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These towns are ancient, many having been established within the walls of fortresses built to guard against marauders and, more importantly, as defense against the power of the nearby Florentines. Alas, the struggle for independence was lost in the 16th century when the fortress at Montalcino fell to the Medici family, who claimed the province of Siena as part of its own.Castelnuovo dell'' AbateMy wife, Fran, and I were fortunate, indeed, to come upon a little town near Castiglione d''Orcia called Castelnuovo dell'' Abate. In the distance, across fields of blood-red poppies, with vineyards, olive groves and grazing sheep filling the landscape, we could see our hotel, Castello di Velona. Located high on a hill, this 10th-century castle surveys the surrounding valleys and offers views of Mt. Amiata.
On our first evening at the hotel, while sitting on a castle terrace sipping a glass of the local wine, it was easy for me to imagine for a moment that I was a medieval lord or a Renaissance prince.The Castello di Velona, reconstructed from ruins in close conformance with its original design, is a brand-new, deluxe boutique hotel situated at the center of a region which was a major center of Renaissance development, though today it is hardly an area noted for deluxe accommodations.Four years ago the castle consisted of one tower and a pile of rock ruins. Locals could not remember even its name and knew little of its history. A Roman developer by the name of Luigi Piermartini, rummaging through Vatican archives, discovered that this pile of rock was once the seat of power of a feudal lord who held sway over the surrounding countryside.
Montalcino is the most famous of these small towns, and, although no stranger itself to tourism, it has managed to preserve its integrity and character.Only a few kilometers away, little villages are tucked into the gentle undulating hillsides in a ring about the base of the 5,700-foot-high Mt. Amiata. For centuries, the local citizenry has nurtured its olive groves and vineyards and tended its flocks of sheep, from whose milk the world-famous Pecorino cheese is made.They''re not easy to find, these little villages, but once you leave Montalcino and follow the winding roads that rise and fall between the hills, you come upon them: Pienza, claiming to be the first Renaissance village founded in the world, then San Quirico d''Orcia, Castiglione d''Orcia, Vivo d''Orcia and Monte Amiata Scalo with the nearby Abbey of Sant'' Antimo.
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