Val d'Orcia - UNESCO World Heritage Site

Val d'Orcia is a delightful rural region stretching from the Crete Senesi to the massive extinguished volcano Monte Amiata. The landscape of Val d'Orcia is dominated by vast fields, intersected by vineyards, olive groves, sunflowers and rows of cypresses with the amazing colour of the scorched earth. Such a scenery can’t leave anyone indifferent! The landscape is complemented by stone cities on the hills and lonely estates (villas) that surprisingly blend naturally into the landscape.

The entire valley of the Orcia River in 2004 was inserted in the UNESCO World Heritage List. That decision was justified with this words: "The landscape of the Val d'Orcia was celebrated by painters from the Siennese school, which flourished during the Renaissance. Images of the Val d'Orcia, and laprticularly depictions of landscapes where people are depicted as living in harmony with nature, have come to be seen as icons of the Renaissance and have profoundly influenced the development of landscape thinking."

Do you remember the final scene from Gladiator when a ghost of wounded Maximus, dying in the Roman Coliseum, moves to the field of ripe cereal in his homeland and goes towards the house and the wife and son waiting on the dirt road? This shot was filmed at the foot of Pienza, and precisely between the town and the Agriturismo Terrapille.

Val d’Orcia is very rich in high quality local products such as the "pecorino" cheese of Pienza (a typical cheese made with sheep's milk), extra-virgin olive oil from Castiglione d'Orcia, the salames of Cinta Senese, saffron, mushrooms, chestnuts, truffles, game and many other specialties. Moreover, one of the most recognized product in Val d’Orcia is prestigious Tuscan wine, Brunello di Montalcino, which is must-try for every visitor in this marvelous region.