The Val d'Orcia | Castiglione d’Orcia

Castiglione d’Orcia

Although larger, the village of Castiglione d'Orcia is somewhat less visited than Rocca d'Orcia, its sister village. The reason is that the once dominant fortress of Castiglione d'Orcia lies in ruins, while the Rocca di Tentennano of Rocca d'Orcia has been well-preserved. This, however, does not mean that the town is not worth a visit.
Main sights are the Romanesque churches of Santa Maria Maddalena and Santi Stefano and Degna. The latter houses a Madonna with Child by Simone Martini and a Madonna with Child by Pietro Lorenzetti.
The charming if tiny central piazza of Castiglione d'Orcia, the Piazza il Vecchietta, is dedicated to the painter, sculptor and architect, Lorenzo di Pietro (1412-1480), known as Il Vecchietta. In the center of the cobbled and sloping piazza there is a beautiful travertine fountain. The cobblestone piazza and its lovely fountain were built in the 1600s, but the rest of the town consists mostly of beautifully preserved medieval structures and streets.
The Town Hall lies across from the Piazza il Vecchietta, where a fresco from Rocca d'Orcia is kept. This is a beautiful Madonna and Child with Two Saints, from the Sienese school. Several shops and artisans' galleries add to the attractions of Castiglione d'Orcia.

Festivals of Tuscany

Tenth Sunday after Easter, Corpus Domini in Castiglione d'Orcia. Procession across the streets of the village previously flowered with brooms and petals of roses.

Comune di Castiglione d'Orcia

Viale Marconi, 11a - 53023 Castiglione d'Orcia (Siena)
Tel. 0577 88401

The frazioni of Castiglione d’Orcia are Bagni San Filippo, Belvedere, Campiglia d'Orcia, Gallina, Monte Amiata Scalo, Montieri, Pietrineri, Poggio Rosa, Rocca d'Orcia and Vivo d'Orcia.

Rocca d'Orcia

Rocca d'Orcia is a frazione of Castiglione d'Orcia and is located one kilometer north of Castiglione The village has an imposing octagonal fortress, the Rocca a Tentennano. Follow the signposts Rocca a Tentennono and park in the parking lot at the bottom of the fort. Just for the magnificent views of the Orcia valley and Monte Amiata, a visit to Rocca d'Orcia is worthwhile.

Mappa Rocca d’Orcia | Ingrandire mappa

The Val D'Orcia The Val D'Orcia borders the Crete Senesi in the north, the Val di Chiana in the east, the area of Monte Amiata in the south and the Alta Maremma in the west. Unesco World Heritage Since 2004 the Val d'Orcia has been part of the UNESCO World heritage sites. The landscape is characterized by rolling hills, cypresses and beautiful small settlements on ridges. The territory of Castiglione d'Orcia represents one of the fundamental elements of this landscape. "The landscape of Val d’Orcia is part of the agricultural hinterland of Siena, redrawn and developed when it was integrated in the territory of the city-state in the 14th and 15th centuries to reflect an idealized model of good governance and to create an aesthetically pleasing picture. The landscape’s distinctive aesthetics, flat chalk plains out of which rise almost conical hills with fortified settlements on top, inspired many artists. Their images have come to exemplify the beauty of well-managed Renaissance agricultural landscapes. The inscription covers: an agrarian and pastoral landscape reflecting innovative land-management systems; towns and villages; farmhouses; and the Roman Via Francigena and its associated abbeys, inns, shrines, bridges, etc." The UNESCO World Heritage site of the Val d'Orcia consists of the comune Montalcino, San Quirico d'Orcia (with the historic spa town of Bagno Vignoni), Pienza, Castiglione d'Orcia and Radicofani. The Val D'Orcia is an exceptional testimony to the way in which the renaissance landscape was modeled to represent the ideals of good governance and to create an aesthetically pleasing image. The landscape of the Val D'Orcia was celebrated by the painters of the Sienese School, who flourished during the Quattrocento. The frescoes by Ambrogio Lorenzetti in the Palazzo Pubblico in Siena in which the Val d'Oricia (probably the Accona desert) is depicted are a good example of this.

La Val d'Orcia (il deserto di Accona) negli affreschi del Buon Governo nel palazzo comunale di Siena [2]
Galleria fotografica Val d'Orcia

Rocca d'Orcia, vista da Bagno Vignoni	Castello Rocca d’Orcia, à Rocca di Tentennano	Castello di Ripa d'Orcia

The Castle Rocca Tintinnano (also called Tentennano or Tintennano) in Rocca d’Orcia, Castiglione d’Orcia	Rocca d'Orcia, Rocca Tentennano	Chiesa San Sebastiano, Rocca d'Orcia

Bagno Vignoni	La vasca termale e il Palazzo Rossellino nella piazza di Bagno Vignoni	Rocca d'Orcia, Chiesa di San Simeone

Castiglione d'Orcia, Bagni S.Filippo, Balena Bianca	La cascata della balena bianca, Terme Bagni San Filippo	River (torrente) Fosso Bianco in Bagni San Filippo
Walking in the Val d'Orcia \| Castiglione d 'Orcia Circular walk Bagno Vignoni, Vignoni, Ripa D’Orcia and Rocca d’Orcia \| 17,5 km [1] Foto di Senpai , licenziato in base ai termini della licenza Creative Commons Attribuzione-Condividi allo stesso modo 2.5 Generico [2] SOURCE: UNESCO World Heritage Centre, description is available under license CC-BY-SA IGO 3.0