The ancient Town Hall mirrors Montalcino's "way of being" with its elegant and imposing posture
The Palazzo del Podestà is an austere stone construction built in the 13th and 14th centuries, and in the 16th-century, a loggia was added along with a statue of the Grand Duke Cosimo I de ‘Medici. It served as the Palace of Justice (with prisons) and then the Communal Palace until the 19th-century. It then became the court where the head of justice, the judge, the notary, and the grand-ducal vicar deliberated their sentences.
Numerous noble coats of arms and inscriptions of those who held office are visible on the facade and the clock tower. The bells still ring from the tower’s top, keeping the time and the life of a city where it has always played a central role.
Many speculate that its appearance reflects the antagonism between the Ghibelline Siena and the Guelph Florence, which characterized the long centuries of wars and sieges in the history of a Montalcino disputed for its strategic position and its proud autonomy.
The Palazzo is unique in the panorama of medieval municipal buildings and does not seem to fit Montalcino’s penchant for copying Siena on a smaller scale. In his travels, the Grand Duke of Tuscany Pietro Leopoldo d’Asburgo Lorena observed, “one of Montalcino’s great passions is to have all things in small as in Siena.” The building is more reminiscent of a Florentine style, typical of the architect and sculptor Arnolfo di Cambio, suggesting that its construction corresponded to a period when the city was in the graces of Florence.
This aspect changed between the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, but not the city’s symbol, which today houses the municipal offices and the City Council.
The bell tower casts its shadow over the main square, home to the outdoor market and the palaces symbolizing the power of the Gonfaloniere, the Priori and the Municipal Chancellery, the noble houses, the Chapel of the Piazza, and the Logge (which once had large windows with a view of the Val d’Orcia). Today, this is the “sitting room” of Montalcino, the heart of life and tourism in the Brunello area, with its cafes and shops.
Montalcino, a "pioneer" city of urban gardens
Whether owned by townspeople or priests, among the houses, along the ancient walls, and at the foot of church bell towers, you can still find Montalcino’s “secret gardens”. The oldest of them are around the great Convents. The Sant’Agostino is at the city’s summit; Santa Caterina da Siena is roughly halfway down. The San Francesco convent is the lowest but boasts an incomparable view of Montalcino and its green interludes between streets and ancient buildings.
The city’s inhabitants tend to the gardens as their ancestors did in the past when they represented an almost inexhaustible source of supplies in times of wars and sieges. These pioneering urban gardens, still visible today, peaked in the Middle Ages and again in the early nineteenth century. There were as many as 250 gardens, all within the ancient walls of Montalcino.
They were planted with an incredible variety of plants, cultivated strictly according to the seasons and according to the fundamentals dictated by ancient wisdom. Quality and quantity were “measured”. Vines and olive trees, considered precious even then, were planted alongside fruit trees of all kinds: peach and cherry, apple, plums, pear, jujube, almond, and fig were the most common. Vegetables were planted under and around the trees and vines.
Whether owned by townspeople or priests, among the houses, along the ancient walls, and at the foot of church bell towers, you can still find Montalcino’s “secret gardens”. The oldest of them are around the great Convents. The Sant’Agostino is at the city’s summit; Santa Caterina da Siena is roughly halfway down. The San Francesco convent is the lowest but boasts an incomparable view of Montalcino and its green interludes between streets and ancient buildings.
The city’s inhabitants tend to the gardens as their ancestors did in the past when they represented an almost inexhaustible source of supplies in times of wars and sieges. These pioneering urban gardens, still visible today, peaked in the Middle Ages and again in the early nineteenth century. There were as many as 250 gardens, all within the ancient walls of Montalcino.
They were planted with an incredible variety of plants, cultivated strictly according to the seasons and according to the fundamentals dictated by ancient wisdom. Quality and quantity were “measured”. Vines and olive trees, considered precious even then, were planted alongside fruit trees of all kinds: peach and cherry, apple, plums, pear, jujube, almond, and fig were the most common. Vegetables were planted under and around the trees and vines.
Montalcino and great cycling, a story of emotions and legendary stages
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Soldati, Veronelli and the “ritual” of topping up the Brunello vintages
Among the many places that have made Italy famous and unique for its beauty and authenticity is Montalcino. Undoubtedly some credit must go to Mario Soldati and Luigi Veronelli, the greatest masters of Italian journalism and food and wine criticism. Their destinies crossed many a time, and one of the most fortuitous encounters was in the land of Brunello. They anticipated the times with keen intuitions and were the first to narrate Italy’s rich agricultural landscapes, foods and cultivations.
