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Hungarian Housewife

Europe Trip: Monteriggioni

October 14, 2014 By Jennifer Leave a Comment

monteriggionititle

For as, on its round wall, Monteriggioni/ is crowned with towers, so there towered here, above the bank that runs around the pit,/ with half their bulk, the terrifying giants, who still – whenever Jove hurls bolts from heaven – /remember how his thunder shattered them.

 -From The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri as translated by Allen Mandelbaum

The sign that took us on a side adventure

The sign that took us on a side adventure

I mentioned in one of my Florence posts about my son’s love of Assassin’s Creed II and its hero, Ezio Auditore da Firenze. Well, Ezio happened to have a country home that he used as a base of operations in a little place called Monteriggioni. When David and Mat saw the sign for the Comune di Monteriggioni on our drive from Siena to Verona, they seriously geeked out and we had to take a side trip.

Looking out over the walls

Looking out over the walls

With my sweetie enjoying the views

With my sweetie enjoying the views

David next to the huge stone walls

David next to the huge stone walls

David and Mat talking about how cool it would have been to see the fortress in a battle

David and Mat talking about how cool it would have been to see the fortress in a battle

I never imagined that I would be grateful to a video game for anything, but I am really pleased that the influence of Assassins Creed lead us to one of the true gems of our vacation. Monteriggioni is a tiny walled village in the province of Siena that was originally built by the Sienese in the 1200s to be the front line of defense in their war with Florence.

The boys wandering the streets

The boys wandering the streets

And hanging out by the walls

And hanging out by the walls

One of the restaurants lining the main piazza

One of the restaurants lining the main piazza

Dédi and the boys resting outside of one of the shops

Dédi and the boys resting outside of one of the shops

It is absolutely picturesque, filled with renaissance style architecture and surrounded by gorgeous Tuscan countryside. I loved touring the church in the main square and the boys were all enthralled with their armor museum, where they were allowed to touch nearly everything and even try on authentic armor.

The church

The church

The church façade and the interior - seriously small churches are the best!

The church façade and the interior – seriously small churches are the best!

The knights of Monteriggioni

The knights of Monteriggioni

Mat looks like he could have been a real Monteriggioni knight

Mat looks like he could have been a real Monteriggioni knight

The knight and his squires

The knight and his squires

Little guys getting in on the action

Little guys getting in on the action

Little Man loved the full armor suits on display

Little Man loved the full armor suits on display and playing dress up

David liked trying out the weapons

David liked trying out the weapons

David, Mat and I managed to carve out time for shopping at the adorable little shops lining the cobblestone pathways and wine tasting at Fattoria Castillo di Monteriggioni. The tasting was excellent. Not only was the wine delicious, but we got a great education in Italian wines and how they are made. Mat and David each ended up walking away with six bottles of wine (which would make packing to go home interesting down the road) and I bought two Italian cookbooks (that I hope I’ll be able to translate). We’ve really enjoyed the wines and the good news is that they ship to the US!

The main gate and the front of our favorite shop.

The main gate and the front of our favorite shop.

Shopping and wine tasting

Shopping and wine tasting

The wines we tasted

The wines we tasted

David showing off the new additions to his wine collection

David showing off the new additions to his wine collection

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Filed Under: Europe, Italy, Travel

« Europe Trip: Tuscany – San Lorenzo a Linari
Europe Trip: Verona »

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