Introduction

This short chapter aims to introduce the reader to the locations where the research has taken place. Basic information on population, territory size, economy, maps and illustrations are provided to aid this. The links between festivals, communities' histories and environmental conditions form an important part of the study. For this reason, this chapter is aimed at providing an overview of the topography and other geographical features, such as climate, soil composition and water and how these have been managed by or have influenced the development of the communities in question. As will be evident in later chapters, the rural territories around urban centres have more direct bearing on the research carried out in the smaller communities of Montepulciano and Monticchiello, making it worthwhile to introduce these at an early stage. The interlinked histories of Siena and Florence, once medieval ‘superpowers’ of the region, also have had a profound impact on the history of the two smaller neighbours. These aspects are presented by way of a tour starting with the Sienese countryside, through Monticchiello and Montepulciano and coming finally to Siena itself.

The Land and the Water

Some of the landscape of the Siena province has come to be well known in the last few years. The gently sloping hills and cypress-lined avenues unwinding towards sturdily built farmsteads have become almost a logo for the rural idyll, escape-from-it-all dream. The idealised image that car manufacturers, filmmakers and tourist industries have adopted to capture popular imagination has great appeal.