Beautiful Bird’s-Eye View

Montecatini Alto is a rewarding and vertiginous drive. It is petite and easy to explore. Our apartment is just a few steps from the main piazza. Landmarks include Torre dell’Orologio, Church of Carmine and Theatro di Risorti, now in delicate repair/reconstruction.

Relax in the centro. Explore the Torre, La Rocca, a cathedral or two. Wander narrow streets and rustic paths within the city walls, and, if you dare, on the steep hillsides that define Montecatini Alto.

The Driver loves exploring this tiny Tuscan treasure.

We experience full sun, a day of rain, and a small snow squall. Seriously. Just watching the weather is a total gas.

Sleep & Sustenance

Our apartment has great views and quirky fuses. You’d think I’d have learned by now not to run two “big” appliances at once. When the whole place goes dark, smiling neighbors finish cooking my chicken. Soon the system sorts itself, and so do we. We LOVE this place — truly madly deeply!

In a nearby café, surprise! A trio of bruschetta: white bean, velvety liver paté, and traditional fresh tomato. Followed by deeply earthly porcini pasta with wide yellow peppardelle — rustic and sexy. Then there is chinghiale, wild boar, ultimate Tuscan fare. Bitter green salads cleanse our ecstatic palates.

Art & Soul

If you need a break from the altitude, descend the hill to charming MoCA Contemporary in Montecatini Terme. This first civic art gallery has works by distinguished Italian artists and many more, including a crazy-wonderful “Woman Entangled in a Flight of Birds” by Joan Mirò.

Art. Slow food. Walks. Views! Montecatini Alto has it all.