Tuscany’s ‘Little Jerusalem’

My wife, Rosalie, and I were in Italy in June ’11 and visited the hilltop town of Pitigliano in southern Tuscany.

There’s no train station in Pitigliano, which is two hours north of Rome and about 30 miles southeast of Grosseto. A car is recommended. After you enter the town through the defensive wall, it’s best to park near the town hall. This wonderful medieval town is small enough to walk around in on foot.

Dramatically positioned atop a high ridge, Pitigliano is known as Little Jerusalem because a number of Jews settled there in the 15th century, soon becoming a large and active community. In 1622 they were enclosed in a ghetto. The community existed until the Jews were sent off to concentration camps during World War II. I was told that today there are only three Jews remaining in Pitigliano.

The synagogue is no longer functioning as a place of worship, but it is open to the public as a museum. There are underground caves that housed the kosher butcher’s, the mikvah (cleansing baths for women) and a kosher winery.

Other sights include the 16th-century aqueduct that runs along the side of the town, the Church of San Rocco, built during the 12th century, and the Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul, built during the Middle Ages. There is also the Palazzo Orsini, which now houses a museum.

We stayed in the town of Sovana, a well-preserved medieval hamlet about a 10-minute drive from Pitigliano. As you approach the town by car, the views are breathtaking.

Regarding the car, for rentals in Europe I generally go through Kemwel (877/820-0668), an intermediary agency. For this trip I booked an economy 4-door with automatic transmission and air-conditioning. For a 21-day rental, I paid $1,300, including all insurance, unlimited mileage and dropoff charges.

I was originally quoted almost $1,700, but on the Internet I found another company that quoted me $1,300; Kemwel met that price, reducing their invoice. I prepaid with my American Express card.

Pickup was at the Hertz counter in Rome’s Fiumicino Airport and drop-off was in Milan’s Malpensa Airport. When I arrived at the Hertz counter in Rome, they didn’t have an economy car with automatic transmission, so they gave me a new Mercedes automatic for the same price.

The only additional expense was about $30 for road taxes. I put a little over 2,000 miles on the car.

GERALD BITMAN
Lake Worth, FL