With its strategic position over the entire Val d'Orcia, along the Via Francigena, it was the stronghold of the Aldobrandeschi family for centuries... The Val d’Orcia, a #UNESCO World Heritage Site, includes the historic centers and much of the territory of the municipalities of Castiglione d’Orcia, Montalcino, Pienza, Radicofani, San Quirico d’Orcia... #tuttitaly
Immersed in the landscape of the Val d'Orcia, Castiglione d'Orcia is a small, mainly agricultural and artisan center. The village was mentioned for the first time in historical documents in 714. Initially owned by the Aldobrandeschi, Castiglione d'Orcia became a free municipality in 1252. In the fourteenth century, however, it passed under the dominion of Siena, thus losing its autonomy.
What to see
The current Borgo still offers visitors its medieval aspect with picturesque and characteristic corners.
It finds its center in Piazza Vecchietta, dedicated to the painter Lorenzo di Pietro known as il Vecchietta, who is presumed to be a native of Castiglione. The Town Hall and other medieval buildings overlook the square, while at its center, there is a seventeenth-century fountain in travertine.
Castiglione d'Orcia is dominated by the imposing Rocca di Tentennano, built in the 13th century by the Tignosi da Tintinnano counts.
The Rocca, built on a limestone spur, always had an essential strategic function for controlling the southern territory of the ancient Sienese state. The imposing fortress in which Santa Caterina da Siena stayed is now open to the public.
The Church of Santi Stefano e Degna is the most important religious building in the country. The thirteenth-century Church of Santa Maria Maddalena is also worth a visit.
In the Sala d'Arte San Giovanni, a small museum located in the former oratory of San Giovanni, the paintings carried out for Castiglione and Rocca d'Orcia by some of the greatest exponents of the Sienese school of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries are kept.
Typical products
From Castiglione d'Orcia passes the Wine Route of Orcia, an itinerary characterized by a pleasant hilly course, which allows you to discover the enchanting landscapes and the typical products of this land: the DOC Orcia wine and the Extra Virgin Olive Oil.
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