Siena provincial trail 2, day 5: Resta - Montalcino (12 km)

Beautiful clear weather, a cool north wind and temperatures much lower than average for the end of June convinced me to get out walking again... and so I finally picked up Sentiero no. 2 della Provincia di Siena where I left off - two years ago!

Once more I am making it a series of day hikes - or half-day hikes - and relying on public transport to get back to home base at the end of each. Today's leg is the one highlighted in red on the sign - though I didn't pick it up at Castiglion del Bosco, but at Fattoria Resta. Setting off at 7:30 in the morning as a hot-air balloon landed in a wheat field between me and Montalcino - a sight normally seen in September! They come this way early in the morning, on days when the north wind is blowing. And the north wind is what is making it possible to hike at the very end of June, when it would normally be much too hot!

I didn't take many pictures on the way to Montalcino, because this is the third time I have done this hike. The first time was on April 10, 2016, when I first met my hiking friends from Venice! I stopped to ask them if they needed help, since they were looking at a map, and we ended up walking together for the rest of the day; we have since spent three weekends hiking together, and I have been to Venice twice to visit them: a treasured friendship!

Arriving in Montalcino with Venetian friends, April 2016

Well this time I was not so lucky; I didn't meet anybody at all along the way, even though it was a beautiful Sunday morning! 

For the first part of the hike I followed the Via Francigena, up to where it splits: the main route - and most pilgrims - head southeast toward Torrenieri and San Quirico, while a variant splits off southwest toward Montalcino and then the monasteries of Sant'Antimo and San Salvatore. 

Good to be back on the Via Francigena again!

Translation: All roads lead to Rome, Perdincibacco!!!

This time I did not take the detour to Abbadia Ardegna, but headed gently uphill past the vineyards of Casato Prime Donne and Montosoli.

Then came the final ascent to Montalcino: the dreaded "Sferracavallo" road! Rough and steep enough to unshoe any horse, as the name suggests! The very word "Sferracavallo" still sends makes my Venetian friends shudder... being as they are used to hiking in flat places!

And so, keeping a moderate speed as the sign recommended, after a total of three hours walking I came to Montalcino, at an elevation of 550 metres above sea level, with amazing views of the vineyards and wheatfields below. Entering the town at the lower end, through Porta Burello, and immediately coming to a drinking fountain - well-placed for thirsty hikers just finishing the climb up to the town! - I wondered what to do for the next two hours, until it was time to get the bus back to my starting point.

Passing the time turned out not to be a problem at all, as by fortunate coincidence there was a festival in town: a meeting of the Bersaglieri, with not one but two bands playing up and down the streets of town! I followed the sound of music to find the parade assembling outside the church at the highest point in Montalcino, and then ran into them several times in different locations while running errands and shopping in the town. 

Before I knew it, it was time to get the bus back to Buonconvento!