|
|
Chianciano Terme is situated on a hill overlooking the fertile Valdichiana and the charming Val d'Orcia, both popular since the Roman Age due to the production of oil, wine and wheat. It is a renowned spa resort rich in mineral, beneficial waters. It is surrounded by woody hills rich in oaks, beech-trees, Holm-oaks and chestnuts and is characterized by a mild climate and an unspoiled natural environment. Chianciano still keeps important Etruscan finds. The city is the ideal destination for people looking for an holiday able to combine body care with excursions to artistic cities, churches, museums and outstanding landscapes and with the wine and food tradition of the homeland of extra-virgin olive oil, of wines such as Chianti, Nobile di Montepulciano and Brunello di Montalcino and of foods such as the Fiorentina steak or the Pecorino cheese. |
 |
 |
 |
The Val d’Orcia is a clean and luminous place in which the agricultural character of its economy and the persistence of its inhabitants to work in activities that are linked to the land or to the processing of the raw material of the place have saved the link Man-Environment, raising it to an unknown special dignity.
In Val d’Orcia, you will find an agrarian civilization which has never surrendered to progress, and which will receive its guests like in the old times, where wayfarers and pilgrims used to be active testimonies, participated and also experienced a sincere conviviality.
The landscape of Val d’Orcia is characterized by a succession of hills and is marked by the medieval lay-out of Via Cassia (or Francigena): a lay-out which you can find along the way to the principle centers of San Quirico, Castiglione, Radicofani and on the way to Valdichiana, Pienza and Montalcino.Among the minor centers, a particular relief can be found at Bagno Vignoni, San Giovanni d’Asso and the small village of Montisi. |
 |
|
|
Valdichiana is a place of sweet environment, of ideal climate and of rare prerogative which welcomes a complex and interesting variety of natural environment.
This wonderful piece of land, characterized by one of the most important thermal basins in Italy, separated from the grand urban centers and extremely oxygenated due to the presence of wonderful woods, is considered one of the less contaminated areas in Europe and one of the most refined centers of the bread, wine and oil civilization.
Thanks to the beauty of the landscape and the moderate climate, the guest will also find the cultural identity of the place, saved and protected in its most secret and profound values.
In fact, in this landscape and everywhere like, in the museums, the archeological areas, the monuments, the historical centers and the panorama, the evidence of uninterrupted succession of cultures is still alive (Paleolithic, Etruscan, Roman, Medieval and Renaissance). We absolutely have to add the traditional hospitality of the population which managed to realize welcoming equipment scattered in the green of the beautiful country of Tuscany.
Its territory is at the present divided into 20 municipalities, 8 in the province of Siena:Cetona, Chianciano Terme, Chiusi, Montepulciano, San Casciano dei Bagni, Sarteano, Sinalunga, Torrita of Siena; and 8 in the province of Arezzo: Cortona, Castiglione Fiorentino, Civitellain Valdichiana, Forano della Chiana, Lucignano, Marciano of Chiana, Monte San Savino and Arezzo. Furthermore, other parts of Umbria territory are added such as the ones belonging to the municipality of Castiglione del Lago and Città della Pieve in the province of Perugia. Last but not least, Monteleone d’Orvieto and Fabro in the province of Terni. |
|
|
|
Siena is surrounded by the olive trees and the grape lands of Chianti; it is one of the most beautiful cities in Tuscany. It spreads on the top of three hills; the city is crossed by big avenues and narrow streets which lead to the heart of the city, to the Piazza del Campo and to all the other buildings which recall the cultural spirit such as the Dome and the Spedale di Santa Maria della Scala.
Siena is also famous for the Palio, the historical horse race which takes place on the 2nd of July and on the 16th of August of every year; Siena is also the main centre of one of the oldest universities of Europe.
The city is divided into seventeen districts or zones. Each district encounters the others during the Palio and the competitive rivalry is part of the atmosphere which takes place months before the event. Ten districts are chosen for each race and each has its own assigned horse; this horse will run through Piazza del Campo while thousands of people, between spectators and participants transform the place into a living sea.
