What to Do at Spannocchia
Wine Lovers
- Tour Spannocchia’s cantina and sample our vino rosso and vino bianco on the terrace before dinner
- Try vin santo with cantuccini cookies – a Tuscan specialty
- Sample the world famous local wines in the nearby hilltowns: Vino Nobile in Montepulciano and Brunello in Montalcino.
- Drive through the Chianti region and visit the enoteche (local tasting rooms)
- Visit the Enoteca Senese in the Fortezza dei Medici in Siena
- Travel one of the wine road itineraries organized by the Siena tourism office.
Foodies
- Pizza Night!
- Have a harvest box of Spannocchia veggies, farro, and olive oil waiting at your house when you arrive – order through the guest information form sent to you before your arrival.
- Tour Spannocchia’s Cinta Senese cured pork production process and taste a variety of traditional salumi
- Take a cooking class with our local Tuscan cooking teacher, Loredana Betti.
- Visit Nannini bakery in Siena for panforte and riciarelli cookies
- Try Tagliatelle con cinghiale (flat hand-made pasta with wild boar meat), one of our traditional Tuscan favorites.
- Sample the traditional (and delicious!) Pecorino sheeps milk cheese of the Crete region in the village of Pienza, a Renaissance gem.
- Eat seasonal delicacies: fried artichokes in the spring, insalata caprese (tomato and mozzarella salad) in early summer, figs and prosciutto in late summer, funghi porcini (porcini mushrooms) and roasted chestnuts in fall, or finocchi e arance (fennel and oranges) and salsicce e fagioli (sausage and cannellini beans) in the winter.
- Learn more about products from the Province of Siena.
History Buffs
- Tour Spannocchia’s Castello with Randall Stratton to learn about the history of the property, the Spannocchi family and the mezzadria sharecropping system
- Visit San Galgano, a roofless gothic abbey and the nearby chapel with the Tuscan version of the “Sword in the Stone”
- On July 2 or August 16, attend the running of the Palio di Siena horse race in the Piazza di Campo. Try visiting one of the contrada (local neighborhood) museums for a better understanding of the socio-cultural background of the Palio.
- Visit the nearby village of Torri, known for its remarkable cloister in a former abbey, now a private residence.
- Explore Spannocchia’s library of books about Etruscology, architecture, gardens, art, nature, and travel.
- Hike to the hermitage of Santa Lucia or the medieval fortress at Castiglion che Dio Sol Sa
- Visit the archeological museum in Murlo
- See the head of St. Catherine of Siena in San Domenico church
- Explore Saint Galgano's birthplace, the untouristed medieval hilltown of Chiusdino, following the ancient path called “Le Buche.”
- Survey the scene of the Battle of Monteaperti, where the Sienese forces routed their Florentine rivals in what is to this day considered the most glorious moment in the history of the city ... in 1260!
Farmers
- Walk around the property: visit the animals, the vegetable garden, the vineyards, the olive orchards, beehives, and the fields.
- Explore the local Consorzio Agrario (hardware, seed/feed supply, and tool supplier.)
- Visit the Mezzadria Museum in Buonconvento to learn about the history of sharecropping and farm life in Tuscany over the centuries.
- Purchase your very own pennato (Tuscan scythe/machete/do-it-all farm tool)
- Visit other local farms and producers: cheese, fiber, fruit, bakeries, herbs, etc.)
- Visit a frantoio (olive press) if you stay with us during the olive harvest time (November)
- Drop by the Museo del Bosco in neighboring Orgia to see how seasonal use of the forest was an integral part of local farm life.
Garden/Landscape Dreamers
- Visit the vegetable garden and the Giardino Segreto (Secret Garden) at Spannocchia.
- Visit Cetinale – a nearby private garden and hermitage in Sovicille
- Explore the Giardino delle Ragnaie – a sculpture garden near Buonconvento
- Drive through the Crete Senese – try to find the most typical “Tuscan farmhouse with cypress tree in the middle of a grain field” view you can find.
- Time your visit to coincide with the blooming of your favorite flowers: April for ginestra and lilac, May for poppies, June for roses and linden, July for sunflowers, August for prickly pears, September for zinnias.
- Explore the botanical garden in Siena
- Visit any of the beautiful and historic gardens in Tuscany – Belcaro, La Foce, etc.
Family Vacations
- Count the number of cats at Spannocchia and give each a different name
- Explore the secret garden – try to find the wild boar and chickens made of twigs and the hidden benches.
- If it’s hot – go for a swim in the pool!
- Eat pizza.
- Try to find the tallest tower in every town you visit (and at Spannocchia), and then see if you can climb it.
- Visit the piglets or lambs or calves or chicks at Spannocchia.
- Walk through Siena and try to visit each contrada (local neighborhood) at least once in your walk.
- Learn about the Palio di Siena and the contrada histories, mascots, and colors.
- Hike to Castiglion che Dio Sol Sa (The Castle that Only God Knows) and try to find the waterfall below the building.
- Find a TinTin or a Topolino (Mickey Mouse) comic book and see if you can learn some Italian.
- Count the Smart Cars or Vespas you see on the road during car trips.
- Make three wishes every time you visit a new church or cathedral.
- Visit the Siena APT children’s webpage for itineraries and fun activities.
Art Aficionados
- Il Duomo in Siena (Piccolomini library illustrated manuscripts, and tile floor mosaics)
- Museo Santa Maria della Scala (frescoes in the pilgrim’s hall, rotating exhibits)
- Palazzo delle Papesse (contemporary art, wonderful views from rooftop loggia)
- Museo Civico at the Palazzo Pubblico in Siena (Lorenzetti’s Good and Bad Government frescoes)
- Niki de Saint-Phalle’s “Giardino dei Tarocchi” (Tarot Garden) – a unique mosaic sculpture garden near Grosseto
- Explore the small archeology museum at Spannocchia, featuring Tuscan and medieval artifact from local excavations organized by the Etruscan Foundation between 1964 and 2001.
- Tour the world renowned modern sculpture garden set in a fifty acre park on the estate of Fattoria di Celle in Prato.
Artisan Crafts
- Visit Majolica pottery stores in Siena.
- Explore Terracotta vendors on the road from Siena to Grosseto.
- Visit crystal makers in Cole di Val D’Elsa.
- Find local linens and lace at the Friday market in Colle di Val D’Elsa
- Go to Volterra for alabaster treasures
Peoplewatching
- Piazza del Campo, Siena
- Anytime during Passeggiata (evening walk between 7:30 – 10:00pm in any town in Tuscany)
- Wednesday Market, Siena
- Circolo Arci bar, Rosia
- Spannocchia Terrace before dinner
- During the Palio parade