Motorhome Travels in Tuscany

Driving our motorhome through the spectacular Tuscan countryside in Italy was simply wonderful and relaxing. Tuscany has some of the most iconic and beautiful landscapes in Italy, and we found ourselves admiring a landscape of golden fields lined with cypress trees leading to hilltop farmhouses, olive groves, vineyards galore, and quintessential medieval towns.

Traveling on from Liguria we crossed the border into Tuscany on the 2nd of October 2020, being already halfway through our two-month motorhome trip in Italy. We decided that a few days exploring just some of the many highlights of Tuscany would give us a good feel for this region. We had already visited the Tuscan cities of Florence and Pisa on past trips, so our itinerary would not include them this time. (Although Florence should certainly be top of the list for any Tuscany itinerary).

Our sojourn around this region was just a sampling of whats is available, but here are some of the highlights of our journey. We left the Cinque Terre behind, heading towards the Tuscan towns of Lucca > San Gimnigano > Siena > Val d’Orcia > Montepulciano. 

We drove on the toll roads from La Spezia ( Cinque Terre) to Lucca in Tuscany in order to avoid some very hilly and winding roads, costing us just Euro 22 and saving our sanity. Arriving at a very centrally located and convenient Sosta in Lucca just before lunchtime. 

Lucca

One of the great things about traveling is meeting up with other like-minded people. We were pleasantly surprised to find fellow bloggers and motorhome travelers’ van parked in the same Sosta (Park Luporini GPS N43.83957 E10.4882) in Lucca. Having followed their blog (www.thegreygappers.com) for years and realizing they would be visiting Lucca at the same time as us, I got in touch with them to arrange a meet-up. Although their van was parked at the Sosta, they were actually staying at a friend’s flat in the town center, therefore we arranged to meet up with them later in the afternoon. 

Soon after lunch, we set off on foot to explore Lucca, heading first for a walk along the top of the city walls that surrounds the town. These historic walls were built to protect the city, and nowadays they are one of the reasons so many people flock to Lucca.  We enjoyed a long stroll along the wide, picturesque, tree-lined walls. First built during Roman times, they were rebuilt in 1500 taking about 150 years to finish. These walls are the only surviving example of a Renaissance structure built for defense in the whole of Italy. Currently, there are a few gateways or “Porta” into the Lucca walls, with the three main ones called: Porta San Pietro, Porta Santa Maria, and Porta San Donato Nuova. We actually entered via the Porta Sant’Anna, officially called Porta Vittorio Emanuele. 

The city walls are about 4Km long and surround the whole city.

There is no shortage of Medieval towers to climb in Tuscany and in Lucca, but there were two towers in particular that took my fancy: The Guinigi Tower, with its unique Holm Oak trees planted on the top, and Torre Del Ore, otherwise known as the Clock Tower which is the tallest in Lucca and has housed a clock since 1390. I bought a combined ticket ( 6 Euro) to visit both towers and I was lucky to get a ticket at all since, due to the coronavirus pandemic, they were mostly only accepting tickets from people who had previously booked online.

Views from the Guinigi Tower

Views from Torre Del Oro. Lovely view of the Guinigi Tower and its trees on top.

There are 230 steps up to the top of the Guinigi Tower and Torre Del Oro has about 207 wooden steps, up a narrow passage. Both towers offer great views over the city, but my favorite view was from the Torre Del Ore since from this one you can learn all about the functioning clock and bells whilst also getting a great view of the Guinigi Tower with its odd Holm Oak trees on top. Because of the coronavirus pandemic, the number of people walking up to the tower was very restricted and therefore there was only a small group of us plus a guide. Having a guide to explain the history of the towers was excellent.  

Apart from climbing towers we just loved wandering around, along the narrow cobbled streets, gawping at the wonderful architecture, enjoying the many little courtyards and piazzas. Since Lucca is also known as the  “Town of 100 churches”, you will never be far away from a beautiful church. 

Art and churches galore in this town.

Creativity in the time of Covid. Lovely Lucca street art.

Art is everywhere in this town, including some interesting street art. 

The heart and soul of Lucca is the beautiful Piazza Anfiteatro with lovely open-air cafes and a great place to hang out. Therefore we decided this would be a great place to meet up with the “Gappers”, Karen and David for a drink and a chat. I recognized them immediately, as soon as I spotted them riding their e-bikes into the Piazza.

