It is said Siena and you immediately think of the Palio. It’s almost impossible, in fact, speaking of this charming Tuscan town and not remember this competition on horseback of medieval origins, unique in the world for participation, passion and intensity with which it is lived by all Sienese. So engaging is the climate that you breathe, to call each year, ...
Read More »Siena: a medieval jewel town in Tuscany
Siena is one of the best preserved historical cities of Tuscany. Ancient medieval town built on three hills, is still surrounded by walls. The whole city, built around the Piazza del Campo, was conceived as a work of art that blends into the landscape of the Crete Senesi. Siena is a medieval jewel made of bricks and stones which houses ...
Read More »Radicondoli: a medieval village in the upper Val d’Elsa
Radicondoli is a small medieval village which has about 1,000 inhabitants, the village is located on a hill 509 meters above sea level in the metalliferous hills (Colline Metallifere) in the province of Siena, in the westernmost part of the province. Radicondoli was an ancient castle of Aldobrandeschi of which we have historical evidence since the twelfth century. The castle became later a ...
Read More »Radda in Chianti: an agricultural center in Chianti
Radda in Chianti a medieval town of Etruscan origins – now the seat of the Consortium of Chianti Gallo Nero – is situated on a hill 530 meters above sea level between the valleys of Arbia and Pesa. The first documents that refer to Radda date back to the eleventh century AD. Since 13th century the castle was the domain of the Counts Guidi. ...
Read More »Castelnuovo Berardenga: where Chianti ends
Castelnuovo Berardenga, is an interesting village of Chianti in the province of Siena. The municipality has about 8,900 inhabitants and is located at the southern end of the Chianti hills at the point where begin the clay soils that form the Crete Senesi. Castelnuovo Berardenga is located on a hill about 350 meters high, between the Ombrone and the torrent Malena, the ...
Read More »Ponte della Pia: a medieval bridge along the Rosia
A very suggestive medieval bridge linked by legend to the historical figure of Pia de’ Tolomei is located next to the road that connects Siena to Roccastrada. In fact, along the highway 73 that leads from Siena to Roccastrada. A few km after passing through the town of Rosia, and before the crossroads with the state road No. 541. The ...
Read More »Sarteano: a walled village dominated by a castle
Sarteano, is an interesting medieval town situated at 525 meters above sea level in the southern province of Siena, the town is just 6 km from the highway (A1) exit Chiusi-Chianciano. At Sarteano was born in 1439 Francesco Todeschini Piccolomini, who became Pope in 1503 for less than a month with the name of Pius III. Popular tourist resort, Sarteano maintains ...
Read More »Bagni San Filippo: spas in the Val d’Orcia
Bagni San Filippo is a small spa village situated on the slopes of Mount Amiata 524 meters asl, in the municipality of Castiglione d’Orcia, in the province of Siena. The place name recalls the presence of San Filippo Benizi, prior of the Florentine religious order of the Servants of Mary, who in the twelfth century, according to tradition, took refuge in ...
Read More »Cetona: a medieval village of Etruscan origin
Cetona is a small village situated at 384 metres above sea level at the feet of the mount Cetona (1,148 meters) of vulcanic origin. The zone was inhabited since the Etruscan and Roman age. During the Middle Ages (15th century) Cetona was fortified from Siena, of these works still now remains, the rocca, three gates and remarkable remainders of the ...
Read More »Bagno Vignoni: a village with a particular square
Bagno Vignoni is a small village of medieval appearance, characterized by a group of houses and the enormous pool of water occupying the main square. The small cluster of houses was originally a castle of the family of Amerighi, already known in the eleventh century, today the remains of the castle (Vignoni Alto) dominate the high ground above the spa ...
Read More »Collegiate Church of San Quirico d’Orcia: Romanesque masterpiece
The building most interesting and enjoyable of San Quirico d’Orcia is undoubtedly the magnificent collegiate or parish church of Osenna (Saints Quirico and Giulitta), the church is starting out from the eighth century, but the current structure dates from the twelfth or thirteenth century. The oldest part seems to be that corresponding to the facade and in particular the main ...
Read More »San Quirico d’Orcia: fortifications, churches and gardens
San Quirico d’Orcia, located over 400 meters above sea level, is situated 45 km from Siena on SS. Cassia, to get there you pass through the villages of Monteroni d’Arbia, Buonconvento and Torrenieri, near the intersection to Pienza you arrive in San Quirico. Formerly the village was called San Quirico in Osenna. In medieval times it was quite important, so ...
Read More »Abbadia a Isola: an abbey along the Via Francigena
Abbadia a Isola is a small interesting medieval village, it’s lies just 4 km from Monteriggioni along the road to Colle Val d’Elsa. The small village, built around the Cistercian Abbey of San Salvatore, which was founded here in the tenth century, was in medieval times, a stopping place for pilgrims along the Via Francigena. Here was founded in the early eleventh ...
