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The Valdichiana is a lovely area blessed by a mild climate and its varied and interesting countryside is completely unspoiled.

The region is marvellously compact and is characterised by a thermal basin which is among the most important in Italy. It is far from large urban centres, and its large forests create a healthy atmosphere which helps make the area one of the most pollution-free in Europe. It is also famous for its wonderful bread, wine and olive oil.

The Valdichiana is the perfect place for visitors not only because of the beauty of the natural countryside and the gentleness of the climate but also for its well-preserved cultural heritage. This is still alive and present in the museums, the archaeological ruins, the monuments, the historic centres, and the countryside itself, all of which testify to an uninterrupted succession of cultures : Palaeolithic, Etruscan, Roman, Medieval and Renaissance.

In addition to this there is the traditional hospitality of a people who know how to welcome visitors to this beautiful, green and fascinating area of Tuscany.

Tuscany is the center of Italy -- its culture, its food and wine, and its major attractions. While you're our guests, we'll help you see and do the things that are high on your priority list.

Pienza -- an architectural jewel set in the magnificent open countryside. By papal decree in 1462, Pope Pius II decided to rebuild the village of his birth and commissioned Bernardo Rossellino to the task. Also famous for the world's best Pecorino cheeses.

Montepulciano -- famed for its Vino Nobile di Montepulciano wine. The Etruscan town's central square, the Piazza Grande, is as beautiful as any in Italy. The spectacular San Biagio church sits just below the town at the far end of a long avenue of tall cypresses.

Cortona -- full of rich artistic heritage, this is the town that inspired Frances Mayes' book, Under the Tuscan Sun. Walk on the cobble-stoned streets or enjoy an espresso at a sidewalk caffè.

Siena -- with its colorful history and unique horse race, the "Palio." Outside of Florence, Siena possesses the richest artistic heritage in Tuscany, and a wonderful Wednesday morning market.

Arezzo -- founded by the Etruscans, famous for Piero della Francesca's newly restored frescoes of Leggenda della Croce in the 13th century church of San Francesco.

The proposed itinerary is an invitation to discover the Valdichiana, to the south of Arezzo, between the villages of Monte San Savino, Gargonza and Lucignano.

Monte San Savino, set on a hill overlooking the plain once inhabited by the Etruscans, was disputed in the Middle Ages between Arezzo, Siena and Perugia. Later, like much of Tuscany, the territory was comprised within that of the Medici Grand-duchy. It was the birthplace of Pope Julian III and of the sculptor Andrea Contucci, known as Sansovino.

The town retains its circle of walls, and its two gates, the Porta Fiorentina and the Porta Romana. The Middle Ages echoes through the architecture of the Cassero, with its imposing fourteenth-century tower. This completely restored edifice now houses the Museo della Ceramica. The main street, Corso Sangallo, is lined with interesting and elegant buildings. The Renaissance Loggia dei Mercanti, attributed to Sansovino (sixteenth-century), the Palazzo Comunale, with cloister and hanging garden, the Palazzo Pretorio (fourteenth-century), with a facade emblazoned with coats of arms and the Tower from which we can enjoy a breathtaking view over the valley, and finally the parish church, dedicated to Saints Egidio and Savino, first built in the twelfth century, and modified on various occasions until it took on its present Baroque form.

A little beyond we come to the church of Sant’Agostino, built in the fourteenth century but enlarged on various occasions, where the interior houses fresco cycles by Spinello Aretino and his school (fifteenth-century) and a panel painting of the Assumption by Giorgio Vasari. Adjacent to the church is the Baptistery of San Giovanni with a portal designed by Sansovino.

 

Leaving Monte San Savino, we suggest a short stop in the fortified hamlet of Gargonza, just a few kilometres along the road to Siena. The stone houses, renovated and transformed into flats and residences, have in no way altered the urban and architectural layout of the fortified nucleus, composed of a small central square with a tower and a small Romanesque church.

