Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
VAL D'ORCIA
This picturesque agricultural valley is a Unesco World Heritage site, as is the town of Pi-
enza on its northeastern edge. Its distinctive landscape features flat chalk plains out of
which rise almost conical hills topped with fortified settlements and with magnificent ab-
beys that were once important staging points on the Via Francigena.
OFF THE BEATEN TRACK
ABBAZIA DI SAN GALGANO
About 52km southwest of Siena via the SS73 are the evocative ruins of this 13th-century Cistercian
Abbazia di San Galgano
(
www.sangalgano.org
; adult/reduced/family €2/1.50/6; 9am-7pm Apr-
Jun & Sep-Oct, 9am-8pm Jul & Aug, 9.30am-5.30pm Nov-Mar), in its day one of the country's finest
Gothic buildings. It's well worth a visit, particularly during the
San Galgano Opera Festival
(
www.festivalopera.it
) held in summer.
On a hill overlooking the abbey is the tiny, round Romanesque
Cappella di Monte Siepi
, home to
badly preserved frescoes by Ambrogio Lorenzetti depicting the life of local soldier and saint, San Gal-
gano, who lived his last years here as a hermit.
Near the approach to the abbey is a
fattoria
(farmhouse) with a
cafe
(panino €3.50 to €4) and
res-
taurant
(meals €22).
If you are heading towards Siena, Montalcino, Pienza or Montepulciano after your visit here, be sure
to take the SS73 south and then veer east onto the SP delle Pinete (dir: San Lorenzo a Merse), a scenic
drive through protected forest.
TOP OF CHAPTER
Montalcino
POP 5155
Managing to hold out against Florence even after Siena had fallen (hence its former title of
'the Republic of Siena in Montalcino'), this medieval-era hill town eventually gave up on
politics and channelled its energies into winemaking. Today, it is known as the home of one
of the world's great wines, Brunello di Montalcino.
