The daily diary of a wandering restaurateur
December 8 - Montalcino
We finally said goodbye to Albergo Il Giglio, our home for the past several days. They are wonderfully warm and hospitable folks who took very good care of us. We recommend the place highly.
The day dawned sunny but the fog in the valleys was a preview of things to come. While we had the chance, we thought we should wander around town a bit and see what was going on.
As we walked up to the Pizza Garibaldi, we heard a drum beating and people singing. Shortly afterward, a procession of people in medieval costume came down the hill and passed through the piazza, followed by a small group of locals. We learned that it was some sort of holiday procession for a particular quarter of the city. In Italy, there are fierce rivalries between different parts of the same town. An Italian's first loyalty is to his neighborhood, then to the city of his birth (where he probably still lives.
A few shots around Montalcino. The entire city is surrounded by a high wall and there is also a fortress inside the city. Seeing things like this always reminds me of how predatory life was in the middle ages.
© 2005 Restaurant Doctor
[