In the year 1304 Dante Alighieri was very probably one of the illustrious guests that stayed here when the castle was the site of the meeting of the Ghibellines from Florence and Arezzo.

From the hamlet of Gargonza we return towards Monte San Savino and continue along the provincial road towards Lucignano.

At a height of 400 metres, the town dominates the valley below, on the borders of the provinces of Siena and Arezzo. Etruscan and Roman archaeological remains illustrate the importance of Lucignano as a strategic point of connection between the two cities. Its urban structure, composed of concentric elliptical rings, is one of the most singular of the entire Arezzo territory.

We enter the old town centre through the San Giusto gate. We can then choose whether to visit the village starting from the left, proceeding along the "poor street", or Via Roma, lined with simple constructions of a mediaeval stamp, or from the right, along the "rich street" or Via Marconi, embellished by Sienese style Renaissance mansions.

In Via Roma, on the left we can see the Cassero with its high Tower (fourteenth-century), built to a design by the Sienese Bartolo di Bartolo, opposite a loggia of Renaissance style, but actually built in the eighteenth century to a design by Andrea Pozzo. From here, we ascend slightly to reach the Collegiate church of San Michele Arcangelo, (late sixteenth-century) designed by Orazio Porta, with elliptical steps in front which complete the urban layout of the town. The interior houses interesting sixteenth-century works.

A little beyond the Collegiate church we come to the Piazza del Tribunale with the Palazzo of the same name which later became the Palazzo Comunale (thirteenth-fourteenth century). From here we enter the Museo Civico which houses an interesting collection of paintings from the thirteenth to the sixteenth centuries (Bartolo di Fredi, Lippo Vanni, Luca Signorelli) and a magnificent reliquary in gold, silver and gilded copper in the form of a tree, known as the golden tree of Lucignano, and attributed to Sienese goldsmiths, Sienese and Florentine illuminators and Gabriello d’Antonio (fourteenth-fifteenth century).

Next to the Palazzo del Comune is the Romanesque church of San Francesco, (thirteenth-century), with a facade adorned with a Gothic portal and rose window. The interior houses frescoes by Taddeo di Bartolo and Bartolo di Fredi (Scenes from the Life of St. Francis, The Triumph of Death, fifteenth-century).

The itinerary can continue with a visit to the Torre delle Monache, (eleventh-twelfth century), the characteristic lanes, the walled gate (reopened after lengthy restoration), and outside the old town centre, the Medici Fortress, built for Cosimo I and never completed, the Renaissance Sanctuary of the Madonna della Querce, built to a design by Giorgio Vasari, and all the surrounding countryside which provides a scenographic backdrop to the walled town.

WINE "BIANCO VERGINE VALDICHIANA"

 The green plain of the Val di Chiana is located between the basin of Arezzo to the north and the valley of the Paglia river, in the vicinity of the Tiber, to the south. It is traversed by the highway linking Florence and Rome and by numerous small streams. It was once known as an "unhealthy swamp'' and the area's inhabitants resided in villages on the slopes of the surrounding hills.

Today, it is a flourishing valley where a wide variety of crops is grown. There are many fine vineyards, which are the source of an extremely pleasant and delicate white wine, the Bianco Vergine della Val di Chiana. The wine's production zone includes the territory of 12 communes of the Chiana Valley in the provinces of Arezzo and Siena.

The Bianco Vergine Valdichiana, which was already well known in ancient times, was much appreciated for its reputed medicinal qualities. Even today, many people still recommend it for liver and stomach ailments. Although the view that hepatic disturbances should be treated with a wine is disputable at best, the practice is a historical fact. Whatever its alleged medicinal virtues, the wine indisputably offers excellent quality and flavor. It is greenish yellow in color, while its flavor features an almondy background. It should be noted thhe early years of the present century the wine of the Val di Chiana was exported to France in large quantities for the preparation of Champagne. Later, that practice was prohibited by law.