I’m an animal lover - whenever we travel, we miss our three cats, so I always carry a bag of treats with me to feed the inevitable village cat (or herd of cats) that we encounter in small Italian towns.

But I also notice animals in the context of artwork - Renaissance frescoes, paintings, statuary, and simple home decor. They’re everywhere. 

Here is a sampling of the animals - artistic and otherwise - that we saw on a recent trip to the Val d’Orcia in Tuscany - Pienza, Monticchiello, Buonconvento, San Quirico, Montalcino, and a dozen or so other towns in between.

Last weekend we took an overnight trip to Piancastagnaio, to eat at one of our favorite restaurants in the world, Ristorante Anna. We have driven here straight from the airport many times over the years, just to eat their signature (always on the menu) chestnut porcini soup.

One of our errands today was to stop in a bakery in Viterbo and order some “Pansucchio” for Christmas, for ourselves and as gifts for friends. Pansucchio is a panettone-like cake, made only at this bakery, using their 70-year-old mother yeast. It is filled with chestnuts, dark chocolate, and then doused in rum. it is BOOZY and really, really delicious. Half an hour before eating, you are supposed to turn it upside down, to let the rum soak through.