Montepulciano - is a dignified and interesting hilltop town (14,300 inhab.) commanding the southeast part of Tuscany near the Umbrian border.

It is particularly well preserved and has many handsome 16C palaces, including some by Antonio da Sangallo il Vecchio who also built the Tempio di San Biagio here.

The area is noted for its red wines, the most famous being the Vino Nobile di Montepulciano.

After changing hands several times between Siena and Florence, Montepulciano came under permanent Florentine rule in 1511, and its fortifications, including the Porta di Gracciano, were rebuilt by Cosimo I. It was the birthplace of Angelo Ambrogini (1454-94), the great Classical scholar, who adopted the town's late Latin name Poliziano.

In 1561 it became an episcopal seat and a town to become one of the privileged centres of the new Grand Duchy in Tuscany. Montepulciano exhibits impressive architecture mainly but not only Renaissance: Michelozzo, Baldassarre Peruzzi and Vignola all worked here, as did Antonio da Sangallo il Vecchio who designed the temple of San Biagio. Today Montepulciano is divided between an agricultural town - with its main product, the DOCG wine Vino Nobile di Montepulciano - and an important tourist centre.

The rich cultural history of the main town, the untouched natural environment and the presence of the thermal baths at S. Albino all attract tourists in equal measure. In the summer the town hosts the "Cantiere Internazionale d'arte" and in the mid-August holidays the "Bruscello", a traditional show spoken in rhyme, is performed on the Cathedral steps. On last weekend of August a wine barrel race, the "Bravìo", is run between the different contrade, or districts, of the town and there is a procession in 13th-century dress.