Take in Tuscany at a slower pace
Cypress and olive trees surround a secluded farmhouse in the rolling hills of Val d’Orcia, Tuscany
PHOTOGRAPHS: PETER ADAMS/AWL IMAGES, CAMILLE MOIRENC, SIGFRID LÓPEZ
Walking holidays don’t get much more civilised than this: six days tracing the contours of Tuscany, between hilltop towns and medieval abbeys, with every guarantee of a good glass of wine at the end of each hike. Head to the country south of Siena before the summer heat gets oppressive, to start out on a self-guided tour, where your luggage is forwarded to each new stopover while you walk. The route begins at the fresco-covered monastery of Monte Oliveto Maggiore, which perches on a wooded spur, a mile’s walk from the frst lunch stop in the quiet village of Chiusure. Each day’s trundle covers 7 to 12 miles, or anything between 3½ and 6 hours, much of it in the Val d’Orcia region, whose hills seem sculpted to an artistic degree of perfection. It’s defnitely thanks to human hands that walkers can appreciate the austere beauty of Sant’Antimo abbey and the Renaissance perfection of San Biagio church, as well as the wines of Montalcino and Montepulciano.