Delights of la dolce vita

By MARK GRAHAM

Drive around a bend - any bend - in Tuscany and a sight to savour will invariably unfold. It might be a hilltop medieval village that was the Manhattan of its day, the hamlet where Leonardo DaVinci's grey cells first began to work their formidable magic, or simply a timeless pastoral scene of men standing outside the local bar, wine glasses in hand, discussing the soccer results.

Few parts of the world have it all in such abundance. Sure, there are plenty of places where the food is exquisite and the wine eminently palatable. And, yes, lavishly endowed landscapes are hardly in short supply, in Italy or elsewhere. Somehow, though, it all comes together with such sweet perfection in Tuscany that it would be a blinkered fool or a curmudgeonly contrarian who found much to grumble about.

Tuscany, or Toscana in local lingo, is the broad-brush name for the region which straddles the middle of Italy just south of Florence and a couple of driving hours north of Rome. Each town and village has its own subculture from the days when they were self-contained and self-preserving communities, always fearful of an invasion by the military-minded expansionist tendencies of near or distant neighbours.

A high and strong town wall was essential - a sturdy fort with high walls an even better way to spot troops marching from afar, giving time to implement defensive measures. Many of these fortresses did their job better than the designers could ever have expected, surviving both the ravages of military attacks and the wearing effects of 1000 years of rain and sun to make it virtually intact into the 21st century.

Take San Gimignano. In its heyday around half a millennium ago, the town was a place of fabulous wealth and style. Half a dozen towers still stand, architectural testimonies to the foresight and extravagance of the owners and the skills of the builders.

Likewise in the streets and squares below. Most people enter the city gates from the south, making a long and slow amble to the top of the cobbled incline. The pace is inevitably slow as visitors are sidetracked by scores of stores offering fine locally produced wines, cured meats and leather crafts. A halt for an espresso halfway up the kilometre-long street is a staple.

In true showbiz style, San Gimignano saves its best for last. The village square, built on an irregular hump, comes into sight around the last bend and archway, invoking a sharp breath of astonishment.

Its cobbled expanse is gently corralled by golden sandstone buildings. The most glorious time is late afternoon, when the fading sun adds an extra smudge of subtle beauty to the timeless scene. Visitors sit on the steps of the long-disused well while locals huddle in the shade of the walls, all savouring the magic of the hour.

Across from the square, at the Dondoli icecream parlour, business is brisk, as it tends to be most days. San Gimignano is one of several similar towns, each with subtle but distinctive differences.

In days of yore many of these hilltop hamlets formed allegiances with the military heavyweights of the time - the powerful families who ruled Florence and Siena.

Territorial loyalties remain strong, especially in Siena, a town which is divided into parishes, known as contradas, each putting up its own entry for the twice-annual horse race around the city square, Piazza Del Campo. Thousands of spectators squeeze into the square and pack the balconies as the horses gallop around in a tangled flurry of hooves, completing the race in mere minutes.

The winner is carried head-high through the town by jubilant contrada crowds and guaranteed free food and wine for the foreseeable future, not to mention huge honour for his particular part of town.

Working out the divisions of the districts is too complex for the casual visitor and hardly vital; better to wander around the backstreets, safe in the knowledge that all roads downhill lead, sooner or later, to the main square, with its clock tower and municipal headquarters.

This is the heartbeat of the city, a place that has functioned as the decision-making centre and meeting place since the Middle Ages.

Sitting and eating in the square itself is free - and the best way to savour the true flavour of Siena. On a balmy summer evening, sweethearts head out on dates that are no less enjoyable for being cheap: a pizza, a bottle of plonk, a starry night and a loved-one to appreciate it with can compete on equal terms with any romantic night out.

For all its undisputed beauty, Siena can become a tad claustrophobic after a few days: all that zig-zagging through narrow streets surrounded by stone brings on a yearning for the rolling hills and scattered villages of Tuscany; the antithesis of city life, medieval or modern.

For visitors embarking on two-week drives through the region, the biggest dilemma is which bits to leave out. Although Tuscany is relatively compact, only a few hundred kilometres wide and long, the concentration of historical treasures and rural delights is way too much to include in one visit. Sacrifices have to be made. The Leaning Tower of Pisa or the Etruscan town of Voltera? A tootle through the vineyards of Chianti or a cultural expedition focused on churches and museums?

Recognising the possibility of cultural overload, wiser visitors opt for villa stays, concentrating their efforts on a smaller, more manageable part of the region with daily forays to nearby attractions.

Visiting in that way allows people to tap into the rhythms of village life by scouring the produce markets, propping up the bar and becoming a known-by-name regular at the local trattoria. gItalians have an apposite phrase to describe this state of affairs ... la dolce vita, or the good life.

* Get a taste of Tuscany in the Coromandel - see D8

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