Val d'Orcia is an area in the southern Tuscany. The landscape of the Val d’Orcia has been a World Heritage Site since 2004.
places
- Bagno Vignoni - tranquil thermal resort with an impressive water basin
- Bagni San Filippo
- Buonconvento
- Campiglia d'Orcia
- Castiglione d'Orcia
- Montalcino - where wine and honey flow
- Montepulciano - the city of Vino Nobile
- Monticchiello
- Pienza - the "Pearl of the Renaissance"
- Radicofani
- San Quirico d'Orcia - cypress trees in a gently rolling landscape
- Vivo d'Orcia
background
Val d'Orcia (Orcia Valley) is the name given to the area between Buonconvento, Monte Amiata and Montepulciano. The flat and in summer almost dried up river bed of the Orcia runs through the valley from west to east, while the Via Cassia (SS2) crosses the valley from north to south and is the main artery.
The Orcia Valley is a hilly landscape used for agriculture. In the depressions and on the loamy hills, mainly grain and sunflowers are cultivated, on the hilltops there is also an increasing number of olives. In the area around Montalcino in the west and Montepulciano in the east of the valley, vineyards dominate the picture. In spring the hills are lush green with red sprinkles of the poppy, in summer they are golden with ripening wheat and sunflowers. After the harvest in summer until the first autumn rains, the Orcia Valley is dry and without vegetation. Due to the unique shades of the clay hills and the light filtered by fine dust, the landscape looks uniquely soft, warm and harmonious, especially now. On almost every hill there is a homestead, formerly farms that wrested the little that the earth could give from the barren area, today often only ruins or luxurious holiday complexes. In the valley along the Via Cassia, on the other hand, the picture is dominated by large agricultural cooperative farms, which today do their work on a large scale.
The concise, undulating hilly landscape with the isolated cypress trees standing in groups or avenues and the small country churches is a very common photo motif and is often mistaken for the typical face of the whole of Tuscany. In fact, this landscape is limited almost exclusively to the narrowly defined region in the heart of the Val d'Orcia around San Quirico d'Orcia and Pienza. In the background of the Orcia Valley rises from the sea of hills in the south, the lush and spring-rich Monte Amiata, an extinct volcano 1738 m high.
For a long time the barreness of the Val d'Orcia meant poverty and hard work, no traveler stayed here voluntarily. The Orcia Valley only became more popular through the descriptions of Iris Origo, an Anglo-American who married the Marchese Origo and with him set up and managed the La Foce estate (west of Chianciano Terme).
There are now very good tourist structures in the Val d'Orcia without the region being overcrowded. There is still everyday life in the cities and the flow of tourists is limited.
climate
The climate is very changeable with large temperature differences between day and night.
From March The daytime temperatures are very pleasant for hikes and sightseeing, but due to the lack of forests or higher vegetation, it is almost always windy, a wind and rain jacket should always be carried. At night in spring it can still get very cold. After heavy rain, unpaved hiking trails should be avoided, as the heavy clayey soil becomes ice-smooth and sticks to your shoes.
Beginning May It gets very hot in the hills on sunny days, daytime temperatures over 30 ° C are not uncommon, in August even up to 40 ° C. in the summer it is only halfway bearable thanks to the permanent light breeze on the hills, although you should refrain from hiking and sports, as there is hardly any shade.
in the September it gets more pleasant again, during the day it is still hot on sunny days, with even a short thunderstorm often causing temperature drops of over 15 ° C. It can also get chilly at night, so you should always have a warm jacket with you. The climate is now ideal for hikes, especially on slightly overcast days. Also in October it is very warm on sunny days during the day and invites you to go hiking, biking and exploring, but there can also be very cool, windy days, a windbreaker is advisable. In the holiday home, a fireplace is now very useful to drive away the evening cold.
in the November and December on a clear day is it still warm enough to sit outside? However, the more frequent rains make hiking difficult. There are hardly any tourists in the cities, but many museums and cultural sites are only open to a very limited extent. It can get very cold at night and on cloudy or rainy days. Many holiday homes are not adequately insulated and extremely cold to the feet, so warm household items and nightwear are urgently recommended despite the heating.
