|
|
 |
From Podere la Marronaia is easy to reach the most important towns of the region: Siena ( 40 km) Firenze (50 km) Volterra ( 16 km) Pisa (80km) , Lucca, Arezzo. SIENA it is a small taown that always attracts many tourists for its wonderful monuments and its numerous masterpieces to visit in its museums. Some great artists were born in Siena and among them it is to remind Duccio di Boninsegna and Nicola Pisano, who worked on the greatest masterpiece in Siena: the Duomo. In narrow and winding lanes, in museums and in the quarter oratorios you may hear Palio propitiatory chants that recall the ancient customs and modern allegories. In the evening, on the other side, the patter of soles on the desert paving contrasts to the peace of the green valleys surrounded by the walls by its ancient administrators, for centuries till today. In the town you may admire many masterpieces such as the Duomo, set in the Campo, Siena's red-bricked main square and the wonderful landscape of Facciatone, the hall of Pellegrinaio in Santa Maria della Scala, the Piccolomini library, the prestigious Accademy Chigiana and the wide rooms in Fortezza Medicea, that hides the rarest wines in Siena, in Tuscany and in the peninsula.
|
|
FIRENZE It's the biggest town in the region and stands in a pleasant valley surrounded by hills and crossed by the river Arno. This city is rich in monuments, historical buildings, galleries and museums, expressing all its magnificence of its ancient civilization. Its world famous promenade along its monuments up to the wonderful Ponte Vecchio (Old Bridge) is lined with characteristic goldsmith's shops. Many are the monuments and the masterpieces to visit, such as Giotto's Tower begun by Giotto in 1334, the Pitti Palace begun from an original design by Brunelleschi in the second half of 1400, the courtyard of Ammannati, Buonarroti house which has some paintings of Michelangelo, Forte di Belvedere that dates from the end of 1500, The Uffizi Palace begun by Vasari in 1560, Loggia della Signoria begun in1376 from an original design by Arcagno and Palazzo Vecchio built between 1293 and 1314.
|
 |
|
|
|
 |
VOLTERRA is situated in the province of Pisa and lies between the valley of Era and Cecina. Built on a hilly pliocene ridge 545 metres a.s.l. surrounded by two defensive walls, one Etruscan and the other Medieval, it is one of the most important centres of Tuscany, for its monuments which testify 3,000 years of civilisation and for its traditional craftsmanship in alabaster whose products are one of Italy's leading crafts.
Volterra is not yet touched by the stress of contemporary life and visitors who come to Volterra have the immediate impression of stepping into the past, of being in a particular place with its narrow Medieval streets and the enigma of its Etruscan origins.Volterra is prevalently Medieval and yet cherishes abundant evidence of the Etruscan period: the Porta all'Arco (the Etruscan gate) which date from the 4th century B.C., the Acropolis, the defensive walls which are still visible in parts of the town. The Roman period is attested by the important remains of the Teatro di Vallebona which date back to the Augustan period, the Baths and an enormous rectangular water cistern.
The Middle Ages are not only visible in its urban structure but in its buildings too, its house-towers and churches: the Palazzo dei Priori, a 13th century building, the Palazzo Pretorio, with its crenellated Tower of the Little Pig, the pair of towers of Buonparenti and Bonaguidi family, the house-towers of Toscano family, the Cathedral (12th century), the Baptistry (13th century) streaked with Volterran stone, the conventual Church of San Francesco with its adjacent chapel of the Croce di Giorno, the Church of San Michele) and of San Alessandro.
|
|
 |
| SAN GIMIGNANO AND SURROUNDINGS |
|
|
|
|
|
|