Castiglione d'Orcia

Castiglione d'Orcia is situated in the middle of the Val d'Orcia, clinging to a hill. We know the town surely existed in 714: it was property of the Aldobrandeschi family and had the name of Petra. The center, with its old little paved roads, is charming, above all in the Piazza Il Vecchietta, dedicated to Lorenzo di Pietro (1412-1480) nicknamed Il Vecchietta, painter, sculptor and architect. In the middle of the sloping square there is a beautiful fountain dated 1618. The tour in Castiglione must include also the splendid church of Santa Maria Maddalena, Romanesque and recently restored. The facade is of the 1200's, the apse is more ancient, also the bell tower is splendid. In the hamlet of Rocca d'Orcia there the most famous monument of Castiglione: the tower of the Rocca di Tentennano. The rocca has always been a strategic point for the sentinels that watched over the Val d'Orcia between the 9th and the 14th century. Another important fortress is the Aldobrandesca one, on the top of Castiglione d'Orcia, that 'looks' to the one of Tentennano.

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