in the January and February it can also be very cold during the day, even if there is rarely frost. The biting wind is particularly uncomfortable. If you are planning a holiday at this time of year, you should travel well equipped and look for heated accommodation within a town. Individual holiday homes on the hills are usually hardly habitable despite heating. The cities are now as good as dead and Tuscany is now showing its different, rougher face.
language
getting there
By car, coming from the north:
Via the A1 (E35) to Val di Chiana / Bettolle, then towards Torrita di Siena and on to Pienza.
mobility
Tourist Attractions
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Bagno Vignoni is a well-kept, small spa town in the central Val d'Orcia with a beautiful view over the valley. The central piazza, a large natural stone basin into which thermal water gushes, is unique. Up until the 1980s you could bathe there free of charge, today there are several thermal baths available for this.
The newest and largest bathroom in Bagno Vignoni is the hotel Adler Thermae connected and so cleverly inserted into the hills above the town that you hardly notice it. Unfortunately it is only available to hotel guests. The hotel's thermal pool Posta Marcucci is more modest, but it is also open to day guests and compensates with a beautiful view over the valley. There is also a covered pool available to hotel guests; day guests have to bathe outdoors.
The thermal water flows from the central basin through small channels through the archaeological park at the entrance to the village, right next to the parking lot. There you can visit the ruins of an old mill and an ancient thermal bath and take a foot bath. A somewhat hidden staircase zigzags down the slope to the Orcia and to other remains of mills, and a few meters below the archaeological park is a flat one Thermal pools with fine, white mud where you can bathe for free. The water here has already cooled down and is only lukewarm, on warm spring or autumn days the temperature is at least sufficient for a short bath with a mud peeling, in summer bathing is pleasantly refreshing.
Bagni San Filippo is, as the name suggests, also a thermal spa, but less known and smaller than Bagno Vignoni. The place is at the foot of the Monte Amiata, directly on the Via Cassia. On the road between Campiglia d'Orcia and Bagni San Filippo you can visit the Saint's hermitage in a cave that now serves as a chapel. The place itself is a bit sleepy and unspectacular. The small spa hotel Terme San Filippo makes its thermal pool a few meters outside the village available to day guests. In addition to the changing rooms, showers and the simple bar, the bathroom only consists of a simple, uncovered warm water basin with a few loungers and a natural shower, where the very hot water rises from the mountain.
Follow the signs at the entrance to Bagni San Filippo Fosso Bianco In the valley below the thermal bath, you get to an idyllic river landscape with an impressive, white sintered rock and some natural hot and cold water pools, where you can use the lime and sulfur-containing thermal water for free and even enjoy a warm neck massage. A swimming cap is advisable for long hair, the skin is happy to be exfoliated with the white mud. Caution: Lime and sulfur scent are difficult to get out of your swimwear, so it is best to use older swimwear.
The village Campiglia d'Orcia sticks to a rock between the Orcia valley and the Monte Amiata. On the rock there is a lookout point from which one has a spectacular panorama over the Val d'Orcia. The village offers tourists nothing more than everyday life with a few shops and very hospitable residents, but this makes it particularly charming.
The village is a few kilometers from Campiglia Vivo d'Orciawhere you can already see the transition to Monte Amiata in the lush vegetation. Picturesque, cultivated chestnut groves, some springs, the river Vivo with small waterfalls and a picnic area with a barbecue area in a very picturesque forest pond make the village a worthwhile excursion destination or resting place for hikes. You can buy anything for a snack in the small Coop at the entrance to the village.