We loved meeting up with fellow bloggers and motorhome dwellers Karen and David (the Grey-Gappers)

We had a really nice time with them chatting about our travels and in particular about their motorhome travels and what it has been like for them to live in a motorhome full time. Their friend Mark, who has recently moved to Lucca from Florence also joined us later on for drinks. During our two months traveling in Italy, we have rarely seen other British van dwellers, for some reason Italy is not as popular as Spain and France with the British motorhomes, something I find a bit odd. 

It rained non-stop for most of the night and the next day we heard about “Storm Alex” which has hit hard in France, particularly Nice and also Italy’s Aosta Valley, where a man died because of it. 

We left Lucca the next day bound for San Gimignano with rain following us for most of the way. We crossed hugely swollen rivers running high and fast and the colour of chocolate, carrying huge amounts of rain deposited in the mountains to the north.

San Gimignano

Just a short drive from Lucca, it did not take us long to arrive at a small Sosta (GPS N43.45202 E11.05608), located within walking distance from the town. The rain stopped after lunch and so we decided to go and explore the town. We walked along a country road eventually spotting the pretty hilltop town of San Gimignano in the distance. A picture post-card of a place with its Medieval Towers giving its nickname of “The Medieval Manhattan of Tuscany”. 

The beautiful hilltop town of San Gimignano

Although quite hilly, the town was easy to explore on foot and it did not take long for us to have a good look around. It is utterly charming. With so many towers to choose from, I went up Torre Grossa, to get a gorgeous view of the town and its surrounding countryside. From the tower, I could understand why the Tuscan countryside is so admired and loved.  Before me the medieval town surrounded by a bucolic landscape of undulating hills, agricultural land with cultivated olives, vineyards and, charming old farm-houses surrounded by tall cypress trees. Even on a cloudy day, it looked stunning. This walled town has been the setting of some of Franco Zeffirelli’s movies, such as the 1972 biopic “Saint Francis of Assisi” and also his semi-autobiographic “Tea With Mussolini (filmed in 1999). The towers represented symbols of power for feuding noble families and they are still nowadays owned by private families,  they are also a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Views of San Gimignano and surrounding countryside from Torre Grossa.

Brian, keen to save his knees, since there was no lift up to the tower, stayed down below, waiting for me. There were 218 steps up, but I found it quite easy…perhaps I am getting good at climbing up these ancient towers. Torre Grossa is a world heritage site, one of the remaining 13 towers out of the original 72 that were built in this town. At 54 meters high, is the highest one in the historic center of San Gimignano, located in Piazza del Duomo, on Palazzo del Podestà’s (former Town Hall) right side. Construction started in 1300 and finished in 1310.

Downstairs the tower has a vaulted passage connected to the Civic Museum (visiting the museum is included in the cost of the ticket), with a gallery showcasing beautiful frescoes painted by the likes of Coppo di Marcovaldo, Lippo Memmi, Benozzo Gozzoli, and many others. I was particularly impressed by the Sala di Dante, the ancient Council Hall, named in honor of the poet Dante Alighieri 

Impressive 14th Century fresco by Lippo Memmi titled “Maestà” (Majesty).

San Gimignano is often called the Medieval Manhattan of Tuscany…I wonder why? See here Torri Gemelle (the Twin Towers).

After some good exploring, we made our way back home, although not before stocking up on some delicious and freshly made Foccacia bread and other local specialties for our dinner.

Yummy local produce in San Gimignano

We left San Gimignano the next morning bound for Siena.

Siena

Just a few miles down the road we arrived at a campsite called ” Colleverde Siena” (GPS N43.3369 E11.3303), where we paid 35 Euro per night which included an electric hook-up in a great location within walking distance from Sienna town center. Being a weekend the town was quite busy, but we donned our face masks and carried on exploring. The sun made an appearance and there were a few people enjoying the main Piazza Il Campo, where most people tend to congregate. This is where the famous “Palio Di Siena” horse races take place every year in July and August. Ten horses and riders ( the jockeys ride bareback) compete in the race. 

A pageant and “Corteo Storico” ( historic costume parade) precede the race. Visitors from all over the world flock here to see the spectacle. There are some particular treacherous turns in the piazza, where it is not uncommon for a few of the jockeys to be thrown off their horses and riderless horses finishing the race alone.

Siena’s Piazza Il Campo.

Siena’s main Piazza Il Campo.

Unfortunately, no race was going on during our visit, just visitors lazing in the sun and even lying down in the middle of the Piazza. We stopped for coffee and cake at one of the open-air cafes of the Piazza Il Campo and just enjoyed people watching. The Carabinieri (local police) were out and about, occasionally telling people off for lying on the pavement or congregating in groups. 

Although it was the busiest town we visited in Tuscany, we really enjoyed Siena, the narrow roads lead onto pretty little courtyards or a beautiful building or a church. I particularly loved the facade of the main Duomo.

