Hi dear friends,
Excuse my absence for a few days, but I was busy with my hikes, then I spent some time with family and so I took a little break, but today in this post I want to introduce you to a place that surely many of you do not know. It is still located in the region I love most, which is Tuscany, and it has a very peculiar name called Sarteano. It is a small town of not even 5,000 inhabitants located in the province of Siena in the beautiful iconic Val d'Orcia, which surely many of you know.
You know how keen I am to introduce you to these small lesser-known places besides the classic tourist spots you find in this area, which is why today I want to share the photos I took just this past Saturday, when I almost casually ended up in those parts.
Like many Tuscan towns, Sarteano has Etruscan origins and then developed thanks to Roman domination. The good fortune of this town, located right along the important Via Cassia road artery, naturally made it a land of conquests and after being under Sienese rule for some time, it passed under the Grand Duchy of Tuscany of the Medici.
In my photos you can see several historic buildings, including the Palazzo Comunale dating back to around 1200, the medieval Fortress also from the 1200s. As for churches inside this beautiful town, we find the Collegiate Church of Saints Clement and Mustiola which is slightly more recent than the buildings I showed, dating to the 1300s, and then the Church of San Martino also from the 1200s. There was an important museum to visit but I didn't have time, but I do recommend visiting the Civic Archaeological Museum precisely because many artifacts from both the Etruscan and Roman eras have been uncovered by archaeologists in this area.
The economy of this place has always been tied to agriculture since ancient times. Naturally in Val d'Orcia the prevailing crop is olive oil production but also wine and cereals. In fact, if you remember I had mentioned it in other posts, of course there is also ceramic production in these areas and in ancient times, but fortunately some artisans have survived to the present day bringing the art of ironworking and coppersmithing, precisely because there were various mines in these areas that were eventually closed over time.
Naturally and fortunately in recent years, tourism has provided an economic boost because fortunately these areas are being visited more and more, which I am very happy about.
I wasn't very lucky with the weather on this excursion but I think I managed to convey the beauty of these places that is a bit like taking a step back in time, even though unfortunately I did everything in a hurry because as usual I never have time to thoroughly visit these beautiful places.
I hope you enjoyed the photos I shared with you and I hope that sooner or later in the near future you will be able to visit this place. In the meantime, have a great day everyone and see you again soon.