| Sienese crests (Crete senesi) | |
 | |
| Information | |
| Country |  Italy |
|---|---|
| Location | |
 43 ° 12 ′ 0 ″ N 11 ° 34 ′ 0 ″ E | |
The Sienese ridges is a region of Tuscany.
Understand
It exists just south and east of His, an astonishing semi-desert landscape, which breaks with the usual Tuscan landscapes. The ridges are a particular geological phenomenon, wild, difficult to cultivate, but so captivating! This area is rich in thermal baths that the Romans already used for their therapeutic riches. There are also travertine quarries, the main wealth today with the thermal springs, of Rapolano Terme. Another captivating place: the Abbey of Monte Oliveto Maggiore, founded in 1313 by Giovanni Tolomei. Surrounded by hundred-year-old cypress trees, it dominates the Crete landscape. A cycle of frescoes by Lucca Signorelli and Sodoma, a Renaissance jewel, embellishes a large cloister; the library keeps 40,000 old books, testimony to the cultural and artistic importance of the abbey in the 15th and 16th centuries. A few kilometers further south, Santa Anna in Camprena, a former monastery belonging to the Olivetan order, now transformed into an agriturismo, is a unique place, which has become famous as the location for part of the filming of the film "The English Patient. "with Juliette Binoche. The small town of Asciano, in the heart of the Crete Mountains, is a medieval town rich in Romanesque and Gothic monuments. The towns of Monteronni d'Arbia, Buonconvento, Lucignano, which have remained almost untouched by the ravages of time, dot this landscape with a very strange beauty. And for lovers of excellent wines, the ridges are set between the 3 famous wine areas of the Tuscany, Chianti to the north, Montalcino to the west, Montepulciano to the west.
