MONTALCINO
toscana
The street that leads to Montalcino will allow for an appreciation of true beauty ot he place. Having arrived at the summit the eyes can behold the splendour of an ample and varied panorama from Senese hills to the mountains of Amiata. The fortress (constructed to defend the territory in 1361 by the Senese Mino Foresi and Domenico di Feo utilizing the already pre-existing 13th century wall) rises to the highest point of the city and dominates the surrounding valleys. On the wall of one of the center rooms hangs a Standard attributed to the Sodoma School. The center of this small town is exemplary of the architecture of the late Middle Ages. Following the road across from the fortress you will find on Via Ricasoli a gothic marble portal and a rose window that beautify the simple basic Romanesque facade of the Church of Sant'Agostino (13th century). Nearby, although it will soon be moved to the convent of the church of Sant'Agostino, you will find the Musei Riuniti (Civic and Diocesano). The museums contain pieces of outstanding art work such as a Wooden Cross painted in the 12th or 13th centuries by an unknown artist. It is one of the oldest Senese works. There are also an Angelo annunciate and a Madonna annunciata, two beautiful wooden sculptures from the early 15th century, as well as a Saint Sebastian and a Madonna with Saints done in Robbian terracotta. The Duomo (San Salvatore) can be reached by going to the right after leaving the museum. The Senese architect Agostini Fantastici planned a project (1812-32) to restructure to pre-existing church into the neo-classical norm which dominated the time. Proceed downhill to arrive at the "Piazza del Popolo" where the Palazzo Comunale (or dei Priori) stands. In the square is "La Loggia" which was constructed in the 14th and 15th centuries. In the contrada of Castelvecchio, is the Church of San Francesco (XIII century) which as been redone over the course of time. Inside are the frescoes by Vincenzo Tamagni painted in the early 16th century.
POGGIO ALLE MURA (OR BANFI) CASTLE
The Castle rises in the locality of Poggio alle Mura, near Montalcino. It accommodates the "Museo del Vetro e del Vino" (Museum of the Glass and Wine"). The castle of Poggio alle Mura, now famous with the name of Banfi Castle as property and representative center of this important vine growing and wine producing company, was erected, in its current form, in 1438 on a hill near the confluence of the rivers Orcia and Ombrone. Its position, and the ancient history of the surrounding territory, let us suppose that the origin can even go back to the time of the Longobards, that probably erected here one of their watch towers. There are no proofs at documentation of this theory, even if it is sure that the construction of the first fortified nucleus on this hill is antecedent to year 1000. The first great widening of the castle dates back to the second half of XIII century (just after the battle of Montaperti, 1260). The written sources tell about Poggio alle Mura for the first time in 1377, indicating the castle between the properties of Francisco di Tommaso Colombini. After the above-mentioned reconstruction of 1438, Poggio alle Mura became one of the larger castles of the Sienese peasantry. Other works were carried on during XVII century. A wing of the castle was mined during the World War II and reconstructed within the recent magnificent restoration undertaken by the current property. From Poggio alle Mura it has been always easy to control the main roads of communication between Siena, the Mount Amiata and the Maremma, this strategic position always placed the castle at the center of skirmish between the Sienese Republic, that aimed to reach a vital outlet to the sea, the Aldobrandeschi, Lords of the territory, and Florence, fearing a too great commercial expansion of the enemy Siena and had interest to close every access to new logistic resources. Between the owners of the castle we count the families of the Tolomei and the Placidi, the Republic of Siena (that confiscated the castle to Ardello Placidi, accusing him of being a rebel, to give it to the "Spedale di Santa Maria della Scala"). Today the property is of the "Banfi SpA".
The study of the fortified complex is not simple because of the many architectonic manipulations undertaken in the centuries. The castle, with its irregular squared shape, is articulated around a courtyard, three sides are occupied by different types of buildings, the fourth is closed by a mighty walled curtain. On this side is open the main gate, endowed with a breteche in bricks and stone. A crenellated tower dominates the castle. Along the external perimeter of the walls is still possible, in some points, to notice their escarpment and the beautiful tower of the northern angle, the unique with the original medieval aspect. On the north side is opened a secondary gate, now approachable thanks to a stone ramp, added in a later period, rested on two large arches. The courtyard "of honour" is a splendid example architecture of the Renaissance, built up when the castle became "palace", with low arched hold up on octagonal pillars, a large fireplace, domical vault, and one Medicean coat of arms of the XVI century, placed here after the fall of Montalcino. It is still possible to notice some loopholes, today located a little above the level of the ground. This testifies the raising of the area around the walls: originally the main gate was accessed by a removable ramp. The successive addition of other inner buildings created a second courtyard "of service", lacking in decorations.
SANT'ANTIMO ABBEY
Just a few kilometers from Montalcino rises the Sant'Antimo Abbey (1118). This is one of the most beautiful Romanesque monastic churches in existence. Its Romanesque-Lombard style gives its structure both a physical force and delicacy at the same time. The tradition, enough reliable, wants that Charles Magno in 781, of return from Rome along the street Francigena, transited for the Amiata mountain with his court and his army. In many were struck by the plague and, to stop the scourge, the emperor made a vow and founded the Abbey. It is not even excluded that in the place a Roman villa existed and is known with certainty that in the IV-V century Castelnuovo of the abbot was an important lived center, endowed with a parish, then disappearance.
After the passage of the abbey to the ownerships of the State in 1867, a long period of restaurations was opened that saved the whole building. The jobs, initiated in 1872 and finished in 1895, brought the church to the actual aspect. The enchantment is total and the armony with which the geometries architettoniiches of the abbey are integrated with the landscape it overcomes every comparison. The facade remained unfinished, introduces a portal, probable solution of shift to a plan that foresaw two of them, surmounted by a datable lintel to the first half the XII century and capitals, friezes and ferrules of few back. The element that confers to this church a French imprint more than every other is the scheme basilicale with deambulatorio to radial chapels, only in Tuscany and among the little presents in Italy. To the morning, the sun plays with the stone that is the most precious among all those used for the church in the deambulatorio: alabaster and travertino, with which capitals and coloumns are realized. Long 44 meters, the church is guarded to the entry by two lions stilofori, destined probablely to the external portal, datable to the XII century and attributed to the Teacher of Cabestany as the stupendous capital with the scenes of "Daniel in the pit of the lions".
The refined persons motives fitomorfici and geoetrici, precise in the sketch and clean in the carving, denounce a matrix that must be sought in France in Alvernia. However other capitals situated in the deambulatorio introduce a character lombardo which it makes the hypothesis reasonable that to Sant'Antimo has worked two maestranzes, a Frenchwoman and one, perhaps bunting, or that has dealt with an only maestranza lombarda that had sojourned in Alvernia. On the right of the greatest church, sets to the beginning of the deambulatorio, the chapel is found carolingia of the century VIII-IX, a small building to only rectangular aisle, with apse semicircolare. On the left external side the imposing tall bell tower is raised around 30 meters. Divided in four orders, decorated from injured of it, with openings monofore and bifore, are of style lombardo with a note pisana for the coloumns to the angles of the base. The bell tower has a coverage to terrace, on which it's situated two bells, one of which hands engraved abbot Ugo's name (1216-1222) and the date 1219. The apse of the great church, synthesis of power and rush, culminates with a delicious bifora, the only one that entirely illuminates.
The entry of the church is free.
The church cannot be visited during the functions.
During the visit it is necessary:
- to observe the silente;
- to dress in decent way;
- to hold extinguished the jail cell.
+39 347 6708101
