The countryside you meet when leaving Siena is characterised by its richness, elegance and variety of backdrops that few geographical areas in Italy can boast.

Going along the old Roman road (the Cassian) which linked the town of Santa Caterina to the capital, we are struck at once by the beauty of the valley through which the river Arbia runs and its variegated and multicoloured cultivations that give the landscape something magical. On the right, in the background, you can see the characteristic barren landscape and the rolling hillsides of the “Crete Senesi”.

Continuing in the direction of Rome, we climb up the Siena hills in the direction of the towered town of Montalcino, where in 1555 the last hours of freedom of the glorious Republic of Siena were spent.
Further south, still following the Roman Cassian road, we meet the Val D'Orcia, characterised by rolling green hillsides and magnificent medieval town centres like San Quirico, Radicofani and the town that Pope Pius II made "ideal": Pienza.

The beauty of the Siena countryside accompanies us also northward, towards Florence. Here is the realm of the shady woodland countryside of Montagnola Senese. Nearby, we can see the marvellous fortified village of Monteriggioni with its impressive walls. A little past Poggibonsi a suggestive view of San Gimignano appears, whose fourteen towers give a tangible sense of this unique and unrepeatable medieval town. The incomparable richness of the Chianti area, characterised by a knowledgeable succession of vineyards and olive groves silhouetted on the surrounding hillsides, takes us to the outermost edge of the province of Siena.