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MONTACLINO
42km
(25 miles) S of Siena; 112km (67
miles) S of Florence; 190km (118
miles) NW of Rome.
One’s first impression of
Montalcino is in fact a
misleading impression, but the
town does present the tourist with
two impressive sights. Montalcino presents a powerful image when you come up from the valley,
you see a walled town set very
high on a tall hill with the
spires of medieval buildings
emerging from the middle and a
sullen fortress at one end. This
impression completely evaporates
as you near the town, and it
becomes a much smaller, meeker
place. But the sheer medieval
alleyways and stone buildings make
it a tourists delight, and the
views of the valleys from which
you just ascended are magnificent
from this height.
The city has been an inhabited region for a very long time.
First Paleolithic tribes and then
the Etruscans set up temporary
encampments here. The area grew
and prospered and by the Middle
Ages it had become a busy city
that provided protection to the
surrounding farming society.
Montalcino allied itself with the
Florentines against its northerly
neighbour Siena. This led to many
battles between the two and in the
thirteenth century, the Sienese
took over Montalcino. This defeat
brought about a complete turn
around in the attitude of the
people of Montalcino, and they now
became the allies of the Sienese;
this transformation brought
enough prosperity to Montalcino
for it to be declared a city. In
1555 when Florence defeated Siena
it was Montalcino that sheltered
the 700 Sienese families who
refused to submit to the Medici.
The rebellion lasted three years,
after which the Medici grand dukes
took over both the Sienese
families and the city of
Montalcino, but this time by means
of treaties. Montalcino's
faithfulness is honored to this
day and their flag is borne with
pride at the front of Siena's
annual pre-Palio parade.
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