Grand Tour of Italy: Montecatini Alto

Believe it or not, I'm heading into the "strome hetch" of this 19-day tour from back in April, with only one other city to visit after this one (unless I decide to eventually also do something on Rome).

Today it's a tag-on after our trip to Florence on Day 5 of our tour, while heading back to our hotel in Montecatini Terme.

Because it was so close to the hotel, our bus driver and guide decided to stop at Montecatini Alto,

the mount 300 meters (984 feet) above sea level, visible for miles around.

It was 65.5 km from Florence to our hotel in Montecatini Terme (#6 above).

Montecatini Alto is 4.4 km NE of Montecatini Terme, a no-brainer.

[Craig Travel image]

There she is, the mount:  Montecatini Alto.

It's a small Medieval village that used to be a castle.

And, yes, this is in Tuscany!

It was a gentle walk uphill from our bus stop to the village...

ending up at the central square, Piazza Giuseppe Giusti,

where most of the group stopped for a very pleasant Happy Hour.

Remember, this was late afternoon (5:30-6:30) after our day in Florence.

But you know Astrid and me!  We wanted to see as much as we could, 

starting first with the nearby Church of San Pietro, the church of the castle in the 11th century,

becoming a parish church in the 12th century.

Though clearly opulent, it's not overwhelming.

It even had an alcove with its treasures, including the skull of Santa Barbara (circa 273-306), 

the patron saint of Montecatini Terme, killed by her father for refusing to give up her faith.
"She's the patron saint of miners, tunnelers, armorers, military engineers, gunsmiths,
and anyone else who worked with cannon and explosives." (Wiki)

Back at the town square, I was taken by the structure towering over the village.

 It's the Teatro dei Risorti (Theater of the Risen),

now used as a restaurant.

Off in the distance, I discovered a view of another church, from 1296,

the Church of Jacob and Philip (or the Carmine) with it's clock tower.

Once at home, I discovered Montecatini Alto has two hills, with a church on each.

As you'd guess, these villages depend on tourists!

It probably didn't help that we were there in off-season and had so little time to shop.

Walking back to the bus I was reminded of the Dutch pollarded trees...

and then was taken by the grand view of Montecatini Terme below, 

where we returned for dinner at our hotel.

All of that in the space of one hour, on our return from Florence!