Must-see attractions in Central Tuscany

  • Siena Cathedral (Duomo di Siena) is a medieval church, now dedicated to the Assumption of Mary, completed between 1215 and 1263, Siena, Italy; Shutterstock ID 1027666891; Your name (First / Last): Anna Tyler; GL account no.: 65050; Netsuite department name: Online Editorial; Full Product or Project name including edition: destination-image-southern-europe

    Duomo

    Siena

    Consecrated on the former site of a Roman temple in 1179 and constructed over the 13th and 14th centuries, Siena's majestic duomo (cathedral) showcases…

  • Piazza del Campo, Siena, Italy - stock photo
Pictured is the Torre del Mangia and town hall building which also houses the Museo Civico

    Museo Civico

    Siena

    Entered via the Palazzo Pubblico's Cortile del Podestà (Courtyard of the Chief Magistrate), this wonderful museum showcases rooms richly frescoed by…

  • View Collegiate Church of Santa Maria Assunta in San Gimignano in the Duomo square. 16 June 2017 San Gimignano, Tuscany - Italy

    Collegiata

    San Gimignano

    Parts of San Gimignano's Romanesque cathedral were built in the second half of the 11th century, but its remarkably vivid frescoes, depicting episodes…

  • Siena, Italy - 08 01 2017: View of  Piccolomini Library inside Siena Cathedral; Shutterstock ID 1053389615; Your name (First / Last): Anna Tyler; GL account no.: 65050; Netsuite department name: Online Editorial; Full Product or Project name including edition: destination-image-southern-europe

    Libreria Piccolomini

    Siena

    Cardinal Francesco Todeschini Piccolomini, archbishop of Siena (later Pope Pius III), commissioned the building and decoration of this hall off the north…

  • Pinacoteca Nazionale

    Siena

    Siena's recently renovated art gallery, housed in 14th-century Palazzo Buonsignori since 1932, is home to an extraordinary collection of Gothic…

  • Siena, Tuscany, Italy. Piazza del Campo.

    Piazza del Campo

    Siena

    Popularly known as 'Il Campo', this sloping piazza has been Siena's social centre since being staked out by the ruling Consiglio dei Nove (Council of Nine…

  • Palazzo Comunale

    San Gimignano

    The 13th-century Palazzo Comunale has always been the centre of San Gimignano's local government; its magnificently frescoed Sala di Dante is where the…

  • Winery Castello di Ama, Chianti region, Tuscany, Italy.

    Castello di Ama

    Chianti

    At Castello di Ama, centuries-old winemaking traditions meet cutting-edge contemporary art in a 12th-century borgo (agricultural estate). As well as…

  • Abbazia di Sant'Antimo

    Val d'Orcia

    The serenely beautiful Romanesque Abbazia di Sant’Antimo lies in a valley just below the village of Castelnuovo dell’Abate, 11km from Montalcino. The…

  • Galleria Continua

    San Gimignano

    It may seem strange to highlight contemporary art in this medieval time capsule of a town, but there's good reason to do so. This is one of the best…

  • Duomo

    Val d'Orcia

    Pienza's duomo was built on the site of the Romanesque Chiesa di Santa Maria, of which little remains. The Renaissance church with its handsome travertine…

  • Museo Etrusco Guarnacci

    Volterra

    The vast collection of artefacts exhibited here makes this one of Italy's most impressive Etruscan collections. Found locally, they include some 600…

  • La Foce

    Val d'Orcia

    Built in four stages between 1924 and 1939, these formal gardens were commissioned by Anglo-American expat Iris Origo and her Italian husband Antonio…

  • Museo Diocesano

    Val d'Orcia

    Set in the Palazzo Borgia, this museum displays an intriguing miscellany of artworks, illuminated manuscripts, tapestries and miniatures. Highlights…

  • Museo Diocesano d'Arte Sacra Volterra

    Volterra

    Offering an innovative and particularly satisfying museum experience, this collection of sacred art is housed in the still-functioning Chiesa di San…

  • Vernaccia di San Gimignano Wine Experience

    San Gimignano

    San Gimignano's famous wine, Vernaccia, is celebrated at this museum and enoteca next to the rocca (fortress). Interactive exhibits on the 1st floor trace…

  • Museo dell'Opera

    Siena

    The highlight of this repository of artworks that formerly adorned the duomo is undoubtedly Duccio (di Buoninsegna)'s striking Maestà (1308–11), which was…

  • Battistero di San Giovanni

    Siena

    The baptistry is lined with 15th-century frescoes and centres around a hexagonal marble font by Jacopo della Quercia, decorated with bronze panels…

