6/1/2024 Etruscan Museum and Montepulciano

This was my view from the balcony of my room at the Piccolo Hotel.

The Tuscan hills look like a painting instead of a photo.

Sunrises

Even the bathroom view was amazing!

This morning, we visited the four floors of the Etruscan Museum, housed in a converted 19th-century granary barn. The Etruscans were ancient people who lived on the Italian peninsula long before the Romans arrived. No literature survived their period, so all that is left are artifacts of weapons, cooking implements, and building tools.

Banquet Room.

Burial Urn (love the thumbs-up).

Serious meat hook.

Montepulciano is a medieval hilltop town in the Tuscan countryside, but more importantly, one of my favorite red wine varietals. It only made sense that lunch would be at the historic Fattoria della Talosa winery, which dates back to 1500. It was the first wine tasting inside an underground grotto I've ever experienced. These award-winning wines require a minimum of 70% Sangiovese varietal (another one of my favorites).