Val D\'Orcia

RADICOFANI At the southern border of Val d’Orcia lies one of the most impressive fortresses in Tuscany, which for centuries has regulated passage between the Grand Duchy of Tuscany and the Papal territories. Even though the Etruscans and then the Romans had previously built on this site, this fortress was first built some time before the year 1000 and then repeatedly remodelled, with bastions capable of resisting artillery fire added on in the 1500s. The tower was rebuilt in the last century and offers an extraordinary view over Val d’Orcia, Monte Amiata, the Appennines and Lakes Trasimeno and Bolsena. The churches dedicated to San Pietro (13th century) and Sant’Agata conserve a considerable collection of terracotta pieces from the Della Robbia workshop and wooden sculptures. The forbidding Palazzo Pretorio is still the town hall. Palazzo della Posta on the old Cassia road is actually a Medici villa first transformed into a customs house and then into a hotel that over the years hosted many illustrious guests. A country road curving through the ravines leads to the medieval town of Contignano. Rocca di Radicofani This grand fortification was built over a long period, from 1154 onwards. 32 Radicofani VALDORCIA_INT_ING 30-07-2009 18:49 Pagina 32

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