Valdichiana

Valdichiana

The Valdichiana is one of the four valleys surrounding Arezzo which also extends the province of Siena. Here are the herds of cattle used to produce the famous Chianina steaks. The archaeological finds as the underground tombs of Camucia and Sodo, the finds from Farneta, Foiano, Cignano, Castiglione Fiorentino, the museum of Cortona, show that the Etruscans inhabited and cultivated this valley. Many artists who were born here, including Luca Signorelli, Pietro da Cortona, Andrea Sansovino and Gino Severini.

Certainly to visit is Monte San Savino, an ancient Etruscan town, then under Medici rule. Here he was born Andrea Contucci, called Sansovino. The country still has its doors be the Florentine and Roman. The keep, with its imposing tower (XIV sec.), Houses the Museum of Ceramics. Corso Sangallo, the main street, is adorned by elegant buildings, including the Loggia dei Mercanti attributed to Sansovino, the Town Hall and the Praetorian, the Tower and the Romanesque church. The church of St. Augustine is home to frescoes by Spinello Aretino, and the Assumption of the Virgin of Giorgio Vasari (painting on wood). Near the church is the Baptistery of San Giovanni, whose portal was designed by Sansovino.

Continuing on the road to Siena, we come to the fortified town of Gargonza, where we find a small square with a tower and a Romanesque church. He was a guest of the castle Dante Alighieri.

Left the castle of Gargonza, we return to Monte San Savino and we proceed to the SP for Lucignano. Here haunts Etruscan and Roman archaeological, testify that the town was an important point for the connection between Arezzo and Siena. The peculiarity of Lucignano is the urban form elliptical concentric rings. Entering from Porta San Giusto, you can visit the village take the left Via Roma (or "poor road") or right via Marconi (or "rich road"), adorned by Renaissance buildings. Via Roma it is visible with the Keep the High Tower (designed by Bartolo di Bartolo, XIV sec.) Fronted by a porch Settecentesco (designed by Andrea Pozzo). We arrive at the Collegiate Church of San Michele Arcangelo (project Orazio Porta, XVI sec.) Which houses the works of the sixteenth century. Nearby is the Palace of the Court and the City (XIII-XIV sec.). Here is the Museo Civico which displays paintings from the thirteenth to the fourteenth century (Bartolo di Fredi, Lippo Vanni, Luca Signorelli) and the Golden Tree of Lucignano, a reliquary in gold, silver and gilded copper, shaped tree . Near the town hall, the Romanesque church of San Francesco, has frescoes by Taddeo di Bartolo and Bartolo di Fredi (Stories of St. Francis, The Triumph of Death, XV sec.). The tour continues visiting the Tower of the Nuns (XI-XII sec.), The alleys, the port side and the Medici Fortress (unfinished) the Renaissance Sanctuary of Our Lady of the Oaks (designed by Giorgio Vasari).