A privileged pause in my journey – a stop that the soul in accelerations of impulses desires eagerly and almost greedily – is the Orcian land, the highest one, beyond San Quirico, up to Montepulciano, to Pienza. A vision that appears like a backdrop of memory or a place of dreams on which an obscure exalted sense perceives the thrill of a mysterious ventilation.
An authentic treasure chest of nature and landscapes, the Val d'Orcia houses some of the most interesting historic centers of the Siena area and the entire Tuscany. From the streets, to the squares, to the churches, the gaze ranges toward the great horizons of the hills that complete the picture of a fascinating land.
Designed by local institutions with a team of great value that included scientific experts such as Vieri Quilici, Alberto Asor Rosa, Paolo Leon, Paolo Urbani and Giorgio Pizziolo, the Artistic, Natural and Cultural Park of Val d'Orcia includes the municipal territories of Castiglione d'Orcia, Montalcino, Pienza, Radicofani and San Quirico d'Orcia. It aims to protect the landscape, but also to promote the development of human work and life.
The Val d'Orcia is not made to be crossed in a hurry. Paths, cart tracks, and trails invite the visitor to move slowly, to savor what they see, to pause in front of panoramas and monuments but also in front of landscape details: farmhouses, isolated cypresses, gullies. Whether moving on foot, by bicycle, on horseback, or traveling with a group of friends, the ancient routes of Val d'Orcia offer a great variety of itineraries.
The Val d'Orcia is a wide valley located in Tuscany, in the province of Siena and partly in that of Grosseto, north and east of Mount Amiata and close to the border with Umbria. Crossed by the Orcia River in the center, which gives it its name, it is characterized by pleasant landscape views and various centers of medieval origin, two of which are well known as Pienza and Montalcino. The characteristic tree is the cypress, typical foods and wines are Pici pasta, Cinta Senese cured meats, Pecorino cheese from Pienza, Brunello di Montalcino, and the new DOC Orcia wine denomination.
The Val d'Orcia, like all of Tuscany, is famous throughout the world as a symbol of secular civilization. Even the smallest communities are jealous of their independence, and local political issues are animatedly discussed everywhere. Among the hills and cypresses of the Val d'Orcia, however, passes one of the most important "paths of faith" in Europe. Around it, in the Middle Ages, churches and abbeys of extraordinary charm arose.
It is around water that since the Middle Ages the life of the inhabitants of the Val d'Orcia took place. Along the Vivo River, mills, ironworks, and shipyards were built, and in the 1920s, a power plant. In Bagno Vignoni, it is possible to visit the Mill Park, built to safeguard the Sienese milling center.