The Val d'Orcia and the Crete Senesi

Montalcino was once a strategic point along the road to Rome and offers a panoramic view of the beautiful Asso, Orcia and Ombrone valleys.

Monteroni d'Arbia is an agricultural center, crossed by the Via Francigena, 17 km southeast of Siena.
As an agricultural production centre of the ancient Republic of Siena, it preserves the sign of its most important monument in the imposing medieval fortified mill from the beginning of the fourteenth century, of which the original structure is nearly intact, with its brick keep and mill-pond.
The pieve of St. John the Baptist, at Corsano, dates from before 1031. With a nave and two aisles, it is an example of Romanesque architecture with Pisan and Lombard influences. It houses two canvasses by Alessandro Casolari.
The church of Sts. James and Chrstopher, at Cuna, has remains of 14th century frescoes.

The splendid massive structure of Grancia di Cuna rises on the road from Siena, a beautiful example of a medieval fortified grain tower (13th century), originally belonging to the Hospital of Santa Maria della Scala which used it as a massive container for grain.

Comune

Lucignano is a fortified town, at 414 m. above the sea level, on the main route between Siena and Arezzo, overlooking Chiana valley.

The Tuscan countryside around Siena is scattered with historical villas, real monuments the most important Tuscan families commissioned in the past as holiday residences, where to relax far from the chaotic city life.

Castello di Volpaia was once one of the powerfully castles in the community of Radda in Chianti. After Florence had taken in Siena, the castle lost its military function and extended itself into a peaceful hamlet. It’s one of the pearls of the Chianti region.

The origins of Castello d’Albola can be traced back to the 12th century.
The castle has belonged to some noble tuscan families along the years: the Acciaioli, the Samminiati and the Pazzi, as well as the first Counts of Ginori, all of which contributed to the development of Tuscan history.
From 16th century onwards Albola became one of the most highly desired estates among the families of Florence. This is demonstrated by the interest of the Samminiati who, at the beginning of the 17th century when the male line of the Acciaiuoli had become extinct, took possession of Pian d’Albola thanks to the marriage between Ascanio Samminiati and Caterina Acciaiuoli. It was another Ascanio Samminiati, in the middle of the 18th century, who turned Pian d’Albola into a luxurious residence. Ascanio Samminiati also gave a new thrust to viticulture, devising - for the first time – an overall plan for the estate, including impressive irrigation works.

When Samminiati died, the property one again passed through a marital alliance to the Pazzis, one of the most noble and ancient Florentine families, who in fact kept it until the middle of the 19th century.
For the next hundred years Pian d’Abola passed through several hands until 1940, when it was acquired by Prince Giovanni Ginori Conti. Forty years later it became the property of the Zonin Family, which initiated its second Renaissance.

The communal territory of Castelnuovo Berardenga consists of many prestigious villas, built by aristocrats from nearby Siena, examples include: Villa Chigi Saracini which is located at the entrance of Castelnuovo; its style led to a radical change in the country’s urban scheme, with the demolition of the boundary wall of the castle being replaced with a retaining wall. You may visit it’s beautiful Italian garden and English park.
Further villas are Villa di Geggiano ( Villa Bianchi Bandinelli) and Villa di Monaciano both famous for their splendid gardens.

Five kilometres from Siena near Castelnuovo Berardenga, on the top of a hill covered in vineyards, stands the Villa di Geggiano. The villa’s history starts in the 14th century, it was restored around the 18th century and has beautiful gardens and an open air theater.
Owned by the Bianchi Bandinelli family from the first half of the 16 C, was originally a much smaller lodge, which in 1768, was transformed into a grand villa with a garden and its own chapel on the occasion of the wedding of Anton Domenico Bianchi Bandinelli and Cecilia Chigi. A long tree-lined avenue characterized by cypresses and holm-oaks leads all the way to the entrance gate, running parallel to the ‘Teatro di Verzura’, an outdoor theatre located on the southern side of the garden.
Andrea and Alessandro Boscu Bianchi Bandinelli are the current proprietors of the Villa di Geggiano, a national monument that has been in their family since 1527.
Villa di Geggiano was one of the locations for the film Stealing Beauty (1996, Bernardo Bertolucci), starring Liv Tyler and Rachel Weisz.

Villa Chigi Saracini, designed in the early 19th century by its owner Galgano Saracini, stands at the entrance to the town of Castelnuovo Berardenga. The Villa, with its splendid gardens, has been built up on the initiative of Count Galgano Saracini who wanted a great decorum house for his family, with a large park to make the most of it. Building the new complex produced a radical alteration of the main urban order, since a big part of castle-walls was been pulled down. The complex (villa-chapel-park) has been carried out between 1820 and 1840 and is partly attributed to Agostino Fantasici. The way the park now looks like is due to Count Guido Saracini, great music lover and founder of Chigiana Music Accademy.
A small nymphaeum, semi-circular in shape, stands beneath the entrance forecourt, along the avenue leading to Sarrocchi's fountain, and is reached by a short flight of travertine steps. Another interesting feature of the park is its complex system of avenues and winding paths running up and down the hilly terrain.

