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The Leonini gardens, or horti, which occupy a large public area in the ancient ramparts of San Quirico d'Orcia, were laid out around 1581 on a piece of land which Francesco I dei Medici donated to Diomede Leoni, hence the name. The gardens retain their original structure to this day, providing a well-preserved example of the traditional Italian-style garden and a method of laying out parks repeated in later centuries.

The lie of the land influenced the layout of the garden, which divides into two areas: the artificial lower section and the more natural upper part. The diamond-shaped lower section, entered through a small brick-built courtyard, is surrounded by walls and pruned ilex. It consists of triangular flower-beds lined with double box hedges, and has at its centre a statue of Cosimo III dei Medici, sculpted by Bartolomeo Mazzuoli (1688). The radial arrangement is given extra movement by the different heights to which the box hedges around each bed are cut. The long avenue, which divides the formal garden into two symmetrical parts, leads up to a flight of steps connecting to a grassy area in the middle of a copse of centuries-old holm-oaks, through which various paths wind their way. A medieval tower that once stood here was destroyed during World War II. The path on the side bordering the town, along the side of the bottom garden and the lower part of the wood, leads to a second 16th-century entrance and a small area, in the eastern corner of the walls planted with rose bushes. The sculptures present in the park, which are interesting for their symbolic significance, include two lions' heads (a reference to the owner's surname from which the gardens take their name) on the entranceway, and the two-headed figure of Janus, on the border beween the wild and the formal garden. While the first is a tribute to the power of Diomede Leoni, the two heads of Janus refer to the two distinct parts of the garden between which it is placed. Inscriptions elsewhere in the gardens are a further reminder of the owner and the designer of these gardens. The outbuildings include a Renaissance pavilion against a wall and a rustic lodge in the upper part of the gardens. The Horti Leonini, which since 1975 have been the property of the town of San Quirico d'Orcia, are opened regularly to the public. To preserve the original layout, a series of conservative restoration schemes have been carried out under the direction of the Architecture and Heritage Department of the provinces of Siena and Grosseto.

The Horti Leonini gardens in San Quirico d'Orcia | Opening times: fromdalle 8.00 until 20.00
Gardens in Tuscany

Bagno Vignoni is a small spa of medieval origin, although it was already know in Roman times. Bagno Vignoni sits on a hill above the    Val d'Orcia just south of San Quirico. The fascinating tiny village is clustered around a large pool closed on three sides by the town walls, whith water that flows at 52°. The pool essentially fills the square, surrounded by a 1.5 metre-high wall on three sides. All around are buildings designed by Bernardo Rossellino in honour of Pope Pius II, while on the fourth side is the archway from which St. Catherine of Siena admired the view. This place also fascinated Lorenzo il Magnifico of the Medici family, who spent part of 1490 here. The old Francigena road passes near the village, and as the diary written in 1581 by Michel de Montagne confirms, pilgrims and travellers heading toward Rome frequently stopped in Bagno Vignoni to find comfort in its hot springs.
In 1677 the Gran Duke Cosimo III enfeoffed St. Quirico d’Orcia to Cardinal Flavio Chigi, together with the lilttle villages of Vignoni and Bagno Vignoni; the thermal establishment, together with three mills, eight houses, a tavern and a certain amount of land thus passed into the hands of the Chigi family and their discendents to whom a part still remains in property.
Nowadays Bagno Vignoni is well-known and appreciated the world over as an esteemed thermal locality situated in the heart of the Val d’Orcia.

The Collegial Church of Saints Quirico and Giuditta is built in the Romanesque style. It has three portals; the south one is attributed to Giovanni Pisanu. Inside there is an altarpiece by Sano di Pietro and a choir that dates from 1432-1502.

The vicinity of the bath to the Via Francigena, the pilgrims' route to Rome, persuaded the less-hurried travellers to make the acquaintance of the spa waters. La Via Francigena was the road, or better said, the bunch of roads that led to Rome from northern Europe. In Tuscany it follows the Cassia way touching San Gimignano, Siena, then San Quirico and Radicofani, travelling along the Val d'Orcia.

Behind Bagno Vignoni, immersed and hidden in the green of the hill there is the small village borgo Vignoni Alto in a position that dominates the entire Val d' Orcia and the Monte Amiata.

Andrei Tarkovsky shot Nostalghia in Tuscany in 1983. There were two sets he used for his film, Bagno di Vignoni and the Abbadia di San Galgano. Both sets played a very important role in the film, Bagno Vignoni serving as the culmination scene, San Galgano being the backdrop of a marvellous dream sequence staging a small Russican cottage from his childhood in a medieval Tuscan Abbey.

