This series is about our trip to Italy we took in September of 2026. We rented a car and traveled the “road less traveled”. Other pages in the series listed at the bottom of this page and will have links as I write them.

Our fifth day was jam packed with activities! We headed to the nearby town of Sorano first. There are so many beautiful and interesting places in the Tuscan region, it is hard to decide where to go. I could probably visit Italy many more times and still not see all I would like to explore. Sorano was highly recommended though, so we headed that way. Sorano is another hill town similar to Pitigliano, perched on a tuff cliff. Also similar to Pitigliano, it was inhabited by the Etruscans, but it has its own special charms and we enjoyed exploring the town.

We started at the Rocco degli Orsini, a castle and fortress built in the 14th century. It is remarkably well preserved and there is no charge to wander the grounds.

The view from the top was amazing. You could look over the entire valley below and part of the town.

We then wandered around town, entering some shops and exploring all the little alleyways between the houses and shops. It seems there is no way a car would fit in those streets but there were a few. I was so intrigued by the little “trucks” and had to take a pic of one.

By now we were starving but the Italian way is not to eat until at LEAST twelve and if you go to a restaurant prior to that, they look at you like you arrived at 9 am, wondering why you are there so early. To help pass the time and distract my stomach, I sat on a rock ledge and googled for a good restaurant. One looked particularly intriguing because of its spectacular views, so I made a reservation for noon. It did say there were a lot of steps to get there but I figured it would be the same as every other restaurant. I was wrong!

I found the sign pointing to Hosteria del Borgo in a small stairway. We walked down the narrow steps that led to more narrow steps and then a turn to what looked like a dead end but opened to the restaurant door. Wow! The restaurant felt like it was truly carved out of the side of the cliff and the views did not disappoint.

The food was great but it was hard to concentrate on it because of the great atmosphere. While waiting for our food, we looked across the gorge and saw what looked like a park so we decided to try to find it after lunch so we could see the town from the other side.

We found it! You had to park in a small lot next to the road, but the walk was not long and not as steep as I anticipated. There was a wooden railed fence “protecting” you from the gorge, but I didn’t get close enough to test its strength! Looking across, we could see the restaurant we had just left (see the little red roof at the right side of the pic).

Of course, we had to try to take a selfie but we are not all that talented and ended up doing a video before we realized it was not in picture mode. Have to include it because it shows what dorks we are… if we can get around Italy ok, you can too!

One of my favorite things to do in foreign countries it to go the grocery stores. Wandering around, looking at the different foods and methods of displays, really gives you a feel for the culture and people. Mostly, my favorite places to visit are where there are as few tourists as possible and a grocery store is one of those places. It was our last day in Pitigliano and we planned to go to dinner though, so we just grabbed some snacks for our car ride the next day.

Originally, we had planned to go to our hosts’ friend’s restaurant the first night we were there but smartly changed our mind, knowing we would be exhausted and with all the elements of travel, there is a high likelihood we would arrive late. With it being our last night in Pitigliano though, it was our last chance so we made a reservation at Ristorante del Ceccottino which is at the end of Piazza San Gregorio. The center of Pitigliano not that large as it is perched on the cliff, giving it a natural and firm boundary, so it did not take us long to walk to the restaurant from our host’s house.

We chose a table outside and enjoyed the near perfect temperature and the lovely glow of Italian night air while we waited for dinner. Why does the light there have that warm yellow glow? Not sure, but it sure is nice!

Piazza San Gregorio right outside the restaurant

I had not yet enjoyed a pre-dinner spritz so I ordered one to sip on before dinner. I don’t drink much so of course I got a light buzz right away but that just added to the ambiance!

After dinner, we were treated to a complimentary drink of Limoncello and then we wandered the streets of Pitigliano. Day and night, the town is magical. It’s amazing it has been there for so many years and functions beautifully still. So many narrow passageways and covered pathways with homes above. Also, people enjoying the night air with some cocktails and music. I was excited to continue our journey but sad to be leaving beautiful Pitigliano.

Walking the night passageways of Pitigliano