San Quirico d'Orcia Despite its attractive town center and its convenient location on Via Cassia, it is relatively little visited by tourists. There are plenty of parking spaces in Via dei Fossi below the city wall and stairs lead up to the circular path along the city wall with the picturesque towers and well-tended houses. The old town is traffic-calmed and invites you to stay. In the main street, Via Dante, there is everything for everyday needs as well as some delicatessen shops with a similar range as in Pienza, but a little cheaper. In a very good vegetable and grocery store with a friendly owner you can stock up on regional products, and you can also buy local saffron here. Diagonally across the street, a charmingly chaotic Tuttocasa is waiting for customers, a good address for unusual cooking utensils at a low price. The central square is the Piazza della Libertá, where you can treat yourself to an ice cream in the bar and relax on one of the benches. A few meters further he is waiting Palazzo Chigi (17th century) with changing exhibitions on visitors. Next to it is the impressive church La Collegiata with portals that are very interesting in terms of art history, the symbolism of which is reminiscent of early country churches. The main building is Romanesque, the tower was added later. Behind the church there is a secluded place in the shade of mighty cypress trees. The also invites you to take a rest Horti Leonini baroque garden a. It is entered through a portal made of holm oaks from the Piazza della Libertá. In autumn there is an annually changing art exhibition in the garden. A little further up you come across the ruins of the former castle in a forest and from here you come back down to a neat, small rose garden. From there it is only a few meters to Via Dante and through an inner courtyard to the Ospedale della Scala, a medieval hospital that is now used as a residential building.
Outside the old town of San Quirico, the new town has expanded, where you can find a Coop and shops for daily needs as well as various bars and restaurants. In the valley on the other side of Via Cassia is the small industrial area Le Fornacci, where several well-known ceramic and terracotta producers have settled. From here you can also get to what is probably the most photographed chapel in the area, Santa Maria di Vitaletawhich, however, have a better view from the road from San Quirico to Pienza. Another very popular and world-famous photo motif is the Cypress island: in San Quirico on the Via Cassia heading north (Montalcino), you can see the prototype motif after a few kilometers on the left side of the road. There are now parking bays on the street for a photo stop, but they are often blocked by coaches.
A visit to is a must Pienza. It's not just a worthwhile visit from an art-historical point of view, there is also a lot on offer here for gourmets. Once upon a time, Pienza was just a village and was called Corsignano until Pope Pius II from the Sienese family of Piccolomini, who were born and baptized here, decided to turn the village into a planned town, which was to become the "Pearl of the Renaissance". Today the central square is particularly reminiscent Piazza Pio II. to the project, here are the Palazzo Piccolomini, the Palazzo Borgia, the Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta and the town hall, all designed by the famous Renaissance builder Rosselino. Since the natural space on the rock was limited, an attempt was made to make the space appear larger with an optical trick; display boards explain the trick. Both the cathedral and the Palazzo Piccolomini are partly built over the abyss, the garden of the Palazzo was built hanging, so to speak, which can be seen particularly impressively from the street below the building. From the piazza you get to the left of the cathedral on a small, spruced-up promenade along the city wall, from where you have a stunning view over the Val d'Orcia and watch spectacular sunsets. The central shopping street through the narrow old town is Corso Rosselino, where various delicatessen shops, bars and souvenir shops line up. In summer, the smell of the ubiquitous Pecorino Amazing, here you get all possible (and impossible) variations of sheep's cheese, but also very good wines and other typical foods of the Val d'Orcia. The first weekend in September takes place Festa del Cacio (Cheese festival), the climax of which is the cheese game, in which the Contrade (City districts) roll cheese against each other across the square into a target.
A nice walk can be made from Pienza via the lively, green Piazza Dante and there on the left down to the Pieve di Corsignano, the simple Romanesque church where Silvio Enea Piccolomini, later Pope Pius II, was baptized. So far only a few tourists have strayed into the beautiful tuff church and the quiet square with the spring in front of it. From here a dirt road, Via delle Cisterne, leads past some springs and invites you to take a relaxing walk with a view of Monte Amiata.
Not far from the village of Castelnuovo dell'Abate is the Benedictine monastery Abbazia Sant'Antimo. The Romanesque church dates from the 12th century and impresses from the outside with its size as well as its idyllic location in a small side valley with silvery, shimmering, gnarled olive trees and a single cypress that is almost as high as the church tower. The church was built from the warm, sand-colored travertine, which appears almost alive. The simple, high interior is structured by ornamented columns and otherwise only little decorated. During mass, the monks maintain the custom of Gregorian chants. There are numerous, well-marked walking and hiking trails around the monastery.
activities
In spring and autumn you can have beautiful hikes through the Orcia Valley. However, there is little shade, so hiking can be difficult on hot, sunny days. In addition, you should always have a wind and rain jacket with you (see also "Climate"). Country chapels, old towns and castle ruins are a welcome change on hikes; from the hilltops you can often overlook the entire valley. A hike along the Orcia is a little more shady. On cool days, tired limbs can be relaxed in Bagno Vignoni or Bagni San Filippo after the tour in the warm thermal water.
