Villa rentals near Montepulciano
Southern Tuscany’s highest, noblest hill-town (at 664m/2,178 ft.) is a magnet for lovers of fine wine and Tuscan cooking. It has, over the centuries, drawn those in search of the good life — from Florence and much farther afield. Streets lined with sublime Renaissance architecture and a longstanding local tradition of craftsmanship are just a couple of their legacies.
All our villas near Montepulciano have air-conditioned bedrooms It can be very warm on summer nights in southern Tuscany. You will be thankful for this modern comfort, even inside luxurious rustic farmhouses like Poggiobuono and Podere Casalfava.
Every one of our villas near Montepulciano also has a private swimming pool and free use of our concierge service. Your concierge can arrange a private chef, daily maid service, or shopping in the fridge in time for your arrival. Our concierges and ground staff are available on the phone or WhatsApp while you are in Italy. We can also arrange unforgettable experiences from your Montepulciano villa, like a Tuscan cookery class in your holiday rental kitchen.
At Tuscany Now & More we take pride in our service. For 30 years we have been matching every guest to their ideal villa in Italy. Someone from our small team visits or stays in every Montepulciano villa we list. We know the area intimately. This is why we keep our portfolio small — and probably why the world’s leading luxury travel magazine says we’re Tuscany’s best villa company.
To also read what real travellers think of our service, and the experience of staying in a Tuscany Now & More luxury villa, check out our unfiltered, verified Feefo reviews.
About Montepulciano
Montepulciano snakes along a ridge overlooking vineyards and the fertile farmlands of the Valdichiana. With its perch above a sea of Sangiovese grape vines — among the most prized in Italy — nature has been the town’s best friend. Food and wine are a major highlight when you spend a week in a villa near Montepulciano.
But not all local attractions are down to Mother Nature. Montepulciano is a handsome town in its own right. During the Renaissance, this was a fashionable place to build a palace-cum-country retreat. Although Montepulciano was once a rival to Florence, Florentines grew to love the place.
Reminders of this illustrious past line its most prestigious streets and main square, Piazza Grande. Palazzo architects working here during the 1400s and 1500s are a “who’s who” of Tuscan Renaissance architecture: Michelozzo, Sangallo and many others. Most of their buildings — many built from honey-coloured, Instagram-friendly travertine limestone — are still standing. The old centre makes a genteel place for a morning or evening stroll.
Food and Drink around Montepulciano
The Sangiovese grape really put Montepulciano on the map. Vino Nobile di Montepulciano is one of Tuscany’s great red wines. Grapes for Vino Nobile grow mainly east and north-east of the town.
In Montepulciano itself, Gattavecchi sells a range of wines from everyday drinking reds to small-batch, concentrated Vino Nobile labels. The tasting room is next to the church of Santa Maria dei Servi.
The surrounding countryside is dotted with boutique wine cantinas that are happy to see visitors and offer tours and tastings. Our dedicated travel concierges can help you plan a wine-tasting experience to remember.
Also nearby is Montalcino, another of Tuscany’s great wine towns. No top-end wine list is complete without a Brunello di Montalcino. Also pressed only from Sangiovese grapes, this wine is dry, powerful, bursting with fruit, yet restrained by acidity and structure. Every vintage is awarded a star rating by local assessors; recent 5-star years include 2016, 2015, 2012 and 2010.
If you like to eat — especially if you have a passion for great ingredients served simply, rather than elaborate “cuisine” — then this part of Tuscany is for you. The Valdichiana, just east of Montepulciano, is sometimes called “Tuscany’s breadbasket”.
Meat is the main event on most menus, typically beef. At all the best places to eat in and around Montepulciano, the real magic is the produce: locally sourced, seasonal, and prepared fresh every morning.
One regional speciality pasta is pici (thick, short, uneven, hand-rolled spaghetti), often tossed in Tuscan ragù sauces made with duck, hare or wild boar. Mains are big on meat, too (not just flamegrilled beef but also guinea fowl and rabbit). Truffles and porcini mushrooms hit menus everywhere in season.
Nearby Pienza has a rep for its hard sheep-milk cheese, pecorino di Pienza. You can buy it in various stages of maturity: fresco (fresh, young), semi-stagionato (partly aged), and stagionato (aged). It’s the perfect picnic cheese, and a wedge tastes divine in a roll with salami or with a sliced pear and a slather of Montalcino honey.