Castiglione d'Orcia marks the boundary between Val d'Orcia and the Monte Amiata forests. Once the property of the Aldobrandeschi, family it was fought over in the 14th century between the Salimbeni family and Siena.
The Actual Castiglione, harvest to the feet of the mighty Fortress of the Aldobrandeschis, offers still its medieval aspect to the visitor with picturesque and characteristic angles. The centre of the town, with its stone-paved streets, is picturesque, and the Piazza il Vecchietta is particularly interesting. This square is dedicated to Lorenzo di Pietro (1412-1480), called II Vecchieta, who was a painter, sculptor and architect. At the centre of the square, completely sloping, there is a fine fountain in travertine dated 1618. In front of the fountain is the Municipal Palace, containing a fresco by the Sienese school (a Virgin Mary with Infant Jesus and two Saints) coming from Rocca d'Orcia.
Castiglione d'Orcia is dominated by the imposing ruins of the Rocca degli Aldobrandeschi. Worth to be visited is the Rocca of Tentennano in the tiny borough of Rocca d’Orcia, which is one of the most famous fortification in the area. Although larger, the village of Castiglione d'Orcia is somewhat less visited than Rocca d'Orcia, its sister village. The reason is that the once dominant fortressof Castiglione d'Orcia lies in ruins, while the Rocca di Tentennano of Rocca d'Orcia has been well-preserved.
Main sights in Castiglione d'Orcia are the Romanesque churches of Santa Maddalena and Santi Stefano and Degna. The latter houses a Virgin Mary with Infant Jesus by Simone Martini and a Madonna with Child by Pietro Lorenzetti.
[Related links: aiwaz.net works by Pietro Lorenzetti].
Weekly market in Castiglione d'Orcia is on the 4th Saturday of the month.

Comune Castiglione d'Orcia

Rocca d'Orcia, more correctly known as the Rocca di Tentennano, is a fortress standing on a pinnacle high above the Val d'Orcia with the small village of the Rocca d'Orcia just below, and the valley spreading out on all sides.
The tiny village of Rocca d'Orcia is crowned by the imposing structure of the Rocca di Tentennano, a fortress that should be visited. Dominating the countryside, this imposing limestone fortification was meant, like so many other structures in the area, so stand guard over the Via Francigena, the pilgrim's road leading from France to Rome.
The defense systems of the Rocca di Tentennano were closely integrated with the village of Rocca d'Orcia. The walls of the town contained the entrance courtyard of the fortress, and part of an ancient door is still extant.
But the Rocca is also famous for more than its military history. According to legend, it was here, in 1377, that Saint Catherine of Siena sought refuge, and experienced a miracle; she was miraculously taught to read and write here in Rocca d'Orcia.
The fortress Rocca di Tentennano owes its name to Tignoso di Tintinnano, a local lord who had it built. All that remains of the original fortress is the huge tower. Although badly damaged by the passage of time, it was restored and the missing sections were replaced by brick. A huge pentagonal courtyard surrounded by ramparts can be seen inside the fortress, which provides splendid views over the surrounding Orcia Valley.
The Rocca di Tentennano was abandoned in the early 20th Century, when it was no longer of any military importance. The last owners, the Scotto family, donated it to the State of Italy, and it is now restored and open to the public.

To visit both Rocca d'Orcia and the Rocca di Tentennano, it is best to park in the area that lies at the foot of the steep slope leading up to the fortress. One can then walk along the cypress-lined hill that leads to the main entrance and afterwards stroll down into the village.

Sala d'Arte San Giovanni, (Via San Giovanni 10), housed in the former residence of the religious brotherhood of the same name, holds paintings made for Castiglione and Rocca d’Orcia by some of the major representatives of the Sienese school of the XIV and XV centuries: Simone Martini, Lorenzo di Pietro known as Il Vecchietta and Giovanni di Paolo.


Weekly market in Vivo d'Orcia is on the 2nd Saturday of the month.

Contignano is a small village in the centre of the Val d’Orcia, with only five hundred inhabitants, famous for its wonderful pecorino cheese and the festival la Sagra del Raviolo (Ravioli Festival) which happens every year in August.
The Mostra del Geranio (Exhibition of the Geranium) which takes place in April, numerous open air musical concerts which occur in the evocative setting of the historical village centre throughout the summer.

Walking in Tuscany | itineraries for trekking and mountain bike in southern Tuscany

San Quirico d'Orcia celebrates the Festival of Barbarossa on the third Sunday of June. The festival celebrates the visit and brief residence of Federico the First, known as Barbarossa (the Red Beard) to San Quirico in 1155. Barbarossa came to San Quirico for a meeting with the ambassadors of Pope Hadrian IV. He hoped to gain from them the Pope's approval for his coronation of Emperor. The meeting between Barbarossa and the Papal ambassadors was interrupted by Arnaldo of Brescia, a monk accused of heresy for questioning the authority of Pope Hadrian. Barbarossa offered the head of Arnaldo to the ambassadors in exchange for the Pope's blessing and approval of his ambitions.

Members of each of San Quirico's quartiere dress in exquisitely constructed mediaeval costumes to commemorate this historic meeting. The Festa continues throughout the entire day, after beginning in the central piazza where a costumed Consul reads a proclamation announcing Barbarossa's meeting, and then reads the results of a drawing which establishes the order of the participants in the long bow and flag tossing competitions. The four contrade of San Quirico then celebrate with a flag waving and tossing demonstration.

At 4 PM, the meeting between Barbarossa and the Papal ambassadors is recreated in the sandstone courtyard of the Collegiata Church. This is followed by a procession of page boys, ladies and lords, cavaliers on horseback and local gentry dressed in costumes. The procession then finds its way to the upper part of the Horti Leonini for the long bow and flag tossing competitions.