S.P. 53 Km. 17,6 - Podere Tribbioli53026 Pienza (SI)
+39 0578 440047 +39 371 5621305 info@relaisvaldorcia.com
"Born of a loving thought and a beautiful dream" (Giovanni Pascoli) Pienza is the most famous town in the Val d’Orcia and is known as the birthplace of Pope Pius II. Another almost unique feature of the place is that it has come down the centuries intact, so we can still admire the sense and intention of Rossellino’s work exactly as he did it. Since those four years of work, Pienza has remained substantially unchanged, also due to Pope Pius II's premature death. Owing to its distinct characteristics, Pienza was awarded World Heritage of Humanity status in 1996, together with the whole Val d’Orcia. The top attractions: - Piazza Pio II, square - Palazzo Piccolomini, summer residence of Pius II - Pienza Cathedral - Palazzo Comunale, town hall - Archaeological museum - Museo Diocesano, museum of religious art - Pieve di Corsignano, church - Village of Monticchiello - Church of Sant’Anna in Camprena The most characteristic events: - Sbacellata Contadina (Broad Bean festival - April) - Festa dei fiori (Flower Festival - May) - Festa dell’Assunta (Feast of the Assumption - August) - Tiro del cacio (Cheese Rolling Race - September) - Corsa di Pio II (Run in memory of Pius II’s visit in 1459 - September) - Il Gioco del Panforte (Panforte Tossing - December
On a hill at the southern extreme of the Val d’Orcia lies one of the most spectacular fortresses in Tuscany, and what was for centuries one of the most important strongholds in Italy: Radicofani. The fortress can be seen from several miles away and it seems to watch over the town, from where it controlled the border between the Tuscan Grand Duchy and the Papal State for centuries. Built just after the year 1000, the fortress has been reshaped on several occasions over time, part knocked down in the eighteenth century and then restored once and for all in the twentieth. The most remarkable monument in the old town is the thirteenth-century Romanesque church of San Pietro, damaged in the Second World War and restored in 1946. The interior, with its low Gothic arches, houses a splendid collection of Della Robbia pottery and wooden statues, in particular a Virgin and Child by Francesco di Valdambrino. Also part of the municipality of Radicofani is the majestic village of Contignano, a treasure chest of history and art situated in the middle of this harsh yet gentle, unique and fascinating landscape. The top attractions: - Museo e Fortezza del Cassero, museum and fortress - Arcipretura di San Pietro Apostolo, church - Church of Sant’Agata - Palazzo Pretorio, magistrates’ palace - Posta Medicea, ex customs post - Piazzetta del Teatro, square - "Bosco Isabella”, romantic garden - Hamlet of Contignano The most characteristic events: - Festa medioevale Borgo Contignano (Medieval Festival - July) - Sagra del Raviolo Contignano (Ravioli Festival - August) - Festival “I giorni di Ghino” (Arts Festival - August) - Palio del Bigonzo (Traditional Grape Bucket Race - September) - Presepe Vivente Contignano (Live Nativity Scene - December)
In the heart of the Val d’Orcia, in the midst of incomparably smooth rolling hills and a landscape of olive groves, vineyards and oak woods, is an ancient town that dates back to Etruscan times. A place where you can admire the breathtakingly perfect balance achieved over the centuries between the natural landscape and the work of man. San Quirico d’Orcia, with its splendid castles and medieval churches, is one of those places that you just have to visit once you arrive in this enchanting and famously attractive countryside. San Quirico is one of the most remarkable examples of medieval town planning in the Siena area. In the old centre, you can find the beautiful Collegiata, the Romanesque church with two portals, with Palazzo Chigi, now the town hall, alongside. The unusual Horti Leonini gardens, made around 1580 by Diomede Leoni, must not be missed. The immense Italian garden, situated between the castle walls and the town’s main square, gives a wide perspective which is exalted by the perfectly geometrical box hedges. Four kilometres to the south of San Quirico is Bagno Vignoni, the spa town famous for its “watery square”. In the Middle Ages, Bagno Vignoni enjoyed great fame and illustrious figures such as Saint Catherine and Lorenzo dei Medici stayed here. The Roman baths and Parco dei Mulini overlook the scenery of the Val d’Orcia. The top attractions: - Church of the Collegiata - Church of Santa Maria Assunta - Horti Leonini, gardens - Chapel of the Madonna di Vitaleta - Parco dei Mulini nature park, Bagno Vignoni The most characteristic events: - Orcia Wine Festival (April) - 1000 Miglia storica (Vintage Car Rally - May) - Festa del Barbarossa (Medieval Festival - June) - Un Bagno di Birra (Beer Festival - July) - Festa dell’Olio (Oil Festival - December)
