The Glorious Val d'Orcia

My Guide to Eating in one of Tuscany's Most Stunning Regions

The Val d'Orcia is an area of Tuscany very worth visiting. Extending south of Siena to Monte Amiata, it’s an evocative undulating landscape of cypress-lined roads, olive groves, vineyards, and stone towns wrapped around the tops of hills.

Here is what I said in my memoir Return to Glow, about the Val d’Orcia:

Why is it so idyllic? It’s the merging of the grain, vines, olives, and hay, it’s the total absence of fences, it’s the way it looks like a Renaissance painting. Indeed, the artists of the Sienese School during the fifteenth century depicted this very land in the backgrounds of their paintings. This landscape is a rich throaty tenor. I can almost hear Andrea Bocelli’s voice singing “Canto della Terra.”

Let’s talk about dining in the Val d’Orcia. This special area of Tuscany is home to the blockbuster red wine, Brunello di Montalcino and to Pecorino di Pienza, a highly regarded pecorino cheese. Roasted game makes a common appearance on menus, as do pici, a handmade pasta, typically combined with Chianina ragù (meat sauce from Tuscany’s famous Chianina cows.) Pici al aglione (tomato and garlic sauce) is also common. Exceptional wines abound and food at restaurants in the countryside is often from organic gardens on the premises.