This is the ceiling of the entryway of an
apartment complex in Montepulciano.

In the afternoon we got back in the bus and drove over to Montepulciano, another hill town of Tuscany. Unlike Cortona, which is pretty flat once you get up into the town, Montepulciano is all up and down.

A memorial plaque in the church in Montepulciano. (Click to enlarge and see detail.)

As we entered the town, Giovanni (our guide) taught us about the town gate and how it was used. After walking up streets and down streets, and viewing the town square and its city hall (which is a copy of the one in Florence), we stopped in at a winery where Giovanni knew the winemaker. Apparently this wine is a prize-winner and has been one of the top wines of the region for a long time.

The barrels of wine are beautiful oak wood, and they were stacked in an ancient building whose roots dated back to Etruscan times. We learned a lot about winemaking.

View from the top of the hill in Montepulciano

We finished our visit to Montepulciano with a visit to the church, which was fairly simple, and enjoyed the views of Tuscany from the top of the hill. We said goodbye to Giovanni and headed back to our villa.

A small door, raised up from the street, is used for a private entrance to the upstairs apartment.