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Chianti is not a province in Italy, rather a geographic region delimited principally by the growing area of the Sangiovese grape and the Chianti wine made from them. The region has no firm boundaries, and historically centered on the towns of Radda in Chianti, Gaiole in Chianti, and Castellina in Chianti. Other towns that I visited in the region include Lucarelli, Greve in Chianti, Montefioralle, Volpaia, San Gimignano, and Vertine. The region features rolling hills whose flanks intersperse vineyards and forests. Hill towns such as Montefioralle and San Gimingnano grew up as fortifications and today provide picturesque elements rising above the fields and forests.

For one of my weeks in the Tuscan countryside I traveled with a tour and of course, transportation was provided. The other week I relied on public transportation to get me from place to place and as a result lost essentially three whole days to dealing with trains, buses, and taxis. My recommendation is to either book a tour, or to rent a car (as I plan to do for subsequent trips). While driving is a hair-raising experience in Florence (along with virtually every large European city), everyone I talk to says that countryside driving is not much different than it is in the US. Map reading skills are essential in getting around and I found my GPS a useful tool in pinpointing where I was. The roads are narrow and winding, and while drivers seem accustomed to encountering pedestrians on the roadway, one needs to be careful when stopping or setting up a tripod on the roadway. Pull-outs can generally be found, though one might have to walk a bit to find the best spot from which to photograph.

As in Florence, mid-day photography in the towns is not especially rewarding. Plan to get to places like San Gimignano and Pienza early in the morning – sidewalk cafes open for the locals early and you will not only find the best light, but you can be out of town before the masses of tourists begin to stream into town. Shoot early and late, use mid-day for scouting locations and determining where you want to be for your low-light shots. Scouting those locations is also important from the standpoint that it is often difficult to get from here to there, and you don’t want to be wasting valuable evening time trying to figure out how to get to a better spot.