What is Montepulciano known for?

DOCG red based on Sangiovese (locally Prugnolo Gentile), one of three principal Tuscan reds alongside Brunello and Chianti Classico. Sangallo's Renaissance temple built 1518-1545 on a Greek-cross plan, the iconic image of Montepulciano from below the walls. Annual barrel race up the steep streets to Piazza Grande, run on the last Sunday of August since the fourteenth century.

Where is Montepulciano?

Montepulciano is a comune in the province of Siena, Tuscany region of Italy, about 62 kilometers from Perugia.

Tuscany · Siena

Montepulciano

A Renaissance hill town at 605 meters on a limestone ridge, where Vino Nobile is aged in vaulted cellars beneath the palazzi of Piazza Grande.

605m

Elevation

62 km / 39 mi

Nearest hub (Perugia)

13,274

Population

Apr–Oct

Best time to visit

Recognised as

Why come

Montepulciano sits on a 605-meter limestone ridge between the Val di Chiana and the Val d'Orcia, 70 kilometers southeast of Siena. The town traces its origin to the Etruscans, who left tombs in the surrounding hills, but the architecture that defines the centro storico is Renaissance: the Palazzo Comunale designed by Michelozzo, Piazza Grande at the top of the climb, and the Tempio di San Biagio just outside the walls, the Greek-cross masterpiece built by Antonio da Sangallo the Elder between 1518 and 1545. Vino Nobile di Montepulciano holds DOCG status alongside Brunello and Chianti Classico, and the producers age it in brick-vaulted cellars carved beneath the same Renaissance palazzi. The Bravìo delle Botti has run on the last Sunday of August since the fourteenth century: two men from each of the eight contrade roll an eighty-kilogram barrel uphill through the streets to the Piazza Grande. The climb that wears them out is the same climb every visitor makes on foot.

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Gallery

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Known for

Tempio di San Biagio
Greek-cross Renaissance church built by Antonio da Sangallo the Elder between 1518 and 1545, with a 13-meter dome and travertine façade outside the walls.
Piazza Grande
The high piazza at the top of the ridge, ringed by the Duomo, the Palazzo Comunale and the Palazzo Tarugi, all rebuilt in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries.
Palazzo Comunale
Town hall designed by Michelozzo in the fifteenth century, its tower offering a view over the Val di Chiana and Val d'Orcia.
Duomo di Santa Maria Assunta
Cathedral on Piazza Grande, finished in the early seventeenth century, housing the triptych of the Assumption by Taddeo di Bartolo from 1401.
Cantine storiche
Underground brick-vaulted cellars beneath the Renaissance palazzi where Vino Nobile di Montepulciano is aged, several open for guided tours.

Signature product

Vino Nobile di Montepulciano DOCGDOCG

Sangiovese-based, aged in oak, named noble in the 1500s when it reached the Vatican cellars.

See every town in our catalogue producing Vino Nobile di Montepulciano DOCG.

When to visit

Best months · Apr–Oct

Best
Hot or crowded
Quiet
Mostly closed

April through June and September into October are the working months on the ridge: vine work in the surrounding hills, mild days, evening light that lingers over the Val d'Orcia. July and August push into the low thirties and the climb to Piazza Grande slows even the residents. The Bravìo delle Botti runs the last Sunday of August and fills the town. Harvest follows through September. November to March is quiet. Many cellars stay open by appointment, some restaurants shorten hours, and the morning fog rising off the Val di Chiana below makes the ridge look like an island.