San Quirico d’Orcia, a town of Etruscan origins, lies in the heart of Val d’Orcia, immersed in a landscape that hosts some of the icons that represent Tuscany and Italy to the world, such as a little stand of cypresses, the Vitaleta Chapel and the hill of the Belvedere estate. Crossed by the Via Francigena, the town centre has developed since the Middle Ages around the Pieve d’Osenna, hence the ancient name of San Quirico in Osenna. The historic centre is surrounded by the city walls keeping the majority of the 14 towers within which you can find some highly valuable architectural monuments: the Collegiata devoted to the Saints Quirico and Giulitta; the imposing Palazzo Chigi, later called Zondadari, constructed by the Cardinal Flavio Chigi based on the design of the architect Carlo Fontana, a pupil of Bernini’s; the Horti Leonini, set up in the 16th century by Diomede Leoni, are a precious example of an Italian style garden, and the stunning church of Santa Maria Assunta. South of San Quirico, along the path of the Via Francigena, dominated by the tower of the Amerighi, the village of Vignoni and, the nearby Bagno Vignoni, a charming and popular spa already known and frequented by the Romans.