Page 57 - Mediterraneo e dintorni - nr 18

Enea Silvio Piccolomini, which offers unmissable artistic masterpie-
ces and characteristic traditional events, such as the Flower Festival
in spring or the Palio del Cacio al Fuso in autumn. Halfway between
Pienza and San Quirico d’Orcia there is, hidden behind a hill, the
small Chapel of the Madonna di Vitaleta: the visit is recommended
above all at sunset, when the rays of the last sun illuminate the pret-
ty Renaissance façade and create evocative romantic atmospheres.
When to visit Val d’Orcia? The answer is obviously: always.
All the most photographed places in the Val d’Orcia are known: the
group of cypresses along the Via Cassia, between Torrenieri and San
Quirico d’Orcia, which has become the very icon of Tuscany, the
long rows of cypresses towards Podere Baccoleno or Poggio Covili
, the ascent of Monticchiello, just to name a few. On this tour I cho-
se some lesser-known spots in the hills around Monteroni d’Arbia,
San Quirico d’Orcia, Pienza and Castiglione d’Orcia. Places often
forgotten and less known to mass tourism, which maintain a par-
ticular and discreet charm for this, remaining away from the main
traffic routes, and know how to offer continuous and unexpected
surprises at every turn of the path.

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