On the provincial road to Saturnia north of Manciano is pretty little Montemerano, which is on the Italian tourist board’s list of most beautiful villages in Italy. It’s on a hill, protected by three layers of fortress walls, and still maintains its original structure, with cobbled alleys, arches, and squares that open between the stone houses.

The cat? The 14th century parish church of San Giorgio houses a remarkable collection of artwork, including frescos of the Last Judgement, the Legend of St. George, a polyptych by Sano di Pietro, and famous Madonna della Gattaiola painting, which has a small circular hole cut into it and the door it was painted on, to let the priest’s cat into the church to hunt for mice!