As the famous wine growing town of Montepulciano was only half an hours drive from our campsite we could not leave the region without a visit. As we approached the village it made for an impressive site on the hill.

Here we received a far warmer welcome than in Assisi with clear signage leading to a dedicated camper park next to the bus station. There was plenty of space, the site was monitored and seemed secure, so we parked and followed signs pointing to a lift up to the village.

The lift was broken down and crudely boarded up and it felt more like the entrance to a council tower block than an historic wine village! It was a long walk up a filthy grafitti laden stairwell until we exited onto the edge of a park at the entrance to the village.

Not the most exotic introduction to this legendary place, however the scene soon changed. We entered through the Porta Prato gate where there is the large Dali bronze sculpture “Terpischore”.

Beniamino Levi, one of the greatest collectors of Dali in the world, has dedicated himself to exhibiting a selection of his work in the the Palazzo Bracco and there’s a museum and 2 art galleries here dedicated to his work.

The village itself is beautifully preserved and, in spite of it’s reputation, wasn’t overly busy when we visited.

We stopped for coffee and brioche while being  entertained by a local busker.

After entering through the gate there are multiple wine shops offering tastings and tours of their cellars. OK, so this is probably what you’re supposed to do if you visit this town, but it seemed a somewhat tacky hard-sell and we had to navigate and drive, so we declined. The wine shops soon thinned out and it was more restaurants and, of course, souvenir shops.

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The Piazza Grande is half way up the village and is very impressive site.

When walking through the village you are constantly treated to great views across the Tuscany countryside and here, as in many of the places we visted in Italy, there’s that wonderful smell of jasmine wherever you go.

At the top of the village is the Fortress of Montepulciano, a former Medicci castle, which is now home to the Consorzio del Vino Nobile di Montepulciano, a consortium formed in 1966 which represents 230 Vino Nobile wine growers. It also houses the  Kennesaw State University Campus, which overlooks the beautiful  Montepulciano Gardens – Giardini della Fortezza.

We spent a couple of hours in the village before returning down the bleak staircase to the carpark. The youth of Montepulciano had now turned this into a motorbike and scooter test track! The noise was deafening and the whole chaotic picture was in stark contrast to the serenity we had just left. This image, along with that of the staircase, would not be one you will find on a wine bottle anytime soon.