The first historic encounter was in 1970 when they participated together in the ritual of “topping up” the wine from the same vintage as the old Brunello Reserves at Tenuta Greppo. The unique practice of topping up was created here at the end of the 19th century and essentially extended the life of a wine for decades. The process involved uncorking and refilling the bottles back to their proper level and recorking. The first time it took place was in 1927 for the 1888 and 1891 Reserves.
Veronelli would go on to tell his readers of the “perfect tasting” (among the Reserves there was also a 1955 vintage, considered one of the best wines of the twentieth century by “Wine Spectator”). He explained how these are the wines you can spend a lifetime looking for and how “every good taste of Brunello reminds me of Gustav Mahler “. Soldati would find confirmation of how “Brunello can age virtually indefinitely, improving, I dare say, always”.
In “Vino al Vino”, his most important work, he reflected on the origin of Brunello’s considerable “fortune”. Soldati maintained that it not only in the wine’s longevity but also in the beauty of a territory suited to excellent wines. A unique mix of climate, soil, rich biodiversity, woodlands, olive groves and cultivated fields plays a role, as does the pioneering intuition which led to the delimitation of the production boundaries to the territory of Montalcino in the 30s.
What makes a case for Brunello all the more exciting is that all of this resulted from “modern” invention. Agriculture enlightened by academic studies led to the simple yet brilliant choice of a single grape, Sangiovese Grosso. Thus, Brunello distinguished itself from other wines by looking at the French benchmark: the fruit of one, but at the base of collective success.
From Zeffirelli to Monicelli, Montalcino, a famous film location
Only foreign film buffs may be familiar with many of the names and films listed here, but rest assured, they are, collectively, important representations of Italian culture, and testimony to how Montalcino has remained a choice location for the film industry.
Alongside the famous Brunello wines, Montalcino is renowned as the film set of many great directors. Their cameras “captured” the beauty and poetry of the territory. Take Franco Zeffirelli, who for “Brother sun, sister Moon” (1972), a masterpiece of Italian cinema with Graham Faulkner, Judi Bowker and Valentina Cortese, chose Montalcino and the Abbey of Sant’Antimo. Or in 1988, the French director, Otar Losseliani, who shot the documentary film “A small monastery in Tuscany”.
But already in 1941, the director, Esodo Pratelli, had set the historical film “La Pia dei Tolomei” in Montalcino. Since then, the range and list of films has grown: (1955) “Il Falco d’Oro”by Carlo Ludovico Bragaglia, and in (1957) “Io Caterina” by Oreste Palella, (1961) “La viaccia” by Mauro Bolognini, with Jean-Paul Belmondo and Claudia Cardinale. In (1965) came the masterpiece “L’armata Brancaleone” by Mario Monicelli with the great Vittorio Gassman who played the timeless role of Brancaleone da Norcia.
The 70s opened to “La Calandria” in (1972) by Pasquale Festa Campanile, with Lando Buzzanca and Barbara Bouchet, followed by the 1975 film “Irene, Irene” by Peter del Monte.
In 1983, the “Bonnie and Clyde all’italiana” (1983) was directed by Steno, with Paolo Villaggio and Ornella Muti, and “Le Novelle del Boccaccio” was shot in (1986) by Swiss director Grytzko Mascioni.
The cinematic love story with Montalcino continues today: (1998) “Thanks for everything” by Luca Manfredi, with Nancy Brilli and Nino Manfredi; “At the right moment” (2000) by and with Giorgio Panariello, from “L ‘ love found “(2004) by Carlo Mazzacurati, with Stefano Accorsi and Maya Sansa; ” Letters to Juliet “(2010) by Gary Winick, with Amanda Seyfried and Vanessa Redgrave in the vineyards of Caparzo; ” Maraviglioso Boccaccio “(2015) by the Taviani brothers, with Lello Arena, Kasia Smutniak, Carolina Crescentini, Paola Cortellesi, Riccardo Scamarcio, Vittoria Puccini, Kim Rossi Stuart and Jasmine Trinca at Castello Romitorio.
Even the pandemic couldn’t keep the cameras from rolling. Just a year ago, James d’Arcy chose Montalcino for “Made in Italy” (2020) with Liam Neeson, in Argiano.
