48 hours of fresh air and
great wine at Tuscany

MONTALCINO/MONTEPULCIANO, Italy - Got an art-and-history overload in Florence? Jump in a car and drive about 100 km south, to the heart of Italy's Tuscany for fresh air and great wine.

A scenic drive past archetypal Tuscan rolling hills will take you to the Val d'Orcia and Val di Chiana valleys near Siena to discover two charming medieval towns perched on top of nearby hills - Montalcino and Montepulciano.

Wine has been made here for centuries and now the townships are home to Italy's famed premium red wines, Brunello di Montalcino and Nobile di Montepulciano.

The lack of direct, reliable public transport links with major cities means the area is well off the beaten tourist track. You can walk up and down the narrow streets of the towns past imposing medieval palaces and churches without elbowing your way though the tourist crowds that can plague other Italian cities.

FRIDAY: MONTALCINO, 110 km south of Florence:

6 p.m. - Start your weekend getaway by walking up to the centre of Montalcino, atop a 564-metre hill whose history dates back to at least the 8th century. Montalcino together with a handful of nearby towns in Val d'Orcia has recently been put on UNESCO's World Heritage Site List.

Climb the walls of the ancient fortress for a breathtaking 360-degree view of the surrounding valleys.

Take an aperitif at the Caffe Fiaschetteria Italiana (www.fiaschetteriaitaliana.it) on the main square next to the medieval town hall with its imposing bell tower. The Caffe was opened in 1888 and still has the original wood-and-plush interior and a long wine list including a 1995 Brunello.

Watch locals taking their afternoon stroll or check out the quaint boutiques, like La Luna Nuova (+39 0577 848 539), which sells stylish modern clothes made from fabric woven in front of you by a local woman using an antique machine.

8:30 p.m. - For a romantic dinner in the countryside, head for Castello Banfi estate (www.castellobanfi.com) restaurants: a Michelin-starred Ristorante or a more casual Taverna. You can taste a wide choice of local cuisine, from home-made pasta pinci with various sauces, to beef cheek braised in Brunello, and chase it down with velvety local wine.

There's little real night life in Montalcino, so you may be tempted after a sumptuous meal to stay on the estate overnight in its luxury rooms and start the next day by visiting vineyards and a winery.

If you opt to stay in town, various musical festivals will keep you entertained during the summer. But in the winter Montalcino falls into hibernation.

SATURDAY

8 a.m. - Wherever you choose to stay overnight - on an estate or in town - you are likely to wake up to the sounds of birds chirping or church bells ringing.

Take an early start to visit the town's museum in a former convent which houses a sizeable collection of local paintings representing the Sienese school of the 14th-16th century.

If you are a history buff, visit an archaeological site in Poggio alla Civitella 3 km away from the town to see the remains of an Etruscan settlement dating back to the 4th century BC.

If you heart warms up more to the history of wine, visit the Brunello Museum (www.museodelbrunello.it) or go to see how Brunello and its cousin Rosso di Montalcino are made at one of about 250 wineries around Montalcino.

Most of wineries offer a tour of the premises and a wine tasting and some also have restaurants, like Poggio Antico just outside the town walls (www.poggioantico.com).

A 30-minute drive across a couple of valleys will take you to another Tuscan gem, Montepulciano, famed for its full-bodied red wines - Nobile and Rosso.

Some local historians say Etruscans who lived in the area more than 2,000 years ago grew grapes similar to the Sangiovese now used to make local wines. But the oldest documented reference to the wine of Montepulciano dates back to 789.

5 p.m. - Take a walk along Montepulciano's narrow and steep streets which girdle the 600-metre hill and you will see that winemaking still dominates local life.

Several imposing Renaissance palaces host wine cellars, like the 13th century Cantina Contucci (www.contucci.it) on the main square or a multi-story Cantina del Redi (www.cantinadelredi.com) built in the 14th century.