Citta del Tufo - Pitigliano

We dropped past Cipo's mums house for goodbye morning coffee and pastries. The girls continued to teach Riccardo how to play spit and enjoyed patting her 13yr old dog who's name has escaped me.

 

It was then time to hit the road heading south further into Tuscany. Our destination was Pitigliano, a small hilltop town between Siena and Roma. Beginning the 3 hour drive much later than expected, we decided not to detour to any other touristy sights.

The only stop we had was when we veered off the autostrade for lunch at Autogrill -  a commonly seen service area on the E35. Our mistake on entering the Autogrill was turning right into the restaurant area rather than left to the takeaway section. Eventually we all decided on our lunch - chicken schnitzel for Ella, sausage for Andy while Katy and I shared ribs all with the side dish of frites. I was floored at the checkout when the cashier said 40€ but by then it was too late to turn around!! We proceeded to a table by the window and began to tuck into lunch. The meat was ok but the roasted potatoes were cold and disgusting. So disappointing to spend that amount of money on revolting food. This memory will be added to our $80 swim!

Turning off the highway, our speed dropped significantly. The next 70km was going to take us 80mins. At times we were sure that google maps was leading us astray taking us on the smallest and most twisty roads possible. On the upside the countryside we saw was beautiful. At one point we rounded a corner to see a a beautiful Maremma dog sitting adjacent the road guarding it's flock of sheep. Ticking off the kilometres we drove through the impressive village of Sorano. Knowing this beautiful town was only 10km from Pitigliano, thinking we would return during the next few days, we decided not to stop and explore.

Parking the car in the new part of Pitigliano, it was a short walk to the old town and to the cathedral where we were to meet our host. Our breaths were taken away as we approached Pitigliano from the north. Citta del Tufo, the city carved from Tufo, a type of rock made of volcanic ash ejected during a volcanic eruption which is then compacted into a solid rock in a process called consolidation. Perched on high walls of volcanic rock surrounded on all sides by a deep ravine, the tower houses create an amazing skyline.

Descending into the old part we pass the medici aqueduct built in the 16th century that brought fresh water to the town. In the Piazza della Repubblica, the aqueduct terminates at the fontana delle sette cannelle  (the fountain of the 7 spouts) the roads narrows before dividing into even smaller streets. These two streets run parallel and are connected by vicoli, small alleyways. All very quaint.

Our host arrived in a timely manner as we shivered in the blustery cold wind. It was only a short distance from the cathedral to our apartment. We climbed a flight of stairs and stepped into a fantastic little place, cosy and warm thanks to the lit pellet heater. The girls loved their loft bed. This was apartment was our base for the next three nights.