A DRIVE IN TUSCANY ( Bagno Vignoni)

In Italy, Autumn can take you by surprise with an
astonishing amount of rain, which means that you don't
take the sunny days for granted, you make the most of them.
Since Tuscany is only a twenty minute drive from Panicale
Elizabeth and I decide to 'fare una gita', take a day
trip to the Val d'Orcia in Tuscany.

The road between Pienza and San Quirico d'Orcia is not just getting from point A to point B, it is a panoramic theatre
at its very best.

Come here in Spring and the Tuscan hills are green and lush
with new growth.

Return in Autumn for the desert like expanse
punctuated with the oasis of green surrounding villas
dotted with Cypress trees.

OUR DESTINATION,
BAGNO VIGNONI

There are places, if you are fortunate, that find you 
on just the right day.
Bagno Vignoni is just such a place. It's a
Terme (mineral water bath) where people have been
coming to to 'take the waters' for thousands of years.
Relatively recent Italian luminaries such as St. Catherine
of Siena, and the Florentine Lorenzo d'Medici ( Lorenzo
the Magnificent) have bathed here.

IT IS JUST MAGIC

The main piazza is dominated by a large rectangular
piscina (pool) where , fortunately, nobody is
allowed in the water.

There is a smaller more private pool with  a small shrine
to Italy's Patron Saint, St. Catherine.
If one wants, there are numerous spas in the hotels that are
around the town.

St. Catherine's pool

But, as always, now it's time for lunch. We walk to our
favorite restaurant here, Osteria Del Leone
for some 'al fresco' dining.
Pasta and grilled meats or fish.

Osteria Del Leone

Autumn in Tuscany