Planning a Trip

Getting There

By Train -- Use the Chiusi/Chianciano Terme station, whether you're on one of the 30 daily trains on the main Rome-Florence line (1 hr. 45 min.-2 hr. 45 min. from Florence) or the 16 trains on the secondary Siena line (1 hr. 15 min.). On the Siena line, don't get off at the stop called Montepulciano Staz. It's about as far from Montepulciano as the Chiusi stop, but local LFI buses to Montepulciano are coordinated with the trains only at the Chiusi station.

By Car -- From Siena, the quicker, more scenic route is south on the SS2 to San Quírico d'Orcia, where you get SS146 through Pienza to Montepulciano. From Florence, take the A1 south to the Chianciano Terme exit, and then take SS146 (direction Chianciano) for 18km (11 miles). As in most Tuscan hill towns, you will need to park at one of the public lots outside the historic center.

By Bus -- Five to eight Tra-in buses (tel. 0577-204-111; www.trainspa.it) run three to five times daily from Siena (1 1/2 hr.) through Pienza (20 min.). LFI (tel. 0578-31-174) buses run hourly from Chiusi (50 min.) through Chianciano Terme (25 min.), and twice daily from Florence to Bettole, where you transfer for the bus to Montepulciano (2 hr. total). There are three direct buses daily from Florence run by Ferroviaria lines (no phone).

In Montepulciano, buy Tra-in and Ferroviaria tickets at Caffè Tubino, in the little parking lot just below Porta al Prato; get LFI tickets from the tabacchi/bar at Via Gracchiano del Corso 36-38.

Visitor Information

Montepulciano's tourist office is tacked onto the right side of Sant'Agostino at Via Gracchiano nel Corso 59a (tel. 0578-757-341; www.comune.montepulciano.siena.it or www.prolocomontepulciano.it). It's open daily from 9:30am to 12:30pm and 3 to 6pm (until 8pm in summer); closed Sunday afternoons, but not for riposo in August.

Festivals & Markets

Poliziani in general are still adept wordsmiths and poets. The tradition of popular theater, which had its roots in extemporaneous performances on threshing-room floors, is carried on by a company of locals who write lyric plays on themes of religion, local legends, and chivalric romances. During the annual Bruscello, the townspeople perform their homespun musicals out on the piazze on the days surrounding August 15 (Assumption Day).

Poliziani also used to gallop horses pell-mell through the streets in an annual palio, but for safety reasons this has been reduced in modern times to the Bravio della Botti. In this only slightly less perilous race, the locals don 14th-century costumes as teams from the traditional contrade neighborhoods roll barrels weighing more than 175 pounds toward the finish line. (Oh, yeah: It's uphill.) To witness the hernias and join in the pageantry before the race and the feast after, drop by town on the last Sunday in August.

This display of brute strength follows a few weeks of classic and modern music, dance, theater, and art in the Cantiere Internazionale d'Arte. Never ones to let everyone else do all the work, the Poliziani again turn up as key players in the festival, performing alongside the hundreds of international artists who attend. It starts in late July and lasts until mid-August.

Montepulciano's market day is Thursday.