Did you know that the picture postcard rolling hill photo that you associate with Villa rentals in Tuscany comes from the route that is taken from La Collina del Sole to Pienza ? It appears in suitable postcards to send home when you rent a villa in Tuscany and on Calendars that you buy as Tuscan souvenirs when you choose to stay at Villas for rent in Tuscany it even features on plates and magnets that you can buy at the local market to Lucca Villa Rental on Thursdays, as it is the ideal rolling Tuscan hill reminder of your perfect holiday villas in Lucca As you depart from La Collina del Sole you can drop into L’aia di Piero or Osteria il Vecchio Mulino in Castelnuovo and choose a few choice morsels for a pic nic to take with you on the trip. Or you could pop into Siena and visit the “Consorzio Agrario Siena” on Via Pianigiani to buy water, salads, vegetable frittata, “ribollita” of sodden bread in a mixture of fresh tomato, fresh basil and olive oil or delicious pasta with truffle and funghi porcini and drive on down towards Pienza which is in the heart of the gorgeous Val D’Orcia [ a world heritage site] passing through beautiful rolling hill countryside, poppy fields and newly harvested wheat fields. The very famous picture of the small white church in the middle of a sea of rolling hills is on the way. Pienza is a picturesque town, an example of an ideal renaissance city, with lovely vistas down alleyways, a beautiful main road and square with stunning views to the surrounding countryside of rolling hills which is a UNESCO protected site as far as the eye can see. In Pienza itself stands the main Palazzo, donated to the state by the last in line of the Piccolomini family, along with many of the family treasures, this family provided two Popes, Pius II who was born in the Palazzo and his nephew Pius III who commissioned the beautiful library to be painted in honour of his uncle at the Duomo in Siena. You can take a guided tour or a private tour of this amazing Palazzo which was originally built in 1459 by Bernardo Rosellino [ he had red hair !] and a student of Leon Battista Alberti. Really worth a visit and its own blog as it is a wonderfully sober, elegant and uncomplicated Palazzo. Next to the Palazzo you find the Duomo, a lovely simply decorated church, you can walk along the walls of the town past small houses that look over the incredible view of the fields beyond, there are many shops that sell cheeses, cold meats and wine including Montalcino and Montepulciano wine as both areas are very close to Pienza. A very appealing shop is called Porta della Cavina [ in Piazza Pio II tel +39 0578 749906] it sells house decoration items, home perfumes, small gifts and soft furnishings. The owner is very attentive and helpful, she even told us where the best gelato is to be found - outside the walls it is “Gelateria Toscana” a gelateria & biscoteria artigianale in Via Mangiavacci 3, Pienza, 53026. Tel 0578 748 538. It has a very good selection of normal ice cream and lactose intolerant ice creams with specialities like fennel seed gelato. As you leave Pienza you can drive to either Montalcino which is 25 km away or Montepulciano 10km away on the road there is a magnificent Fortress which sells vin santo and olive oil directly to the public, they have short opening hours though. Continuing towards Montepulciano, if you are lucky and drive as the sun is setting you are rewarded with the magnificent view of Montepulciano bathed in Liquid Golden evening light. The view from a distance is almost the best part, there are many wine stress where you can buy the delicious Montepulciano direct from the vineyard, in order to park best to leave the car at the foot of the town and walk steeply up, the main street runs along the town and is impossible to miss it will take you to the main square which is a huge central area surrounded by a church, town hall, bank and other impressive buildings. The Fortress of Montepulciano is at present undergoing restoration.