There are two races of the Palio every summer: one takes place on the 2nd of July and the other one on the 16th of August. The celebrations start three days before the Palio starts even if anxiety and trepidation start a week before the event occurs. During these celebrations, there are banquets, parades, benediction of horses and celebrations of all kinds. The place is closed a short time before the beginning of the Palio; after eventual false departures, the horses go and then, it is all over, even before the dust drops. The winning district celebrates then for entire weeks with banquets and discussions, whereas the districts which failed can only wish to win the successive race, with more preparation and luck. Most of the people remain surprised when they experience such a unique race, but this is normal because the race also receives the local inhabitants of the city: the Palio is a unique adventure one can experience because it stirs up great emotions; the inhabitants of Siena consider themselves part of these emotions because the race is a strongly eradicated tradition: a race that one should experience at least once in a lifetime. |
 |
|
|
This place is the residence of a small Etruscan village of the Hellenistic era (III-II century A.C.).It s history started around the X century, taking its name after Santo Vescovo of Modena: San Gimignano had saved the country from the hordes of the barbarians. It witnessed a big boom during the medieval period with its extraordinary works of art that decorate churches and convents.
|
 |
|
|
 
The city of Volterra and its splendid district are most probably one of the most diversified and richest attractions of Tuscany. The incredible historical tradition is linked to its wonderful nature that offers an impressive heritage due to its morphology, vegetation, and its fauna.
The city is the jewel of the Etruscan, Roman, Medieval and Renaissance arts; erected on a hill of 550m, it dominates the valley of Cecina until the sea.
At Volterra, history has left its prints with no interruption since the Etruscan period and until the 19th century; numerous artistic and wonderful monuments of great importance are testimonies of this history; you can admire them just by walking through the streets of the historical centre and also while visiting the three museums of the city: the Museo Etrusco, the Pinacoteca Civica and the Museo d'Arte Sacra. Moreover, the beautiful landscape, the quality of life and the artistic life make the city unique in the world thanks to the alabaster.
Today, Volterra is a very clean area which lives the hectic life of modern societies. Indeed, those who reach the hill of Volterra find themselves in front of a particular city where visitors may have the impression that it lives just like in the old times, especially in the areas of the medieval place, it is also due to the professions the city offers; the whole panorama makes the visitors plunge into the Etruscan past.
Volterra is the ideal place for a holiday in Tuscany; you will discover one of the less contaminated places of the region which is also a few steps away from the sea and from the most important art cities of Italy.
Cortona.
Built on a hill which dominates the valley, this city was once a fortress, but between the VII and the VIII century A.C. Cortona was under the Etruscan domination.
From the imposing city walls which confine the city today, one may notice the huge influence and power of the Etruscan and medieval periods which dominated this place.
The most important monuments to visit are: the Palazzo Pretorio, residence of the Etruscan Academy museum, Fortezza Medicea di Girifalco, the Cathedral, the Museo Diocesano, the Church Santa Margherita, which dominates the village and the Convento delle Celle, founded by San Francesco d’Assisi.
Montepulciano.
The history of Montepulciano has been marked by its presence between the hills of Valdicchiana and Val d’Orcia.
It is built on a hill which is 605m above the sea level; from the sea one can wander through the hills and territories of this area. The landscape is even more beautiful due to the cultivations of olives, grapes and due to the natural aspects of the area such as the cypress trees which model it in a vertical way. From the tower of the Renaissance place of the municipality one can notice the mounts Sibillini and the Cimone and with an exceptional weather you can also notice the gran Sasso of Italy in Abruzzo.
An old legend says that Montepulciano was founded by the wish of the Etruscan king Lars Porsenna. The story says that the king left Chiusi and settled on the old hill of Mons Mercurius; he was followed by the inhabitants of Chiusi who later changed the name of the hill and called it Mount Politicus.
Montepulciano is mostly famous for its imposing buildings dating from the Renaissance period, for the elegant beauty of its churches and for its noble wine ‘Vino Nobile’, one of the most appreciated Tuscan wines in the world.
Chiusi.
Latin sources say that Chiusi is considered one of the oldest Etruscan cities.
The city is famous for their necropolises which occupy the hills that make the belt of the inhabited zone; it is also famous for its underground passages.
Through the centuries and mostly during the 19th century, in the cultivated villages and in the woods, more than a thousand graves were discovered.
The sepulchre are dug in soft sandstone which is also used for the construction of houses and for the paint of the walls; the sandstone has facilitated the degrading of the constructions; today there is a limited access to certain famous areas.
The most important are: the Tomba della Scimmia (480-470 A.C.), the Tomba del Leone (510 A.C.) and the Tomba della Pellegrina (used from the IV till the II century A.C.).
The underground of the historical centre is crossed by Etruscan passages which are linked to old wells and cisterns; through centuries, they have been seldom renewed and transformed into stores and wine cellars belonging to the near buildings. Visiting these underground passages gives one the opportunity to know the suggestions of the Porsenna legend.
The Labirinto di Porsenna is a series of passages from probably Etruscan period; they link all Old Chiusi; they were once excavated so as to drain the rain waters. During the works, the grave of Porsenna king was never found. Plinio says that the king had been buried under the city of Chiusi in a monument of 90m on the sides which enclose a labyrinth surmounted by pyramids and by a bronze cover.
|
|
|
