Day 5: Orbetello
The weather looks promising this morning as we head east into the hills to visit the small hill town of Capalbio. The countryside we pass through is very green and is heavily agricultural--grapes, olives, cattle, fruit and vegetables. The hills begin abruptly and we climb quickly to reach the large multi-storied parking garage just under the "centro storico" of Capalbio. We are the only car parked in the structure today and the barriers are open...they are not charging for parking. There are steps from the road that take you to a narrow walkway that surrounds the outside of the town walls, with wonderful views to the hills and sea on one side and doorways leading to private homes on the other.
After going halfway around the town, a gate appears and we get inside the walls to discover one of those almost perfect small hill towns.....narrow streets with stone buildings, flowers in planters and growing on walls, archways leading to other houses on small dead end streets that frame beautiful views, a small church set under the large town castle and finally, a few shops and restaurants. There are very few other visitors on this Saturday morning and it is very pleasant to wander aimlessly around the village.
As we are leaving, the shops begin to open and the restaurants are preparing for their lunch business, but we don't regret the peace and quiet of our visit to Capalbio.
Our next destination is the Giardino del Tarocchi, a park filled with the whimsical sculptures of French artist Niki de Saint Phalle based on tarot card figures. The garden is almost on the Tuscany-Lazio border and only a few kilometers from Capalbio. When we arrive, we find an almost empty parking lot with a few other visitors walking towards the locked gate. The park is now open only in the afternoons starting at 2:30 pm so we will have to return another time. You can see several of the large figures looming above the walls and we had gotten a sample of de Saint Phalle's art in a statue set in a piazza outside the walls of Capalabio.
Magliano in Toscana...another small hill town...is our next destination. The town makes a grand impression as you approach...the walls are high and intact with numerous battlements--it would seem to have been hard for any army to get into the town.
But the inside of the town is less impressive....there seem to be more people around than there were in Capalbio but somehow it has more of an empty feeling than Capalbio did. We stop at a bar to have a light lunch.....a plate of local meat and cheese specialties served with a glass of the local red wine......but we don't linger very long.
The road that takes us from Magliano to Alberese--the headquarters of the Maremma National Park--is particularly scenic. It is a back road that winds gently through the typical southern Tuscany landscape--broad panoramic vistas, rolling hills, green fields, poppies and other wild flowers growing in the fields and along the edge of the road...the kind of drive that you wish would go on and on.
Il Parco Naturale Regionale della Maremma is a nature preserve and park that is reserved predominantly for hikers...cars can't drive into the park. We aren't planning a hike today but I stop at the headquarters in Alberese to get some information and brochures for future use.
The park staff tells me that I can drive and park at Marina di Alberese on the northern edge to get a small taste of the park. The road passes some of the remaining cattle and horse farms. The area is the Tuscan version of the American West complete with a tradition of cowboys (butteri) and rodeos.
The beach at the end of the road is one of the most attractive of Italian beaches....very undeveloped and quite wild. The sand is strewn with a jungle of driftwood making walking along the beach a challenge but it is very striking...the trees, the surf and the long stretch of sand curving down the coast.
After a short walk down the beach and short rest looking at the water, we drive back to Orbetello for a while before getting back in the car and making a return visit to Monte Argentario. We drive to the other main town, Porto San Stefano, which is bigger than Porto Ercole. There are two harbors...one for private boats and the other where the ferries leave for the island of Giglio. The waterfront is one endless strip of restaurants, shops, bars and ice-cream parlors and on this Saturday afternoon, it is jammed with people and cars. After driving the length of the harbor, we follow the signs for the panoramic drive which takes us through the industrial area before we reach the very beautiful drive on the top of the island. The views are pretty spectacular and there are many substantial homes dotting the hillside along the road
but the Argentario doesn't really click for us....for whatever reason--in spite of their location--the towns don't seem appealing or inviting.
Driving back across the causeway to Orbetello, we have a hard time finding a parking space in the very extensive lot. The Saturday afternoon passeggiata is in full swing and the main street is jammed with people walking back and forth, shopping, socializing, sitting in bars....There is also a weekend market going on and there is a buzz in the air.
After strolling the length of the Corso Italia with the rest of the crowd, we stop for a prosecco at one of the bars and watch the scene for a while. Then we sit on a bench overlooking the lagoon and enjoy the quiet, peaceful view and the early evening light.
Dinner is at The Gallery, a very stylish restaurant with a modern feel. The food is more "creative" than we have had so far but it is very good. Diana has an unusual and delicious rice dish (sort of a risotto) with sausage, artichokes and a parmesan cheese sauce followed by a wonderful fillet of ombrone that is perfectly cooked. I have the pappardelle with cheese and pepper (cacio e pepe) served on plate decorated with swirls of delicious fava bean puree and a baccala (salt cod) dish made with capers, olives and the tastiest cherry tomatoes. We drink another delicious morellino di scansano and finish up with fresh strawberries. A very good meal....
