San Quirico d’Orcia is a town of Etruscan origin, but the first written mention is of the year 712. Starting from the eleventh century, the village acquired a growing importance due to its particular geographical position and its location on the Via Francigena.
In 1155 Frederick I Barbarossa camped there to meet the legates of Pope Adrian IV. In 1559, after the fall of the Republic of Siena, he took an oath of fidelity to Cosimo I dei Medici. In 1667 the cardinal Flavio Chigi was named marquis of San Quirico by the grand duke Cosimo III dei Medici.
Its territory represents the heart of the Val d’Orcia, a cultural landscape recognized in 2004 as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
San Quirico is one of the most remarkable examples of medieval town planning in the Siena area. The Collegiate Church has three portals on the outside. The first is a magnificent example of Romanesque style. Still in evident Romanesque style is the portal at noon attributed to Giovanni Pisano. The other prothyrum (small portico) combines Romanesque and Gothic styles in an admirable balance. To admire, inside, in addition to the fifteenth-century triptych of Sano di Pietro and the Baroque elements, the wooden choir finely inlaid by Antonio Barili between 1482 and 1502.
Next to the Collegiate stands the Palazzo Chigi, now the seat of the Municipality, built in the second half of the seventeenth century by Cardinal Flavio Chigi and designed by the architect Carlo Fontana.
Splendid, in the heart of the historical center, the Horti Leonini, realized around 1580 by Diomede Leoni. From there you reach the Rose Garden, adjacent to S. Maria Assunta, a magnificent Romanesque parish church of which we have news from 1014.
On the main square there is the church of San Francesco, called church of the Madonna. Inside you can admire the beautiful Madonna by Andrea della Robbia, transferred here from the chapel of Vitaleta located between San Quirico and Pienza, and two polychrome wooden statues attributed to Francesco di Valdambrino.
Four kilometers south of San Quirico is Bagno Vignoni, a thermal center known for its water square. In the Middle Ages Bagno Vignoni enjoyed great fame and illustrious personages such as S. Caterina and Lorenzo dei Medici stayed there. Overlooking the panorama of the Val d’Orcia are the Roman baths and the Parco dei Mulini. In a dominant position on the panorama of the valley, stands the medieval fortress of Vignoni. Inside, the parish church in Romanesque style. With its splendid isolation is a true oasis of peace and tranquility.
For further information: Comune di San Quirico d’Orcia and Tourist Office 0577-899728 e-mail: ufficioturistico@comune.sanquiricodorcia.si.it