Just outside the pretty little town of Sinalunga, Locanda L'Amorosa is an ancient 14th century hamlet, transformed into a luxury hotel with restaurant.

Art in Tuscany | Fattoria l'Amorosa | Sinalunga

Cappella di San Michele alla Fratta

Accompanying Simone Martini's Maestà in the Sala del Mappamondo (formerly known as Sala del Consiglio) were a number of secular images. Frescoes commemorated battles and important military captains. One of the best surviving examples of this reportorial art was commissioned from the painter and miniaturist Lippo Vanni to record the Sienese victory in the Val di Chiana over English mercenaries in 1363. His monochromatic fresco records the progress of the battle and the disposition of the troops episodically across the wall; it is a graphic chronicle of the event rather than a naturalistic reconstruction, with cities carefully labeled and the armies identified by the heraldic flags of their leaders.

Lippo Vanni, Victory of the Sienese Troops at Val di Chiana in 1363, c. 1364, fresco, Palazzo Pubblico, Siena

Worth noting is Montefollonico, a former medieval castle which still contains interesting traces of its past and is surrounded by a truly beautiful landscape. On the edge of the Val d'Orcia and the Val di Chiana, the walk from Montepulciano to Montefollonico leads you through the magical hills of this World Heritage site, along Vino nobile vineyards and hills dotted with cypress trees.