Buonconvento to San Quirico  d’Orcia

18.8 Miles; 8.5 Hours on the trail                               (Cumulative: 141.6 Miles; 68.4 Hours on the trail)

The walk to San Quirico d’Orcia was quite a mix of uphill & downhill slopes in the rolling hills along earthen tracks known as the famous Tuscan “white roads” which are also called caliche roads in other places.

Starting in the morning, we saw a couple yellow school buses like America has.       Most countries use public transportation to get kids to school.                                            Italy is one of the few places we have ever seen that has dedicated school buses.

We walked past several huge wineries in the Montalcino hills with large vineyards growing Brunello di Montalcino grapes.                  There was a strong wine aroma wafting in the air from a good distance away from each winery.

Brunello di Montalcino wines are rated among Italy’s best wines & certainly its most expensive wines.                   They were first mentioned in the 14th Century & thought to be a separate grape variety; but, in 1879, it was determined that Brunello vines are actually Sangiovese.

The first vineyard belonged to the Tricerchi Winery.              The Castle Tricerchi is named for the family who built it in 1441 & whose family ancestors still own it.                                    This winery is 400 hectares in size which is almost 988 acres.

The next winery along the way was Altesino which is housed in the 15th Century Palazzo Altesi which was also built by the Tricerchi family.                    It is 100 hectares in size which is about 247 acres.

The third winery we passed was Caparzo.                            The origins for the place name Caparzo are still unknown. According to some, the name is  derived from “Ca’ Pazzo” which is shown on ancient maps.                               According to others, the term derives from the Latin “Caput Arsum” which means “a place touched by the sun”.

In any case, Caparzo winery dates back to 1960s when a group of friends who were fond of Tuscany & of wine, purchased an old ruin with vineyards in Montalcino & turned it into a very successful business.

Caparzo is 200 hectares in size which is about 494 acres.     Their grape vine density is 5,000 plants per hectare on average.

Some images from the trail:

San Quirico d’Orcia is a historic walled village in Tuscany’s Val d’Orcia region famous for its Renaissance gardens, medieval architecture, & iconic surrounding countryside.

The town is named for the Syrian Saint Cyricus whose name in Italian is Quirico.       He along with his mother Julitta were martyred in the 4th Century.

The Collegiate Church of Saints Quirico & Giulitta is first mentioned in documents as far back as the 8th Century.             The current church dates from the 12th Century.                           It is named for Quirico & his mother.

San Quirico streets

After exploring San Quirico, we walked a little farther outside town to see Podere Belvedere which rates among Tuscany’s most famous stone farmhouses.

Another house outside San Quirico