Coming in a few weeks later than Fredrik I faced neither snow nor cold. And at least in the morning when I departed from San Quirico the weather was great for a hike. I followed the historic Via Francigena from San Quirico to Bagno Vignoni with a stop at Vignoni and got great views of Ripa d'Orcia and Rocca d'Orcia. San Quirico itself is nice with it's cobble stone streets.

Only after I had left Bagno Vignoni and found myself stuck half way between Bagno Vignoni and Pienza with no village or shelter in between, did I notice the dark clouds forming to the North. They made for an excellent backdrop for my pictures. But after checking the wind direction, I knew what was coming my way. The plain Tuscan landscape may seem picturesque if the sun is shining. With heavy rains pouring down and me looking anxiously for any form of cover, some less barrenness would have helped. Lucky me, it wasn't that cold and my pants dried quickly when the clouds had passed.

The hike itself was really nice, disregarding the frequent times I had to walk on the road. I got to see both the rather mountaineous side of the Val d'Orcia as well as the more hilly parts around Pienza. The area offers plenty more hiking opportunities and I really feel that this is the best way to experience it.

The frequent complaint brought forward by community members is that site is redundant with Pienza already inscribed previously. While I agree that this should be one site, not two, I feel that the Val d'Orcia inscription is the worthier one. It's such a great landscape with castles and towns dotting it. To me Pienza is just a special one of those.

Getting There

Arriving on the weekend (Saturday) my transport options were fairly limited. I settled on an early morning bus from Siena / Buonconvento to San Quirico and hiked from there via Bagno Vignoni to Pienza.

From Pienza I took a bus to Montepulciano, then another bus to Chiusi, and a third bus to Perugia where I stayed for the night on my way to Assisi.

Note

Italians seem to despise side walks. I had to walk on the road for several kilometers, not the most pleasant experience. In addition, one trail came to an abrupt stop at the Orcia river; my assumption was that the trail had been washed away.