Monteroni d'Arbia
Tenuta Suvignano is located in within the municipality of Monteroni d'Arbia.
The village owes much of its economic development to the expansion of Siena’s Santa Maria della Scala Hospital, which acquired a great deal of land here beginning in the early 1200s.
In the 14th century, the entire town was centred around the mill and the two churches (San Donato and San Giusto) along the Via Francigena.
The Grancia di Cuna (Cuna Grange) played a key role for this area and promoted a great many technical improvements to farming here, including the reclamation of land near the Arbia river, the fortification of defensive structures, and the building of bridges.
Today, Monteroni d’Arbia is the historical and geographical gateway to the southern part of the province of Siena along the Via Francigena.
Murlo
Murlo is known for its Etruscan settlements, relics of which may be viewed at Murlo’s archaeology museum, the Poggio Civitate Antiquarium. But Poggio Civitate must have been a vibrant destination even prior to Etruscan times, as evidenced by recent archaeological discoveries in the area. An area particularly rich in minerals and fertile soil, it was selected for a production site and is a rare example of an “ancient factory” where a wide variety of products were made.
In much more recent times, beginning around the late 9th century, mining played an important role here following the discovery of coal near Pratacci, where a village was erected with a number of furnaces. The production site was long-lived and had a profound impact on the local economy until it was eventually decommissioned.
Now, in the post-war era, many traces of this past have been erased and nature has moved in. And yet, to this day, you can still find some evidence in the woods in various locations of Murlo’s mining history.
Alberese
Ente Pubblico Terre Regionali Toscane is a public body that oversees a number of the farms owned by the Region of Tuscany. This includes, in addition to Tenuta Suvignano, also Tenuta di Alberese, one of Europe’s largest organic farms.
Situated in the heart of the Maremma region to the south of Grosseto, Alberese stretches for over 4,200 hectares (16 sq mi) of forest, woodlands, farmland, olive groves, and natural pastures.
But Tenuta di Alberese is much more, featuring a thousand-year history of architectural heritage, a large part of which has been restored.
At Tenuta di Alberese, they continue to practice the ancient craft of the Maremma herdsman, known as the “buttero”. The vast open spaces and herds of livestock left to graze in the wild make the work of the buttero indispensable, so much so that the Region of Tuscany has listed this ancient craft as being at risk of extinction.
Montalcino
Known throughout the world for its wine, Montalcino is a medieval town referenced for the first time on 29 December of 814 AD, when Louis the Pious, son of Charlemagne, granted the entire territory as a fiefdom to Apollinaris, abbot of Sant’Antimo. Construction of the current town centre began in 930 AD and has remained unchanged to present day. The over four kilometres (2.5 mi) of walls, featuring 13 towers and six gates, date back to 1100 AD. The layout of the town vaguely resembles the lines of an Ancient Roman city, including a Cardo (north-south road) and a Decumanus (east-west road) which give the town centre its cross-like shape.
Siena
Siena is a medieval city known throughout the world for its traditional horse race, the Palio, in which the city’s 17 Contrade compete each year. But with its great works of art and a historical centre that is like an open-air museum, Siena is much more than its Palio.
The city organises more than 600 events each year, many of which are of great prestige, including summer music festivals and amazing art exhibits. Traditional craftsmanship, cuisine, and fine wines also reach levels of excellence in Siena, conveying a message of great culture and history.
Siena is also known for its Gothic architecture and has been a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1995.