Sovicille is located about 10 km west of Siena on the old via Maremmana, the road running from Siena to the coast of the Maremma.

The territory of the comune of Sovicille is one of the largest of the 36 communes in the province of Siena and the greater part of it has remained intact for hundreds of years, The Montagnola hills reach 620 meters in height and are covered with forests made up of various oaks chestnuts hornbeams, cypresses, pines, junipers and many other bushes and scrubs that are typical of the Tuscan region.
The soil is made up of cavernous limestone formations along with a beautiful yellow-streaked marble called Broccatello. One can see only old farmhouses, tiny hamlets, villages, castles, medieval churches and ruins of archaic settlements that appear among the thick vegetation that changes color each season. This varied landscape attracts nature lovers, artists and photographers from all over the world.

The most populated hamlets of the commune are San Rocco a Pilli and Rosia where there are numerous commercial and artesian businesses. Many smaller and medieval villages and villas are nestled in the woods around Sovicille, each with their own special characteristic. Tonni, Borgo Pretale, Reniere, Radi, Molli, Tegoia, Recenza, Cerreto a Merse are some and one finds them immersed in the woods of the Montagnola. On the downward slopes, the villages of Simignano, Ancaiano, Personata and Piscialembita have remained intact, as well as the villa of Cetinale.
Caldana, Valacchio and Toiano with its impressive structure of the Palazzaccio castle, are located on the east side of Sovicille. These ancient settlements were Etruscan in origin. Nearby there is the ancient village of San Giusto that brings us back centuries. On the southern side of the territory the little villages of Ampugnano, Barontoli, Pilli, Brucciano, and Castello are worth mentioning as they are all well preserved. Other historic jewels are Brenna with its old mill and wool textile plant, Toni with its famous Cistercian cloister of unique beauty, and the beautiful 13th century residential towers of Stigliano. Along the green and suggestive road from Rosia to Massa Marittima an antique bridge appears like a vision from ancient times, the bridge of Santa Lucia, commonly called "Ponte dell Pia". There are also numerous medieval castles and palaces throughout the territory, Celsa, Palazzo al Piano, Capraia, Montarrenti, Spannocchia, Poggiarello, Palazzone, Villa di Cetinale, Villa di Toiano and Villa di Cavaglioni.

For the art lovers a visit to the romanesque churches shouldn't be missed as they are the most suggestive that one can imagine. These are San Giovanni Battista al Ponte allo Spino, San Giovanni Battista a Perlina, San Giusto in Balli, Santa Mustiola a Toni, San Magno a Simignano, San Giovanni Battista a Rosia and San Giovanni Battista a Molli.

Walking in Tuscany | Itinerarys in the surrounding hills of Sovicille

"Oh, when you will have come back into the world
And you will have rested from the long walk,
follow the third spirit, after the second,
remember me, I am Pia,
born in Siena and died in Maremma.
How I died, he, who first gave me his ring
And then married me, knows."

Monticiano, a very old village which dates back to the 12th century, is located in a beautiful area, in the heart of a valley between the river Merse and the river Farma. The oldest part of the village is located on a hilltop, within the remains of the ancient walls. From the top of the hill the view over the valley of the river Merse is breathtaking.

The village has two churches, the Romanesque Chiesa di Sant'Agostino of the late 13th century, with baroque interiors andin the chapter room of the former monastery frescoes by Bartolo di Fredi, and the older parish Pieve dei Santi Giusto e Clemente, of the 12th century, with a neat stone façade.

Monticiano is only 5km away from the mysterious Abbey of San Galgano and the legendary sword in the stone. The village of Bagni di Petriolo with the thermal spas Terme di Petriolo belongs to the municipality of Monticiano.

The Val d'Elsa

Dante referred to Monteriggioni in the Divine Comedy: Inferno, xxxi. 41-44 '...come in su la cerchia londa Monteriggioni di torri si corona'.


Abbadia a Isola

Abbadia a Isola is located half way between Colle Val d'Elsa and Monteriggioni. On February 4, 1001, Ava, the widow of Ildebrando dei Lambardi of Staggia, founded a family Benedictine monastery dedicated to San Salvatore in the area of Borgonuovo, a halting place on the Via Francigena. Between 11th and 12th centuries the monastery was completed with walls, gateway and towers. In this period was also erected the Romanesque Abbey of St.Salvatore.The Abbey, built in the 11 C by the Cluniac Benedectines, has a façade decorated with miniature arches and the interior consists three aisles divided by columns alternated to cross-shaped pillars.