Overview

"It is a thousand years since Christ died and late in the day. The sun is painting a landscape of poplars and olive trees in pastel shades. At the foot of distant Mount Amiata, stands a sturdy fortress atop a Tuscan hillock. Now fast-forward to the present, nothing, it seems, has changed. Inside, however, the castle has become, a cradle of luxury after an imaginative make-over. It is now an exclusive hotel with air-conditioned rooms; the unclad stone walls have hand painted trompe l*oeil borders. There are fireplaces in every room and classic arched windows framing the elysian scene. This is the confluence of art, viniculture and gastronomy. Siena is but a half-hour drive; you can listen to the Gregorian chant of monks in Sant* Antimo a short walk away; go wine tasting; relax in the library or frescoed chapel; cool off by the pool and, later, dine in the hotel*s gourmet restaurant on the finest Tuscan cuisine sipping world-renowned wines of the region.