The is also very popular Cycling, both by racing bike and by mountain bike. The slopes are seldom very steep, but they can be long. Here, too, it should be noted that there are few shady stretches, sports are not recommended on sunny summer days. In midsummer an excursion with the Vespa More pleasant than pedaling yourself, the wind makes the high temperatures more bearable. There are several Vespa and bike rentals in Siena and Montalcino. Often, agritourism businesses or hotels also offer rental bikes, and a Vespa can occasionally be rented from Piaggio workshops on request.
There are some especially at the foot of Monte Amiata (e.g. in Campiglia d'Orcia) Riding stables, Often the horse farms also offer guest rooms or holiday apartments.
A popular destination is the Orcia Valley for (Hobby) photographers. Many motifs have already been photographed thousands of times, but the unique play of light and shadow in the picturesque hilly landscape always poses new challenges for the photographer.
Since the valley is not very densely populated, it is ideal for a relaxing, quiet holiday, with many cultural highlights being easily accessible by car.
kitchen
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The cuisine of the Val d'Orcia is of that cucina povera, the poor kitchen, embossed.
Simple methods of preparation with the wild and garden vegetables of the season, polenta (corn grits), bread, pasta and long-life sausage and meat products are the basic ingredients of the region, in addition there are chicken, hare or rabbit and wild birds such as pheasant and partridge, which collects in the wet season one likes snails.
The main role is played by the Pecorino (or simply cacio: Cheese), a young, firm to hard-ripened cheese made from sheep's milk as well as the by-product of the dairies, the fresh cheese-like ricotta, which makes wonderful pasta fillings and the rarer, quark-like ravigiolo, which only lasts a few days and is mixed with a regional, spicy type of honey, for example light dessert results.
Everyone Pecorino varies according to pasture, manufacturer and degree of ripeness. Some examples:
Very young pecorino has no rind, it has a slightly quarky to firm dough and tastes fresh, depending on the manufacturer, pleasantly sweet and aromatic to slightly sour. Young pecorino is intended to be eaten soon and molds quickly at the interfaces, it must be stored in a cool and airy place. It is often processed, for example, with walnuts, truffles, rocket or saffron and is delicious as a starter or small meal.
Medium ripeness pecorino has a creamy, firm texture and tastes pleasantly fresh, sweet and aromatic like herbs. It has a light beige to dark gray rind when rubbed with olive oil or pomace or the rind is orange to light red when rubbed with tomato paste. There are a large number of variants, e.g. with truffles, chilli peppers, pepper, etc. The slightly ripened pecorino keeps as a loaf for a few months, cut at least two weeks.
Ripe pecorino has a firm to very hard, brown or black rind or is e.g. under fine ash or ubriaco, i.e. stored "drunk" in grape marc or in spicy, hot dry herbs. It has a firm to finely crumbly dough permeated by tiny air bubbles and is aromatic-sweet and subtly salted. The loaves keep for many months, and pieces can be kept for several weeks if stored appropriately. Sometimes the ripe pecorino is put in pieces in olive oil with herbs to make it even more durable and flavorful.
Important tips for transporting and storing Pecorino:
Today almost all shops offer to shrink the cheese on the loaf or in pieces (sotto vuoto). Sealing is hygienic, but not always beneficial to the shelf life, as it is often not properly vacuumed or the welding is not tight and the cheese in the plastic sweats and molds quickly. In addition, the cheese must be completely cooled when it is welded, otherwise it will sweat out fat and water within the weld and take on a severe ammonia knot. Pre-welded pieces from the supermarket (where there are also high-quality varieties) are to be preferred to the pieces quickly welded in in the store, with the latter you should check the vacuum very carefully and look for leaks and, if necessary, have the welding repeated more carefully. In addition, the thick plastic film is usually weighed in after it has been shrink-wrapped and paid for at a high price.
