce estate with her Italian husband in 1924. Iris's daughter Benedetta now runs the La Foce estate and helps to organise one of the world's most intimate and scenographic open-air classical-music festivals, Incontri in Terra di Siena. The garden at la Foce, designed by Cecil Pinsent in the 1920s as a place where Iris Origo could 'read and think', is one of them. A formal garden softened by time and wisteria, it takes a wild-wooded slope and turns it into a geometry of box and stone, rose and lemon and magnolia.

MONTEPULCIANO

This graceful, aristocratic hill town lingers south of Siena, and boasts a distinguished past, historically aligning itself with Florence. It is best-known for its wine: Montepulciano's Vino Nobile di Montepulciano was being praised by connoisseurs over 200 years ago and can contend with Italy's best wines today.
There are some beautiful villages on the hills around Montepulciano, beginning with Montefollonico (8km north-west), a walled town with a frescoed parish church and Palazzo Comunale, both from the 13th century. Monticchiello, 7km south-west on a back road leading to Pienza, hangs languorously on its hillside. Here, there is another 13th-century church, with an altarpiece by Pietro Lorenzetti.

PALAZZO PICCOLOMINI

A few miles away in Pienza, on the northern ridge of the Orcia basin, the Renaissance hanging garden of Palazzo Piccolomini frames the twin-peaked Monte Amiata mountain from a different angle. The garden is a modest affair, one of those boxy, Italianate parterres that were rejected as artificial in the 19th century and ripped out in favour of the English lawn. This one survived, as did the palazzo and much of the innovative urban blueprint of which it formed a part.

PIENZA

Some 50km south of Siena you'll come across a perfect, tiny core of renaissance order and urbanity, a jewel set among some of the most glorious and archetypal of Tuscan landscapes - Pienza. This is a delightful place, even if it does get more than its fair share of tourists.
Pienza is a new town, commissioned by Pope Pius II to ennoble his birthplace, which was little more than a fortified farmstead before architect Bernardo Rossellino began his work in 1459. In the space of four years, Rossellino transformed the Piccolomini family's property into modern Italy's first purpose-built city, inspired by Pius II's humanist principles. Pius persuaded his cardinal friends to buy into the project: building a townhouse in Pienza was the fast route to papal favour. Had Pius not died in Ancona in 1464, Pienza might have grown to metropolitan proportions. As it is, it is a village with a handsome central Corso and a magnificent main square, surrounded by the cathedral, the Piccolo-mini palace, another palace built by young cardinal Rodrigo Borgia (later to become Pope Alexander IV, and father of Cesare and Lucrezia), and the Palazzo Comunale with the town council offices. This ideal city though, is only one building deep: right behind the cathedral, the fields start.

How to get to Val D'Orcia

AIRPORT

Although the Val D'Orcia is in Tuscany, it's actually slightly closer to Rome than to Pisa.

AIRLINES FROM THE UK

British Airways (0870 850 9850; www.ba.com) and Alitalia (08705 448 259; www.alitalia.com) fly to Fiumicino.

Public transport is irregular; Chiusi is the main hub for trains and buses. A number of UK tour operators offer walking and cycling tours in the Val D'Orcia: Headwater (www.headwater.com; 01606 720 099) and Sherpa Expeditions (www.sherpaexpeditions.com; 020 8577 2717) are among the best. If you'd rather do it yourself, pick up a copy of Walking and Eating in Tuscany and Umbria which includes some good walks in the area. For other itineraries and a list of bike-hire outlets, order the brochure 'Biking through Siena's Countryside' from the provincial tourist office at www.terresiena.it</a>.