You may not have heard of Orcia, a fairly recent Tuscan denomination squeezed in between Montalcino to the west and Montepulciano to the east, but it is highly probable that your stereotypical image of Tuscany is shaped by it. This vast, beautiful and still-authentic part of Tuscany has been the stage for numerous television ads for car manufacturers keen to present their wares against a gorgeous backdrop of vineyards, cypress-lined lanes and wheat fields. Its beauty is so overwhelming that it is easy to understand why in 2004 it became a UNESCO world heritage site.
I came across Orcia purely...