Montepulciano, Not Just Wine

Montepulciano: a now-famous little town on the border between Tuscany and Umbria, from where you can gaze out over Lake Trasimeno. It was lovely to find ourselves right in the middle of the festival, the Palio delle Botti, and to taste simple yet important dishes...delicious, naturally...pici all'aglione, crostini, fegatelli, their own prosciutto, and plenty of other things offered with straightforwardness and simple harmony. Along the streets there are many cellars where you can taste wines...divine ones, and it's lovely to be guided through their flavours and aromas, and then the best part is watching the unghiata and discovering the colours ranging from orange to ruby...but that's another story. The festival I attended was a fine medieval parade of costumes, lights and bullfights, many homemade but dazzling special effects.