Tuscany - Italy - page 164

Pros & Cons of San Gimignano's
Combination Tickets
The Civic Combo of San Gimignano offers a € 7.50 combination ticket good
for admission to the following city-managed sites:
u Torre Grosso
u Pinacoteca Art Gallery in the Palazzo Pubblico
u Archaeological museum (Museo Archeologico)
u Spezeria Santa Fina (a refurbished Renaissance pharmacy)
u Museo Ornitologico (museum of stuffed birds)
u Modern Art Gallery “Raffaele De Grada”
Unless you have a specialized interest in archaeology, pharmacies, or
birds, the last four museums aren't likely to excite you. Better to spend
your time exploring the streets, the walls, or the surrounding countryside.
Give it a pass. If you need a torture fix, the art museum displays dozens of paint-
ings of bloody martyrdoms.
CHIANTI COUNTRY
When people envision typical Italian countryside, they usually conjure up visions
of Chianti: vine-covered rolling hills dotted with castles and Renaissance villas,
and populated by family-owned wineries, rustic agriturismo vacation spots, and
hill tops frozen in time. Although busloads of tourists and wealthy transplants
from Milan, Rome, and overseas have been slowly transforming—some would say
destroying—the character of the region for the past few decades, the spirit of
Chianti has not been entirely diluted. Smaller towns still have traditional market
days and family-run restaurants offering local specialties, and not every winery has
been incorporated into an international conglomerate. You'll want to see this
region sooner rather than later, though; in certain ways it's being loved to death,
and you want to visit before much more changes.
The 168 sq. km (65 sq. miles) of Chianti Country fill the area between
Florence and Siena, sandwiched between the A1 autostrada and the SS2. The
famed “Chianti Road” (SP222) winds and weaves through the middle of Chianti.
You can explore the region on day trips from Florence and Siena, or stay around
one of the smaller Chianti towns, such as Greve in Chianti, Castellina, Radda, or
Gaiole in Chianti. You can casually drop in on smaller wineries you discover on
the road, or make reservations for visits to some of the larger ones, paying upward
of € 30 for a tour, tasting, and snacks.
A BRIEF HISTORY OF CHIANTI
As usual, the Etruscans got here first. Legions of conquering Romans, Lombards,
and Goths passed through the hilly region until it stabilized under the alternating
control of Florence and Siena, beginning in the 1200s.