Perched on the painted hilltops of the Val d’Orcia, the fourteenth-century town of Montalcino immediately reveals to its visitors its old military layout of steep, narrow streets. But once you arrive at the top… what a view! Some come to appreciate the masterpieces housed in the Museum of Religious Art which hosts one of the richest collections of paintings and wooden sculptures from the Sienese school. Standing out among the churches are the fourteenth-century Sant'Agostino, the neo-classical cathedral, the sanctuary of the Madonna del Soccorso, and Sant’Egidio, the church of “the Sienese”. The Palazzo Comunale, the town hall, is an unusual building dating from late thirteenth century. Its slender structure is flanked by a tall bell tower which rises up almost like a watchtower. It is crowned with the great bell or “Campanone”, whose chimes still mark the rhythm of the lives of everyone in Montalcino. Once here, of course it is worth exploring the beautiful surrounding countryside to discover the splendid, solitary Abbey of Sant’Antimo that emerges towards Castelnuovo dell’Abate. A monumental building from the twelfth century, it is one of the greatest examples of French Romanesque anywhere in Italy. The landscape surrounding Montalcino features dense woodland broken up by traditional vineyards and olive groves, accompanying the gaze along these enchanting hillsides which have helped to impress the Val d’Orcia in the collective imagination. The top attractions: - The Fortress - Church of Sant’Agostino - Church of the Madonna del Soccorso - Palazzo dei Priori, town hall - Abbey of Sant’Antimo The most characteristic events: : - Benvenuto Brunello (Presentation of the new Brunello vintage - February) - Festa di Primavera (Spring Festival - April-May) - Festival della Val d’Orcia (Arts Festival - July and August) - Jazz & Wine (July) - Sagra del Miele (Honey Festival - September) - Sagra del Tordo (Thrush Festival - October)
Castiglione d’Orcia is a village set in a landscape of incredible beauty. The landscape typifying the whole Val d’Orcia – with its typical geological features known as crete, biancane and calanchi – is the result of slow transformations that began millions of years ago. In the crete the soil is clayey, with lithe slopes and rounded hilltops. The so-called biancane, semi-spherical (or cone-shaped) domes without any vegetation, form where the slopes are steeper or most exposed to rain. But like all the villages and towns in this area, Castiglione is not only striking because of the beauty of the landscape, but because of the number of remarkable works of art that can be seen here too. To name just two: the old church of Santa Maria Maddalena, a Romanesque stone building; and the Pieve di Santi Stefano e Degna, the most important religious building in the village. At the centre of the village is Piazza Il Vecchietta, overlooked by the town hall and other medieval buildings. A strategic point of the Val d’Orcia is the imposing fortress of Tentennano situated on a limestone spur. Not far from the village is the splendid spa resort of Bagni San Filippo, renowned for the presence of white limestone deposits that form picturesque winding paths in the green landscape. The top attractions: - Pieve di Santi Stefano e Degna, church - Church of Santa Maria Maddalena - Rocca aldobrandesca, fortress - Rocca di Tentennano, fortress The most characteristic events:: - Tuscany Crossing (100 km run - April) - Il Maggio (Spring Song Festival - 30/4-1/5) - Valdorcia in Fiera (Agricultural Fair - May) - Calici di Stelle (Wine Festival and more - August) - Sagra del Fungo e della Castagna (Mushroom and Chestnut Festival - October) - Sagra del Marrone (Chestnut Festival - October)
