Castiglione d'Orcia

IN THE HEART OF VAL D'ORCIA

Castiglione d'Orcia is a small but charming medieval village located at the foot of Mount Amiata, on left side of Val d'Orcia. It is a farming town nestled in the Tuscan hills with good equipment.

Castiglione d'Orcia is part of a stunning landscape of the Val d'Orcia, a UNESCO World Heritage site of hills, crete, meadows pastoralists, vineyards with warm colors, country houses and rows of cypress trees. The village perched on a hilltop boasts one of the best views of these areas.

The settlement developed at a castle and is dominated by the ruins of the ancient fortress of the Aldobrandeschi, which stands at the highest point of emphasis to 574 metres high. The fortress is due to the Aldobrandeschi family and is very close to another equally charming fortress: the fortress of Wavering of Etruscan origins. Castiglione, styled in ancient texts under the name Petra, has long been a possession of the Aldobrandeschi family. I was born in the 15th century the painter Lorenzo di Pietro, known as the little old lady from which is named after the town's main square.

The town is located in a strategic position along the via Francigena and also includes other territories as Rocca d'Orcia, Campiglia d'Orcia, Vivo d'Orcia Ripa d'Orcia, and Bagni di San Filippo. The latter is one of the most beautiful spa towns of Tuscany known for its therapeutic waters and white calcium deposits which form of small pools where you can submerge.

 

Traditions

May is a tradition particularly felt in the countryside of Castiglione where between the 30 April and 1 may, a group of singers and musicians around the countryside and visit the farms, singing songs to introduce the good season and call for a good harvest.

 

Typical products

The territory of Castiglione d'Orcia there are about fifty of the eighty-six species of orchids attested in Italy, some of them very rare and because of their importance in recent years, object of photographic exhibitions and conferences

From the Val d'Orcia is primarily the cinta senese breed of pig, fine. In Castiglione d'Orcia, in fact, are the largest producers of Cinta.

 

Photo Credits [archeospot.it]