Chianti’s attractions extend way beyond the summer months. It is especially beautiful in May and June, when poppies dance by the roadsides and feathery acacia trees waft scented blossoms. In September and October, when the vines are heavy with grapes, the air is still and the land luminous, you might catch a wine festival in towns where the grape rules – Greve, Castellina in Chianti or Montespertoli.

Early and late holidays promise shorter queues for the highlights of Renaissance Florence, medieval Siena, Lucca with its amazing circular piazza, and Romanesque Pisa whose Leaning Tower you can once again climb – a magical experience at night.

For daytime drama, take the snaking approach to walled Volterra. Towering on its ridge, the town encloses a lively old centre packed with great shops selling designer handbags and fine alabaster ware. Ancient alabaster urns in the museum and a splendid arched gate show Volterra’s Etruscan origins. Colle Val d’Elsa’s high town is another treat, with its splendid palazzos and cathedral.

Botticelli’s Venus, Michelangelo’s David and Duccio’s Maestà are all musts, but Chianti is also full of off beat treasures. The wooded countryside near Montaione hides a secret 16th century masterpiece – the 15 tiny chapels of San Vivaldo. Each is filled with terracotta figures in the style of Della Robbia in a recreation of the sanctuaries of Jerusalem.

South-west of Florence, the hill town of San Casciano in Val di Pesa harbours the wonderful church of the Misericordia with Simone Martini’s Crucifixion painted on wood. And then there’s charming little Certaldo, birthplace of Boccaccio who wrote the Decameron. With its russet brick walls and imposing Palazzo Vicariale studded with heraldic badges, it is the archetypal medieval town on a hill, relatively untouched. Walk round the battlements for a view of the gentle Val d’Elsa landscape below, the olive leaves ruffling silver, cypresses at attention, as the pattern of rural life revolves around the earth and its bounty.

Highlights

• Stunning scenery of a bygone age
• Participate in the pageantry of Siena’s Palio (Jul, Aug)
• Feast in one of the many regional festas
• Bathe in thermal springs at Bagno Vignoni
• Picnic on pecorino amidst the sunflowers in July
• Marvel at Renaissance masterpieces in the Uffizzi, Florence
• See alabaster craftsmanship in Volterra