TOUR DELLA TOSCANA

 Chianciano Terme
Immersed in the beauty of Siena and Valdichiana, among green hills and prestigious vineyards, Chianciano Terme is one of the most famous spa resorts in Italy. Its beauty and its location, also make it an ideal place for a stay that in addition to the spa goes to the discovery of the territory.The historic center of Chianciano, as a whole, is a perfect example of medieval village, but in it are contained evidence of the different historical and artistic periods that have affected the territory. The entrance itself to the central area, through Porta Rivellini, is an example: the Porta has a location and a function typical of medieval cities, but its essential features and its elegant lines demonstrate the subsequent interventions occurred during the Renaissance period. Once the door has been passed, the Church of the Immaculate, which stands on the site that once housed an older church and offers hospital.To dominate the street, in addition to the church, is the Clock Tower, also characterized by the medieval structure but largely restored in recent times ve. The Medici coat-of-arms on the façade also dates back to later eras. The building of the municipality, instead, overlooks Piazza Matteotti, beautifully decorated by the eighteenth-century fountain, with a hexagonal plan and set at the end of a stairway. on the other side of the square is the Castello Manenti, also called Monastero. Ancient documents trace the castle back to the year one thousand and recount the difficulties related to the historical and political events of the disputed territory between Siena, Orvieto and, finally, Florence. In this exceptional context, 5 thermal water springs can be identified around the which, of course, have developed a series of establishments and hotels that every year attract a huge amount of tourists. In particular, the spa areas are concentrated along the great boulevards and the beautiful parks of the city. The nerve center of the Terme is the Parco delle Fonti, adjacent to the Parco dei Fucoli, which is more recreational. The large center of the Fonti dell'Acqua Santa is located here. Little is also the Sorgente di Sant'Elena, which takes its name from an ancient chapel dedicated to Saint Helena which stood right near the source.

Pienza
In the heart of Tuscany is the city of Pienza, located between the valleys of Orcia and Asso, defined as a "little gem", a perfect example of Renaissance architecture and urban planning, declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site. it was a small fortified village, known by the name of Corsignano, owned by the powerful Piccolomini family, its evolution in a rich and prestigious city, depended on a descendant of this family, Enea Silvio Piccolomini, future Pope Pius II, who commissioned in 1459 Bernardo Rossellino one of the most important architects of the time, a collaborator in Florence of Leon Battista Alberti, to build what would become his "ideal city". 1462 - only three years after the beginning of the works - is the year in which the birth of the city of Pienza is celebrated, in a guise - while respecting the original structure of a medieval village - completely new.The center of the city is the Piazza dedicated to Pius II, built by Bernardo Rossellino, with a particular trapezoidal shape with herringbone brick flooring, overlooked by the Cathedral and the Borgia, Piccolomini and Palazzo Comunale palaces. The Cathedral, with its octagonal bell-tower, rises along the base side of the trapezoid, almost seems to lean forward with its imposing travertine façade, in the center of the tympanum is the Piccolomini coat of arms, probably executed by Sienese workers. The interior is divided into three naves, very illuminated for the presence of large gothic windows, you can admire some Pale d'Altare made by artists of the Sienese school, among these we remember Matteo di Giovanni and Lorenz or of Pietro (called the "Vecchietta"), while in the crypt there are sculptural fragments belonging to the ancient Romanesque church of S. Maria and a tabernacle by Bernardo Rossellino. On the right of the Cathedral stands Palazzo Piccolomini, a private residence of Pope Pius II, one of the most important buildings made by Rossellino. The southern part of the Palace consists of three overlapping loggias, from which one can admire the splendid panorama of the Val d'Orcia. On the first floor, home to the Artistic Museum, are several paintings, depicting the members of the Piccolomini family, eighteenth century works by Neapolitan school artists, of particular interest the Hall of Arms with a rich collection of halberds, brackets and armor and the Library in which various documents and rare books are kept. On the left of the Cathedral is Palazzo Borgia, so named because it was donated by Pope Pius II to Cardinal Rodrigo Borgia, future Pope Alexander VI. The building was the ancient Palazzo Pretorio, today it is the seat of the Diocesan Museum, it has 11 rooms in which works of Sienese school of the period between the 13th and 18th centuries are exhibited, including the Pio II. after 1462, which is distinguished by its low and large tower, for the courtyard characterized by a portico with columns in travertine and for the slender double windows on the façade. Today the Palace is the seat of the Municipality of Pienza.Among the religious buildings, the most important is the Church of San Francesco of the second half of the thirteenth century, has a beautiful Gothic portal, the interior is a single nave, with walls frescoed by episodes from the life of Saint Francis, the apse also features frescoes with Franciscan images, performed by Cristoforo di Bindoccio and Meo di Pero.Pienza is characterized by streets and streets with very particular names, the main street is Corso Rossellino and name of the great architect-urbanist, parallel to the Corso is Via del Casello, very romantic for its narrow crosses and in the shade, like Via dell'Amore, Via della Fortuna, Via del Bacio and Via Buia.

Siena
Siena city of art, cultured city, city of good food, city of the Palio. So many are his faces, the city alone. Nestled in the Tuscan hills still maintains its appearance and the time in Siena seems to have stopped at the thirteenth century, when the city began to enrich itself with an artistic and architectural heritage that has consecrated forever the glory.Unesco entered Siena in the world heritage list in 1995, for having wisely preserved important characteristics of its medieval structure, defining it "a masterpiece of dedication and inventiveness in which the buildings were designed to be adapted to the whole design of the urban structure ". Saena Julia, is the name that the emperor Augustus gave to Siena when it was founded as a Roman colony, but even before the Romans the city was an Etruscan settlement.
Made unique the city lived its best period during the turbulent years of the wars with neighboring Florence; it was in this period in fact that many great artists had the opportunity to express their art. Names like Duccio di Boninsegna, Simone Martini and the Lorenzetti brothers, the great masters of the Sienese school to name a few. Also in this period the city was adorned with marvelous monuments, such as the Duomo, the Palazzo Pubblico and the Torre del Mangia. Behind the realization of many of these works, there was the Government of the Nine, one of the main magistracies of the Sienese Republic, particularly active and fruitful towards the middle of the thirteenth century; the government fell after the plague epidemic that struck the city in 1348, killing three fifths of the population. To describe Siena it is a must to start from its main square, Piazza del Campo, the same where the Palio takes place, the same rich in restaurants and bars, the same in which the tourists and the inhabitants pause ecstatically upside down for admire the surrounding monuments. It has a characteristic trapezoidal shape and is slightly downhill towards the center, where is the source Gaia, copy of the fifteenth-century work of Jacopo della Quercia. Around the square, monumental buildings such as Palazzo Sansedoni and the Palazzo Pubblico. Looking at the square from the top of its 102 meters is the Torre del Mangia which dates back to the forties of the fourteenth century; its height is equal to that of the bell tower of the Duomo to symbolize the balance reached between the divine power and the earthly one. At the foot of the tower stands the Cappella di Piazza, a marble tabernacle with splendid sculptures inserted in the Gothic niches. All in the same square. But Siena is not just Piazza del Campo: all around is a succession of churches, such as the splendid San Domenico and Santa Maria dei Servi, small streets full of shops and shops where you can buy local craft products or taste the legendary cantucci accompanied by a glass of Vin Santo.Among the narrow streets and the wide Piazza del Campo you can breathe the true atmosphere of Siena, a young yet very ancient city, monumental yet lively.