8. Buonconvento to San Quirico d'Orcia (Stage 35)
Friday 13th October 2023
| Distance |
Time |
Elevation in meters |
Km |
Elapsed
Hrs-Mins |
Moving
Hrs-Mins |
Gain |
Loss |
Min |
Max |
| 22.73 |
5H39 |
4H38 |
618 |
351 |
137 |
419 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
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Courtesy of www.gronze.com
Courtesy of Garmin
Original map courtesy of "The Via Francigena Terre De Mezzo by Roberta Ferraris "
Quite misty as I set off from Buonconvento
I stopped at Tricerchi winery. I had had a guided tour of this winery in 2019, and I thought it
would be good to see if they had a "Timbro" for my Credential. I had been going 5.29km in 1H04
I got the stamp for my credential, and Tommaso Squarcia (right) asked me how far I was walking.
I don't think he could quite believe it when I said "Rome". Tommaso set me a challenge...... to carry the
Tricerchi emblem to Rome and send him a picture upon my arrival.
Approaching the Caparzo Winery
San Quirico d'Orcia in the distance
Approaching Torrenieri
I asked the young English couple on bikes where they were going, thinking that they might be
going further than San Quirico d'Orcia. "Athens" was their reply!
Leaving Torrenieri. From here there was a 3 km road section with quite a bit of climbing.
The Via Francigena leaves the tarmac road to the right, taking a dirt road under a concrete road bridge.
From here it is a climb into San Quirico d'Orchia
Collegiate Church of San Quirico d'Orcia
The Collegiate Church of Saints Quirico and Giulitta, known as the Collegiate Church of San Quirico d’Orcia, is a wonderful Romanesque style church built on the remains of a centuries-old parish church. This is why it contains three very different entrances. The main one is in Romanesque style and dates back to the 12th century. It has a large arch supported by a pair of columns resting on two lions. On the architrave, you can admire two crocodiles facing each other, while the figure of San Quirico himself is carved in the lunette. On the right side of the church, we find two other side entrances that were added later, right on the road where the Via Francigena passes.
Courtesy of www.visittuscany.com
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Chiesa di San Francesco
The Horti Leonini are a great example of a standard Italian-style garden, created around 1580 by Diomede Leoni, after whom they are named.
Leoni was a devotee of ancient and Renaissance art who purchased works in Roman circles on behalf of the Medici: it was Francesco I de' Medici himself who gave him a patch of land in the heart of San Quirico d'Orcia, where the Horti, which still retain their original appearance today, would later be built.
The gardens are divided into two zones: the lower, in the form of a rhombus, is enclosed by walls and pruned holm oaks and consists of triangular flowerbeds bordered by a double box hedge. In the center, a sculpture attributed to the artist Bartolomeo Mazzuoli from Siena depicts Cosimo III de' Medici (1688).
Courtesy of www.visittuscany.com
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Accommodation
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