by David Henderson

Maybe it's the experiences that we have under our belts. Maybe we're just getting tired of fighting the career and lifestyle battles. So, like many boomer friends, I seem to have reached a point where it's important to be on a quest for truth and beauty ... things that bring me happiness. The closest I've gotten -- aside from my children -- is Tuscany. Let me tell you about going there at the beginning of this Fall and share a few tips about my adventure ...

As I was headed for Tuscany from the Milan airport, driving my rented Fiat 5-speed diesel -- that performed like a subcompact rocketship and could comfortably cruise at 100 mph on Italy's Autostrade (like interstate highways) -- I made a promise to myself to consciously avoid the traditional tourist meccas and focus on the backroads of Tuscany, as best I could. That's a challenge because Tuscany has become such a popular destination for American tourists.

True to my Indiana Jones spirit, I made no reservations for my nine days in Tuscany, other than my advance booking for the Hertz car. As it turned out, I had no problems finding lodging or anything else. Touring Tuscany is easy.

First, I strongly recommend Frommer's Tuscany and Umbria guide. It provides accurate "inside" information about the region, will recommend unique places and is bold enough to wave you off a place that might be a waste of time.

The moment ... literally the moment ... you get off the Autostrade and onto the winding backroads of Tuscany, you begin to feel the magic. Maybe it's the haze over the rolling countryside that filters sunlight and turns all the colors into soft pastel shades you've never seen before. Maybe it's the twinkle in the eyes of a grapepicker who is always ready to pose for a photo and share a handful of ripe grapes, the best you will ever taste.

Maybe it's the seemingly endless number of medieval walled towns that sit atop the hills of Tuscany, places that haven't changed, other than the souls who live there, for thousands of years. Maybe it is the freshness of pasta and the incredible and inexpensive house wines that vary from one place to another.

Tuscany is like no other place I know of on earth.

My first stop was the Etruscan town of Volterra in western Tuscany, an ancient hilltop walled town that surveys picturesque vistas in all directions. No one knows much about the Etruscans except it's believed they came from Asia Minor (modern-day Turkey) and arrived in central Italy in the late 9th-century B.C. Volterra dates back to the 4th-century B.C. It's so old that parts of the town were renovated by the Romans in the 1st-century B.C. and little has changed since then.

The Porta all-Arco, a huge arch of a gate where you enter Volterra defines "ancient," in my opinion. It has survived since the 4th-century B.C. On the outside of the arch are mounted three basalt heads -- worn by over 2,000 years of wind and rain -- said to represent the Etruscan gods of Tinia (Jupiter), Uni (Juno) and Menvra (Minerva). In 1944, just before fighting began against the Germans laying seige to the city, Volterran partisans saved the gate by filling it overnight with stones -- both for structural support and to keep it from being a focus of attack.

Streets are narrow and seem to be as old as time. I wonder about all the people before me who've walked along here. The streets of Volterra are lined with restaurants, all terrific. For dinner, the Il Vecchio Mulino is truly a world-class culinary experience yet without world-class prices. Their pasta with truffle sauce is memorable and should be designated a national treasure. Dinner with house wine for two is about $75. For lunch, the Ristorante Da Beppino is highly recommended and affordable.

Volterra, like nearly all Tuscan towns, has a "Duomo" or 12th-century church. The interior is beautiful -- the ceiling is carved and embossed with gold and azure done in 1580. There's a portrait inside of St. Linus, a Volerra native son who became the world's second pope, filling St. Peter's shoes in A.D. 67.

Volterra, like its neighbors, has a medieval rectangular piazza surrounded with 13th and 14th century buildings, implacably old and stony. At the top of a hill within the walled city are the ruins of the Teatro Romano, some of the best-preserved Roman remains in Italy, dating to the 1st-century B.C.

Whether you spend a night or a week exploring the Volterra region of Tuscany, I recommend the Villa Porta all-Arco , a charming hotel in a 19th-century villa with a wonderfully friendly staff. Rooms run about $75 a night with a great breakfast included.

Volterra has an outstanding tourist bureau located in the main piazza and staffed by a young team of professionals who can speak more languages that I can name. Their email: provolterra@libero.it. As you might expect, Volterra has an excellent website - www.provolterra.it .

A word about driving in Italy -- Italians have a bum rap among Americans as wild and crazy drivers. That's absolutely not true. In reality, Italian drivers are extremely cautious and courteous. They may drive fast but they give it their undivided attention. There's no running stop signs or traffic lights in Italy ... and, you won't see Italian drivers reading the newspaper or eating fast food or putting on makeup while driving as there is in the U.S.

Get a detailed Michelin roadmap of Tuscany at your local Barnes & Noble, and you will see that Volterra is no more than a 60 to 90 minute drive from other, more touristy Tuscan towns, like San Gimignano, Florence, Siena and Montalcino. And, then consider daytrips to those places, coming back to Volterra for relaxing evenings, smiling faces, great food, incredible Tuscan wine and ... to touch antiquity.

Writer and BoomerCafé founder David Henderson
lives in Alexandria, VA,
and is already planning his next adventure in Tuscany.
His email is david@boomercafe.com .

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