Tuscany Holidays

Montepulciano - The Town of the Vino Nobile di Montepulciano

It seems that Montepulciano was founded by Porsenna, the Etruscan king of Chiusi. In Roman times, Mons Politanus was a rural town but the first written document testifying the existence of a village in the present territory of Montepulciano dates back to 714. The village was called Castrimi. In the 12th century as a free Commune, Montepulciano formed an alliance with Florence against the Sieneses, who set fire to it. After a period of alternating fortunes, Montepulciano definitively became part of Florence dominions. Elevated to the rank of city in 1561, it began to thrive as an important centre of the newly born Grand Duchy of Tuscany.

The poet Angelo Ambrogini, known as "Poliziano", the Cardinal Roberto Bellarmino and Marcello Cervini, who became Pope Marcellus II, were born in Montepulciano.