Montalcino, land of cathedrals, convents, abbeys, churches and shrines
As you observe the elegant profile of Montalcino from the slopes of its hill, it is clear that the city is rich in churches and religious buildings, which in number and importance constitute a unicum, testimony of the vital role religion played in past centuries. Among the most notable are the Cathedral of San Salvatore, built on a Romanesque church of the year 1000 in the oldest and highest point of the city, and the Sanctuary of the Madonna del Soccorso, the patron saint of Montalcino. Exemplary is the Church of Sant’Egidio built by the Sienese in the fourteenth century, where the flags of the 17 Contrade del Palio di Siena are exceptionally preserved. Stroll around the imposing complexes of the Churches and Convents of Sant’Agostino and San Francesco. The Church of Sant’Antonio Abate to the Church of San Lorenzo in San Pietro, passes through the small churches of Santa Croce, della Misericordia and Corpus Domini. This complex formed the secular seats in the Middle Ages, of which Montalcino was unusually rich, and essential Hospitals, which operated for the social and health care of the city.
The most “powerful” of them all was the Hospital of Santa Maria della Croce, whose vast patrimony in real and personal property also included farms, orchards, mills, vineyards and olive groves scattered throughout the countryside. Even the territory reflects the religious soul of Montalcino: villages, castles, villas and farms – today owned by numerous Brunello wineries which, in many cases, have saved them from abandonment – are almost always characterized by the presence of churches and chapels. A stunning example next to the Abbey of Sant’Antimo, the Romanesque “jewel” in Tuscany, is the Parish Church of Sant’Andrea Apostolo at Badia Ardenga. The church was the most important sacred monument in the area after Sant’Antimo. As you stroll, take notice of the fourteenth-century Church of Santa Maria delle Grazie, and the Church and Convent of Santa Maria dell’Osservanza just outside the city walls. From there visit the Pieve di San Michele Arcangelo, which preserves frescoes by Pietro Lorenzetti, and the Pieve di Santa Restituta, the oldest in the area. We’ve only named a few, but it should give an idea of the remarkable presence religion has played in Montalcino’s history.
The countess and the poet, a history of literature and wine in Montalcino
The countess and the poet, a history of literature and wine in Montalcino
Not many can boast mention in an illustrious quote, such as this appreciative verse by one of the greatest poets and the first Italian to win the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1906.
If the Montalcino wines can do it, the credit goes to an otherworldly woman of a different era. “I wipe myself with the Argiano wine, which is so good”, Giosuè Carducci wrote in an enthusiastic letter dated 1886 and addressed to Countess Ersilia Caetani Lovatelli, owner at the time of the historic Arginao cellar. The Renaissance villa, surrounded by Brunello vineyards, was designed by Baldassarre Peruzzi, one of the greatest architects ever. The Villa has remained in the hands of noble families like the Peccis, who commissioned the 16th-century project.
Since then, it has always represented a unicum in Montalcino, much like Ersilia herself. She was known for her great culture; she challenged the conventions of the time, according to which women could not study, and devoted herself to archeology. She learned Greek, Latin and Sanskrit, wrote books and publications, and was the first woman to enter the Italian Academy of the Lincei in 1879. She became a member of prestigious academies like Crusca and was awarded the Laurea Honoris Causa from the University of Halle.
The Argiano cellar, built in the seventeenth century, was already well known. However, the international appreciation came to the production of Argiano’s wines thanks to the countess. The Villa became a literary salon hosting some of the most important Italian poets, such as Carducci. Among the members of Ersilia’s circle of “intelligentsia” were the poet Gabriele D’Annunzio and the French writer and philosopher Émile Zola.
Brunello, the story of a modern phenomenon, the result of an invention
Brunello is the result of an invention and an intuition. At the end of the nineteenth century, an exceptional cultural “humus” grew in Montalcino. A rarity for such a small territory to gather such an enlightened bourgeoisie – represented by historical families such as the Angelini, Anghirelli, Paccagnini and Costanti. In collaboration with the era’s leading scientists and writers and against Italy’s current thought, they decided to bet everything on the single vine, gruff and challenging, that proved to give its best in Montalcino. The spark ignited in the Greppo Estate, where the inventor of Brunello, the “Garibaldino” Ferruccio Biondi Santi, selected Sangiovese Grosso vinifying it in purity. After all of this, the day after official DOC recognition, one of Italy’s first, the Consortium, was founded in 1967. At the time, only a few farmers were aware of the incredible potential, and Primo Pacenti is remembered as one of them.