Ripened pecorino should never be shrink-wrapped, nor should loaves pickled dry (under ashes or herbs), as they can no longer breathe in a vacuum and do not ripen, but rather degrade in consistency and taste. It is best to transport loaves in paper (without plastic coating) and pieces in wax paper, if necessary in plastic-coated paper, which should be removed afterwards. Whole loaves only need to be cooled slightly and are also suitable for a longer journey home. Storage should be airy between 9 ° and 15 ° C, preferably in the cellar or in a wine cellar. Do not store the loaves directly on top of one another, but separate them with bast mats or similar. A small problem with ripe varieties are cheese mites, which are not visible to the naked eye, but soon become noticeable through dust-fine abrasion of the rind. The loaf should then be brushed off thoroughly with a sturdy brush and then rubbed thinly with a little olive oil; all loaves should also be treated in the immediate vicinity. This can be repeated after a while if necessary. The mites eat their way very slowly, but after three or four months the rind may have decomposed to such an extent that the cheese is unprotected and mold can form or the cheese dries out. The olive oil layer kills the mites and forms a natural protective layer.
The cultivation of Olives an important role, the high-quality olive oils from the Orcia Valley are velvety, have a fruity-spicy scent and taste fresh and slightly piquant. Many farmers rely on organic farming. Around San Quirico d'Orcia will also be saffron grown or collected in the wild.
To Montalcino will be outstanding Types of honey made from e.g. thyme, rosemary, sweet clover, sunflower, lavender, and heather; A regional specialty is the bitter-spicy strawberry tree honey (corbezzolo), which is worth its high price and has been shown to be very healthy (liver cleansing, antihypertensive). Fine jams from wild collection (poppies, sloes, strawberry trees, blackberries, figs, etc.) complement the food offer.
Specialties:
Pici (also: Pinci), a kind of thick, hand-rolled spaghetti made from local wheat, e.g. as Pici alle bricciole (Pici with breadcrumbs), a very simple but spicy dish.
Picchio Pacchio, a thick stew made from dry bread, tomatoes and onions with cracked eggs.
Rivolti con ricotta, Pancakes with a filling of soup vegetables, spinach and ricotta and, in the luscious version, with beef, salsicce (hard sausages) and ham, baked in the oven with cheese.
Buristo, a kind of black pudding made from pork heads (tongue, ears, etc.) with bacon cooked in a pig's stomach and served with onions.
Biscotti (Biscuits) in various designs made from local grain, often sweetened with local types of honey, are a delicacy. Worth mentioning are the Ossi di Morto (bones of the dead), which taste fresh and crumbly, but soon become hard. The Brutti ma Buoni (Ugly but Good) are baked with hazelnuts and a pinch of coffee. Cavalucci are spicy hard biscuits with walnuts, anise and orange peel.
security
The Val d'Orcia is a safe travel area with little crime. To be on the safe side, you shouldn't leave any valuables in your car and watch out for your bag, camera and wallet, especially at festivals or markets.
accommodation
There are no large hotels in the Orcia Valley, but there are many typical stone-built holiday homes, often in a quiet, secluded location with a stunning view of the wide, open hilly landscape. You can also find rooms in family pensions and small hotels or agriturismo businesses (farm holidays), often with sheep and olive cultivation, which are particularly interesting for families with children.
There are practically no upper limits when it comes to prices for holiday homes and you can outdo yourself with every conceivable luxury, so you should carefully check both your requirements and the offers.
Cheap
- 1 Agriturismo Bindozzino, Podere San Niccolò 29 Poggio Rosa, Castiglione d'Orcia. Tel.: 39 0577 887337, Email: [email protected]. Farm with independent apartments, each equipped with a kitchen; Located on a hill with panoramic views, 5 km south of the old town of Castiglione d'Orcia.Check-in: 4 p.m.Check-out: 11.00 a.m.Price: from 65 € per double room / night.
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- 2 Hotel Posta Marcucci, Via Ara Urcea 43 Bagno Vignoni, San Quirico d'Orcia. Tel.: 39 0577 887112. Long-established 3-star hotel in Bagno Vignoni, a spa town in the municipality of San Quirico d'Orcia. The hotel pool, which is fed with thermal water, is also open in the evening in summer.
