Art and history

The Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta is the main catholic building of Siena and it is one of the most significant examples of Romanic-Gothic style in Italy. Inside the ticket office at the side of the duomo you can require cumulative tickets for the entire museum heritage of Siena. The access to the cathedral is […]

The Synagogue of Siena was designed by the architect Giuseppe del Rosso in 1786 and was built in 1786 in neoclassical style. It is located in Siena, vicolo delle Scotte, in the square formerly called “piazzetta del Tempio”. As the typical synagogues of the ghetto, the façade has no particular external decorations, but it is […]

The town of San Gimignano is part of the UNESCO heritage for its particular historical town center with towers, one of the best examples of town architecture in the age of Municipalities that was the main feature of the Italian Middle Ages. The site is of Etruscan origin with Longobard remainings as in Castelvecchio.  The […]

The Val D’Orcia is a broad valley located around Mount Amiata, next to Umbria. The name is provided by the river Orcia and it is well-known for Pienza and Montalcino. During the ancient times the landscape was transformed for farming purposes and the cypress trees were planted to provide shade to protect the poor water […]

The castle of Monteriggioni was built by the Sienese population under the order of the Podestà Guelfo da Porcari between 1214 and 1219. The place was the location of an ancient Longobard farm (and was apparently protected by the emperor and free of taxes, according to the name, Montis Regis) The castle was built by […]

The Abbey of San Galgano lays ca. 30 km far from Siena in the town administration of Chiusdino. This site is composed by the “Rotonda di Montesiepi” and the great abbey, of which only the wall remain and is one of the most enchanting places of Tuscany, where many weddings take place. We know about […]

Pienza is the symbol town of the Val d’Orcia, a very interesting stop that can be visited together with Montalcino, Montepulciano, Bagn Vignoni and San Quirico d’Orcia, by having one entire day dedicated to the beauty of this valley. Apart from being the capital of pecorino cheese, typical of Val d’Orcia, Pienza is also the […]

Montalcino is a well-known place for the production of the Brunello and Rosso di Montalcino wines, Tuscan excellences that are appreciated all around the world. This splendid village is on top of Mount Amiata, at the end of Val d’Orcia on the administrative border of the province of Grosseto. Its foundation is probably of Etruscan […]

San Quirico d’Orca was declared UNESCO world heritage, as the entire Val D’Orcia in which it is located. It is an enchanting village of Etruscan origins placed along of the Via Francigena. Being part of this commerce and pilgrim road brought this little Tuscan village to get French features and you can feel here the […]

The Abbey was founded in 1313 by Bernardo Tolomei, when he became part of the Benedictine order. Today the abbey is one of the most interesting places of the Crete Senesi. The church was built at the beginning of 1400 but the internal part was transformed in Baroque style in the 18th century, the wooden […]

The Castle of Brolio was founded in the Upper Middle Ages by the Ricasoli family and during the centuries it was destroyed many times because of the several battles in which it was involved, last but not least, it was even bombed during WWII. After the several battles in which it took part, several reconstructions […]

The foundation of the Castle of Meleto took probably place around year 1200 although it played a great role in history around year 1500 during the wars between Florence and Siena. The castle became fundamental for the Lega di Gaiole and was unconquered for centuries. During the XVIII century, after the wars, the castle became […]