One hilltown I knew I didn't want to miss was Pienza. So much of what I was looking forward to about Italy involved food, so I kicked off Tuscany with a visit to this town famous for its pecorino cheese production! I wasn't disappointed; we could literally follow the scent of cheese before we could even SEE the cheese. The main town streets were lined with shop after shop crammed full of different varieties of this ewes' milk cheese.
Since we veered off course a little when we fell under the spell of the ridiculously yummy smell of fresh cheese, we finally got it together and pulled ourselves away from gazing at mounds of pecorino so we instead gaze at the view for which this hilltown is just as famous. Situated in the province of Siena, Peinza overlooks the Val d'Orcia region, which extends from the hills south of Siena to Monte Amiata. The whole region is characterized by these gently rolling hills dotted with picturesque little villages and wineries.
The streets of Pienza were also a big draw for me. Since this was our first stop in the Tuscan countryside, it was my first chance to see the alleyways, the stone streets, and the colorful doorways I'd come to expect from these quaint Italian villages. Again... just simply not disappointed. So much cuteness in such a small place. Pienza only takes about an hour to explore, but every little street and corner holds something special to see.
It truly was such a magical little town. It was the perfect first stop, since it was small enough to be manageable even without a map, yet offered so much of what I was hoping to see in Tuscany, and kicked off our little food tour with a ridiculous amount of regional pecorino cheese. After this little town, I was definitely excited to see what else Tuscany would hold for us. :)
*One thing that was difficult for us as we adjusted to driving our rental car into unfamiliar little villages was figuring out where to park. There are free lots, pay lots, and street parking, but they're often difficult to find, and always mandated by rules that were hard for us to understand due to our limited knowledge of the Italian language. We finally worked out a system where Raja would use GoogleMaps to find the GPS coordinates of a parking destination prior to leaving the agriturismo where we stayed, and we'd plug in those GPS coordinates and follow the directions to that particular parking spot. Since he's already done the work, I thought it'd be helpful to share the coordinates so anyone that's traveling to that area can easily find a safe, legal place to park. There's nothing worse than realizing you just passed a parking area, only to find out that the next streets are either one-ways or have menacing looking "No" signs. You have to wind back through so many roads and it can get quite stressful. Best to know where you're going before you start, so we hope this helps! :)
Parking in Pienza - GPS Coordinates:
Longitude 11° 40' 39.7668"
Latitude 43° 4' 44.7162"
Paid parking, but inexpensive
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