Monteriggioni and Radda-in-Chianti

Writing 2008.06.04.1830 Relais Fattoria Vignale, Radda-in-Chianti, Italy

We packed our bags after breakfast as we were to decamp from San Gimignano today. Angelica and Gianni gave us a tour of the fortress and the church with its remarkable frescos. Once again, photography was not allowed in the church. We then walked out of town to the bus depot to get on our bus which took us to the trail head.

This trail led us ultimately to Monteriggione, another hill town. The day had dawned partly cloudy and quite pleasant, so I was wearing my Tilley hat periodically to protect my head from sunburn. The first stop on the walk was Abbadia Isola, a stopping spot on the pilgrim trail to Rome (and ultimately Jerusalem) in the Middle Ages. The feature of this church was its altar piece in the early Renaissance/late Byzantine style with gold backgrounds. Perhaps more remarkable was the impromptu flute recital that Gianni gave, including a jazz piece in which he was accompanied by Guillermo on percussion using hand claps.

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The view from the fort in San Gimignano.

The front of the fort.

The 'suburbs' of San G.

Gianni with the towers.

Coming down from the walls of the fort.

Joanna and Jonathan walking around the base of the fort.

A modern sculpture in front of the fort.

A coat of arms on the wall of city hall.

The steps in front of the church.

Heading out on the morning's walk.

Pausing at a crossroads.

Walking down a country lane.

A passing shower brings out the umbrellas.

Down the lane to the house in the distance.

Another attempt at a 'poppy picture.'

A tiny succulent on the top of the stone walls was in flower.

A rustic cross and rose.

The local feline.

Walking into the village.

Pausing in front of the Abbey - where the latest façade had crumbled to reveal the previous one.

A closer look of the façade behind the façade.

Some carvings on the columns.

The altar piece of the abbey.

Gianni provided a flute concert.

On the plaque outisde the Abbadia Isola:

The pilgrimages to Jerusalem had already begun during the first centuries after the death of Christ, and with the liberalizing of Christian worship in the Constantine era, these sporadic journeys turned into a constant flow of pilgrims all over the Holy Land. During the late Middle Ages the places of pilgrimage also multiplied throughout the entire Western world due to the Arab conquest of the East, the discovery of the Saints’ bodies, and the “sacrum furtum” (plundering) of the remnants of the Holy City with their transferal to the Western churches. This era thus witnessed Rome’s growing importance as a Christian pole, the widespread sanctification phenomenon in Europe, and the compensating for the objective distance from the holy places in the East with the sprining up of centers of worship along the wayfaring routes linking up the most important Christian strongholds: Jerusalem, Rome and Santiago de Compostella.

A sign of its times, the pilgrimage represented the integration between spiritual unity and cultural unity founded on Christian values. The political movement of Charles the Great and the cultural movement of the network of abbeys, as well as benefiting this process, were also essential for the formation of a European indentity.

In the era of Charles the Great the road that since ancient times had linked Rome with the countries beyond the Alps, acquired the name of Via Francigena or Romea, depending on the direction traveled. The Via Francigena witnessed the transiting not only of pilgrims, but also of wayfarers and merchants, who by comparing their own cultures with those of the territories they traversed, became true cultural mediators. These thoroughfares also contributed towards the great revival in the West during the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, characterized by growth of commercial trading and financial enterprises, and the specialization of handicrafts, allowing the numerous local economies to take part in what was defined as the “worldwide” economy of the Middle Ages.

From there we walked on toward Monteriggione (visible in the distance) on a country lane surrounded by wheat fields and a remarkable field full of poppies and the red-purple flowers of sulla. Giovanni, the bus driver, drove us to the bus depot below Monterigionne and we walked up to the town where we ha lunch in the garden of a restaurant just off the main square, Piazza Roma. Lunch was relatively simple compared to yesterday’s feast – a green salad to start and a selection of pasta dishes as the main. I had the ravioli stuffed with potato with ragu (meat sauce). As usual, there was plenty of wine and we concluded with espresso or café macchiato in my case. As we were leaving, Ana and Juan treated us all to gelato (how could one say no?), so I had a scoop of chocolate and limone.

We took the opportunity to walk around the battlement to view the surrounding countryside. From there the bus took us towards Radda in Chianti over a road that wound through the hills, while I kept my eye on the darkening horizon as a thunderstorm built to the west. Just short of Radda, we turned aside to go down the hill to the start of our walk. Hilltop towns start to lose their charm as you huff and puff your way up to them repeatedly. The charm is rapidly regained upon a hot shower and a glass of wine.

The thunder was with us on the climb into town as the dark clouds approached. On the way, Angelica pointed out a wild orchid off to the side of the road. I thought about climbing down to get a snap of it, but to Angelica’s relief, I decided not to do so, hoping for more specimens ahead. The hope paid off as there was a patch of orchids immediately adjacent to the road.

Jonathan and I huffed and puffed up to the main road to where we found the hotel and hot shower. The wine will arrive with dinner. While we were freshening up, the thunderstorm (unlike yesterday, this time with lightning) broke over us and the torrential rains pounded the garden outside the window of our room.

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Monteriggione in the distance over the wheat fields.

Heading down the road.

Poppies and daisies.

A field of sulla.

A close-up of the sulla blossom.

Looking back at the abbey over the sulla and poppies.

More wheat.

Gianni and Jonathan taking snaps of the flower laden field.

Looking across the distance.

A lone tree shades the road.

A mixture of poppies and daisies(?) in front of sulla.

There were a few other wildflowers.

Poppies amidst the wheat.

Jonathan waiting for me - as usual, we were typically the trailing walkers.

A barn and a piece of farm equipment, with the villa in the hills behind.

Prosciutto on the hoof.

The bus waiting for us.

Climbing the stairs into Monteriggione and lunch.

Juan, Ana, Maria, Marisa, Gianni, and Angelica.

Monteriggione viewed from the top of the city walls.

Pocho and Ana mugging for the camera - or was that just Pocho mugging Ana?

Pausing for a moment in the square before our departure - Jonathan, Guillermo, and Gianni.

The storm building behind us.

Another wildflower.

One of the few shots I have where I'm in front of people.

Wildflower.

Wildflower.

Jonathan pauses to take in the view.

Wildflower.

A thistle with a red and black insect.

The red/purple foliage was not common, but made a nice contrast in this shot.

Wildflower.

Wildflower.

Angelica and Joanna working their way up the hill into Radda.

Wild orchid.

Wild orchid.

A farmer tending his vineyard.

The thunderstorm arrives.

On the ride over to Radda, Gianni related the legend of how the black rooster came to represent Chianti. Supposedly back in the day, Siena and Florence were contending for the Chianti region which lies between them. Rather than fighting it out in a pitched battle, they decided to settle the border by a contest. The contest was to have a knight from each city ride to the other city and where they met on the road would be the border between the two rival city-states. The knights were to depart when the rooster crowed in the morning. The Sienese white rooster was well-fed and well-treated and crowed at the usual time in the morning. However the black Florentine rooster was starved and started crowing earlier, which explains why the border between the two is so much closer to Siena than Florence. And the region (Chianti) got the black rooster as a symbol.

Writing 2008.06.06.0800 Relais Fattoria Vignale, Radda-in-Chianti, Italy

Dinner was at an elegant restaurant in town, not far from the hotel. For starters, I had what looked and tasted like a heavy soufflé with zucchini on a pomodoro sauce. For the pasta course, I selected a penne with pesto, and the main course of steak. The dessert was three scoops of gelato: lemon, blood orange, and cantaloupe that tasted like the original article.