The town of Montepulciano is one of the best-known producers of fine wine in the whole of Italy. The picturesque little place is perched atop a hill in the Tuscan countryside. From a few kilometres away, you can make out the renaissance bell towers and the city walls – blots of brown and red on the otherwise green Tuscan landscape. It’s only when you get much closer to Montepulciano that what was beautiful from the road a few kilometres back becomes terribly inconvenient. The inclines are so steep that our diesel rental car struggled to make it up to the car park. My parents, whose idea of enjoyment is tasting the delicious wines, cured meats, and cheeses in the many cantine, rather than walking up steep paths to a town that was originally designed to deter intruders, had their work cut out.
However, after stopping in a chocolate shop, we made it to the city’s main square, also known as Piazza Grande. It’s very pretty, with a church (what Italian square doesn’t have one?), a tower that gives stunning views of the countryside back where you just came from, and lots of cafes lining the outside. If you want to see any more of Montepulciano though, it’s going to be tough on the legs. To really explore, you’ll constantly be hauling yourself up stairs, down banks, and even occasionally, into caves.
Happily, in the square sat a solution. The narrow and cobbled streets are too small for an unsightly double decker, open top, hop on hop off bus. However, there’s a clever alternative that’s good for the environment and it won’t have its top ripped off when it passes under an ancient archway. For the princely sum of €8 each, what I can only describe as a ginormous electric golf cart with 3 rows of shaded seats and an open back would traverse the streets of this cosy little village and beyond. Because I wanted to take pictures, I sat in the back, the only part that wasn’t shaded. This is when I found out how hot fake leather seats can get – somewhere quite close to the temperature required to actually melt human flesh.
It was a scary start – the electric vehicle felt like it had little control descending the cobbled hills. It made up for that by feeling woefully underpowered when tackling the slightest upward incline. But I got used to its unusual movements.
We had completed about half the tour when I noticed something else strange. The passengers on the tour were all silent. Of course they were – you’re given a set of cheap headphones that you can plug in to an audio guide which tells you everything you could possibly want to know about Montepulciano, in your chosen language. I’m not saying this isn’t a great idea, but I can’t help thinking that on such a small vehicle, a guide speaking in Italian and English would cater to the majority of tourists who visit, while also giving it a bit of atmosphere.
After all, exploring a new place isn’t just about sight. It’s about the smells of pecorino and wild boar salami wafting out from little delis, the sound of church bells, and the snippets of Italian conversation snatched from the bar you just passed. It’s even about the bizarre burping sound that I later found out was the golf cart’s horn.
Also, when you’re being told where to look you miss out on little details that give the place character, like the man sitting at the side of the road sketching, and the cat that is getting itself into the perfect spot to sunbathe. The counter argument to this is if you’re not listening to the audio guide, you might be looking elsewhere and miss the best viewpoint on the tour, but thankfully my mam had her headphones firmly in and kept me posted on anything she thought I might be missing out on.
This isn’t a big complaint. Seeing the town and surrounding countryside without having to work up a sweat was great – especially considering we had limited time there. I just can’t help thinking that a real-life human guide would be a better option for such a small vehicle. You’d still get to find out historically important facts, without being in a little technology bubble, as many of us too often are these days. Part of being on holiday should be getting away from this, surely?
If you’re in a place similar to Montepulciano, I’d recommend leaving the headphones out and letting all your senses enjoy where you are. Except touch. That fake leather seat really hurt.
The Curious Vicuña 