Duomo of Siena

Beautiful Duomo of Siena.

The queue to get in was far too long and so we decided against it. In any case, we have visited so many of the beautiful Italian churches already that we were happy just admiring it from outside. We found another statue of the “Capitoline Wolf” here at the Duomo, as well as in many other places in Siena.

We spotted many statues like this one around Siena. We saw them also in Rome, representing the legend of the founding of Rome, but we were surprised to see them here.

I later discovered that the sculpture depicting the “she-wolf” who according to legend nursed and sheltered the twins Romulus and Remus (from the tale of the founding of Rome) is also a major symbol of Siena. The image of the “she-wolf” suckling Romulus and Remus is a symbol of Rome since ancient times, and one of the most recognizable icons of ancient mythology. There are actually many copies of the statue around the world. 

We headed back to our home-on-wheels later in the afternoon, exhausted and ready to relax the rest of the evening. It was my younger sister Angelita’s Birthday, so I did a video-call with her. We left the campsite soon after breakfast and having our motorhome serviced with emptying the grey and black water tanks, filled up with fresh-water, and then we headed for Montepulciano via the beautiful Val D’Orcia. 

Montepulciano

We followed along some very small winding roads uphill, mostly good roads but with the occasional bad patches of potholes, arriving at the local Sosta (GPS N43.09585 E11.7881), just before lunchtime. We bought a ticket to pay for our overnight stay, after a few attempts at understanding how it worked. Another van dweller was also having the same problems as we did, but after some deliberation, we managed to do it and set off towards the town and finding a place to eat lunch. 

This small town situated on a reclaimed narrow ridge of volcanic rock overlooking the vast panoramas of Val’Orcia and Val Di Chiana valley. It is a gem of a place, full of elegant Renaissance buildings, ancient churches, charming little courtyards, and cobbled streets. Montepulciano has become very popular since the filming of the vampire series Twilight sequel called “New Moon”. Fortunately, it was not busy during our visit. 

This is another Italian town totally in love with the grape, and they make arguably some of the best wine in Italy. Testing this theory was one of the reasons for our visit and we had another wine tasting place on our itinerary…but first, we wanted to have lunch at a recommended restaurant in town. 

 Following the main road upwards…it was very hilly and quite steep in places, we finally found Cafe Poliziano on the main Il Corso street, in the heart of the town. We lucked out with our table overlooking the gorgeous Val D’Ostia. We splashed out a bit today on really nice local wine and to accompany a delicious meal. The service was also very friendly…we absolutely loved this place. 

After lunch, we walked along the main street to the highest point at the Piazza Grande, where Summer festivals and concerts take place and where they filmed part of the Twilight vampire series. On one side of the square is the 15th-century Palazzo Comunale (Town Hall) which is a miniature of the Palazzo Vecchio of Florence. I climbed the tower (67 narrow stairs) for some great views over the square and surrounding countryside. 

Piazza Grande is the town’s highest point. Can you spot Brian down below? Sitting on the steps of the Duomo.

Views from the tower of Palazzo Comunale.

We ended our visit to Montepulciano at Enoliteca Consortile, which is operated by a consortium of local wine producers, Consorzio Del Vino Nobile di Montepulciano. Situated on the ground floor of the Fortress of Montepulciano, a military fortress built in 1261 during the age of the Republic of Siena. The fortress is called “Medicea”  and interestingly it is currently the home of the American Kennesaw State University of Georgia. 

You can sip wine here, whilst appreciating the excavated findings under a glass floor.

Entrance of Montepulciano’s Enoliteca Consortile.

The Enoteca (wine bar) is set over archeological finds, so you can sip wine whilst appreciating the excavated findings under a glass floor. From the terrace, there are panoramic views over the Temple of San Biagio, Val di Chiana and Val d’Orcia. It is an ideal place to taste over 100 labels of all producers associated with this consortium, as well as a selection of local products. Just as well the way home was downhill, after so much wine tasting.

 Montepulciano was the last Tuscan town on our itinerary and we left soon after breakfast the next day bound for Perugia, just over the border into Umbria and the next leg of our motorhome journey through Italy. But before leaving town we did stock up on some Montepulciano wine…in our opinion, some of the best wine in Italy is produced in this region. 

Needless to say that Tuscany has more than its fair share of highlights and a drive through such a picturesque landscape can never fail to impress. Although we are moving on, I am sure that we will return to Tuscany in the future. It is one of those places that pull on the heart-strings, gifting the visitor with a feast for the senses, offering more than what can be experienced in just one short visit.