Thanks to the entrepreneurial spirit and dedicated work, known as the “Grande Opera” of Castello Banfi, Montalcino became an actual district in the mid-seventies. This initial momentum triggered substantial investments, from new vineyards to cellars, from marketing to communication, which raised the territory’s image. Brunello (first DOCG of Italy, in 1980) is internationally renowned, thanks to the historic local families, the most important Italian wine companies that also have vineyards in Montalcino, but also of entrepreneurs and famous people who have chosen it to produce wine. Since then, Brunello has reached top-tier judgments from the most influential world critics: The Wine Advocate, James Suckling, Wine Enthusiast, Wine Spectator, and Vinous by Antonio Galloni. Labels such as Biondi Santi and Case Basse are in great demand by collectors at major international auctions. Vineyards are worth up to 1 million euros per hectare for a lucrative 180 million euro business. The Brunello district’s current production is 14 million bottles, 9 of Brunello and over 4 of Rosso, 70% for export.
Montalcino "sacred and profane", between heretics, saints and blessed
“Sacred and profane” is a Montalcino that also tells of heretics, saints and blessed. Like Giovanni Moglio, a Franciscan friar of the Convent of San Francesco, born in the city in the early sixteenth century, who paid with his life for his preaching to the common people. In contrast to the intermediation between man and God proposed by the Roman Church, he was inspired by early Christianity. Thus, he was suspected of heresy in Rome by the newly established Inquisition Office and the first to be publicly judged. On September 4th 1553, he was hanged and burned at the stake in Campo de’Fiori, where Giordano Bruno died half a century later. A few years earlier, in 1516 in Florence, Pope Leo X sanctified among the Church’s martyrs those Franciscan missionaries who, on 10 October 1227, after a long period of torture, were beheaded by the Saracens in Ceuta, Morocco, guilty of preaching the Gospel. Among these, there was also a monk from Montalcino: San Donnolo Donnoli. Two of the most important streets of the city are dedicated to each of them.
Walking through the streets, you arrive at their Church and Convent of San Francesco, in which it is said that the relics of Blessed Filippino Ciardelli, companion of St. Anthony of Padua and St. Francis, were kept. He was known for the intensity of his mystical asceticism and the healings performed in life and post mortem, and of which the Franciscan propaganda claimed the local origins. In the polyptych “Deposition of Christ from the cross”, one of the most important works on display in the Montalcino Museums, Bartolo di Fredi, a renowned artist from the 14th-century Sienese school, depicts the life of an ascetic, the ecstasies in the woods, and the miracles witnessed by his Franciscan companions and the city’s inhabitants.
Montalcino, city of men-at-arms and sieges
Outside and inside the walls and the imposing Fortress of Montalcino, numerous armies and leagues of soldiers, Sienese, Florentine, French, Spanish and more have passed through, led by brave men-at-arms such as Giordano Orsini, Don Garcia de Toledo, Andrea Spagni, Panfilo dell’Oca, Mario Sforza, Giulio Vieri, Piero Strozzi and Blaise de Monluc.
Whether enemy or foe, these distinguished characters are among the era’s most famous protagonists in the art of war, and their acts of bravery spanned five centuries of long brutal sieges. Montalcino was seen as a strategic “piazza” stronghold for its dominating position at 564 meters above sea level, with views ranging from Val d’Orcia to Casentino, Monte Amiata to Maremma, and from Siena to the Tuscan-Emilian Apennines.
An ongoing war between the Ghibelline Siena and the Guelph Florence saw the two powers alternately lay claim to rule the city during the 13th century. The noteworthy battle of Montaperti “which turned Arbia red” in 1260, is how Dante recalled it in the Divine Comedy. In the 14th century, the inhabitants of Montalcino, including the elderly, clergy, women, and children, joined the armed soldiers in the Sienese Republic’s battles. According to historical documents from the period, the citizens were never caught off guard by assaults. They repaired the fortress walls at night, and they never went a day without “delicious bread and excellent wine”.
Montalcino came to represent a second home for the Sienese after their defeat at the Siena war. The French Emperor called war on the Spanish emperor, Charles V and the Pope. After the victorious defense of Montalcino from the Imperial and Medici militias in 1553, and the defeat and surrender of Siena in 1555, the Sienese exiles withdrew to Montalcino, a refuge on which they founded the Republic of Siena, and even minted coins.
Montalcino was also the last bastion to pass into Cosimo I de Medici’s hands, on 4 August 1559 with the peace treaty Cateau-Cambrésis between France and Spain, but never fell under their arms. Feeding the legend of a city that, looking at its interests and autonomy, will never be conquered.