The streets are still packed with strollers as we walk back to the hotel.
After going halfway around the town, a gate appears and we get inside the walls to discover one of those almost perfect small hill towns.....narrow streets with stone buildings, flowers in planters and growing on walls, archways leading to other houses on small dead end streets that frame beautiful views, a small church set under the large town castle and finally, a few shops and restaurants. There are very few other visitors on this Saturday morning and it is very pleasant to wander aimlessly around the village.
As we are leaving, the shops begin to open and the restaurants are preparing for their lunch business, but we don't regret the peace and quiet of our visit to Capalbio.
Our next destination is the Giardino del Tarocchi, a park filled with the whimsical sculptures of French artist Niki de Saint Phalle based on tarot card figures. The garden is almost on the Tuscany-Lazio border and only a few kilometers from Capalbio. When we arrive, we find an almost empty parking lot with a few other visitors walking towards the locked gate. The park is now open only in the afternoons starting at 2:30 pm so we will have to return another time. You can see several of the large figures looming above the walls and we had gotten a sample of de Saint Phalle's art in a statue set in a piazza outside the walls of Capalabio.
Magliano in Toscana...another small hill town...is our next destination. The town makes a grand impression as you approach...the walls are high and intact with numerous battlements--it would seem to have been hard for any army to get into the town.
But the inside of the town is less impressive....there seem to be more people around than there were in Capalbio but somehow it has more of an empty feeling than Capalbio did. We stop at a bar to have a light lunch.....a plate of local meat and cheese specialties served with a glass of the local red wine......but we don't linger very long.
The road that takes us from Magliano to Alberese--the headquarters of the Maremma National Park--is particularly scenic. It is a back road that winds gently through the typical southern Tuscany landscape--broad panoramic vistas, rolling hills, green fields, poppies and other wild flowers growing in the fields and along the edge of the road...the kind of drive that you wish would go on and on.
Il Parco Naturale Regionale della Maremma is a nature preserve and park that is reserved predominantly for hikers...cars can't drive into the park. We aren't planning a hike today but I stop at the headquarters in Alberese to get some information and brochures for future use.
The park staff tells me that I can drive and park at Marina di Alberese on the northern edge to get a small taste of the park. The road passes some of the remaining cattle and horse farms. The area is the Tuscan version of the American West complete with a tradition of cowboys (butteri) and rodeos.
The beach at the end of the road is one of the most attractive of Italian beaches....very undeveloped and quite wild. The sand is strewn with a jungle of driftwood making walking along the beach a challenge but it is very striking...the trees, the surf and the long stretch of sand curving down the coast.
After a short walk down the beach and short rest looking at the water, we drive back to Orbetello for a while before getting back in the car and making a return visit to Monte Argentario. We drive to the other main town, Porto San Stefano, which is bigger than Porto Ercole. There are two harbors...one for private boats and the other where the ferries leave for the island of Giglio. The waterfront is one endless strip of restaurants, shops, bars and ice-cream parlors and on this Saturday afternoon, it is jammed with people and cars. After driving the length of the harbor, we follow the signs for the panoramic drive which takes us through the industrial area before we reach the very beautiful drive on the top of the island. The views are pretty spectacular and there are many substantial homes dotting the hillside along the road
but the Argentario doesn't really click for us....for whatever reason--in spite of their location--the towns don't seem appealing or inviting.
Driving back across the causeway to Orbetello, we have a hard time finding a parking space in the very extensive lot. The Saturday afternoon passeggiata is in full swing and the main street is jammed with people walking back and forth, shopping, socializing, sitting in bars....There is also a weekend market going on and there is a buzz in the air.
After strolling the length of the Corso Italia with the rest of the crowd, we stop for a prosecco at one of the bars and watch the scene for a while. Then we sit on a bench overlooking the lagoon and enjoy the quiet, peaceful view and the early evening light.
Dinner is at The Gallery, a very stylish restaurant with a modern feel. The food is more "creative" than we have had so far but it is very good. Diana has an unusual and delicious rice dish (sort of a risotto) with sausage, artichokes and a parmesan cheese sauce followed by a wonderful fillet of ombrone that is perfectly cooked. I have the pappardelle with cheese and pepper (cacio e pepe) served on plate decorated with swirls of delicious fava bean puree and a baccala (salt cod) dish made with capers, olives and the tastiest cherry tomatoes. We drink another delicious morellino di scansano and finish up with fresh strawberries. A very good meal....
The streets are still packed with strollers as we walk back to the hotel.
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