Destinations
Montepulciano and Val d'Orcia
Unique and beautiful landscape: verse and sinuous hills, golden fields, avenues with cypresses, lush vineyards and olive groves. Most of the photos you have seen of the Tuscan landscape were taken in this very area! The valley is crossed by the Orcia River from which it takes its name. Here the absolute protagonist is nature so much so that today it is a protected park and has been recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Scattered in this landscape we find medieval castles, ancient villages, abbeys each with its own history and particularity. Val d'Orcia is also a land of excellent wines such as the most famous Brunello di Montalcino or Rosso d'Orcia and many others. For our tour (about 6 hours) I propose you to visit together these villages that I am sure you will fall in love with:
Tours Montepulciano and Val d'Orcia (Full Day)
Pienza: architectural jewel recognized as a Renaissance 'ideal city' and famous for pecorino cheese production.
San Quirico d’Orcia + Chapel of Vitaleta: very pretty village with its splendid Collegiate Church and the Horti Leonini, beautiful Italian garden. Along the way we will stop to admire the Chapel of the Madonna di Vitaleta
Bagno Vignoni: the only town in Italy where you will find a swimming pool instead of the central square! The Renaissance pool rises right above the original hot spring of thermal water. This spring was already frequented by the Romans and other famous people Pope Pius II, St. Catherine of Siena and Lorenzo the Magnificent.
Montalcino + Sant'Antimo Abbey: a medieval village surrounded by a mighty wall and dominated by the 14th-century fortress from which there is a unique panorama. Montalcino is world famous for the production of the precious Brunello di Montalcino. Finally you can admire the beautiful and evocative Abbey of Sant' Antimo, one of the best examples of medieval monastic architecture.
Montepulciano + Temple of San Biagio: here we are no longer in the Val d'Orcia but precisely on its border, but Montepulciano is such a beautiful town that it is worth a visit. Along the main streets are elegant Renaissance palaces, Piazza Grande, characteristic views and vantage points overlooking the Val d'Orcia and in particular the vineyards that produce the famous Nobile. Further down the valley is the Temple of San Biagio, a place of worship and example of 16th-century Tuscan Renaissance architecture designed by Antonio da San Gallo the Elder.
