Tuscany: art, culture and traditions

Built on three ridges, with green strips of farmland between them, Siena seems brighter than the nearby Florence, its historic rival. From all over the city, there are fabulous views of the Tuscan hills, the valleys, and the city’s most famous monuments: Torre del Mangia, Palazzo Pubblico and the Cathedral. From the ancient gateways in the city walls, paved roadways lead through towering “palazzos” to the centre and to the Piazza del Campo, where the famous medieval bareback horse race, the Palio, takes place each year on the 2nd of July and 16th of August. Visible from many corners of the city, the cathedral, the 14th century Duomo, with its mysterious stripes and glittering façade, dominates the hill on which it stands.
Magical floors and works of art lie within. There are many art galleries to visit: the Museo Civico, the Pinacoteca Nazionale, the Museo dell’Opera, the Santa Maria della Scala, all housing brightly coloured, detailed, beautiful works of Medieval and Early Renaissance Art. But Siena is not living in the past, it is also a modern city. There is much more than the treasures of the Medieval world for the visitor to discover, such as the Gallery of Modern Art, fabulous patisseries, buzzing markets, designer shops, and the Enoteca, housed in the vaults beneath the fortress, where visitors can find a superb collection of Italian wines.

Chiusdino is located in a defensive position, overlooking the Merse Valley and the Maremma Metalliferous Hills. This fortified, hill-top town was once governed by the Bishops of Volterra before being taken over by the Sienese Republic in the 15th century. Here, within the Medieval Walls are the Churches of San Martino and San Michele. The San Galgano Abbey, a few kilometers away from the town, is famous for its lack of a ceiling and for the stone into which San Galgano thrust his sword. A detour to visit the nearby 11th century village of Castello di Frosini, the ancient castle of the Gherardesca counts, is well worthwhile.

As you approach Monticiano from the Grosseto road, you come upon San Lorenzo a Merse, with its ancient castle and Romanesque church and the little hamlet of Tocchi. Travelling onwards you reach Monticiano, high up in the heart of a beautiful area, in a valley between the River Merse and the River Farma, with breathtaking views over the valley. In the Church of Sant’Agostino, one of the Augustinian’s oldest hermitages, there are frescos by Bartolo di Fredi, Guidoriccio Cozzarelli and Giovanni di Paolo. An enchanting walk leads through chestnut and oak woods to the Abbey of San Galgano, offering magical views of the abbey as you approach through the fields.

Just south of Vescovado di Murlo, on a small hill overlooking the Merse valley, the pastures of the Arbia Valley, and the wooded ravine of the Crevole river, visitors can find a perfect little medieval gem: Murlo. Despite the internal modernisation and new car parks, stepping through one of the ancient gateways to this tiny borgo is like entering history in a capsule. The ring of houses creates a defensive wall around the Castello, originally the home of the Bishops of Siena. This is the oldest settlement in the area, of Etruscan origin. Ruins of Etruscan settlements were found around nearby Poggia Civitato and Poggia Aguzzo. The Castle now houses a fascinating museum.

The town displays the typical elliptical shape of many of the towns of the area. The historic centre is little changed from the 14th century when it was owned by the Sienese Republic. In the 17th century the palace was the seat of local government. The entire area around Sovicille is full of prehistoric, Etruscan and Roman ruins. There are many medieval castles, palaces, churches, tower houses and historic settlements set amidst the beautiful scenery surrounding the town. In the vicinity tourists can also visit the Villas of Cetinale and Celsa. The 17th century Cetinale, designed by the architect Fontana, belonged to the powerful Chigi family and was famous throughout Europe for its magnificent gardens with their gorgeous fountains.

On a hill above the river Merse lies the little village of Orgia. Here you can find, in a converted barn, the interesting Museum of the Wood. The skills of the woodsman and charcoal-burner were, until fifty years ago, of prime importance to the economy of this area. The museum gives an insight into the history, tools and techniques employed in the ancient crafts of the woodlands. The museum also organises themed excursions with subjects such as, ‘Man’s Interaction with the Woodland’ and ‘Woodland as a Laboratory’, the latter deals with botany, geology, ecology and the wildlife of the woods. In the museum’s guide you will find a description of the environment along with the five planned walks, which leave from the museum.

San Galgano lies ruined, amidst ields of sunlowers, a haunted and special place. These remains of what was once one of the greatest of Gothic buildings in Italy, one of the largest of the Cistercian foundations in Italy and the leading monastic power in Tuscany have now only the sky for a
roof and a grass ield for a nave, whilst patches of fresco lie amongst the vegetation. This was the site of San Galgano’s hermitage and the saint’s life was frescoed in the chapel here by Ambrogio Lorenzetti between 1334 and 1336. In the circular Cappella, with its strange striped dome, is a rock in which a sword is buried.