South from Siena, there's a classic fairytale hilltop town, set within a fortified walls and guarded by a medieval castle, called Montalcino. This village, close to the gorgeous Pienza, is immersed in the breathtaking Val d'Orcia, and is renowed all over the world for its delicious and finest red wine, the Brunello.
The streets of this fantastic town, with their stone pavements, are truly enchanting and the village is a wonderful place to stroll around among the labyrinth of charming arts and crafts shops, restaurants and wine bars.
Montalcino is also located close to Montepulciano, San Giovanni D'Asso, Castiglione D'Orcia and San Quirico D'Orcia. The historic town is close enough to Rome to make travel easy from anywhere in the world, whether stopping in Umbria or making your way down to Southern Italy.
Montalcino and the Val d'Orcia region offer an enchanting landscape with vast fields of wheat, olive trees, sunflowers and wineyards. Just think that this area has been added to the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites in 2004 and here was shot the sequence of the Elysian Fields of the beautiful movie "Gladiator".
Founded at the beginning of the 10th Century, Montalcino had its greatest expansion in the Middle Ages and still boasts an intact, pentagonal shaped, 13th Century castle with imposing towers.
Because of its strategic position on the old "Via Francigena", it was once a political and military stronghold.
Today Montalcino is worldwide famous not only for the incredible red wine, but also for its fine Tuscan cuisine featuring mushrooms, truffles, olive oil and honey.
In Montalcino and in Val d'Orcia you can organize every type of ceremony, Civil, Catholic, Blessing and Symbolic Ceremonies.
The Catholic Ceremony can be celebrated in one of the wonderful Renaissance or Medieval churches in Montalcino and in its surroundings. The stunning "Abbazia di Sant'Antimo" is one of the most splendid, Romanesque, monastic churches existing.
There are also incredible and scenic venues, as Country Villas and Castles, around Montalcino, which could be fantastic settings for Religious Blessings and Symbolic ceremonies. Just think about getting married in front of the wineyards... don't you already have goose bumps?
The whole area offers unique accommodation venues, like independent Villas with beautiful gardens and pools perfect for Wedding Receptions or simply for a relaxing dream vacation. Ancient, restored abbeys transformed into Luxury Hotels, plus hundreds of small Country Houses, B&Bs and Farmhouses make it possible to step back in time and feel the history of such fascinating places.