Read More »Monteriggioni: a village surrounded by circular walls
Monteriggioni is a picturesque medieval village completely encircled from circular walls with 14 towers, situated on a low hill, approximately 10 km from Siena. Until 11th century, Monteriggioni was a station of exchange along the via Francigena. Siena transformed Monteriggioni in an imposing fortress in order protect its northern border during the wars against Florence. A FORTRESS ON THE NORTHERN BORDER ...
Read More »Buonconvento: a medieval walled village
Buonconvento is a village of just over 3,000 inhabitants located in the province of Siena at 147 meters above sea level at the confluence of the river Arbia in to river Ombrone. Buonconvento is about 30 km from Siena and is still surrounded by medieval walls, built between 1371 and 1385. The medieval village enclosed by walls has a quadrilateral plan and ...
Read More »Etruscan tombs in Castellina in Chianti
In the area around the medieval village of Castellina in Chianti numerous testimonies of the Etruscan era have been found, including some Etruscan tombs. Among the Etruscan tombs found in Castellina in Chianti the most interesting is the Etruscan tumulus of Montecalvario. While the Etruscan necropolis of Poggino is another area where the remains of tombs of various shapes are ...
Read More »Castellina in Chianti: a delightful medieval village
Situated on a hill, 578 meters above sea level, overlooking the river valleys of the Pesa, Arbia and Elsa, Castellina in Chianti is one of the most important villages of Chianti and a famous resort area. Castellina in Chianti, is an interesting medieval town of Etruscan origins, of this period are witness the many Etruscan tombs that are located nearby, ...
Read More »Pienza: an ideal Renaissance city in Val d’Orcia
Pienza is a wonderful village that lies on a hill dominates the Val d’ Orcia at about 490 amsl. The small city is approximately 50 km from Siena and is reachable travel along the Cassia until San Quirico d’ Orcia and then following the indications for Pienza. Another road that can be used is the Siena-Bettolle exiting at Sinalunga and ...
Read More »Crete Senesi: the desert of Tuscany
The Crete Senesi lies southeast of Siena, they extends from the immediate environs of the city along the valleys of the rivers Arbia, Ombrone and Asso, in the municipalities of Asciano, Buonconvento, Monteroni d’Arbia, Rapolano Terme and San Giovanni d’Asso. Crete senesi literally “Siennese clays”, are formed by clay soil, formed during the Pliocene (between 5.2 to 1.8 million years ...
Read More »San Gimignano: medieval New York
San Gimignano was built in the 8th century as a walled feudal castle. In the following centuries the village became a free municipality. Then in 1353 the town became part of the possessions of the Republic of Florence. In the Middle Ages San Gimignano was an important stop for pilgrims who went to Rome along the Via Francigena. In the ...
Read More »Val d’Orcia: natural landscape modeled by man
In 2004, the Val d’Orcia was registered by UNESCO as a world heritage landscape area, with the following reasons: “… it is an exceptional example of how the natural landscape was redesigned in the Renaissance period to reflect the ideals of good governance and create an aesthetically pleasing image.” The landscape of this area of Tuscany is very beautiful. Renaissance ...
Read More »Chiusi: an important Etruscan city in the Val di Chiana
Chiusi lies in the extreme south of the Valdichiana on a hill at approximately 400 amsl. it’s a famous city for its Etruscan tombs and its historical center. The city is reached in car from Florence or Rome through the Highway of the Sun (Autostrade del Sole, A1), exit Chiusi-Chianciano Terme, from the exit are 3 km more. The distance ...
Read More »The farmhouses in Tuscany: in contact with nature
The Agriturismo is a typically Italian hospitality system. Over the years, this tourist reception system has taken on an increasingly tourist and less and less agricultural dimension. By developing facilities that provide the customer with numerous comforts and services such as swimming pools, massages, saunas, riding stables, etc. Tuscany is the Italian region that has the largest number of farmhouses. ...
Read More »The Spas of Tuscany: the region richest in spas
Tuscany, among the Italian regions, is without doubt the most rich in spas, just to mention some popular locations in the world as Montecatini Terme, Chianciano Terme, Saturnia. This region is in fact rich in deposits of thermal water that make it together with Emilia Romagna and Veneto, the most important Italian region for spas. Tuscany is a region that ...
Read More »Itinerary in the Sienese Chianti
For the part of the itinerary in the Sienese Chianti we can start from Siena and from here with the SR 222 reach Castellina in Chianti. Otherwise, continuing the itinerary of the itinerary of Florentine Chianti, from San Donato in Poggio, we reach Castellina in Chianti. CASTELLINA IN CHIANTI Castellina in Chianti is a splendid town situated in an equally splendid ...
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