Arriving in Val d’Orcia, visitors find themselves before a landscape which seems already ‘dejà-vu’; the immense expanse of cultivated fields, the solitary cypress trees, the lunar, clay landscape of ravines and dunes, the hilltop villages, the silence and the incredible peace. Suddenly they find themselves immersed in the paintings of the masters of the Siena school such as Lorenzetti, Simone Martini, Giovanni di Paolo or Sassetta. We see here a rare example of man at harmony with nature in a perfect setting, a living setting, where the union between human effort and the reality of nature is so apparent, as if the people of this land have devoted themselves for centuries solely to its beauty. The Val d’Orcia, a wonderful union of art and landscape, has indeed become one of the most sought-after settings with its imagery reaching all corners of the world, thanks also to a number of films made here from “The English Patient” to “Gladiator”.

To safeguard the territory the Val d’Orcia Park of Art Nature and Culture was born which encompasses the five municipalities of Castiglione d’Orcia, Montalcino, Pienza, Radicofani and San Quirico d’Orcia and looks after the conservation and growth of the area, with art, landscape, nature, culture and local products as key resources of local development. The agriculture and its produce represent one of the main riches of the Val d’Orcia where there is a focus on high quality and prestigious products; from Brunello di Montalcino wine, one of the treasures of the Made in Italy oenology of the world, to the extra virgin olive oil, the Pecorino cheese from Pienza, the wheat (considered amongst the best in the country), the honey and the saffron. In 2004 the Val d’Orcia received its most important recognition: it was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site.