Under the Tuscan Sun (and moon)

Under the Tuscan Sun

Last week we spent a few days in the region of Siena in Tuscany. As we were driving from place to place the scenery kept unfolding itself as if we were going through an art gallery, looking at one canvas after another of beautiful landscapes.

Under the Tuscan Moon

Our first nights were spent in a bed and breakfast in the Castel Spedaletto in the Val d'Orcia. It was built in the 12th century as a hospice for travellers and pilgrims along the Via Francigena, the road from Canterbury to Rome.
Our night in Siena was spent in Il Chiostro Del Carmine, a hotel that was restored from a 14th century Carmelite Monastery.

A Church with Three Doors and Mother Theresa

San Quirico d'Orcia is a small hilltop town 40 km from Siena. The 12th century parish church of La Collegiata is distiguished by it's three impressive entrances, two of which have carved lions supporting the columns.

The "simple" door.

The colums for this door are carved figures.

The columns for this door are knotted!

Inside was a shrine to Mother Theresa of Calcutta. It was the first time I have seen a statue of this Albanian missionary to India.

Take a look at the crossed toes on the statue. The story goes that as a child Mother Theresa had to wear shoes that were two small for her feet.

Baths for Saints and Sinners

We had dinner one evening in Bagno Vignoni on a terrace overlooking a pool that fills the small town's main piazza. The water comes from thermal springs that were known to the Etruscans. The was the ancient Romans (and their love of baths!) that turned the area into a spa which has attracted people for centuries. Medieval pilgrims traveling the Via Francigena stopped here to relieve their aching feet and legs in the sulpher pools. St. Catherine of Siena and Pope Pius II are both know to have soaked in the waters, and Lorenzo de' Medici was a frequent visitor. Today there are a couple of hotels in Bagno Vignoli that offer full treatments to guests.

The Via Francigena is the route from Canterbury to Rome. The earliest written account of the journey is from Sigeric, the Archbishop of Canterbury in the year 994. His diary describes his itinerary and the main stopping places of the rouet he took.