Scenic driving route Tuscany north from Pienza to Castellina in Chianti

SR2 to SP119 to SR222 .... beautiful drive

Jim gave a good route. But don't be afraid to take the wrong turn in that area. Sometimes with our motorbikes we would explore different minor roads and make great discoveries: castles, wineries, beautiful villas. We never got lost, even without maps (and GPS didn't exist). There are virtually no roads that are unpaved. The only unpaved roads are private driveways, some of which might be a mile long, and some service roads that however can be used only by the Forestry Service. No roads with the SP,SR,SS designation (respectively, provincial, regional, state highway) are unpaved.

We are also doing a similar drive, from San Quirico d'Orcia to Castellina in Chianti. Another forum gave input to go through Asciano. Can anyone help with deciding between the Asciano route vs SR2-SP119-SR222?

If this helps, we will have started the day in Rome, so may be getting tired with driving?!

Tx

Dawn wrote:
"We are also doing a similar drive, from San Quirico d'Orcia to Castellina in Chianti. Another forum gave input to go through Asciano. Can anyone help with deciding between the Asciano route vs SR2-SP119-SR222?
If this helps, we will have started the day in Rome, so may be getting tired with driving?!"

Are you planning to stay any time in San Quirico d'Orcia? I'm just wondering why you mentioned it and are going that way if you're just trying to get from Rome to Castellina.

I'd definitely go through Asciano. I'd avoid SR2, especially through Siena. It's not a fun drive. SR222 is gorgeous. It's nice and slow as well.

We drove from Rome to Greve in Chianti after arriving in Rome at 9:30 that morning. We drove partly on the Autostrada, then took SS73 west, then north on SP7/SP484.

Castellina is gorgeous. We stayed 30 minutes north on 222 in Greve. When are you going?

Thank you for the tip to avoid SR2 through Siena.

As background: We are traveling this May. After spending a few days in Rome, we are driving from Rome to Castellina via San Quirico d'Orcia because I hear the Val d’Orcia landscape is beautiful. And I'm following another forum tip that said San Quirico d'Orcia would be a good break for lunch.

I'd also like to do a quick walk around a small hill town, so either Monticchiello or Monteriggioni seems best for our route. ('ve been to Pienza, Montepulciano, Volterra, San Gimi but I hear Chianti towns are very different. So for the other new-to-Italy travelers in our group, I want to get at least one "hill town" in our itinerary!

I hope to post a new thread soon to check out our itinerary -- especially because we will be in Castellina when the Giro d'Italia bike race goes through! I'm not sure how much of an impact that will be!!

Sounds good Dawn. If you have a couple of hours, scoot up to Radda. It's a great little hill town with a lovely church, nice shops and great views of the countryside. It's only about 30 minutes from Castellina.