  • Brolio, Gaiole in Chianti, Italy - April 26 2021: Aerial view of the famous Castello di Brolio in Chianti Wine Area. ; Shutterstock ID 1965200383; purchase_order: 65050; job: poi; client: ; other:
1965200383

    Castello di Brolio

    Chianti

    The ancestral estate of the aristocratic Ricasoli family dates from the 11th century and is the oldest winery in Italy. Currently home to the 32nd baron,…

  • St Catherine of Siena's incorrupt head, marble altar by Giovanni di Stefano, 1469, interior of Basilica of San Domenico, historic centre of Siena (UNESCO World Heritage List, 1995), Tuscany, Italy

    Basilica Cateriniana di San Domenico

    Siena

    St Catherine was welcomed into the Dominican fold within this huge and austere 13th-century basilica. Inside, the Cappella di Santa Caterina (halfway down…

  • Palazzo Chigi Saracini

    Siena

    Few buildings have pedigrees as splendid as this 13th-century palace. Home of the Piccolomini family (of which Pope Pius II was the most prominent member)…

  • Museo delle Tavolette di Biccherne

    Siena

    Housed in the Renaissance-era Palazzo Piccolomini, Siena's State Archive isn't a usual stop on the standard tourist itinerary, but it provides ample…

  • Il Corso

    Montepulciano

    Montepulciano's main street – called in stages Via di Gracciano, Via di Voltaia, Via dell'Opio and Via Poliziano – climbs up the eastern ridge of the town…

  • Casa Chianti Classico

    Chianti

    Occupying an 18th-century convent complex attached to a 10th-century church, this facility is operated by the Consorzio di Chianti Classico and pays…

  • Abbazia di Monte Oliveto Maggiore

    Central Tuscany

    Concealed amid dense forest on the edge of the Castelnuovo Berardenga region, this 14th-century abbey was founded by Giovanni (John) Tolomei – later Saint…

  • Polo Museale Santa Chiara

    San Gimignano

    There are three museums in this complex. The ground floor is home to a part-reconstructed 15th- to 18th-century pharmacy known as the Speziera di Santa…

  • Palazzo Pubblico

    Siena

    Built to demonstrate the enormous wealth, proud independence and secular nature of Siena, this 14th-century Gothic masterpiece is the visual focal point…

  • Abbazia di San Galgano

    Val d'Orcia

    This now-ruined 13th-century Cistercian abbey was one of the finest Gothic buildings of its day. On a hill above is the tiny, round Romanesque Cappella di…

  • Chiesa di Sant'Agostino

    San Gimignano

    This late-13th-century church is best known for Benozzo Gozzoli's charming fresco cycle (1464–65) illustrating the life of St Augustine. You'll find it in…

  • Vignamaggio

    Chianti

    Mona Lisa Gherardini, subject of Leonardo da Vinci's world-famous painting, married into the family that built this villa in the 14th century. After a…

  • Piazza Pio II

    Val d'Orcia

    Stand in this magnificent square and spin 360 degrees. You've just taken in an overview of Pienza's major monuments. Gems of the Renaissance constructed…

  • Abbadia a Isola

    Central Tuscany

    The name (isola means island) reflects the fact that until the 18th century, this 11th-century abbey was surrounded by swampland. It has hosted many…

  • Orto Botanico dell'Università

    Siena

    The tranquil terraces of this botanical garden (1856), which is spread over 2.5 hectares of the verdant Sant'Agostino Valley, provide gorgeous views…

  • Cattedrale di Santa Maria Assunta

    Volterra

    A handsome coffered ceiling is the standout feature of Volterra's duomo, which was built in the 12th and 13th centuries and remodelled in the 16th. The…

  • Porta del Cielo

    Siena

    To enjoy spectacular bird's-eye views of the interior and exterior of Siena's cathedral, buy a ticket for the 'Gate of Heaven' escorted tour up, into and…

  • Palazzo Ricci

    Montepulciano

    Built for Cardinal Giovanni Maria Ricci in the 16th century, this handsome palazzo has a rear loggia with a stunning view of the countryside. Home to many…

  • Museo Civico & Pinacoteca Crociani

    Montepulciano

    It was a curatorial dream come true: in 2011 a painting in the collection of this modest art gallery was attributed to Caravaggio. The work, Portrait of a…

  • Ecomuseo dell'Alabastro

    Volterra

    As befits a town that's hewn the precious material from nearby quarries since Etruscan times, Volterra is the proud possessor of an alabaster museum. It's…

  • Cripta

    Siena

    Remarkably, this vaulted space under the duomo's pulpit was totally filled with debris in the late 1300s and was only excavated and restored in 1999…

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