Montepulciano is situated on a narrow ridge at the top of a limestone hill at the meeting point between the Val d’Orcia and the Valdichiana, a beautiful medieval village embedded in a picture-postcard landscape. Whichever way you care to look, the eye beholds the classical idea of the Tuscan countryside, with its succession of undulating green hills and golden fields dotted with cypresses. The best way to discover the elegant old town clinging to the hilltop is on foot. On your way round, you will find yourself face to face with imposing Renaissance palazzi and, at the highest point in Montepulciano, the main square. Piazza Grande is dominated by the beautiful tower and Gothic-style façade of the Palazzo Comunale. Opposite the town hall is the cathedral, dating from the late sixteenth century. But despite its indisputable beauty, Montepulciano’s worldwide fame mainly stems from its Vino Nobile. Obtained from the grapes of the vineyards that surround the village, it is one of the most venerated Tuscan wines, and the first Italian red wine to have obtained the DOCG quality seal. The top attractions: : - Cathedral of Montepulciano - Museo Civico, museum - Pinacoteca Crociani, art gallery - Temple of San Biagio - Medici Fortress - Teatro Poliziano, theatre The most characteristic events: - Cantiere Internazionale d’Arte (International Art Workshop - July) - Calici di Stelle (Wine Festival - August) - Bruscello (Theatre Festival - August) - Bravio delle Botti (Barrel Race - August) - Autunno in Fiera (Autumn Fair - October) - Castello di Babbo Natale e mercatini (Santa’s castle and Christmas markets - December)
Without doubt one of the most famous and important spa towns in Italy, the presence of a significant human settlement in Etruscan-Roman times is probably linked to its waters too. Important evidence of this settlement has been found in the shape of a spa complex which is currently under excavation in the central location of “Mezzomiglio”. A great many other finds from the Etruscan and Roman era, some of which have been discovered recently, are on display at the “Delle Acque” archaeological museum. The top attractions: - Church of the Immacolata - Collegiata di San Giovanni Battista, church - Museo Civico Archeologico “Delle Acque”, archaeological museum - Museo della Collegiata, museum of religious art - Villa La Foce, villa of Iris Origo - Parco Acquasanta, spa - Parco Fucoli, spa - Parco Terme di Sant’Elena, spa - Terme Sensoriali, sensory spas - Piscina termale Theia, thermal pool The most characteristic events: - La Giudeata (Via Crucis procession - Good Friday) - Acqua e Vino Chianciano Terme Music Festival (May) - Sapori del Mondo (International Food Festival - June - August) - Festa della Musica (Music Festival - July) - Paese di Babbo Natale (Santa’s Village - December)
At the foot of a hill was a silver fir; the tree stayed in the shade, it was waiting for a king. One day 1,300 years ago the king arrived. The fir started to shine, giving off bright rays, and Ratchis, the Lombard prince, came closer. The king saw the figure of the Saviour outlined at the top of the tree, and with the dark stones of the mountain built a church on the spot that would survive through the centuries. This was how Abbazia di San Salvatore originated, with its splendid crypt in the shape of a Greek cross with 36 columns, whose shadows would secretly house the Bibbia Amiatina – the oldest and most authoritative manuscript of the Bible with the translation into Latin by Saint Jerome – for over 1,000 years. The town of Abbadia grew up and flourished around the church. Some say that it is in allusion to the splendour of an ancient tree and a king’s forgotten stupor that its narrow, dark stone alleyways are still lit up once a year by the bright light of the “Fiaccole”, the great mounds of wood that burn on the night of Christmas Eve. And it was again thanks to a stone that the very identity of Abbadia was destined to change once again: upon the discovery of cinnabar, containing mercury, in the heart of the mountain, the history of the town transformed into that of its mines. Abbadia’s two “rocky” souls still survive today: the first heart beats in the medieval stones of the town and its abbey, as well as in historical reenactments such as the Offerta dei Censi; while to experience life in the mine you just have to enter the fascinating Parco Museo Minerario. The top attractions: - Abbey of San Salvatore - Palazzo del Podestà, civic building - Museo Minerario, mine museum - Monte Amiata cross The most characteristic events: - Giudeata (Via Crucis Procession - Easter period) - Abbazia Festival (Festival centred around the Abbey - July) - Francigena Folk Festival (July) - Trail dell’Amiata (Running Event - August) - Festa d’autunno (Autumn Fair - October) - Città delle Fiaccole (Bonfire Festival - December)